Is it normal friend from england thinks everyone is rich in america

I'm 30, he's 25.

My friend who lives in England works in computer science. In England he makes £34,000 or $40,000 USD. His rent cost per month is £335 or $400 usd.

He wants to move to the US because he says he'll be rich and he believes everyone is rich here and argues poverty is a choice in the US because he says all our salaries are so high you can "live like kings and queens on any job".

There's a US company in Boston Massachusetts he wants to work at he would start at $60k at the highest earning is around $75k after several years. He keeps saying he's gonna be rich on that. I told him the US is expensive and he doesn't believe me. I met him while he did a volunteer travel project during the summer a few years ago. He only ever vacationed here.

Another thing he also doesn't understand is vacation days. The US is the only developed country with no mandatory 5+ weeks vacation a year.

In the UK by law you get 5-6 weeks paid vacation a year at any job from day one and he says he's going to spend a few weeks off to visit his family in England and a few weeks off to travel to a few countries like he already does. He showed me the job description and how it says "2 weeks(10 days) paid vacation after 1 year and 3 weeks paid vacation after 5 years" and he keeps saying he's going to just "take off 5 weeks like he always does and negotiate with them because he's not waiting 5 years for 3 weeks" and doesn't understand that unfortunately the US is strict on vacation

He also wants to buy a car and a dog the first month he moves to Boston. Is it normal?

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Comments ( 7 )
  • Yaidin

    No

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  • LloydAsher

    There goes the english are smarter than americans stereotype

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  • 1WeirdGuy

    Wages are higher here and the cost of living is cheaper outside of the big cities where everyone wants to live like LA and NYC. As a computer scientist he can find a company that pays him well over 6 figures.

    I dont know why he wants to move to boston because the cost of living is higher there. Theres alot of tech jobs in texas and tennessee and houses are pretty cheap. You can buy a house here with a good chunk of land and pay 800 a month in mortgage.

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  • GaelicPotato

    I mean, in his fairness Americans are piss poor at handling money.

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    • hauntedbysandwiches

      Because they're broke from basic necessities.

      $2-3k a month rent, $300 utilities, gas, food, everything is damn expensive. I make $45k and I barely make it. Can't afford almost anything. Never travel or go anywhere, no money for it. Wear the same clothes for the past 4 years, no money for anything lol we're literally being scammed by the government here

      My bills alone are over $3k a month with basic necessities no Netflix no nothing just basic everything. I can't even save up because I don't have the money. Sure I have a 401k but that's untouchable until I'm old and retire. Hoping when I'm retired I'll be alive to finally enjoy life but the $401k isn't enough anymore so will have to keep working until I'm dead. My father in his 70s still works because his retirement money isn't enough and no he doesn't overindulge. He works to pay off bills still. This is the life of the average American now. It sucks.

      The average American needs $70k across all states just to get by enough, no one is living above their means, no one can afford to.

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      • 1WeirdGuy

        45k is decent. If you find a boyfriend who makes 45k as well yall will have a household income of 90k. Which is more than enough to live comfortably and own a house and land just about anywhere but Cali and NYC.

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      • Clunk42

        If your necessities cost over $3k, and you're earning $45k, where in the world is the other $41k going that you "can't afford almost anything"?

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