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Because Canada is neither Europe nor USA but a different entity. Just like you are trying to compare mid income "Europe". How do you compare Albania and Germany or France and Manhatten or Weedowee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Threestep;
Union workers for car manufacturers are a totally different group. Do some homework please.
. Thank you, you've illustrated my point perfectly. Before we can discuss, we need to agree on what we consider middle-class, as the definitions from one side of the "pond" to the other, or even within a geographic area, vary so much, that discussion can become meaningless, and end as so many of these thread topics do--in frustration for one side or both.
Actually, page 1 of the thread had some good comments. Seems that the discussion is still going in circles, as this question hasn't been answered:
Quote:
What economic measure(s) ?
Revenue?
Net revenue?
Net revenue ppp?
What can the 10% poorer afford weekly to save on a bank account ?
What services can they access? Their life expectancy compared to middle class?
%of them owning their houses?
Blabla
I m curious. If it's metrics about the surface of the house and volume of the engine of the car, they are in a good position indeed.
I think the OP question is ridiculous, personally; I'm surprised the thread has dragged on so long.
EU middle class have different preferences, there is far more mobility in Europe therefore people spend more on traveling and lifestyle than in goods (in the case of the US)
I do not know about your age group, your location or profession. This is 2018. When 1 car meant middle class I do not know. Once did we live somewhere in the US with a public transit system allowing me to spend over an hour one way to get to work - Washington DC and the fare was/is not cheap.
My parents bought one half of a laborer settlement duplex in Germany. Spent a fortune on rebuilding and restoring as one power outlet and outhouse like septic in the 70s was part of required copper gutters, tile roof, ... All the way to house and shutter color. Welcome to life in historic oops historic districts.
Who knows when there was a time that square footage of a house determined your economic standing. BTW what is wrong with 3000 sqf or more?
Union workers for car manufacturers are a totally different group. Do some homework please.
Ehhhhh...Too big, even for US middle class and anywhere in the States? Because, you will need two AC/heating units (at least) to cool/heat those 3000 SF , hence double bill. That can make a dent on your monthly budget. You should have known that.
By the way, how do you manage to feed your family of four on $192 a month? That is less than $50 per nose per month. That is less than $12.50 per week per person - not humanely possible in the US. Even if you have your own cow, chickens, bake your own bread, grow your own vegetables, etc. What do you, guys, eat? Or I missed it? I am very interested.
Because I do cook.
Ehhhhh...Too big, even for US middle class and anywhere in the States? Because, you will need two AC/heating units (at least) to cool/heat those 3000 SF , hence double bill. That can make a dent on your monthly budget. You should have known that.
By the way, how do you manage to feed your family of four on $192 a month? That is less than $50 per nose per month. That is less than $12.50 per week per person - not humanely possible in the US. Even if you have your own cow, chickens, bake your own bread, grow your own vegetables, etc. What do you, guys, eat? Or I missed it? I am very interested.
Because I do cook.
???? We do just fine with one unit and I work from home and like my nest comfortable in summer and winter.
Yes, if necessary you can feed four people on that. It takes some planning, shopping and cooking. Been there, done that, moved to 1000 for two because I want to.
No alcohol, limited coffee, legumes, chicken, pork, vegetables and fruit in season.
Middle class American: Huge house, three gigantic cars, a household filled with useless plastic appliances they are too busy to use because they are working extra time to be able to afford all that, plus they have to worry about health insurance and not losing their jobs so that they do not lose their middle class status. Their isolated mcmansions are located in depressing suburbias lacking in character and where the only thing to do is drive to the shopping mall.
Working class Europeans: Live in a more modest way, but does not have to worry about health care, losing his/her job is not a worry either because they have a social safety net, they work less than the middle class Americans, and have paid vacations during summer and Christmas. They do not have five cars and a fully air conditioned wooden overpriced mansion but they live in a much more sustainable appartment in a vibrant city full of cultural offerings.
I rather be a working class European than a Middle class American.
You hit the nail right on the head . I grew up in that stereotypical middle class American lifestyle and always found something missing about it. Cities or coastal tourist towns would always excite me because of the energy in those places. But my American suburban neighborhood was actually a bit more engaging than other similar ones. All of the neighbors knew each other and we would have block parties all of the time. Grant it, this was during the 80s & 90s, so you have to take that into consideration. American suburbia is even more isolating and depressing today than it was then!
EU middle class have different preferences, there is far more mobility in Europe therefore people spend more on traveling and lifestyle than in goods (in the case of the US)
The travel is more linked to the pathetic amount of vacation time most employers allow their employees in the United States. You kind of have to narrow down what you mean by lifestyle. With lower taxes, the median person has a lot more discretionary spending. What's lifestyle? For most people, it's your discretionary spending.
I grew up in a 1,600 sq ft house and it is generally considered comfortable. Double of that would be considered a luxury in most cases unless you live in the deep countryside.
Which is my point. In the United States suburbia, 1,600 square feet is now considered a small house.
Which is my point. In the United States suburbia, 1,600 square feet is now considered a small house.
Yeah, because they can waste space ad infinitum. I mean my house was built in the mid-70s in what was considered pretty far suburbia at the time (15km away from the dowtown of a 1,3 million metro). When I was a teen in the 90s new housing projects were made where houses were generally smaller, usually around 1,000 or 1,200 sq ft, and houses similar to my parents' house were built further from the main city, like 25km away.
And this is France, which has a lot of space by european standards and a relatively low density, so suburban areas are pretty big. Here in Italy the space is much more limited so it is common for people to have 4 families living in the same large house in a suburban or exurban area, although the houses tend to be bigger down south. I've also seen 4 or 5 story buildings in smaller villages in the area, and not too many single houses (which tend to be big, isolated and far from public transportation, but that's a specificity of this area).
American suburban housing generally looks like this all over the place. Sometimes a little better, sometimes a lot worse. Larger than European detached housing perhaps but for Europeans nothing to get excited about.
American suburban housing generally looks like this all over the place. Sometimes a little better, sometimes a lot worse. Larger than European detached housing perhaps but for Europeans nothing to get excited about.
This doesn't seem particularly big. The place where I grew up had similar houses, although concrete is used instead of bricks. I'd say these houses are perfectly fine.
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. I grew up in that stereotypical middle class American lifestyle and always found something missing about it. Cities or coastal tourist towns would always excite me because of the energy in those places. But my American suburban neighborhood was actually a bit more engaging than other similar ones. All of the neighbors knew each other and we would have block parties all of the time. Grant it, this was during the 80s & 90s, so you have to take that into consideration. American suburbia is even more isolating and depressing today than it was then!
