Hm. Maybe if you live in the right place? I have 80 acres in Iowa, a house free and clear, 2 in college and one working in Silicon Valley. All on one income.

Exactly. Try anywhere not directly in the highest rent-inflated area in the US, or in any moderately rural suburb. Not that difficult to afford a house. Could get a decent 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath starter home where I'm at right now for about $750 a month in mortgage.

*for every American. The "American Dream" isn't that stuff for the ones who already have it. It's that for everybody.

If that's your definition of the "American Dream" it never existed.

You think folks back in the 1920s could live in the most expensive cities in the US, own a home, send their kids to college, all on one income. I don't think so.

Not that they could do it. But that was the dream. That dream is dead.

So what are you calling 'dream'?

Your seem to be saying people don't even want that any more.

If so, what's the problem?

Its supposed to be a dream. Not everybody achieves the dream. But its possible.

  Nice house
  Raising kids (4)
  Single income
  American

Seems to be working out here.

EDIT: I guess HN doesn't support Unicode, my cute little checkmarks are getting eaten. Maybe the dream isn't real after all...

Could you kindly reveal your position? or at least your occupation?

There's nothing special about it. I'm a software developer, like a lot of people on HN. My dad did the same thing, and he was a salesman. I know a lot of people who are able to make it work.

Yes, it's expensive, and it's getting harder as prices begin to reflect the dual-income status of a lot of middle class families, but it's not that difficult if you're willing to make some basic compromises. Consider that it's all relative. I think my life is pretty nice as-is, and that's what matters.

I would say that it's a lot easier if you don't live in SF or another city with an atrocious cost of living, but really in SF and NY you need a sextuple income to afford a liveable place, so the point is kind of moot anyway.

Technically, that's been dead since the 70s.