[scottmotte]

> people are most comfortable being around people like themselves

Inertia. This is everything. It takes effort to be around people unlike those currently around you.

We all have personal biases against the strata economically above us and below us. I think most of the individuals that move up economically are able to get beyond these biases for one reason or another. Otherwise, even the most hardworking individuals tend to self-sabotage when they start to feel out of place.