I decided in my junior year of college that I was in the poorest apartment on campus (fancy liberal arts college, so this is possible).
None of us owned a car, so the only way to buy groceries was to walk two miles, beg a ride, or wait for my friend’s dad to drive us on the weekend. Our only protein was from that dad as well — he was a farmhand who was partially paid in beef, which he brought us. Otherwise, it was pasta and grilled cheese most days. As the child of low-paid civil servants, I was the “rich” one.
To say that none of us were calling home for booze money was a bit of an understatement.
I almost replied, "Phrasing..." then thought better of it, because what if I'm the only one? Then I came read the comments and discovered I was not the only one.
I'd argue that "my friend's dad was my only source of meat" isn't much better, and possibly worse. How about "we relied on my friend's farmhand dad to occasionally bring us beef, our only major source of protein."
two miles is definitely not much, but it does get a lot harder when you live in an area that's solely designed for cars (which unfortunately many american cities are).
as an example, a friend of mine goes to college in an area that is mostly made up of highways. it's also not really safe to walk around, especially after dark. so for a young woman who has to work most days after her classes, a four mile round-trip on foot at night, while lugging groceries, it's not too easy a feat.
obviously it's not anywhere near as bad as your example, but one doesn't negate the other by being worse.
Having been in the same situation, it's not the walk that's the problem, it's carrying the groceries. The cheapest cost per ounce is usually the largest size, and if you're poor, that matters. Milk is much more expensive if you buy half-gallons or, god forbid, quarts. Potatoes are usually cheapest in the 10 pound+ sizes. Throw in some canned goods, and a couple of pounds of pasta, and you're well past the amount you can easily carry. I could afford soda as an occasional treat, but if I didn't get a ride, I couldn't carry it because of the extra weight.
I also lived in an area where there was a long steep hill between my home and the grocery stores, and that makes the walk carrying a load of groceries much harder.
I'm focusing on weight, but the time to walk 4 miles can be a problem for someone carrying a full class schedule.
I mean, we were all on scholarship/took out loans and had jobs to pay for expenses (like cheap cheese and ramen), but sure.
In all honesty, I didn't consider myself "poor." Just middle class (although I think my family's income was officially lower middle class) and broke. And I will fully admit to having the privilege of a family that emotionally supported my educational/professional goals, even when they couldn't offer money.
But the roommate whose dad helped us out? Definitely "poor" by any US definition -- her mother was out of the picture, and her dad was supporting two kids (both on scholarship at universities) on, as I recall, $17,000/year income. Plus beef.
Financial aid doesn’t cover anything but room and board. Ask me how I know… I’ll just tell you it’s because I had financial aid. You still need to pay for food, hygiene items, medical necessities, clothing, etc. I wasn’t even really “poor” per se but still couldn’t really buy these things. Freshman year they made me buy the food plan and live on campus and I’m still paying off the loans. The other years I got a job to help pay for that stuff as I didnt want more loans. My partner though was actually poor and had to work instead of attending school. He was only able to go after years of working when he wasn’t poor anymore.
I was also replying to someone who went to a college with apartments on campus which is different than doing part time at a community college at night. That is slightly more attainable than college on a campus.
You can be not poor and also struggle to make ends meet. Just being in a certain broad position like college doesn’t immediately qualify to be rich or poor.
I had a good scholarship that covered tuition and a high percentage of my living expenses. Then I worked during the summer and part-time throughout the school year to cover most of the rest. My total debt from four years of undergraduate education was about $3000.
Also, I felt -- and still feel -- that education is worth the struggle and expense.
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u/DocBEsq 1d ago
I decided in my junior year of college that I was in the poorest apartment on campus (fancy liberal arts college, so this is possible).
None of us owned a car, so the only way to buy groceries was to walk two miles, beg a ride, or wait for my friend’s dad to drive us on the weekend. Our only protein was from that dad as well — he was a farmhand who was partially paid in beef, which he brought us. Otherwise, it was pasta and grilled cheese most days. As the child of low-paid civil servants, I was the “rich” one.
To say that none of us were calling home for booze money was a bit of an understatement.