Is making $36.000-$37,000 a year a middle class earning or is it poor? (credit, unemployed)
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On what planet does it depend on your lifestyle? Your ability to afford a set amount of things, has nothing to do with what you actually purchase.
Sure it does, many do not need big expensive cars, house full of toys they rarely or never use, big houses to impress who knows who, take expensive vacations to show off, the list goes on ...
In most of the country, $36,000 is an okay living for a single person, not extravagant but no where near poor.
$1,000 for a single apartment?? Wow, I can BUY a big house for that here.
Sure it does, many do not need big expensive cars, house full of toys they rarely or never use, big houses to impress who knows who, take expensive vacations to show off, the list goes on ...
Ugh, big houses and boats do not determine the standard of living you can afford, nor are classes or standard of livings determined on an individual level.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trackwatch
In most of the country, $36,000 is an okay living for a single person, not extravagant but no where near poor.
$1,000 for a single apartment?? Wow, I can BUY a big house for that here.
Only apartments you can get for under $1000 in Hampton Roads, VA, are dump heaps built before 1970 with few or no communal amenities, senior living, or places that a bullet proof vest should be standard issue. Even those are pretty few and far between.
The median income for the most wealthy city in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, is around 30k.
Americans are going to have a rude awakening if they think $37,000 a year for a single man in his 20s with practically zero working experience is poor. That's enough to own a used car and maintain it, it's enough to comfortably live in a 1 bedroom apartment with full appliances (and central air in warm climates) in most metro areas and have enough left over to save. Don't blow your money on booze, designer clothes, Comcast cable and a pimpmobile.
Most Chinese university grads make $4000 a year and rent is at least $250 a month for sharing a 100 sq ft bedroom. Try to start a family with that kind of budget. Even a Chinese grad from the number one university in the country (Tsinghua, the equivalent of Harvard) will make something like $12,000 max as an entry-level worker. A 1000 sq ft condo in Shanghai costs $300,000; the Chinese don't even have 30 year mortgages and the standard down payment is 50%. All able-bodied Americans who earn above minimum wage are rich beyond imagination compared to a college-educated Chinese, yet most Americans who can barely add two fractions together and tell you what velocity over time is still feel entitled. Based on what?
Yeah.Because Americans should have the same lifestyle as people who live in Communist police states and third world slave labor colonies.
You can't afford a car and an apartment with that salary in Philadelphia
36,000 to 37,000/mid 30's/ 35,000 and up is the bare minimum needed to afford to live self sufficiently in the Philly area. On 36-37K you would have enough to get a decent apartment in a decent area, a cheap car and pay minimum bills. You could squeak by. Saving would be tough but you could save a little, maybe. Forget about vacations, renting a shore house, marriage, a house etc... But a person could survive on that.
I'd say it's the minimum to be self sufficient without help from family, friends, roomates, government etc...
Beater used car: $4,000 Payment $75, Insurance $125
I Bedroom Apartment: $1,000 if you can find one that cheap here
Income Tax, SocSec: $800 (Plus state in many areas)
A single person with no mortgage interest to deduct would have about a thousand left for everything else like utilities, food, clothes, gas, entertainment, insurance, medical plan contribution, repairs on the old car. Certainly possible, but really hard in the Seattle area or California.
Thank you! I didn't read your post yet when I wrote my reply but you get it. People like that person, with their attitude, are part of the reason this country is going down the sh***er.
It's like A bla, a bla, heeeyy George a bla, abla, ummm like those peolpe live under ummm oppresive communist police states and third world slave labor colonies soooo ahhhh abla, we uh ALL SHOULD a umm a bla. abla, you seeee wha I mean a George, ya seeee!!!!!
Ugh, big houses and boats do not determine the standard of living you can afford, nor are classes or standard of livings determined on an individual level.
Sure they are, one person can have a real nice life with a small car like a Kia or something, a small house, eat at home, they don't need all the "stuff" to show off.
Only apartments you can get for under $1000 in Hampton Roads, VA, are dump heaps built before 1970 with few or no communal amenities, senior living, or places that a bullet proof vest should be standard issue. Even those are pretty few and far between.
The median income for the most wealthy city in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, is around 30k.
If it is that expensive in that area you move to one that isn't so crazy expensive.
Around here, you can get a really great apartment for a lot less than $1,000 in a good neighborhood with all kinds of "Communal amenities".
Okay, what DOES determine a person's standard of living?
If it is that expensive in that area you move to one that isn't so crazy expensive.
Around here, you can get a really great apartment for a lot less than $1,000 in a good neighborhood with all kinds of "Communal amenities".
Okay, what DOES determine a person's standard of living?
Standard of living and classes are based on a standard basket of goods for everyone, and it doesnt deviate from that. That is how things like poverty rate and living wage are calculated as well.
It is determined that a person needs X to qualify as this, and everyone is held to the same standard.
Its very true that some people can be happy in a Kia and a one bedroom apt., while others cant even in a mansion with a Ferrari. However, that really doesnt have any bearing on whether or not they can obtain a minimal standardized lifestyle on X income. Individual happiness and level of contentment really doesnt matter at all.
The thing about the "just move somewhere cheaper" argument is that in a lot of areas, the good job markets are in the locations with high cost of living. There are areas in California, for example, with lower cost of living, but they're all places that have 15%-20% unemployment and are always on all those worst job market lists.
Everyone wants to move where the jobs are, and the cost of living reflects that. The people who come out ahead are those few who manage to find good paying jobs in those low cost of living areas--and with very few exceptions, they usually are the people who end up working for the government.
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