Socks the economist in another thread extols the wealth and standard of living middle class Canadians enjoy while in his words middle class Americans struggle mightily. According to him the average Canadian drives a BMW or a Mercedez Benz.
Let's take a look at what the average middle class American and Canadian earns and the cost of the North American dream - home ownership - and what your money buys in cities of similar population size
Compared are Toronto and Dallas, two of the largest metropolitan areas in North America and two medium sized cities, Winnipeg and Memphis.
Per capita average incomes are quite similar, husband and wife both working, it's a decent middle class income.
Average salary Canada $46,000 a year
Per capita income USA $42,693 a year
Here's your middle class Toronto dream home priced to sell at $300,000, they won't list the square footage for obvious marketing reasons, imagine how good your beemer or benz will look in the driveway of this mini estate ......wut...... there is no driveway, must have one of those fancy underground driveways like out of a James Bond movie. The stylish resin patio chair comes with the house.
Now here's your middle class Dallas dream home priced to sell at $299,990 with 2,460 sq ft
Here's your middle class Winnipeg dream home priced to sell at $259,000, a whopping 1,360 sq ft of Lebensraum - six months of -40 below temperatures are included. Your beemer or benz will not look out of place here, you are the squire of Winnipeg
Here's your middle class Memphis dream home priced to sell at $249,000, with 2,600 sq ft of living space, with the $10,000 savings you can go on a snow vacation if snow is important to you.
Pretty obvious Canada has it all over the US, the Dallas and Memphis homes are no doubt in neighborhoods teeming with black criminal activity at all times of day and night. And don't forget that Canada comes with all the free healthcare you can consume so smoke, drink and eat to your heart's content, it's all on the house, you just might have to wait a little while. Don't forget the multiculturalism that will enrich your life, you can't put a price on that.