What is the most opulent thing you've ever experienced personally?

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If I look back at some of the things I've done, as a kid if have been amazed. The kinds of things that are taken for granted these days like air travel or eating fancy foods. My kids have had access to a massively broader range of food than I ever did as a child. Our family had a black and white TV and didn't have a phone until I was about 11. Had an outside toilet :p.

So even things like flying abroad were amazing the first few times. I do find myself not bothering about fancy hotels and the like though - it just feels a waste of money no matter how much I have. I'd rather spend that on going to more places or staying for longer, and juts have a nice, clean, but not expensive place to stay
 
EviLore said:
Tabris: you're now officially required, under penalty of permanent ban, to personally donate a minimum of $1000 USD to a vetted non-profit charitable organization aimed at improving quality of life for the less privileged and/or saving lives, e.g. UNICEF, at no discernible direct benefit to yourself (so no planting a tree in some Vancouver fundraiser and getting a plaque somewhere with your name on it and an invite to a black tie event where you try to get laid), and provide accompanying legitimate documentation of doing so to me personally, in explicit conjunction with any brag thread you would like to post on NeoGAF from this point onward and until stated otherwise. Meaning that the donation is made within the same 24 hour period that you would like to post the brag thread to directly offset it, so not documentation referencing an otherwise occurring standard annual contribution.

Should be a non-issue for someone of your staggering opulence, and you can even mention in the OP of the brag threads that you provided clean drinking water for an impoverished community or funded the cost of antiretrovirals for a baby to be born HIV-free or whatever cause you funded that time, making your brag thread that much more brag-worthy.
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:lol :lol
 
I don't know if this is 'opulent', but I got a 4 month foreign internship in Vienna, with most of the expenses paid for by European grant money (with the ERASMUS-programme). Pretty much 4 months of combined research lab experience (leading me to graduate with honors) while also spending time in one of the most culturally exciting cities in Europe.

I went to 13 classical concerts, and 3 opera performances. For the last performance, which was scheduled one week before I left, I had top-class tickets for Wagner's Das Rheingold. I truly discovered the beauty of opera in that city, and I'm so jealous of the Viennese for being able to experience such cultural quality almost the entire year through. On top of that, I managed to pick a really good year, being able to celebrate the University of Vienna's 70th birthday with free tickets to Mahler's Eight Symphony (a near-religious experience for me, as he is my favorite composer) as well as celebrate the end of WW2 with an open air concert of Beethoven's Ninth.

All in all, the entire trip was a life-changing experience, and it gave me the hunger to later recreate such experiences for myself once I get a job and disposable income.
 
Back when I lived in the US in the 90s (Atlanta), I was invited to an exclusive night club. That nightclub had a black bathroom attendant, he was there to assist people who I guess are incapable of opening a faucet, pouring liquid soap or wiping their hands dry by themselves.

That was the most opulent thing I've ever witnessed, and also one of the worst experiences of my life, I just felt so bad for that guy, that job looked so demeaning (especially since I think him being black had a deeper meaning).
I politely declined his assistance, left him a tip, then left the club and never came back.
 
Probably when I have had use of the Company box at the O2 in London for sports and gigs, or having afternoon tea at the Ritz.

So nothing to suggest I can afford $1000 dollars for this post.
 
when I was younger I flew on Concorde.


most recent. after selling our old flat and saving money for a while me and my wife purchased a new house outside of London. (not expensive compared to central London, that's why we moved.)
we also bought an inflatable hot tub. after a long day at work I sat out in the garden in the tub watching the stars. that felt opulent to me :)
 
spekkeh said:
Went on a speed boat trip around the Costa Smeralda. Every hour equaled 250 euro in gasoline, lol.

The most opulent feeling thing I paid and arranged all by myself was actually comparatively really cheap. But we rented a yacht and spent a week sailing and anchoring for the night around the Whitsundays in Australia. Putting shrimp on the barbie on the deck of your private yacht with this view.

billbob-bay-shaw-island.jpg


It's pretty much the same price as staying in a medium priced hotel for a week, so if it isn't already on your bucket list, put it on there right now.
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I'd love to do this but who drives the boat? Do you have to hire someone?
 
Lionheart1827 said:
I always wanted to fly on that thing. Sad it no longer flies :(
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It used to make my house shake twice a day. I'd still stare at it every time it flew over. I once had chance to get on and have a look, thanks to my dad's mate who was a BA engineer. Security at airports was somewhat less stringent back then apparently. I remember it being really small inside, and quite cramped. The menu for the in-flight meals was pretty opulent
 
A) omg this HAD to be a Tabris thread

B) private Helicopter tour with landing&lunch at the Grand Canyon is probably it. That and driving a raced up BMW at an official test-drive event at Le Mans (though I was too young to drive myself and instead drove as a passenger with the BMW test driver, dude was maaaaaad fast)

I'll be flying international business for the first time next Christmas so that's a pretty big step too. (Domestic Business isnt really.... That great.)
 
I rode in a friends personal plain. He let me "fly" it for a while.

Next would probably be dinner at Nobu. I've done that twice. Expensive.

I once rented a cottage in France, don't think that's opulent though.
 
GeordieMark said:
It used to make my house shake twice a day. I'd still stare at it every time it flew over. I once had chance to get on and have a look, thanks to my dad's mate who was a BA engineer. Security at airports was somewhat less stringent back then apparently. I remember it being really small inside, and quite cramped. The menu for the in-flight meals was pretty opulent
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I remember the windows were tiny and it had two rows an isle an two other rows. the seats grey leather, I was 8/9 at the time.

not trying to brag just haven't done any opulent things in my life.

maybe in asia on honeymoon we paid for a nice hotel in KL and it had a TV in the bathroom, I was able to take a dump and watch TV. that's sweet.
 
Lionheart1827 said:
Probably when my Dad surprised me on the day of my last treatment for cancer. After 6 months of chemo/radiation he gifting me(and the rest of the family) a vacation to disney world and we were getting there on a private jet.



My Dad actually called the airport and Disney's Polynesian Resort to arrange Team Paul shit hanging all over the place. It was without a doubt one of the coolest things done for me and I've never been more surprised.
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that's amazing :)
 
GeordieMark said:
It used to make my house shake twice a day. I'd still stare at it every time it flew over. I once had chance to get on and have a look, thanks to my dad's mate who was a BA engineer. Security at airports was somewhat less stringent back then apparently. I remember it being really small inside, and quite cramped. The menu for the in-flight meals was pretty opulent
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It was a little uncomfortable and really loud. They used real plates and stem ware though which was a super nice touch. Wish it still flew honestly.
 
All expenses paid trip to Vegas where we stayed at the Vdara (one of the only gaming-free hotels which is just fine by me). We had an amazing suite on one of the highest floors, limo service, etc...
 
norm9 said:
I'd love to do this but who drives the boat? Do you have to hire someone?
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I did it myself (well together with my wife, sis in law and her husband). The year before that my wife and I went on a sailing holiday in Greece, where you're together with a bunch of strangers learning how to drive a sailing boat for a week. Of course next year we were no way ready to actually do it all by ourselves, so when they asked me whether I knew how to, and I said yes while shaking my head, imagine my surprise when the woman gave me the keys to a 300k yacht and went 'okay great see you in a week'. But it's really not that hard.
 
Smiley90 said:
A) omg this HAD to be a Tabris thread

B) private Helicopter tour with landing&lunch at the Grand Canyon is probably it. That and driving a raced up BMW at an official test-drive event at Le Mans (though I was too young to drive myself and instead drove as a passenger with the BMW test driver, dude was maaaaaad fast)

I'll be flying international business for the first time next Christmas so that's a pretty big step too. (Domestic Business isnt really.... That great.)
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I once flew first class domestic due to a cancellation. Due to a screw up by a colleague leaving baggage in the airport on an earlier flight out, a tight flight schedule, and strictly enforced carry on baggage rules, I had to sprint the length of Atlanta airport wearing four layers of clothes carrying a 16" laptop bag stuffed to the brim with a heavy laptop and a bunch of stuff, and a poster carrier also jammed full of stuff. I can't say that the slightly wider seat and the bourbon and coke made me feel opulent as I stripped off two jackets and a heavy sweater with sweat dripping off my brow.
 
IvanJ said:
Back when I lived in the US in the 90s (Atlanta), I was invited to an exclusive night club. That nightclub had a black bathroom attendant, he was there to assist people who I guess are incapable of opening a faucet, pouring liquid soap or wiping their hands dry by themselves.

That was the most opulent thing I've ever witnessed, and also one of the worst experiences of my life, I just felt so bad for that guy, that job looked so demeaning (especially since I think him being black had a deeper meaning).
I politely declined his assistance, left him a tip, then left the club and never came back.
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Not sure if you are being serious?

Black African bathroom attendants are ubiquitous in British nightclubs and bars. I find them intensely irritating. Nobody needs help washing there hands and it is invasive to have them taking over the sinks area. I don't feel sorry for them though, I think they make pretty decent coin, as people are embarrassed into tipping them each time they go for a slash.
 
EdwardTeach said:
Not sure if you are being serious?

Black African bathroom attendants are ubiquitous in British nightclubs and bars. I find them intensely irritating. Nobody needs help washing there hands and it is invasive to have them taking over the sinks area. I don't feel sorry for them though, I think they make pretty decent coin, as people are embarrassed into tipping them each time they go for a slash.
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the first time I walked into a night club and this happened , I did exactly that I was like argh what the hell let me wash my hands. i'm not sure what to do, I don't need aftershave.. here is a quid. then I didn't want to take a slash after that.
 
EdwardTeach said:
Not sure if you are being serious?

Black African bathroom attendants are ubiquitous in British nightclubs and bars. I find them intensely irritating. Nobody needs help washing there hands and it is invasive to have them taking over the sinks area. I don't feel sorry for them though, I think they make pretty decent coin, as people are embarrassed into tipping them each time they go for a slash.
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"No Armani, no punani..."
 
IvanJ said:
Back when I lived in the US in the 90s (Atlanta), I was invited to an exclusive night club. That nightclub had a black bathroom attendant, he was there to assist people who I guess are incapable of opening a faucet, pouring liquid soap or wiping their hands dry by themselves.

That was the most opulent thing I've ever witnessed, and also one of the worst experiences of my life, I just felt so bad for that guy, that job looked so demeaning (especially since I think him being black had a deeper meaning).
I politely declined his assistance, left him a tip, then left the club and never came back.
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This isn't that uncommon; esp. in the DC area. Always makes me feel awkward though.
 
We pay a guy to mow our lawn now. Like, I come home from work and it's already mowed. And I didn't have to do it. It's great, but probably not worth the money so I'll probably go back to mowing it myself next year. I feel kind of weird when people do things for me that I am perfectly capable of doing myself.
 
EdwardTeach said:
Not sure if you are being serious?

Black African bathroom attendants are ubiquitous in British nightclubs and bars. I find them intensely irritating. Nobody needs help washing there hands and it is invasive to have them taking over the sinks area. I don't feel sorry for them though, I think they make pretty decent coin, as people are embarrassed into tipping them each time they go for a slash.
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jufonuk said:
the first time I walked into a night club and this happened , I did exactly that I was like argh what the hell let me wash my hands. i'm not sure what to do, I don't need aftershave.. here is a quid. then I didn't want to take a slash after that.
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WeAreStarStuff said:
This isn't that uncommon; esp. in the DC area. Always makes me feel awkward though.
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Well, I truly thought that this was something that got abolished in 1930 or about. That's why I was shocked and embarassed, I guess.
I really think that is inappropriate.

I mean, I understand the need to perhaps charge for the toilet use, and to keep it tidy. We have something similar:
file.php
 
I attended a family friend's wedding (son of my dad's close friend from his days in Vancouver) in which the guests included the President of Taiwan at the time, VP, and head party leader of the KMT. I remember all the guests had to wait an hour prior to the ceremony for secret service to sweep the venue and during the reception, you could see snipers outside.
 
Minus_Me said:
What are you a plebeian? At least put a pic of a H1 or an actually expensive truck.
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I was making a joke :) I know nothing about any of what you're talking about (H1 was the military one and H2 is the commercial one, is that how it works?), it was just for desert safari.
 
Tabris said:
I was making a joke :) I know nothing about any of what you're talking about (H1 was the military one and H2 is the commercial one, is that how it works?), it was just for desert safari.
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The H1 is the civilian model of the M998 Humvee and goes for around 3 times the price of a H2.
 
Weetrick said:
What? Why? You don't put anything away in a savings plan, investment portfolio, 401k, Roth IRA, etc.?
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I'll either make it big with my business and/or startup ideas, or I'll be penniless in social housing when I'm old. But either way I'll have amazing memories of experiences I got to enjoy when I was most full of life.

Only thing I have in savings or investment portfolio is money intended to be spent in the short term or for down payment, just to get something out of it. Nothing very long term or for retirement.

Maybe I'll change my mind when I have kids, but I'm not ready to spend my days smoking brisket and watching friends yet.
 
Last time my wife and I were in Tokyo, back in 2013, we rented a Nissan GTR and drove it out to Mt. Fuji and up to the 5th Station, where the hikers begin their sunrise hikes. Maybe not super opulent, but definitely was a bucket-list item of mine checked off.
 
Tabris said:
I'll either make it big with my business and/or startup ideas, or I'll be penniless in social housing when I'm old. But either way I'll have amazing memories of experiences I got to enjoy when I was most full of life.
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This is the most millennial thing I have ever read.
 
Friend of mine got married in Taiwan. The Wife's dad is the CEO at some company over there. The wedding reception was at some fancy national museum or something. The next day we had reception #2 for just his employees. I ended up getting a few lucky envelopes, which essentially paid for most of the rest of my trip. Feels like small potatoes, but to me it was insane.
 
This thread fucking sucks.

I love that Opulence in 2016 is pretending you're a fucking Arabian oil prince for a couple of days...
 
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