Just to throw my experiences onto the board - my family have a working class background.
My Dad grafted his balls off at work and was able to provide a good standard of living for us.

Both him and my Mam did without at times; not going out all of the time with friends etc, so that we could have a good life, with good holidays.
Eventually, we moved into a newbuild estate, similar to the one Marcus lives in - but still they continued slogging on, to maintain everything, pay the bills and keep a roof over our heads.

To my new friends (no idea about my siblings) at my new comprehensive, initially jealousy took hold when they found out I lived in 'the new houses'.
However, when they realised I was as down to earth as them, did the same things as them and could interact with them, they were fine. I was 'one of the lads'.
I mixed with a whole load of people (even the ones classed as hard and disruptive) and was quite popular with my peers.
It possibly helped that I was good at sports and could handle myself if needed.
The school itself was in an area surrounded by all sorts of estates and took in a wide variety of pupils, with different backgrounds and issues.
I got decent grades, but pushed myself at some subjects, gave up with others and possibly became complacent at the lessons I was good at.

I am still mates with a big chunk of people I met at school way back when.
We have all moved on with our lives and have ended up in a wide range of professions - some doing things, that others may look down on.
We are all good, honest people though.

What stood me in good stead as I got older and became a Dad at quite a young age (younger than I had planned), was the determination to build on the decent grades I got at school & college and the ethic my Dad had shown. I could have gone on the dole and not provided for my family - that would have been much easier in the short term.

At this stage, I was in exactly the same position as some of the 'friendly' girls from school and was a parent at a young age.

I grafted, grafted some more, built on my GCSE's/A Levels and went to Uni whilst working full time and doing whatever else a Dad with a mortgage does.

Life has thrown me a number of curveballs at varying times, but one thing I have never forgotten is my roots, my background and my heritage (something I am extremely proud of) and the knowledge that I am no different to any of my old classmates - whether they have ended up inside, on the dole, running businesses or working behind a desk.