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Practically, to earn income in most parts of America, you need to own a car and pay rent on a single family home. That is a $800-$1000 additional expense versus
by shuckles 2y ago
Practically, to earn income in most parts of America, you need to own a car and pay rent on a single family home. That is a $800-$1000 additional expense versus living in a micro-studio and taking transit to work.
For someone on the margins, that is a huge and often insurmountable price of entry. Many can make do by, e.g., being housemates in a larger home to reduce the minimum expense. Folks on the margins are often not able to find others willing to live with them.
- throwaway2037 2y agoSo... Finland, exactly, right? I assume that you already know that Finland is huge but only has a population of ~5.5M. Except for central Helsinki, the entire country is suburban or rural. I'll offer a counterpoint that people rarely consider: Most of the populated land in Japan in rural. Many people who live more than 50km from a major city drive. Almost all people who live 100km from a major city have 2x cars in their home. This shocks many people. Please stop assuming that the US is special or amazing. It has pockets of very dense cities and the rest is mostly suburban or rural... like other highly advanced countries in Europe or East Asia.
- shuckles 2y agoMost people in advanced countries are rich and can choose expensive lifestyles, but that has little to do with the options afforded to those who aren’t.