Quote:
Originally Posted by Arethusa 
Out of curiosity, was this your opinion when you were younger (and assumably poorer)? It strikes me as really strange, but then again, I'm used to splitting bills up carefully because most of my friends are as poor as I am.
I guess my opinion on this has evolved, you are right.
when I was really younger, I wasn't in a position to go out at all - I wasn't a "well, lets not order the expensive wine" type of poor, I was the "hey next wendsday I'll buy some chicken and eat meat" type of poor. by the time I was 22, I was in a position not to have to worry about money too much, so I sort of skipped over a normal stage of youth, I guess.
when I was in the army we would go out 10-20 guys, and everyone would pay what they could. but, typically we weren't drinking fine wine and eating black cod, we were eating humous and drinking beer. several of my friends were well to do, and I was poor. I felt uncomfortable about it, but it was the only way that I could hang out with my friends. so, yes, my point of view has changed.
but that said - many of my wife's friends are academics, and basically poor. and I have no problem going out with them and treating them to a meal, or with them contributing "what they feel they can". but what I don't like is going out with people who are reasonably comfortable and going through the counting out of the items on the menu.
more to the point - in pretty much any situation where somebody like me (a 41 year old middle class guy with a family) would be going out with somebody like you (a student in his late teens, early twenties) I am guessing that the normal thing wouldn't be to split the check. I wouldn't say that counting out the bill is wrong for everybody, it just isn't what I do at this stage of my life.
