To give context on my other comments, where I live in Scotland, median full time wage is around $55k.

You can live a perfectly comfortable life on that; you don't have to worry about bills or medical expenses, and you can afford to get a mortgage and buy a house (probably costing around $300k or so)

That's why I'm surprised about people from a richer nation saying they can't afford things.

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Pooge 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

> That's why I'm surprised about people from a richer nation saying they can't afford things

If you had the same salary in Switzerland or Luxembourg which, believe it or not, is not impossible, there would be a lot of items that you can't afford. Salary is important but cost of living matters as well. Granted, inside the same country, figures could change drastically but people tend to live where there are lots of job opportunities where it's more expensive.

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DontchaKnowit 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

How can you afford a 300k mortgage at 55k a year. That would be a very large percent of monthly pay right?

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onraglanroad a day ago | parent | next [-]

Yes, houses are expensive, but it's not out of reach. You can afford a mortgage on the average home.

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tenuousemphasis a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Mortgages are generally paid over 30 years.

	▲	ffsm8 a day ago \| parent [-]
		Long mortgages are a really really bad idea with high interest percentages. Unless you've locked in a low percentage from before corona you're going to pay almost as much in interest as you'd be paying for the house... To pay off 300k within 30 years at current mortgage interest of 4% you'll have to pay 1432/month (215k of interest will be necessary) Depending on the amount of taxes you have to pay, thats likely > 50% of netto wage

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librasteve a day ago | parent | prev [-]

The median income in Southern England is comparable, but house prices are 2-3x higher. Not surprising that we moan about tax subsidies getting paid to folk with a better lifestyle.

	▲	onraglanroad 21 hours ago \| parent [-]
		If it helps, think of it less as Subsidy and more as Tribute!