How can you tell if Americans are "poor"?

It’s not the $30 for the card so much as knowing they will never afford to go even to Canada, Mexico or on a Caribbean/Bermuda cruise ever in their life….holidays that are cheaper than it costs for a U.K. family to go to Benidorm.
So they don’t bother paying for one.

The US doesn’t use passports as a common form of ID like we do here. It’s usually drivers licence.

Yeah, the poor ones don’t go far. They might take a road trip. They won’t be able to afford to fly to any tropical islands.

A football coach is a secondary school teacher surely so middle class even if not so much money. The mother was a housewife and then church secretary.

The two Fraisier sons definitely considered themselves a different class to their father even if all three would be within the middle class. Would they not be lower and upper middle class? I mentioned before the argument over the chair, that was obviously about class.

My American grandparents were poor. Neither of them finished high school. My grandmother was 16 when she got married. They were the finest people you could imagine. Despite his lack of formal education, my grandfather read widely and was always writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper about issues he was passionate about. My grandmother was one of the most intelligent people you could imagine. She was a brilliant photographer and gardener. They were not religious or politically conservative. Their appearance wasn't unusual in any way. They certainly didn't wear the clothing described in some posts, they just wore ordinary clothes. I could go on. But the point is that I simply do not recognize either of them in many of the posts on this thread.

Washing hanging outside is code for poor.

Like most of us I watch quite a bit of US drama and box sets but remain baffled about the characters based on things like the house they live in etc...

Can American audiences tell that someone is poor or rich (or in between) based on things such as house size, style of house and other things that are part of TV series?

I know (well think I do so not assuming - please correct if wrong!) that middle and working class may mean different things to UK - but can US viewers pick up more based on cultural norms and things that may need explaining to non-American audiences?

An example is I watched some episodes of True Detective and thought the house was lovely and spacious but everything else in the plot pointed to the fact that this was a "poor rundown neighbourhood with substance issues etc..."

Are there any rules of thumb? Do American audiences get confused my things like this when watching UK or European dramas?

A lot of them also have second jobs as well (usually security related). Same with Firerfighters, but I guess more firefighters own a side business. It depends on the shift they run, but it’s very common.

Indeed! The good hair is more likely down to things like:

• regular salon visits for professional cut and color (vs botched box dye and an annual haircut at a beauty school)
• better diet which means hair looks healthier, shinier, etc
• better quality washing and styling products at home to keep hair looking its best
• more free time to spend on grooming
• lower average life stress levels, so less likely to experience stress-related hair loss

Interesting. Is that a city thing maybe as they take up more land? I suppose some of the old people's bungalows I'm thinking of are/were council houses.

It's not allowed in some gated communities.

Teeth, I get. Anyone can pay gazillions (provided they have it) and get amazing teeth.

But what do wealthier/ middle class American ladies do if they've got thinning, rubbish hair?

Every wealthy looking person seems to have thick, glossy rich-person hair. HOW?

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.

Interesting. Is that a city thing maybe as they take up more land? I suppose some of the old people's bungalows I'm thinking of are/were council houses.

The median salary of a police detective or policeman in the US is $74,910/yr.
The pension they get is top-notch, and they only need 20 years (usually) to retire. If the detective in that series is living in a run-down area, then she is spending money other places because she would be well over the average.

I have never met a policeman or detective who was living in a run-down area or close to a bread-line existence, unless it was by choice or city charter (where city employees have to live in the city/town they serve). Even then, they live in the better areas.

House prices can be cheaper in certain states because land is so much cheaper. Eg, I watched a YouTuber house hunting and she said she was going to look at a ‘small house’ (in Texas) It was about 2500 square foot, detached, double garage with several acres of land! All for around $300k. My jaw was on the floor.

They are often more expensive as they have a bigger footprint and also go for a premium with more affluent retirees. There are some 2 bed ones being built near me - £500k when you can get a 4 bed detached for less.

If anyone is looking for a fictional depiction of rural poverty in the US, I would recommend Winter's Bone. The details are quite accurate. It's based on an excellent novel too.

" (a bungalow is a sign of affluence in these parts!)"

Where do you live? Bungalows are for old people where I come from. Not posh at all.

You have to much time on your hands.

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.

This is a very accurate statement. I think one of the main misunderstandings by British people about the class structure in the US is that working class and middle class in the US are not mutually exclusive. I remember a thread on MN where a poster was talking about the sitcom Frasier and saying that Frasier and Niles were middle class because they were doctors and that their father Martin was working class because he was a policeman. Wrong. All three men were middle class.

However, discussions of middle class in the US do often separate groups into lower middle class, middle middle class, and upper middle class. Income is a major determinant of which group a person falls into.

The Channel 4 programme "Around the world in 80 weighs" went to America, not sure which state. There was a lovely mum and daughter who were overweight but lived in a good desert so there was literally nowhere to get fresh food and very limited options for home cooking. All the food providers were takeaways so it was a choice of driving and hour to a supermarket or getting McDonald's for everyone for $10 or similar. It was really sad.
At least in this country most people can generally access a decent supermarket.