[RogerFGay]

Well, I'm sitting in the Stockholm area right now. I've been here since 1994. It's not so difficult for me to compare standards of living. It's obvious that the majority live in small apartments rather than houses and they're better off having at least two incomes to live that way.

I think $40,000 per year (about 280,000 Swedish crowns) seems about right. That's a very low income in comparison with the cost of living here. Swedish workers have a higher cash income than any of the new eastern European neighbors, but much much much higher costs to face.

Real median income in the US 2005 was $46,326, and the cost of living is much much lower. Standard of living in the US is higher.

[WesternCulture]

“Real median income in the US 2005 was $46,326, and the cost of living is much much lower. Standard of living in the US is higher.”

Isn’t that median HOUSEHOLD income?

I’m comparing median WAGES.

These things must not be confused.

In places like inner London, Manhattan and inner Stockholm, a lot of people live in small condo’s/apartments despite being well off.

No doubt a lot of things are cheaper in the US than in Scandinavia, but from what I’ve found out (among other things from listening to Swedes who’ve lived in the US), the costs of housing are ridiculous compared to Sweden. I’ve also heard Americans saying our apartments seem quite affordable to them.

My point here isn’t that Swedish living standard is higher than that of the US (it’s more or less the same), my point is that Stockholm is a rich city with a lot of corporate HQ’s, therefore services like hotels and restaurants etc tend to be rather expensive compared to many parts of The US as well as Europe.