-
In response to your "Whose parents? ffs" I was saying "See all those people buying houses in London? Not all of them, but lots of them" because I thought you might actually think that it's uncommon, I see now that it was rhetorical...
But I think we have different understandings of "elite" - to me middle class, by definition, isn't elite, even if it's still out of reach of lots of people. I don't think your or my backgrounds are relevant, but I don't actually know whether elite is a relative term or not. London is expensive whether renting or buying, so I guess we're all part of the global elite. First world problems etc.
Do you know anyone at all whose parents own their house? Do you consider someone remortgaging to get the cash "for the lols"? What about getting a lump sum out of their pension? At what point do savings become elite, 5k? 10k? Saving ~1k a year for a large part of your working life, doesn't seem far-fetched. Sure if you don't have that option it's a luxury, on the other hand... I think if you're in this thread at all, ie. considering buying a home, you've got to accept you're already in a group of people who have relative wealth.
hoefla-
But I think we have different understandings of "elite" - to me middle class, by definition, isn't elite, even if it's still out of reach of lots of people. I don't think your or my backgrounds are relevant, but I don't actually know whether elite is a relative term or not. London is expensive whether renting or buying, so I guess we're all part of the global elite. First world problems etc.
Exactly. For me anyone who can afford to eat enough every day is part of very rare and privileged group on this planet. I'd count almost everyone in the UK as being part of that elite. Then anyone who has a roof over their heads. Then people who afford to buy. Then those who can afford to buy in London. Etc. It's a sliding scale.
ReekBlefs
I think we come from different backgrounds. To me, ANYONE who can afford to buy a place in London, with or without help, is in an elite of one kind or another. And if their parents are able to just drop £20k on them for the lols, they're even more elite. I don't come from a middle class background where savings are the norm - most of the people I grew up with still live in their council houses.