In the short term, I agree that your reference class doesn't completely turn over when you move. But over time, it mostly does. When I think about my standard of living, I don't compare myself to distant relatives in other cities, childhood friends, or my next door neighbor ten years ago. I compare to coworkers, current neighbors, and cu…
In the short term, I agree that your reference class doesn't completely turn over when you move. But over time, it mostly does. When I think about my standard of living, I don't compare myself to distant relatives in other cities, childhood friends, or my next door neighbor ten years ago. I compare to coworkers, current neighbors, and current friends. While you may not be able to change your coworkers at will without taking a pay cut, you can certainly change your neighbors and friends at will, and over time this will become your new reference class.
Perhaps your experience is different, but it would seem odd to me for someone to move to a new city, but years later still be in frequent touch with more than a small handful of neighbors from their old city. If the main thing you have in common with someone is colocation, the relationship goes away when it does.
Regarding celebrities, doesn't the popularity of celebrity gossip support Bryan's thesis? If people really hated feeling poor relative to the super-rich, why would they be so interested in following the intimate details of their lives?
In the short term, I agree that your reference class doesn't completely turn over when you move. But over time, it mostly does. When I think about my standard of living, I don't compare myself to distant relatives in other cities, childhood friends, or my next door neighbor ten years ago. I compare to coworkers, current neighbors, and current friends. While you may not be able to change your coworkers at will without taking a pay cut, you can certainly change your neighbors and friends at will, and over time this will become your new reference class.
Perhaps your experience is different, but it would seem odd to me for someone to move to a new city, but years later still be in frequent touch with more than a small handful of neighbors from their old city. If the main thing you have in common with someone is colocation, the relationship goes away when it does.
Regarding celebrities, doesn't the popularity of celebrity gossip support Bryan's thesis? If people really hated feeling poor relative to the super-rich, why would they be so interested in following the intimate details of their lives?