You grew up in a poor place, sure, it has its disadvantages, a lot of them, but it also has advantages. You can probably live comfortably with 500 dollars, meaning that earning even "small" amounts of money by doing something can change your situation significantly. For me, 500 dollars covers food and basic household supplies ^^
Discussion
That's not entirely wrong but crabs in a bucket is a way to describe a kind of enviroment where people will try to pull you down once you start ascending, just like crabs. That's the kind of place I live and it's impossible to not get affected by it.