How ordinary people live in America. How Americans Live

About how ordinary people live in America, there are two myths among Russians. It is interesting that they are directly opposite to each other. The first can be described as follows: "The United States is a country of great opportunities, where a shoemaker can become a millionaire." And the second myth looks like this: "America is a state of social contrasts. Only oligarchs who mercilessly exploit workers and peasants live well there. " It must be said that both myths are far from the truth. In this article, we will not go into the history of the States, to talk about slavery and racial discrimination that took place one hundred years ago. We will not admire the standard of living of the Soros family or focus on the homeless, sleeping at the ventilation gratings of the metro. We'll just see how ordinary people in America live now. Let's take an average family: two working parents, three children. The usual middle class. By the way, it is the lion's share of all US citizens.

Accomodation

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 full ownership. And even the city apartments Americans prefer to rent. But the family, which classifies themselves as middle class, settles necessarily away from dusty megacities. Before work, "white-collar workers" get on electric trains or cars, spending an hour and a half on the road. The house of an ordinary American family is a one-storey (for a high middle-class - two-level) cottage with a green lawn in front and an annex-garage, with a spacious backyard on which there is a playground for children or a swimming 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 this money in cash. But here's how ordinary people live in America : the standard of living in the US allows you to pay a mortgage. One-third of the amount must be paid in advance and a loan of thirty to five years at a rate of 5-10 percent per annum. But! The loss of work of one of the parents threatens the family with a catastrophe - after all, the house needs to pay the bank at least two and a half thousand "green" monthly.

Communal payments

Now let's look at how simple Americans live in America and what they pay for their mansions except for a loan. So-called townhouses (cottages) - it's very expensive. Although ... how to count. Ordinary Americans do not bother GEKS. In the basement of each house there is a mini-boiler room, responsible for heating and heating water. The average utility bill (electricity and gas) is about three hundred dollars. Since the water is cold, the fee for it is small - about $ 10. In addition to utility bills, you need to pay taxes for real estate: $ 500 - municipal and another $ 140 - the so-called community charges (for the removal of garbage and cleaning the territory adjacent to the house). Lawn in front of the house should be well-groomed - so here it is accepted. Do not get your hands cut? Hire a student and get ready to shell out $ 60. Mortgage loans require you to insure real estate. Usually this is $ 300 per year. Total monthly you need to pay for housing about three thousand dollars.

Expenditure on food

Here you need to make a reservation. In the United States there is a big difference between the so-called "healthy" products, marked "bio", and conventional. Since ordinary people live in America, they tend to save on food. Yes, everyone knows about the dangers of growth-laden chicken meat, as well as about unhealthy fast food. But a typical middle-class American couple usually gets a deal at a wholesale store, buying products with a red "Discount" mark and eating a lunch at Starbucks Coffee, McDonald's, or a similar fast food establishment. By the way, prices for some products in America are lower than in Russia (especially in Moscow). But eating in restaurants or self-respecting cafes is very expensive. The average family from the middle class allows themselves this pleasure twice a month. Usually it takes about four hundred dollars for foodstuffs-if you do not deny yourself anything, and two hundred, if you establish austerity.

Car and spending on other devices

How do ordinary people live in America in the country? They begin their day with a morning run, and then sit behind the wheel of the car. Live without a car in the American outback is just suspicious. Every adult must have a car - at least second-hand. Leasing helps. Moreover, in the event of a breakdown in the costs of repair, the company takes over. Thus, monthly payments to a leasing company for two cars - from 300 to 600 dollars, and gasoline - 150. Cars must necessarily be insured. Usually it's two hundred dollars a month for each car. But you can reduce the cost of insurance, taking advantage of a package with greater civil liability. For the Internet and cable television, you need to lay out about eighty-five "green" a month. No one will tell you how ordinary people who do not have a mobile phone live in America, since there are practically none. Even a child attending kindergarten has such a device (with a beacon, just in case). A package with unlimited conversations will cost about sixty-five dollars a month.

Insurance

Foreigners who observe how ordinary people live in America, for sure, notice that they have a lot of income going to various funds. They are insured from everything: from disability, from loss of the bread-winner, from easing of visual acuity, in case of problems with teeth and even to that unforeseen situation, if the dog inflicts damage on neighbor's property. 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 spread about five hundred dollars, enriching various insurance companies. But in the US there is a practice ... transfer of the pension by inheritance. Every working person pays deductions that accumulate on his individual card. These accumulated funds the Americans can dispose of as they please. After the death of a person, money is not burned, but, as with a regular deposit, are inherited.

Spending on clothes

Another discovery that foreigners can make, watching how ordinary people live in America, is that they do not wear expensive things. Usually they dress simply and practical. On the street, rarely when you meet a woman with high heels. In winter, a typical American wears jeans and a jacket, and in the summer - a T-shirt and shorts. But this does not mean that all US citizens do not know how to dress. It's just not decided to stick out your income. Here the style of kizhual reigns. Brand clothes are worn on occasion. And they easily buy it. The fact is that in America sales never stop. They are timed to any holidays, but after them the prices fall even more: for a song they sell the collection, which did not go away during the sales. A special excitement reigns during the so-called Black Friday (after Thanksgiving). Then you can buy branded clothes for a price, ten times lower than its usual cost. Thus, an ordinary US citizen does not spend too much on clothing: up to one hundred dollars a month.

Education

Education in the US High School is free. And this debunks the myth that in America everything is necessary to spread money, and considerable. By the way, medicine for the poor is also free. But how does America live? For kindergarten you need to pay about eight hundred dollars for a child. Or a baby sitter - $ 10 per hour. The income of an American directly depends on his education. Therefore, parents at any cost try to invest "investment in the future of the child." To study at a college or institute take loans. Highly paid professions in America are lawyers, managerial managers, and doctors. Having graduated from the university on this profile, a young man can count on twenty thousand dollars a month. A little less earns workers of banks, civil servants, junior medical staff and teachers. But training in an American university is expensive: from three to ten thousand dollars a year. Although there is also a flexible system of discounts and scholarships.

Income

That's how ordinary people live abroad. Huge spending every month. Where do they get such money? The answer is trivial: they do not drink and work a lot. They do not go out for a smoke every hour. They are paid not for a sit-in at the workplace, but for a specific result. And the better it will be, the higher will be the pay. This motivation forces Americans to work on conscience. At the same time, the minimum wage is seven and a half dollars per hour. Such money is paid to teenagers or students on vacation just for walking your dog when you are at work. Cleaning the incoming housekeeper will cost you a hundred dollars a day. But for such money you do not just need to vacuum the carpet: wash, pat, and gloss.

How do Americans who are engaged in private business

Private activities in the US can provide a good income. The consumer market of the country is so large that if you want, you can find a niche in any field. The government encourages the opening of its own business and supports it in every possible way, especially if you create new jobs. There should not be any bureaucratic delays in registering one's case. To conduct business in America is easy, the main thing is that it should be honest.