American houses are bigger compared to English ones, especially in the suburbs where there's more room to spread out - for example, I'd say an en-suite bathroom is pretty standard in a single-family home.
But on top of that, the Whites probably bought more than they could afford, and now are having trouble making the mortgage payments. You might think the obvious solution is to sell the house and move to someplace more affordable, but because housing prices plummeted, the house would be worth a lot less than they paid for it, so they can't sell without going in debt.
I would say the Whites were average middle class - in the beginning of the series, Walt was working two jobs to get by, which doesn't really scream "well off" to me. Then once Walt gets cancer, the money worries are totally justified by the medical bills, even if they'd had two stable incomes.
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rosecarmine
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Date: 2013-04-16 11:30 pm (UTC)But on top of that, the Whites probably bought more than they could afford, and now are having trouble making the mortgage payments. You might think the obvious solution is to sell the house and move to someplace more affordable, but because housing prices plummeted, the house would be worth a lot less than they paid for it, so they can't sell without going in debt.
I would say the Whites were average middle class - in the beginning of the series, Walt was working two jobs to get by, which doesn't really scream "well off" to me. Then once Walt gets cancer, the money worries are totally justified by the medical bills, even if they'd had two stable incomes.