There are two myths among Russians about how ordinary people live in America. Interestingly, they are directly opposite to each other. The first can be described as follows: "The USA is a country of great opportunities, where the shoemaker can become a millionaire." And the second myth looks like this: “America is a state of social contrasts. Only oligarchs live well there, mercilessly exploiting workers and peasants. ” It must be said that both myths are far from the truth. In this article, we will not delve into the history of the United States, discuss the slavery and racial discrimination that took place a hundred years ago. We will not admire the standard of living of the Soros family or focus on the homeless who spend the night at the ventilation grilles of the metro. We just follow how ordinary people live in America now. Let's take an average family: two working parents, three kids. The usual middle class. Incidentally, he makes up the lion's share of all US citizens.
Housing
The USA among all countries of the world can boast one of the highest living standards of the population. But at the same time quite a few citizens have a house in their full ownership. And even Americans prefer to rent city apartments. But a family that classifies itself as a middle class necessarily settles away from dusty megacities. White-collar workers get to work by train or car, spending an hour and a half on the road. The house of an ordinary American family is a one-story (for high middle-class - two-level) cottage with a green lawn in front and an extension-garage, with a spacious back yard, which houses a playground for children or a pool. The area of the house ranges from 150 to 250 square meters, and its cost is from 500 to 650 thousand dollars. Not everyone can just take and lay out such money in cash. But here's how ordinary people live in America: the standard of living in the United States makes it possible to pay a mortgage. A third of the amount must be paid in advance and take a loan for thirty years at 5-10 percent per annum. But! Losing one of the parents' jobs threatens the family with disaster - after all, you need to pay the bank at least two and a half thousand "green" per month for the house.
Communal payments
Now let's look at how ordinary Americans live in America and what they pay for their mansions in addition to credit. The so-called townhouses (cottages) are very expensive. Although … how to count. Ordinary Americans do not bother with ZhEKami. In the basement of each house has its own mini-boiler, responsible for heating and water heating. The average utility bill (electricity and gas) is about three hundred dollars. Since the water is supplied cold, the fee for it is small - about $ 10. In addition to utility bills, you need to pay property taxes: $ 500 - municipal and another $ 140 - the so-called community charges (for garbage collection and cleaning of the territory adjacent to the house). The lawn in front of the house should be well-groomed - as is customary here. Do not get your hands to cut it yourself? Hire a student and get ready to fork out for $ 60. Mortgages oblige to insure real estate. Usually this is $ 300 per year. Total monthly need to lay out for housing about three thousand dollars.
Food expenses
Here you need to make a reservation. In the United States, there is a big difference between the so-called “healthy” foods, labeled “bio, ” and conventional ones. Since ordinary people live in America, they tend to save on food. Yes, everyone knows about the dangers of chicken stuffed with growth hormones, as well as unhealthy fast food. But an ordinary couple of middle-class Americans usually shop at a wholesale store, buying groceries with a red “Discount” mark and eat lunch at Starbucks Coffee, McDonalds, or a similar fast food establishment. By the way, the prices of some products in America are lower than in Russia (especially in Moscow). But eating in restaurants or self-respecting cafes is very expensive. An average family from the middle class allows themselves this pleasure twice a month. Typically, food costs about four hundred dollars - if you do not deny yourself anything, and two hundred if you establish austerity regime.
Car and spending on other devices
How do ordinary people live in America in the country? They start their day with a morning run, and then get behind the wheel of a car. Living without a car in the American outback is simply suspicious. Every adult must have a car - at least a used one. Leasing helps out. Moreover, in the event of a breakdown in repair expenses, the company takes over. Thus, monthly payments to a leasing company for two cars - from 300 to 600 dollars, and gasoline - 150. Cars must be insured. Usually this is two hundred dollars per month for each car. But you can reduce the cost of insurance by using a package with greater civil liability. For the Internet and cable television you need to pay about eighty-five "green" per month. No one will tell you how ordinary people live in America who do not have a mobile phone, because there are practically none. Even a child attending kindergarten has such a device (with a beacon, just in case). A package with unlimited calls will cost about sixty-five dollars a month.
Insurance
Foreigners who watch how ordinary people live in America, probably notice that they have a lot of income spent on various funds. They are insured against everything: from incapacity for work, from loss of the bread-winner, from weakening of visual acuity, in case of problems with teeth and even in that unforeseen situation, if the dog damages the property of the neighbor. Sometimes the policy is paid by the employer. But after the dismissal, he ceases to act. Total for the family every month you need to spend about five hundred dollars, enriching various insurance companies. But in the USA there is a practice … transferring a pension by inheritance. Each working person pays deductions that accumulate on his individual card. Americans can dispose of these accumulated funds as they please. After the death of a person, the money does not burn out, but, as in a conventional deposit, is inherited.
Spending on clothes
Another discovery that foreigners can make by observing how ordinary people live in America is that they don’t wear expensive things. Usually they dress simply and practical. On the street, rarely when you meet a woman in high heels. In winter, a typical American wears jeans and a jacket, and in summer a T-shirt and shorts. But this does not mean that all US citizens do not know how to dress. It's just that it’s not customary to stick out your income here. Casual style reigns here. Brand clothes are worn for the occasion. And easily buy it. The fact is that in America, sales never stop. They are timed to coincide with any holidays, but after them the prices fall even more: for a song they sell a collection that did not go away during the sales. Particular excitement reigns during the so-called Black Friday (after Thanksgiving). Then you can buy branded clothing for a price ten times lower than its usual cost. Thus, an ordinary US citizen does not spend too much on clothes: up to a hundred dollars a month.
Education
U.S. high school is free. And this debunkes the myth that in America you need to lay out money for everything, and considerable. By the way, medicine for unsecured segments of the population here is also free. But how does ordinary America live? For kindergarten you need to pay about eight hundred dollars per child. Or baby sitter - $ 10 per hour. The income of an American is directly dependent on his education. Therefore, parents are trying at all costs to make "investments in the future of the child." To study at a college or institute take loans. Particularly highly paid professions in America are lawyers, managerial managers, and doctors. After graduating from a university in this profile, a young man can count on twenty thousand dollars a month. Employees of banks, civil servants, nurses and teachers earn a little less. But studying at an American university is expensive: from three to ten thousand dollars a year. Although there is a flexible system of discounts and scholarships.
Income
This is how ordinary people abroad actually live. Huge spending every month. Where do they get such money from? The answer is trivial: they do not drink and work hard. They do not go out to smoke every hour. They are paid not for a delay in the workplace, but for a specific result. And the better it will be, the higher the salary will be. This motivation makes Americans work hard. At the same time, the minimum wage is seven and a half dollars per hour. That kind of money is paid to teens or students on vacation just to walk your dog when you are at work. Cleaning a housekeeper will cost a hundred dollars a day. But for that kind of money you need to not just vacuum the carpet: wash, iron, polish.
