Should I be offended?

Unfortunately there are still plenty of people who judge others by the value of their house and of the car parked on the drive. Some thoughtless people with money do seem to think it is ok to offer their discarded items to other people without realising how this comes across in terms of the potential to cause offence. About 40 years ago when I was setting up home from scratch with absolutely nothing, I was offered a truly horrible suite of furniture by some elderly neighbours, which I accepted because I didn't want to appear ungrateful. I though they were giving it away but as soon as I said I would take it, they asked me for £70. I was so upset as £70.00 was a fair amount towards something I would have like much better, but I was too young and naive to say no and to apologize for the misunderstanding.
Nowadays it's far easy to buy and sell
decent secondhand stuff on sites like Gumtree or eBay or Facebook market place without causing offence. That £70.00 and the horrible sofa and armchairs still rankles with me a bit even today even though they were soon replaced.

LindyR, people like those snobby neighbours make my blood boil. My mum would have called them 'all fur coat and no knickers' . If they mention paying for the bike again, just say 'you're lucky WE didn't charge YOU for getting rid of your rubbish. You dont need people like that bringing aggravation into your life, sounds like they'd sell granny for sixpence. Just smile and wave and move on - rapidly. Think 'tossers' to yourselves. Hopefully, they'll move on and you get some decent neighbours in.

We live in a similar neighbourhood and our neighbours are completely Awesome. We all get along, no matter who has what qualification and lives in which property. There is a bit of "does anyone want this?" but it works both 'sides' of the road. When it snows, every house is white and we all meet up in the middle with our snow shovels! :-)

When I divorced I bought an ex council house outright with my share of the settlement. It was in a good area.

My son was who had received his doctorate at the local university stayed on in the department and was doing some research while seeking employment. One day he got the bus out to the suburbs to visit me. Another post grad from the same department was on the bus and they both got off at the same bus stop. After walking along the road together my son said goodbye and went to cross the road into our estate.
The other post grad said to him..... Is that where you live....how did you manage to get a Phd. ??

Didn't bother my son but I was very cross.

If they offer you anything again redirect them to the local recycle unit and say I am sure someone in the recycle community would be very grateful.

Seefah I think that is exactly what my grandmother meant with her, “They are not used to anything.” when she came across people like that.

The way aristocracy and people who just recently made a bit of money differ is in the way they treat those less well off . I notice those who wave their money around also ironically are often jealous!

Where do these peolpe come from! who do they think they are, such snobs,They have obviously come from nothing, not used to their new status, and now presuming they are better than others because they live in an expensive house.
Ignore them, they arent worth the bother of getting upset.

You have horrible neighbours , I would blank them.

Sad that there are still raging money snobs out there in 21st century!
I was brought up to believe that being from “a good class” was not defined by money or possessions, but rather by good manners and by treating everyone decently and with respect and dignity.
I would ignore them! you know your true worth and skills, qualifications and talents.
Other people’s opinions simply don’t matter

It takes all sorts to make the world. Your decision on how to handle them. I'd just smile and move on.

My answer would have been -- with a friendly smile and a confused/puzzled look on my face, "No, why would you think I would want to?"And be sure to wait for an answer.

Same response for offer of used items unless it was something I could use.

Sheba I don’t think anyone is born equal, there isn’t really
Equality in life. I do know what you mean, but it’s not only being born to parents with wealth/poverty, it’s intelligence
And physical health too amongst other things.Then there are
Other factors, when an adult, selfish/ cruel/ violent people are not equal (in my book) with pleasant/caring/ sympathetic ones.
There is no real equality, other than to say we are all human beings.

Born equal, as in no better than each other. Circumstances you are born into should not make any difference to how you value others.

That’s one of my favourite quotes, Tempest.

I'm glad your family's doctorate and degrees are not known about locally. Wonderful stuff for you to nourish and be proud of privately. Your neighbours' attitude and actions seem to be troubling you. Try rising above it. They seem decidedly shallow from what you've related here.

Just smile and hold your head high !
You're the one who is 'rich ' , in manners, politeness and humanity .
Yes and suggest Freecycle as someone advised , next time they're offering you their stuff .
Your post has amused me today - people are interesting , aren't they !

Eleanor Roosevelt quotes:
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticised anyway"

LindyR. I have always had the saying "My money is as good as any other persons money". I treat people as I would like to be treated myself regardless of class.

I think that many people tend to, "stick to their own kind" in all social strata and while it's probably more prevalent amongst the upper class I don't think it's unique to them by any means.
I'm just as ostrasised in my place of work because my children didn't attend the local schools so I haven't built up a network of local "mum friends" (small rural community) over the years, though I do my best to be friendly and join in as much of the chatter (hesitate to use the term gossiping) as possible.
They also like to take the micky out of the way I speak, even to the point of crossing out and changing words like lavatory and pillowslip to toilet and pillowcase on job sheets (sometimes I'm pushed for time and in too much of a rush to translate into the second language I've had to learn since divorcing and having to readjust my lifestyle) .
But you see, despite te fact that I now spend 110% of my time desperately trying to make ends meet, I'm still percieved as, "white, middle class and privileged" so nobody has to concern themselves with whether or not my feelings are hurt by non acknowledgement/ridicule of my cultural background.

We were all born equal
Sorry I can’t let that platitude pass Sheba.
We aren’t ‘born equal’. Maybe in the sight of God we are, if you believe in God, but in reality some of us are fortunate to be born into loving families with all the material possessions we will ever need.
Others, even in this country, are born in deprived circumstances from which they have virtually no chance of escape.

It amazes me how some people I have come across who have money are incredibly stingy and mean. My son and his wife earn far more money than we do and have managed to get a free holiday through us by not contributing to the cost of the holiday at all. Other members of our party did, and I provided food and all the 'necessaries' for the holiday home. I have even known people who have everything steal things and make up stories to get freebies from hotels and restaurants! I find this behaviour completely despicable, but the people who do these things seem to have no conscience or guilt whatsoever because they talk about it freely. It's like a form of sickness, I think. Your neighbours, LindyR, probably couldn't be bothered to take their stuff to the charity shop or advertise it or dump it, because that may have entailed some sort of cost to them, so they offloaded on you instead. I think once you get into this mindset of entitlement, it's hard to get out of unless, perhaps, you fall on hard times at a later date.

If I were you I'd be inclined to not pay much attention to your neighbours. Their intentions may have been good, but it sounds a bit weird trying to sell you a crap car, then insisting you take a bike and later trying to make you pay for it. As with people in all income brackets some are nice, some are not, some just get it wrong and some are total twats. Money might buy you a bigger house on the street and private education for your children, but it does not buy you class or manners (and there's no guarantee a posh education = intelligent grown-up at the end of it). I've no idea why some people like to look down on others. If your neighbours had wanted to be charitable I'm sure local charities would be aware of those who would've liked a bike or car! Whatever the circumstances I am always surprised on these threads how difficult some people find saying 'no' or allow friends or family to dictate the terms of a relationship etc. If you do not feel genuine attempts at neighbourly friendship then be polite, civil, but do not get involved - if they deign to talk to you just pass the time of day, say you are busy and don't waste your time on them. If you are unsure about whether or not they intended to be offensive then maybe give them the benefit of doubt and don't bother being offended. That said, a neighbour who blanks you at any event and especially if it was one relating to your mutual professional interests, is just damn rude

My husband has worked in the building trade all his life, and looks a right scruff when he goes to work. We’ve lost track of people who have assumed we rent out house, because of how he looks.
In fact we now own Our house, we finished the mortgage Years ago. Just by luck we have a large house, in a lovely road.
So it pays not to judge a book ??

Another anecdote: A neighbour told some mums outside the school gate where our children were in school: "T (that was me) drives an old car because they don't need a decent one at the moment. They only need something for small runabout errands."

Most people who keep the snobbery going in my experience are those who come from nowhere, have nothing to boast about, may not even have a lot of money in fact, but like to show off, put on airs and graces and pretend to know famous people.

I know one whose favourite story is taking the details of a famous person's child relative at Casualty and describing how she kept calling the person by their title. It is so nauseating that I imagine the famous person needed a sick bucket and medication to recover from the overdose of obsequious slime they had endured.

The person pouring out the slime calls herself a nurse. She took no exams at all, not an O level or GCSE, in her own words has not even attended an Appraisal! She is a Nursing Auxiliary. She travels to Greek Islands frequently and tells people she is a Nurse.

Btw, she lives in Surrey.