A year or so ago I took issue with the entirely unrealistic depiction of Charlotte York in Sex and the City, who was gifted the marital home, a multimillion dollar apartment on Park Avenue in New York, by her drippy but wealthy husband Trey in a divorce settlement. Indeed Charlotte not only benefited from this divorce bail out but she in turn bailed out her entirely useless friend Carrie (who spent $40,000 on shoes) whose apartment was at risk. This apartment was a risk following another break up. Message to the young women watching SATC: break up with men and you will get free stuff. I thought this was fanciful, to say the least.
It turned out that I was the naive one, as I have subsequently come to realise that there are huge amounts of ‘free money’ passing hands, especially in places like Dublin and London. Ginormous piles of cash are passed from the bank of mum and dad to whatever unspeakable is lucky enough to be born into the family, usually comprising professionals who were smart enough to purchase property in Dublin or London in the 70s, 80’s and 90s.
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