NOT Happier Abroad - USA really better?

Repatriate · Post by **Repatriate** » April 27th, 2011, 6:35 am

$10,000 a month is a very nice upper middle class lifestyle for a young single man. I'd even go as far as to say it's considered "rich" especially if he's debt free. So, he is right in a sense that he might be able to find a wealthy enclave of like minded people to hang around with. Even Ladislav has said that the U.S. is good if you're poor or rich.

It seems this guy falls into the latter category and can afford many more opportunities than what's available to your average 9 to 5 working stiff making $50,000 a year. I don't think in general the U.S. is all that great if you're a middle class joe. This is especially true when you consider all the other social factors that come along with that.

The_Adventurer · Post by **The_Adventurer** » April 27th, 2011, 6:45 am

I don't know. I made that kind of money in the U.S. at one time. I wasn't debt free, though, with the fancy car, and rents are outrageous. It didn't feel all that special to me. I certainly didn't feel rich. I gave it all up to scrape by in Asia doing what I really want to do with my life rather than being stuck in the rat race, on a wheel going nowhere.

MrPeabody · Post by **MrPeabody** » April 27th, 2011, 6:54 am

I made that kind of money in the US and it gives you enough money to buy a membership to "It's just lunch" so you can meet ugly women. With today's inflationary values, that isn't wealthy by a long shot. You are still a middle class joe.

TRADER1972 · Post by **TRADER1972** » April 27th, 2011, 8:10 am

Terrence wrote:I don't know. I made that kind of money in the U.S. at one time. I wasn't debt free, though, with the fancy car, and rents are outrageous. It didn't feel all that special to me. I certainly didn't feel rich. I gave it all up to scrape by in Asia doing what I really want to do with my life rather than being stuck in the rat race, on a wheel going nowhere.

I like your thinking Terrence. You summed it up well.

Repatriate · Post by **Repatriate** » April 27th, 2011, 11:33 am

That's true too, just a moderately decent car, insurance premiums, severe taxes, and living in a big city like San Francisco would whittle away your 10k a month to nothing.

I guess i'm more accustomed to thinking about how well a person could live on 10k a month in bangkok.

momopi · Post by **momopi** » April 27th, 2011, 5:54 pm

Repatriate wrote:That's true too, just a moderately decent car, insurance premiums, severe taxes, and living in a big city like San Francisco would whittle away your 10k a month to nothing.
I guess I'm more accustomed to thinking about how well a person could live on 10k a month in Bangkok.

...he didn't specify if that's $10k before or after expenses, and what his expenses are.

i.e. if you had to spend $9,000/month in advertising to generate $10,000 in sales online, that leaves you $1,000.

Selling stuff online is like a constant SEO battle for keyword rankings.