Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes • Hacker News Board

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#11

Post by burner420042 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC

onraglanroad wrote: post #6

qurren wrote: post #3

It's interesting that $14000/month is "rich" on this website, and some people earning $100/month actually own houses. Meanwhile people making $50000/month in San Francisco can't afford a house because half of it is taxed away and housing is astronomically expensive.

If your net pay is $7000 per month you absolutely can afford to own a house, you're just being fussy about the house you want.

Does the website reference net or gross monthly income?

Edit:

So the numbers are not a direct exchange rate to USD.

Q: How were dollar values assigned to households? A: The households’ door numbers represent the consumption values (US dollars) that each adult in the household has per month. This figure comes from a combination of the household’s self-reported consumption and income levels. We then checked the official cost of living data in each country to adjust the values for purchasing power parity (PPP) and converted the value into US dollars. Read more about how we assigned the Dollar Street values here.

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#12

Post by kbelder » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:51 PM UTC

qurren wrote: post #10

onraglanroad wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I made my other comment before seeing this but I find it very difficult to believe you can't find something reasonable for far less.

Nah it's the reality here. I'd say minimum income to safely own housing here is $100K-150K/month. OR cash already saved for the home, in which case income doesn't matter. Yes, lots of households make that much, especially people at e.g. Nvidia with unvested appreciated RSUs. Yes, the US economy is that badly fucked. And the people on mortages were brainwashed into buying something they can't afford, and in for a fore…

You can't make many national judgements based on the economics of the Bay Area. It's much more sane in nearly every other area (with some other outliers, such as New York City).

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#13

Post by tenuousemphasis » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:53 PM UTC

qurren wrote: post #10

onraglanroad wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I made my other comment before seeing this but I find it very difficult to believe you can't find something reasonable for far less.

Nah it's the reality here. I'd say minimum income to safely own housing here is $100K-150K/month. OR cash already saved for the home, in which case income doesn't matter. Yes, lots of households make that much, especially people at e.g. Nvidia with unvested appreciated RSUs. Yes, the US economy is that badly fucked. And the people on mortages were brainwashed into buying something they can't afford, and in for a fore…

You're shifting the goal posts, but I'll bite... what is 'safely' owning a home, to you?

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#14

Post by drivebyhooting » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:53 PM UTC

onraglanroad wrote: post #6

qurren wrote: post #3

It's interesting that $14000/month is "rich" on this website, and some people earning $100/month actually own houses. Meanwhile people making $50000/month in San Francisco can't afford a house because half of it is taxed away and housing is astronomically expensive.

If your net pay is $7000 per month you absolutely can afford to own a house, you're just being fussy about the house you want.

If you’re gonna have kids, fussy means: * have decent schools * not covered in lead or asbestos * not next to a highway

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#15

Post by tenuousemphasis » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:54 PM UTC

qurren wrote: post #3

It's interesting that $14000/month is "rich" on this website, and some people earning $100/month actually own houses. Meanwhile people making $50000/month in San Francisco can't afford a house because half of it is taxed away and housing is astronomically expensive.

Globally, $14k/mo is unbelievably, obscenely rich.

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#16

Post by skissane » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:54 PM UTC

qurren wrote: post #5

EPWN3D wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I promise you that someone in SF making $50k/month can comfortably afford a very nice house.

I promise you not. Houses here cost $2M+ for something livable and $1M for something with mold and other safety issues. When half that $50K gets taxed, half of what's remaining has to be saved up for retirement in a place that deeply discriminates against age, you don't have much left to save up for buying a $2M house.

> half of what's remaining has to be saved up for retirement in a place that deeply discriminates against age, you don't have much left to save up for buying a $2M house.

Buying a $2M house is saving for retirement. Owning your own home in retirement is a massive financial win. And if you own a home in an expensive market, you can sell it, buy one in a more affordable market, and then the difference is unlocked retirement savings.

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#17

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:54 PM UTC

qurren wrote: post #5

EPWN3D wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I promise you that someone in SF making $50k/month can comfortably afford a very nice house.

I promise you not. Houses here cost $2M+ for something livable and $1M for something with mold and other safety issues. When half that $50K gets taxed, half of what's remaining has to be saved up for retirement in a place that deeply discriminates against age, you don't have much left to save up for buying a $2M house.

[deleted]

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#18

Post by qurren » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:56 PM UTC

drivebyhooting wrote: post #14

onraglanroad wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your net pay is $7000 per month you absolutely can afford to own a house, you're just being fussy about the house you want.

If you’re gonna have kids, fussy means: * have decent schools * not covered in lead or asbestos * not next to a highway

+

* in an area not going to get shot or mugged

* structurally earthquake safe so that we don't die

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#19

Post by joncp » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC

Whoa, nice reminder of how filthy rich I and almost everyone I know are.

Re: Photos of items from families in different countries with different incomes

#20

Post by stuxnet79 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 6:02 PM UTC

Note that some of the entries here are clearly outdated. I've cycled through some "global south" countries that I'm familiar with and what's shown may have been true maybe 15-20 years ago. GDP has 4x since then and at the same salary level the lifestyle is either equivalent or better than the richer countries.