I think there is a world of difference between luxuries I wouldn’t enjoy vs. luxuries I don’t find worth it. Would I buy a $500 of wine? Probably not. Would I enjoy a $500 bottle of wine? Oh yes, yes I would. Same for bespoke clothes and top end steaks. Bring them on. On the other hand, something like a night out on the town at a top nightclub? Probably won’t enjoy it no matter what.
I had a couple of those “top end steaks”- they were tasty and tender. But not all that much better than say Outback. Certainly not 4 times better, maybe 1.5 times better.
Valet parking. I’ll park my own damn vehicle, thank you.
Most things. I am not interested in fancy cars, expensive clothes and jewellery, rich complicated foods and drinks, antiques and art, travel to exotic locations, hotels, etc etc etc. I am very basic. I’d be happy in a large fancy house, but that’s about the extent of it. The rest of my life can remain ordinary.
Same. Except i like fish eggs. Sturgeon caviar isn’t worth the price, but i buy tobiko and salmon roe.
And i don’t think snails are a luxury. They’re just uncommon, so you mostly see them in fancy restaurants. But if they are on the menu, i didn’t think they are usually an expensive item. (Also, snails have almost no flavor, and are usually served with delicious garlic butter. Not something I’d go out of my way for, but perfectly pleasant.)
The “upgrade” i don’t like is truffle flavor. I had some real truffles in Italy, and they were a lot better than “truffle oil”, or whatever is added to truffle fries. But i didn’t love the real truffles, and i actively dislike the fake stuff.
Interesting timing: this recent NYT article talks about a $770 coat. The author says he doesn’t normally wear fashion clothes, but tried a very expensive coat and got hooked. I admit that a good coat is nice, but I think there’s a limit.
(should be a gift link)
Yes, I’ve never bought caviar, but 30 years ago it was fashionable to serve it at upscale Jewish weddings in New Jersey, and i quite enjoyed it when it was there in front of me.
I once had a glass from a really expensive bottle of wine by mistake. (The wine guy came to our table to tell us they’d given us the wrong wine, and they would only charge us for the one we ordered, but he wanted us to know what we were drinking.) It was terrific. We’d all been talking about how much we liked the wine before he came around.
On the other hand, I mostly don’t like fancy clothing. I can see enjoying ordinary clothing that was made just for me, and fit perfectly. But fancy ladies clothing is fussy and restrictive, and I’d order not to wear it. I don’t think I’d like that fancy nightclub, either.
I worked in the towels section of a department store when I was in law school. Your taste in towels is minority but not even slightly unusual. I would say, oooh, one in ten people are the same and used to ask for thin and scratchy towels.
I feel the same way about ordering the big mac when I can just get a cheeseburger and put thousand island dressing on it. Unless I find a big mac in the dumpster 5 minutes after closing, I’ll eat those.
One luxury I’ll never understand or want is expensive watches. Like I know people do it to flaunt their wealth, but in a world full of so much unmet needs it seems wasteful. Plus a lot of them are mechanically complex to the point where they are more hassle than a regular watch. I do like the idea of buying knock off expensive watches to manipulate people into thinking I have money though.
Also cigars. A decent portion of luxury is signifying to the world ‘I have excess money and excess free time’. Cigars are complex to smoke, cost money and make your health worse.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread.
Watches are the only jewelry white men are allowed to wear. It’s no wonder some of them are so very expensive.
What about cuff links and tie tacks?
Never mind, you make a good point.
So you’re a Freegan? Good for you.
My wife bought me a massage once.
Don’t ever do that again.
Even when I was into alcohol, I never got the appeal of scotch. I could tell an expensive one was more expensive, but not why anyone would find it “better”.
There were alcohols I preferred to others, but mostly it was just about finding the most agreeable way to catch the buzz. I was always mystified at classifications of wine flavors as “soapy, leather, mown grass”. I’m like… isn’t this evidence that this is not something you’d want to drink, confirmed by a panel of worldwide recognized experts?
I’m surprised by all the people who hate massage. A good massage adds an inch to my height and makes my back and shoulders stop aching. I don’t always benefit from a massage. But when things are getting tight, a massage makes an enormous difference.
Whereas i hate the feel of being “buzzed”, but like the flavor of several alcoholic beverages. Good wine is delicious. German beer is pleasant and refreshing. Many hard liquors have all sorts of interesting flavors – i think alcohol is a good solvent for flavor molecules.
Another vote for massages. Or more broadly, spa treatments. No, I don’t want to walk through a hotel lobby in a dressing gown wearing paper pants, nor do I want to sweat in a box, and I sure as hell don’t want some stranger mauling me about.
Clothes and cars, when somebody tells me they bought clothing more expensive than a new laptop (computers being the thing about what I measure costs) I stare at them googly eyed in total incomprehension, to me clothes are something I put on so I:
- Don’t get arrested for public indecency
- Can keep warmth in cold weather
Same with cars, which to me are means to get from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time, I can appreciate the aesthetics of expensive cars but I would buy SO MANY computer related things with that money… (or lately improve my house so much, I’m observing that since I bought my first house my go to money-comparisons are trending towards cement, sand, bricks, contractor man-hours and the like)
I’d have to say luxury hotels. Most of the “on-site amenities” are of no interest to me at all. The bathrooms are designed to be frustrating as all heck. I want a shower. I don’t want water massaging me from six directions. Wait, I can’t reach the towels from the shower? Why do I need to take day rations to reach the toilet? And I want an actual sink, not a sloped surface that runs into an invisible drain.
And can I get a firm bed with three or four layers (including upper and lower sheets)? I don’t need a single extra-poofy duvet. Six pillows? Where do I put the extra four?
In all fairness, I do like heated towel racks. But I get those in many European hostels.