Expression: "People don't have the luxury in life to know..."

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please tell me which of the following expressions is correct and natural?

[Alan]

Hi Tom,

My preference would be for 'the luxury of knowing'.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Tom]

[Alan]

Hi,

Exactly as you wrote it, Tom -

People don't have the luxury in life to know what their future holds for them.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
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[Tom]

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

It seems to me that it might be more common to see the "to infinitive" used with the verb "be" and "a luxury". For example:

It is a luxury to be able to sleep the day away whenever you want.

However, you can also say this:
Being able to sleep the day away whenever you want is a luxury.
.

[Alan]

Hi Tom,

To answer your point and clarify what I'm on about since I could have misled you with my last answer where I was concentrating only on 'in life', I'm not really happy with 'the luxury to know' because it is too specific when referring back to 'luxury'. What I mean is you could say: The ability to know - suggesting you are able to know. That's why 'luxury of knowing' is more acceptable as the connection between 'luxury' and 'knowing' is less specific and the link is there with the gerund. It's similar to expressions like: the comfort of knowing/the idea of knowing.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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