Why Do Rich People Love Quiet?

theatlantic.com

6 points·smn1234··7 comments

Does anyone love noise? When I was younger I didn't mind it so much. As I've grown older I value peacefulness and quiet more. My wealth has grown over time but I wouldn't say I'm rich but I absolutely consider noise levels on where I chose to spend money because with more money I have more choices than I did before.

My bet on the root cause: Making noise is a basic way for "people of lesser social status" to assert that they matter, and can't just be ignored. Ask anyone who's raised a few kids. For the rich & powerful, of course, being able to hush all those noisy kids / low-lifes / jackhammers / etc. - or get away to places where they need not hear such noisy self-assertions - is another way of asserting their status.

Do you like noise?

That I'm making, or that other people are making?

Note that, on expensive "sporty" cars, it's considered a feature to have louder, deeper, & more-muscular exhaust sounds.

(Disclosure - I am old enough that my years of trying to loudly assert myself, climb the social ladder, etc. are a "wisdom of long experience" number of decades in the past:)

I think you prefer silence over noise. Most people do.

This article appears in the September 2022 print edition with the headline “Let Brooklyn Be Loud.”

Quite tired of media outlets switching headlines around to make them as baity as possible.

https://archive.ph/Ftvdh

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