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THREAD: on double ovens and classism, because I’m a glutton for punishment and I’ve seen double ovens have become the new sign of being impossibly middle-class, replacing lattes.
I reckon it’s more complicated.
I reckon it’s more complicated.
If you’re in even a fairly nice a middle class London job and are under 40 without rich parents, a double oven probably is an impossible dream.
You live in a rental flat (possibly shared) and thanks to landlord neglect, your appliances are ancient or the cheapest possible.
You live in a rental flat (possibly shared) and thanks to landlord neglect, your appliances are ancient or the cheapest possible.
So: double oven means home ownership *and* a kitchen/home big enough to need one. That means top 5%+ of earnings and probably a decent chunk from the bank of mum and dad. Therefore: double ovens are posh.
Yes: but only in London.
Yes: but only in London.
Outside of London, there are still parts of the country with plenty of decent 2/3 bed starter homes for £70-80k, sometimes recently refitted.
A couple on modest incomes of £18k or so each can afford that plus a car, especially as the deposit will be under £10k.
A couple on modest incomes of £18k or so each can afford that plus a car, especially as the deposit will be under £10k.
When that’s your floor, homes selling for say £200k – affordable for a couple each on a decent but not spectacular £30k – will need to be markedly nicer.
A double oven is a cheapish bonus for a seller or developer to help fancy up the place for a buyer.
A double oven is a cheapish bonus for a seller or developer to help fancy up the place for a buyer.
My contention: a double oven in London is posh. One in a north-eastern town is merely ‘posh’.
The moral: middle-class London writers vastly overextend the London experience far beyond where it actually applies.
The moral: middle-class London writers vastly overextend the London experience far beyond where it actually applies.
There are parts of the country where what London journos would think of as low incomes can mean a pretty damn good lifestyle. Forgetting that I think makes us imagine lattes, cars or double ovens are impossible luxuries.
(PS: I suspect it also ties in to part of Labour’s 2019 electoral disaster. The north is not entirely a Ken Loach movie made real.)
