1.Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

The similarity between the two is that they talk about social class, and how social class affects every part of our life, from the subway to the schools we go to. The difference between the two is that 4.1 talks about the different levels of social class, while 4.2 talks about how about how our environment, education, and everything around us affects our social class.

2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

The closest train station I have will be Court Sq here in Queens. The social class that tends to live around here is people with money. From the fact that I have a Trader Joe’s in front of my house and how expensive the rent is, you can tell. Everyone around here has to easily make more than 100,000 to be able to afford life here. When I was living deeper in Queens, like Jackson Heights, the household median would definitely go down.

3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

There are many general patterns about social class that you can notice. The fact is that it is so expensive to live in the areas that are closest to the train. If you have Whole foods or Trader Joes around, you know what kind of area you live in. The deeper you go into the boroughs the difference you’ll see. The wealthy New Yorkers like to say there’s no social class, but the fact that they can live in 1,000 square foot apartments paying 4,000 a month while we can barely afford to keep up.