How can you tell if Americans are "poor"?

a friend lives in Greenwich in the states... - the cheapest house on her road is 20 million dollars - safe today - i think she lives among people who are rich 😂

😆 Had similar in LA. Stayed with a friend and decided to wander up to some shops in Venice Beach one day when she was at work - was about a mile away, pleasant sunny day. The concierge in her apartment block was astonished that I’d walked there. “Tell me next time and I’ll call you a cab, you don’t have to walk there!” A couple of days later I caught the bus down to Santa Monica… apparently he spoke about that to my friend (and everyone else) for weeks!

If you did that you’d break your contract and would have to move. In some places you are not allowed for the bins to be seen, grass can’t be longer than a certain height, can’t park any dirty old car in front of your house etc etc

It's such a stupid generalisation to say "we are cramped up together on estates". Yes, except for the millions and millions of us who aren't.

I watched a documentary about how heavily linked poverty is with obesity in the states, due to corn syrup (?) in absolutely everything pre-prepared and fresh fruit and veg being astronomical.

They live in so called “projects and they rely on welfare food stamps.

You wouldn’t see washing hanging out in Celebration!

Yes, absolutely! I’ve certainly had to use the nhs more than I’ve input via taxes and I dread to think what the bill would be like for my medication, consultant visits in the USA. Not to mention having a child. It is eye watering.

They never have any curtains just Venetian blinds

Very interesting to read, thank you!

@Bjorkdidit

It's becoming a thing in the UK too . My neighbour tumble drys all the time even in hot days ! Their choice , their electric bill. I've rarely seen washing out on lines on the street where I live and my house backs onto their gardens . I think it's just laziness.

Like in The Middle. Such a great show.

I remember being confused by Roseanne as she lived in such a massive home but was supposed to be poor. And thought Starsky and Hutch were rich and successful because their car was so huge when it was supposed to imply they were scraping by with an old banger.

He didn’t live in a covenant controlled community then.

Weird. My ex was American - lived in a very nice part of Kentucky. Not unusual to see washing outside at all during the summer months. And that was only 5-6 years ago.

You get told to take it down, then you get fined. If you don’t want to adhere to the rules, you don’t buy a home in a covenant controlled neighbourhood. It’s not for everyone, but it is seen as a befit to many, because they can be assured that the neighbourhood will always meet certain standards.

It was 20 years ago when I stayed with a friend after camp. I went to hang my towel over the balcony and was very quickly shut down! I made the point about the environment but that counted for nothing.

Most Americans have health insurance through their jobs. Fear of being bankrupted by medical bills isn't something I have ever encountered among employed Americans, although sometimes people will stay in a job they dislike precisely because it has a good benefits package. A few years ago I was hospitalized and though I did have to pay something (I think it was about $200), my insurance covered the rest of the ridiculous amount that was showed on the final bill ($12,000). And I don't even have particularly good insurance. Obamacare has really helped the dreadful health insurance situation in the US, though of course it doesn't go far enough. Although I would very much like to have socialized medicine in the US, I would want it to be funded better than the NHS.

A very roundabout way of saying that if you rely on Medicaid, that can be an indicator of poverty.

In some areas you would have to be very poor indeed not to have a car. Even people living in dire poverty tend to have cars, because they are so essential in many places. However, choosing not to buy a car for your 16-year-old is absolutely not a signifier of poverty.

It always amazes me the space Americans have . Big lawns and drives , space between houses . Boot rooms and laundry rooms . We are cramped up together on estates in the UK

Surely people don't adhere to that anymore?

I'd expect people to be more judged and looked down on for using a dryer in good weather than hanging washing out.

I would hang my washing out with pride and take it to the highest court in the land for my right to do so.

Tumble dryers ruin clothes and waste electricity, there's just no need if you have outside space and dry weather.

In the sixties and seventies all Americans on tv shows and films were living in big detached houses with every mod con and with two flashy cars on the drive . Every one was glossy and groomed.

This was how America was presented to us, so we all thought Americans were wealthy compared to most Brits .

Since always. My parents live in a neighbourhood where washing lines outside are against the covenant. The Home Owners Association cracks down on / fines those who do not obey the covenant.

It's the same as here, TV isn't real. For example home makeover shows have a minimum house size, it's not genuinely representative. They deliberately require people with a certain minimum house size.

Part of that is escapism, because people don't want to watch people exactly like them. In some cases it's connections, people working in TV also have rich contacts to appear on shows.

You can find tons of threads on the internet from Americans asking why it's only the big houses shown on TV and it's not representative of how they live.

The closest you get to reality is for things like Catfish, there you see a real mix of homes in the background to things.

The guy who made Raising Hope and My Name is Earl has another newish show free on Amazon Prime, its called Sprung. Highly recommended, it is has Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt the parents from Raising Hope in it. Set during the early covid lock downs. As bonkers as his other shows and very funny.

• Teeth: are they perfectly straight and white?
• Grammar. Use of words like “ain’t”.
• Do they smoke?
• What school district do they live in?
• Do they have a chain link fence?
• Do they have a passport?