What is genteel poverty?

nobody@vox.com(Snarla) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:27:41 -0700

Genteel poverty is how I would describe the way I live. Which is in a one bedroom apartment with my fiasco, three cats, no car and no dishwasher. For fun we ride bikes, go to the library, take care of injured animals and go to the cheap movies, among other things. It's not real poverty (I have all my basic needs covered and there's no getting around the fact that I am, in many ways, a privileged person) and I hope I don't offend anyone by using the term. What I'm talking about is really closer to voluntary simplicity but with more snob appeal and attention to aesthetics. If you cannot afford an SUV, but are totally okay with that because you find them vulgar anyway, you may be impoverished gentry.

By the way, it is not my intention to write this blog from the standpoint of a guru of some sort but rather it's meant to serve as a record of my attempts (however misguided) to fashion my life into a thing of beauty as well as a way to (hopefully) exchange ideas and inspiration with others.

My ultimate goals are:

1. To surround myself only with things that are beautiful, useful, and loved. Failing that, two out of three ain't bad.

2. To reduce my impact on the environment. It kills me whenever I hear a new species is going extinct or see an old home get torn down for cinderblock condos. I believe in making the most of what we have right now. That said, I'm not the "baggie washing type". I believe there are ways around such things though. Bento boxes, for instance or cute, permanent lunch tupperware.

3. To save money and to spend money only on things that really matter, rather than frittering it away.

4. To find and be a part of a community.

5. To work as little as possible for the profit of others (such as major corporations).

6. To be self-educated in the sense that I will follow my own interests and passions, however eccentric.

I hope that helps to explain a little what I'm all about. The main thing I want to get across is that I think a simple way of life can be even more exciting, elegant and far more fulfilling than one based on consumerism, waste and empty ambition. It doesn't have to be hippy-dippy drudgery if you don't want it to be.

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Lady Snarla's Blog of Genteel Poverty

What is genteel poverty?