How can you tell if Americans are "poor"?

No health insurance.

Some Americans will literally back away from anyone who says they got here by bus. (Not applicable in New York).

I went to Atlanta with work and got public transport from the airport to my hotel. My colleagues were so aghast they were literally calling others over to tell them about this crazy thing that happened, that someone who worked with them (ie an economic and social peer) had got the train from the airport.

I think "TV poor" in the US is often kind of like "TV ugly" (i.e. actually quite attractive by real-world standards). Viewers with any brains sort of mentally adjust for it.

Indicators of poverty in the real-world US: not having a car. That really puts you at the bottom of the heap in America. Not being able to get your 16yo a car as soon as they pass the test. Some Americans will literally back away from anyone who says they got here by bus. (Not applicable in New York).

Bad teeth / untreated medical issues, because they can't afford the doctor / dentist.

Living in very cramped / overcrowded conditions (whilst not in an expensive city).

Homes that clearly haven't been decorated / renovated in a long time and look very dated.

Living in one of the hotter areas and not having air-conditioning. This has killed some Americans recently.

Not having laundry facilities at home and using laundromats. (Not necessarily applicable in cities with tiny apartments).

Obesity (especially if female). Smoking.

I loved Raising Hope, was sad when it ended.

Yeah there are fequent amusing threads on X(Twitter) by Americans who think all Europeans are poor because we dry our washing outside.

I do because line dried washing smells nicer and why pay for something that nature will give you for free.

House example related to PP here 😊

Since tumble driers became near-universal in the US. It's seen as very low-class. Some HOAs forbid it.

Going to go slightly off topic so apologies. But to answer your question, I think Americans would think a normal European house would be a signifier of poverty judging from what they'd see on screen. That's probably why for films and series with more international audiences, very grand, historic houses are often used to signify wealth.

You have to take into account that American shows are much more a sales pitch than European ones.

There's a lot more cuture around promoting consumer capitalism and what's aspirational, placement for products, agendas, trends etc. SATC being a classic example. There's a tendency to show the best of the best, not 'somewhat shit places' like in some British shows - which I love and prefer.

American tv/film culture is highly aspirational and 'Disney'. There's much less criticism of shows along the lines of 'that did not seem very realistic'. For example, note how the US is a majority overweight/obese country, whereas from their art you really couldn't tell as cast and extras tend to look conventionally attractive and thin.

If you've ever been to NY, Chicago, LA, Vegas etc, they are often shown as beautiful, safe, tidy, aspirational environments, whereas real life can be shocking and really differ.

If you want to see what poverty in the US looks like, watch Shameless US version, it's quite good. Poverty in the States can be quite shocking.

As PPs have said though, land is cheaper and building houses as well, so space-wise expectations are bigger than in Britain. Think of Mitch & Cam's house in Modern Family, which is supposed to be a bit of a 'poor house' in an affluent part of LA - in Britain this would be an amazing house.

Remember though that they have a precariousness that comes with any serious illness not being fully covered by their health insurance, and loss of a job meaning they also have to worry about health care etc.

I have a medical condition that requires costly long term medication and in the US even well paid professionals end up very stressed about the costs (insurance often still requires meaty contributions). And if they end up too ill to work and lose their jobs their situation becomes dire very fast.

Being in a chat group with people from the USA has really made me appreciate the NHS and also out employment rights

A big key for me is whether they are worrying about simple medical bills.

Even quite affluent Americans I know have worry or stress about money if they have a serious illness requiring lengthy treatment, but people who aren't wealthy worry about more straightforward illnesses too

And holidays are another marker, people don't get much paid leave so those without healthy finances can't really take holidays

This is an interesting thread. I'd imagine
cars are signifiers (brand, size, age) too?

The easiest way to tell if an American is likely to be poor in real life is by grammar. You really can't tell by clothes.Teeth can be a giveaway but not always. If you see their living situation that can be a tell. Accent doesn't help. I've lived in Appalachia and many other places, and really unless they tell you it is often not apparent.

I’m from a generation where hanging clothes out to dry was very much a poverty indicator unless you were older like my granny and that’s just how it was then. I can see it gaining popularity again for environmental reasons.

Many housing areas don't allow people to hang washing out. It is seen as a sign of poverty and a bit like having a broken down car on the drive. A few more people/places do it now but a lot of homes don't have a laundry room that's easy to get outside from, and washing lines didn't really exist. Line dried laundry is seen as not as good because it can be stiff and have more creases. And large areas of the US are to could in winter anyway.

People would have had a blue fit if I'd hung laundry where it could be seen at my last house. Where I am now is more relaxed but I don't have a space for it.

I wouldn't say so. Hanging clothes out is quite popular, especially among environmentally conscious Americans. Though it is true that nearly all Americans have a tumble dryer at home, even people who have a very low income.

Errr...really? Since when has this been a thing?!

Reading with interest. I’ve been listening to the I will teach you to be rich podcasts / YouTube with Ramit Sehti. I’m amazed at the high salaries and massive houses. Even the people who have what I would think average type jobs seem to earn truck loads. It’s made me think how hard it is to understand cultural differences as I’m looking through UK glasses.

Accent is not a predictor of class in the US as it is in the UK, though there are some distinctions that an American might notice (but probably wouldn't be apparent to anyone else). Although class distinctions absolutely exist in the US, they are less prominent than in the UK. Almost everyone in the US identifies as "middle class," which doesn't mean what it does in the UK. The self-identified middle class in the US includes people barely making ends meet as well as professionals living an extremely comfortable lifestyle.

Everyone on TV and in films has a much nicer house/apartment than an equivalent person IRL would likely have. It does sometimes seem as though many MNers have drawn very odd conclusions about life in the US based on the TV/movies they watch! But even when US producers are making a TV program for a US audience, they do odd things in order to signify social class. For instance, working class characters used to invariably wear plaid flannel shirts. I haven't noticed this as much lately, but in the past it was always intended (bizarrely) as a class signifier.

Washing hanging outside is code for poor.

Mare Of Easttown portrayed a very different way of life to many US shows - gritty, small homes with various generations living together and some real financial difficulties

Bad teeth is a big indicator of poverty in the USA as they don't have subsidised dentistry like we do in the U.K. Unfortunately we are going the same way with limited access to NHS dentists.

Breaking Bad has characters from all social classes. So does Better Call Saul.

Loved that show! The one where Burt scares Jimmy so he can get a decent hug has me in stitches every time.

The writers/producers of My Name is Earl also had another comedy show called Raising Hope where all the main characters were poor.

Multi Generational living, teen parenthood, insecure part time employment.

The main character, Jimmy, who's parents had him when they were very young had a fling with a woman who turned out to be a serial killer.

He raised their child who was born in prison while living with his parents and great grandmother who they all cared for. It's a great show and is probably still around on one of the streaming platforms.

You can't tell much from TV dramas from anywhere, they are all sanitised.