The topic I was referencing earlier that we were discussing last night before going to bed was this:
The average American's cost of living is 2k USD a month. If they live in a place like Manhattan or San Fransisco, you can double that. That is the average, meaning that some people live for less, while others live for more. The point is...the average is 2k USD a month.
In this part of the world, specifically Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin regions, the cost of living is dramatically lower. Try less than half. There are a multitude of reasons for this, but the primary ones are:
- People in this region live on land or in houses/apartments that have been in the family for years and are 100% paid for. They don't have mortgages like most Americans.
- Public transportation is huge in Europe. In the aforementioned regions people drive scooters more often than cars, and public transportation or walking is most people's ticket. This means they don't have ridiculously high car payments, maintenance fees, gas, insurance, and other sundries.
- Europeans aren't addicted to consumption like Americans.
- Europeans aren't addicted to non-necessities, like a TV in every room of the house, an X-Box 360 + a Wii + a PS3 + a gaming computer for every member of the household. They also don't feel the need for iPhones or random thousand-dollar gadgets.
Americans usually call Europeans lazy. I call them relaxed. People here understand there are far more important things in life than accumulating tons of useless shit that gets stored in an attic or thrown out in two years when you are ready to upgrade to the next. Europeans enjoy naps in the afternoon, 4-5 hour work days, rich cultural history, longer lives because they have less stress and healthier diets, and at the end of the day they still make the same amount of money.
Sure, Americans might have tons of gadgets and toys, but at what cost? Frankly, I much prefer the more relaxed lifestyle that you can have in Europe.
That's the short version :)
3 comments:
Ah ha, but I shall disagree! Well, with a few points, anyways...
# Europeans aren't addicted to consumption like Americans.
Different things are being focused on - I believe you're correct when viewing a typical North Americans consumption chart - technological adoption and usage would most likely be a lot higher, especially when it comes to game consoles and/or gadgets. I would guess that European consumption would rank higher for the so-called 'sin' comforts. :) Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, as you also allude to the lifestyle difference. Take away wine from the French, wooden shoes from the Dutch (hey, I can poke fun, my parents are dutch..), or the hordes of blonde twins existing in Sweden, and you'll see some withdrawal too... /grin
# Europeans aren't addicted to non-necessities, like a TV in every room of the house, an X-Box 360 + a Wii + a PS3 + a gaming computer for every member of the household. They also don't feel the need for iPhones or random thousand-dollar gadgets.
I agree with reservations - but again, there's a 'need' vs 'want' issue here. I have a 360, Wii, PS3, and multiple computers scattered around my house. The Wii is for my kids (primarily), the 360 for me, and the PS3 for Bluray movies (I have only one game on it that's actually played - Rockband). Did I really 'need' it? Not really. Did I want it? Sure. I guess the call on whether its a neccesity or not depends on whether or not you have the disposable income for it without impacting anything else.
# Europeans ... still make the same amount of money.
You can thank the high tax rate for that. /wink I'd rather have a lower tax rate, if you please.
A lot of that is needs vs. wants, though, which is kind of the point. Addiction to consumption and non-necessities = wants, not needs.
We have two gaming rigs less than a year old, and plenty of gadgets. Do we technically need them? No :) But I'm American, so my excuse is that it's in my blood!
And yes...people do spend things in different ways. For example, here in Bulgaria, studies show that they spend over 60% of their disposable income on "hanging out" in restaurants, cafes, clubs, and taverns. (This comes from Evy's business classes last year). So rather than spending it on gadgets, they spend it on food, drink, cigarettes, etc.
However, the cost of living still differs. I know, for example, that our cost of living in Colorado was 4500 for two people. That included her school bills. We had two gaming rigs, X-Box 360, big flat screen TV, surround sound, every channel available from the cable company, and all the sundries. While I don't have a 360 atm, I do plan on buying another one this fall (they've still got another 2-3 years before the next console comes out, so it's still worth purchasing), but we'll see.
People do spend money on different things, but the one thing I have noticed, which was the point of the essay, is that most people in Europe tend to work only half the hours that Americans work, for the same "rewards". I think most of that has to do with using public transport vs. having a vehicle (which, let's face it...if you have a family you do NEED a mini-van/SUV, and if you don't live in a congested area you NEED a car), but the other large factor is that in America almost everyone either rents or has a mortage. Almost no one has a home that was handed down to them from a previous generation. Here, it's completely the opposite. Most people have homes or apartments that were handed down to them from a previous generation, which releases them from the need to pay for rent or a mortgage.
Another example is that for my job in Colorado I had to have a full-sized pickup truck. The payments were 300 a month, insurance was 90, but the killer was gas. In 2007 I was filling up an average of 3-4 times a week, at 70 dollars a tank. Let's call it 250 a week for gas. If would have remained in the business, that bill would have doubled in 2008 to around 500 a WEEK per gas.
I'm sorry, but 2k a month just for gas for your vehicle is ridiculous. Even in 2007 I was still paying 1k a month in gas bills alone, and that was on top of the 500 a month for maintenance, payments, and insurance. Now that we don't have a vehicle we literally have cut 1500 a month out of our "needed" budget because we don't need a car anymore. I literally walk 90% of the time, and take a cab if it's shitty weather. Otherwise I'll ride the tram or take the subway.
I think the big thing is that it's such a difference lifestyle between the US and Europe. In Europe people don't have to worry about mortgages and vehicles as much as people in the US do, so they can effectively reduce their necessary income by 2k a month on average. Almost everyone we know (and all of the research I've done for median wages/cost of living) lives for under 1k USD a month.
Another example is Australia. Their average wage is 40k USD, just like the US. However, their cost of living is around 1200 USD per person vs. the 2k USD per person in the US. One of my research papers recently was focusing on the increase in migration to Australia from the UK and the US because it's such a lucrative place to live. You can make the same wages as back in the UK or the US, but you can cut your living expenses in HALF, and still live just like you did in the US.
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