Do you consider Second Life an "upscale" or "luxury" form of entertainment?

[Rowan Amore]

30 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

The trend has been going on since WWII. The first house I remember living in was a two-story wood frame home on a 1/2 acre lot that my parents bought in 1949 for under $5,000. Dad was earning slightly more than $2,000 a year at that point. They sold that house in 1952 for a little over $12,000 and bought a larger farmhouse (in rotten condition) with a barn and 3 acres of land for $17,000.  In 1963, they sold it for $53,000.   By that time, Dad was finally earning $30,000 a year.  The rates of increase for real estate and salaries have increased since then, but I remember reflecting on all of this in 2006, when I bought the small house in live in now (on 1/5 of an acre) for about twice what I was earning that year  -- roughly comparable to the ratio that my parents paid when I was young.  The big difference is that I am living in a much smaller place than I ever lived in as a child.

We purchased our home in 2019 for 150K.  Smaller houses in our area are now selling above that price.  Ours has a current estimated value of 240K.  I don't know anyone's salary that has increased that much in less than 5 years.  We pay less for our mortgage than a 2 bedroom apartment rental.  It's kind of ridiculous.

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, Rolig Loon said:

The trend has been going on since WWII. The first house I remember living in was a two-story wood frame home on a 1/2 acre lot that my parents bought in 1949 for under $5,000. Dad was earning slightly more than $2,000 a year at that point. They sold that house in 1952 for a little over $12,000 and bought a larger farmhouse (in rotten condition) with a barn and 3 acres of land for $17,000.  In 1963, they sold it for $53,000.   By that time, Dad was finally earning $30,000 a year.  The rates of increase for real estate and salaries have increased since then, but I remember reflecting on all of this in 2006, when I bought the small house in live in now (on 1/5 of an acre) for about twice what I was earning that year  -- roughly comparable to the ratio that my parents paid when I was young.  The big difference is that I am living in a much smaller place than I ever lived in as a child.

Where I grew up in the 70s you could buy a 3-bedroom 2 full bath ranch style home, built to your specifications, on an acre of land for $30k USD and a nice car for $2500USD. By the time I had graduated high school (77), was working and could have bought a home, a cheap car was suddenly $30k and the home was out of my reach ($150k and up). The only reason I was able to buy my first home was because my parents helped. The second home was purchased with money from my ex-husband's 401k that had built up over about 20 years. The third one I inherited from my grandparents and the one I live in now is due to life insurance inheritance from parents. When the time comes when we can no longer afford the lot rent, we'll have to sell and probably end up living in tents.

I also had the misfortune to grow up in a Right to Work state so minimum wage was never livable and by the time you might manage to work your way up to better pay, costs go up even higher.

Some might call it being stuck in a rut, others used to call it the Rat Race. The Rat Race never ended. I have no clue what it would be called in today's terms/slang.

Edited January 23 by Silent Mistwalker

[QuietEventide]

My relationship with SL is very on-off-on-off ... you know how it can be, I'm sure.

Lately it has started to feel like a necessity again. I don't really think something that costs (in my case) 10-20 USD per month can qualify as a luxury. This type of outlay should be within the realm of what counts as a "hobby" or a general interest. If someone is into reading, chances are you will buy a couple of books or e-books per month. If you're into painting, you might buy some paint & brushes & special paper etc. It's not really a luxury to have an interest, I think.

Despite being 20 years or so, SL is also a new(ish) type of medium, especially thanks to the degree of freedom which is offered in-world. I have not found anything that comes close as a "platform for creativity". Surely in these times it's almost a given that people have to be at least aware of the new technological wonders that happen. This is one of them...

In some ways I found SL almost spiritual. It's different for everyone, I know. But one of my happiest times in-world was when I (almost) managed to replicate the little house in Finland where my grandparents once lived and from where I have happy childhood memories. That world no longer exists. But I have seen it (before 1965).

That old house had neither electricity nor running water and heating came from a central fireplace. It does not comply with today's building regulations...  so that house is long gone from the real world.
But, within SL, I could almost have it back.

Is that a luxury? Maybe a little. But it gave me very real happiness. If I have a 4096 patch, I can rebuild it at any time. I don't really think I need to do that anymore - but just knowing that I can... that is worth something. The value of knowing that is, for me, a lot more than 20 USD per month...  

Edited January 24 by QuietEventide

[Silent Mistwalker]

Food, clothing, shelter, breathable air, clean water and a way to stay warm in winter are the only necessities in life.

[Gopi Passiflora]

On 1/22/2024 at 11:00 AM, Love Zhaoying said:

I suppose that I may be misinterpreting @Gopi Passiflora's OP (intentionally or unintentionally).  This is pointed out well by Prok's post.

1. Whereas, "luxury" means to many people, "an item or service that is fancy, highest-quality, aspirational", etc...

2. To others, "luxury" means "non-essential", something that is considered "nice to have", but not everyone can afford (based on income, lifestyle, cost of living, etc.).

So @Gopi Passiflora - which did you intend by "Luxury"?  "Fancy and high quality", or "non-essential and expensive"?

ETA: I initially posted this in the wrong thread!

I'd say I was thinking more of #1, hence why I mentioned a brand such as Louis Vuitton in my opening post.

[Love Zhaoying]

10 minutes ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

I'd say I was thinking more of #1, hence why I mentioned a brand such as Louis Vuitton in my opening post.

Thanks! I saw replies that interpreted it both ways. As you can tell from my other posts, my opinion is, "no".

[Ksenia Elcano]

On 1/20/2024 at 8:53 PM, Gopi Passiflora said:

Just like how there's upscale or luxury restaurants and shops in real life (e.g. Louis Vuitton or whatever) do you think Second Life is "upscale" compared to other forms of entertainment?

No, I think it's a pornographic form of entertainment for nuts, *****s and perverts.

[ShaydraPromise]

It is whatever you feel to be.  Homestread , City Condo , Farm in the countryside , Cottage in the forest , Live in the slums , boomdocks for your  enjoyment with friends.  Sl be what you want to be , poor and rich  or No one at the same time whatever ever your in the mood for.   "one man's trash is another man's treasure".   

Edited January 24 by ShaydraPromise

[Rowan Amore]

24 minutes ago, Ksenia Elcano said:

No, I think it's a pornographic form of entertainment for nuts, *****s and perverts.

And which one are you?  😁

[Silent Mistwalker]

35 minutes ago, Ksenia Elcano said:

No, I think it's a pornographic form of entertainment for nuts, *****s and perverts.

And all SL avatars are operated by males at the keyboard. 🙄

[Katherine Heartsong]

30 minutes ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

And all SL avatars are operated by males at the keyboard. 🙄

I'm actually a cat.

Edited January 24 by Katherine Heartsong

[Silent Mistwalker]

2 hours ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

I'm actually a cat.

 

[Katherine Heartsong]

6 minutes ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

Tiger and a lion. Ooo, kinky

[Prokofy Neva]

21 hours ago, Raspberry Crystal said:

It totally sucks the fun out of leisure time if the costs are stressful. We take home made cake in plastic boxes and find free stuff to do, though to be fair our museums tend not to charge for entry so it makes things easier.

Well, of course. We have thermoses and home-made stuff, too. Plus you don't HAVE to eat out, you can go for a walk and then eat at home. Some of the museums have times when you can come for free. Some have a suggested donation that everyone pays because it's expensive running museums, we don't have state socialism here as in Europe and that has its pluses and minuses, we have less taxation. The movies (especially if you add the popcorn) are ridiculous, and you have to put up with rats again now as well. Obviously you stay home and stream from Amazon Prime for $2.99 with those prices, and movie theaters are going to become extinct soon enough and they should turn them into homeless shelters.

For young people, especially teenagers living in HUD housing with no resources, there is absolutely nothing to do here in my immediate neighbourhood of a 20-odd block radius except Italian ices in the summer and Father Jim's movie night at the church -- where he has strayed from the "holy" themes just to provide some civic service to the hordes of people wandering around with nothing to do, adding coffee and donuts as well, to keep them out of trouble. I mean, yes, if you walk out of our "food desert" of government housing where I live, where every little business has been destroyed by first Hurricane Sandy, then the other hurricanes, then COVID, then in some cases Black Lives Matters and anti-war demonstrations (where miscreants have broken windows and stolen stuff), it's bleak. You can support those causes as I do without taking away the livelihood of new immigrants.

Second Life is drug- and disease-free and you don't have to worry about the unvaccinated and mask up as I do with an immune disease. Yes, there's something rather forlorn about having only virtual experiences and relationships but I have real ones too and frankly, they tend to cost so much what with travel and meals that I do less of them and I'm grateful for SL.

Guess how our lovely town fathers wish to solve these problems -- they want to put in a tech center (that doesn't serve any youth, just big business) and a casino (!). There has never been a casino in midtown like that. The closest one is out in Queens. Casinos are mixed bags, of course. They bring in revenue but they drain poor people's pockets. Yep, a casino right smack in the middle of HUD housing, just the trick. Local elected are strenuously resisting with some civic groups.

Edited January 24 by Prokofy Neva

[Theresa Tennyson]

On 1/6/2024 at 3:40 PM, Ksenia Elcano said:

Some of the regular posters tend to be rude and discourteous to posters that post infrequently or are new. The post in question is an example of such behavior.

 

 

14 hours ago, Ksenia Elcano said:

No, I think it's a pornographic form of entertainment for nuts, *****s and perverts.

 

[Ksenia Elcano]

12 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

 

 

I got a stalker.

[PheebyKatz]

Being able to log in for a few hours and build stuff is, to me, a luxury.

If by upscale you mean having loads of class, well, I got that, too.

Reading the forums can also be quite entertaining.

So, yes.

Edited January 25 by PheebyKatz