Anybody who calls me "a loser with no ambition" doesn't get the privilege of my company. Anybody who doesn't respect your lifestyle and priorities and preferences to the point of insulting you is not your friend. They can disagree with your choices, but that level of disrespect is unacceptable.

I'm also in America. Tons of coworkers are obsessed with making more money to buy more shit, and I'm just over here with my little townhouse with my wife and dog, driving my little commuter EV, saving money instead of spending it. They can't comprehend that I just go a year without buying shit other than groceries even though I make good money.

It's your life. It's okay to value time over materials. It's not hurting anybody. Fuck keeping up with the Joneses. Let them run around all they want while you enjoy your little slice more than they could ever enjoy their larger slice.

If a date calls you a loser for that, they're doing you a favor by giving you an early red flag so you can move on.

Anyone who criticizes your living situation like that isn't someone whose opinions aren't worth listening to.

Perhaps being a "loser" according to the standards of nasty, cruel, selfish people who are too ignorant to realize they are any of those things is actually a sign of success and a good thing. Don't let your surroundings define your morality. It's normal that living in such an environment will skew your moral compass, but you can correct for that, and it doesn't make you wrong.

Naw, you just have actual ambitions or goals. More is not an ambition, it's a sickness.

Rocco wants more

There's a ton of new housing construction where I live (Philly suburbs) but it's almost entirely these $800K "town" houses (in the middle of a fucking field). One of the main companies building them is named "NV Homes". I wondered who the initials "NV" stood for until I got it: "Envy" homes. It's depressing to imagine people borrowing a fucking million dollars to buy a big cardboard box because they imagine other people will be jealous of them.

It's so funny. I have four things I want. A specific musical instrument; a new fancy etrike with specific settings; a small insulated RV with solar, shower, a decent kitchen, a bed, and most importantly a ramp to get the trike in and a few less important things; and a vehicle what can haul all of that, preferably electric or more preferably plug in hybrid so's I can recharge offa my RV's solar and use petroleum if I need a longer haul.

I'm told that's too small to dream of, but like, I know what I want. I know where I want to be. I know what I want to do. That has it covered.

You're the one who brought it up. If you're already fine with it, and I misread your several comments as your being conflicted about all that, forgive me. But "You can tell me these magical 'supportive' people exist, but to me they are entirely theoretical" really doesn't sound like you're okay with it.

All that said, just because people are family doesn't mean they can't be shitty shitty people. Just because you've known someone a long time doesn't necessarily make them a friend.