Hi! Just thought I'd add my 2 cents regarding "class". When I studied sociology ..way back when..we were told a person's class was determined by his/her a)education b) income c) family background and d) lifestyle. The truth is most Americans and Canadians ARE middle class. Some may have a higher income or a higher education ...but we all fall somewhere along the same spectrum. Because of our open societies, there is much movement and interaction between lower middle, middle middle and upper middle.

Where: central Pa. <BR>Occupation: homemaker, used to work as a nursing instructor, presently do alot of volunteer work with charities, most recently as a CASA, or court appointed support advocate(for abused children), would like to be G'ma <BR>Love: husband of 37 yrs.,children, reading anything, tennis, singing, most music, water aerobics, duplicate bridge, gardening, wine tasting, museums and experiencing any new culture, place, and people. <BR>Dislikes: usually anyone my daughter is dating, people who aren't willing to listen to reason or other's opinions and most of what's on television.

30 yo new englander <BR>liberal treehugger atheist with corporate job <BR>likes: being a traveller (not a tourist), back roads of Jamaica (and it's incredible people), printing my photography, snowshoeing with my dog, reading nonfiction or history, good beer, studying the bible, showing my parents places they never thought they'd see, Marley, dogs, dogs, dogs - and any other animal <BR>dislikes: creationism, all inclusives, cigarette butts out the car window, Rush L., snobs, great films (old, foreign, whatever) <BR>goals: travel more,

Where: Boston <BR>Status: 31 (eek!), married, no kids, dog <BR>Occupation: Professional volunteer! <BR>Hobbies/Likes: Travel, reading, playing tennis, running. <BR>Dislikes: People who don't think "out of the box". Rudeness. People who lack manners.

Fun thread!

Really fun!

Hey fellow Fodorites....I am 35 with a 7 1/2 yr old son...live in north carolina and work as a registered nurse...getting ready for my honeymoon and trying to decide between Paris, Amsterdam or Rome....we like to have fun, people watch, visit historic sites etc...normal tourist things...this will be our first time in Europe...please email with any and all suggestions. Thanks!

to: Julie ([email protected]) <BR>Interesting - I am not from Britain, but was thinking the same things about the postings. I am from Western Europe though..... I have another thought - how many of you are telling the truth? <BR>

What the heck... <BR>Where at: Maryland <BR>Status: Male. Married; two sons. <BR>Occupation: Government lawyer <BR>Hobbies and likes: Travel! Camping and hiking. Reading history and "alternative history". Watching my sons grow and their personalities flower. <BR>Dislikes: The current weirdness! <BR> <BR>

Anyone else out there?

Anyone else?

<BR>Where at: D&uuml;sseldorf /EU/Germany<BR>Status: male/common law-marriage /1 son <BR> (2,5yrs) - nonsmoker - 31 <BR> 2 dogs, 1 fish, garden<BR>Occupation: Product Manager <BR>Hobbies: food, travel, wine, Disney, <BR> reading, writing, my work,<BR> meeting controversal people,<BR> foreign cultures <BR> movies, classic & chill out<BR> /ambient house music<BR> hiking,<BR>Dislikes: militant nonsmokers, <BR> prejudiced people, sundays on <BR> small german villages, ultra<BR> conservative germans, <BR> everything that is ineffective<BR> Handies(cellular) phones <BR> on quiet places<BR>Goals: Live with my "girl" on a sunny <BR> place until we die, ... but first<BR> discover the world with/for our <BR> son.<BR><BR>

What a fun post! Here goes:<BR>Where at: Houston, Texas<BR>Status: Female, 44, married for 25 years with 2 daughters, ages 24 and 19<BR>Occupation: Legal Secretary<BR>Hobbies and likes: Travel (of course), anything French, learning new languages, ice cream, children, cooking<BR>Dislikes: Racism, intolerance, religious fundamentalism, conservative politics and politicians, rudeness, cigarette smoke, pollution, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Schlessinger, W, discrimination of any sort, people who feel the need to talk about how much money they make and/or how much they pay for things<BR>Goals: To be able to live and work in Paris

Where: Dallas Texas<BR>Female<BR>38<BR>Hobbies- Travel, Languages French and Spanish, Seeking out the ultimate Tex-Mex restaurants<BR>Dislikes- Liberals, Northerners (they've ruined Dallas for sure), Oprah and her new age crap.<BR>Likes- Dr. Laura Schlessinger (anyone who puts kids ahead is okay in my book)

Where: Washington, DC <BR>Occupation: Project Manager for an online financial services provider <BR>Hobbies: Rugby, US Civil War and military history, reading non-fiction and historical fiction, foloowing the Dallas Cowboys<BR>Dislikes: Those who say they love Democracy but are unwilling to listen to opposing viewpoints, political correctness, and those who judge people based on sterotypes.

<BR>Where: Seville, Spain<BR>Age: 32<BR>Occupation: Hotel front office and P.R. manager<BR>Status: Been married for 6 years to an American from Chicago, we lived in Kansas City for 5 years, now his turn to be an immigrant...<BR><BR>Likes: american movies and music from the 30´s and 40´s, helping guests -specially american guests-have a great time in my city, taking day trips to the country or the beach, discovering new wonderful spots that I´ve never been to and are so close...<BR>Researching trips and finding great travel deals for me, my family and <BR>friends, jazz music, making great K.C. barbecues on our attic´s terrace in downtown Seville for our group of friends, perfect mixture of american expats married to spaniards, being able<BR>to watch the Oscars live in English <BR>from a german TV cable channel at 3 in the morning. Maribel´s postings!<BR><BR>Dislikes: violence, very drunk people,<BR>addictions of all kinds, rude people, poor customer service, people that are incapable of smiling or saying thank you, people that ask me all kinds of questions and interrupt me just as I start to answer, to pose the next question... people that don´t let me watch the credits at the movies, beggars that are in perfect shape to work (lots of these in Spain), etc. <BR><BR> <BR> <BR>

More please...

where : Paris ( although originally london )<BR><BR>Status : 30 ( feeling like 50 )<BR><BR>Occupation : Commercial Manager for Parishuttle<BR><BR>Likes : Paris , travel , Arsenal Football club , my clients of course<BR><BR>Dislikes : Former employers who owe me large sums of unpaid wages<BR><BR>Goals : to have a holiday or a day off<BR>

whereat : New York<BR>Status : male , 29 married 2 children<BR>Occupation : Journalist<BR>Hobbies & likes : travel <BR>Dislikes : negativity<BR>

This sort of reads like a personals ad, but here it goes:<BR>Where at: Washington, DC<BR>Status: Female, single, 41, no baggage<BR>Occupation: Legal Secretary<BR>Hobbies and Likes: Travel, writing, music, Republicans, spur of the moment weekend jaunts, laughter and lots of it, cats, daydreaming, fun people, good friends, the islands, a good glass of merlot or a gin and tonic, good food, falling in love. I could go on.... I like a lot of things!<BR>Dislikes: Stuck up people, anti-cat people, waiting in long lines, traffic jams, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, dishonesty.