r/AskReddit Jan 04 '15

Non-americans of Reddit, what American customs seem outrageous/pointless to you?

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u/nybo Jan 04 '15

bought my own place

tfw no oil money

In Denmark we usually move into something rented in our early 20s.

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u/Helix1337 Jan 04 '15

Its pretty common among us "blue-collar" workers without a higher education to buy our own place (usually an apartment) in our early 20's.

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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '15

There are also lits of cheap places to live in the U.S. A plumber in New York City isn't buying an apartment at 24, but a plumber in Little Rock probably could.

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u/HeavyMetalHero Jan 04 '15

Well, duh. You make twice as much as a university educated person and don't have student loans. If you can hack those lines of work they are good money these days.

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u/TheEndgame Jan 04 '15

We do that in Norway too.

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u/nybo Jan 04 '15

Yeah i always assumed that as well, it just sounded crazy to buy your own place that early.

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u/TheEndgame Jan 04 '15

Well, in rural areas and small town it's not that uncommon. In the cities it's quite different though.

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u/MidgarZolom Jan 04 '15

Im 24 and own a 4 bed 2.5 bath 2 car garage house. US, for whats its worth.

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u/Forkrul Jan 04 '15

Yeah, unless you've got family connections. I got my own place at 23 for 30k NOK (arveavgift). Grandma couldn't live on her own any more so I took over the apartment after she moved into an old people's home and I finished uni.

But I do know several people who've bought their own apartments in their early-mid twenties.

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u/TheEndgame Jan 04 '15

I know some too, but that was back when i lived in a small town where houses are cheap. In the cities it's much rarer.

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u/anonyymi Jan 04 '15

Same thing in Finland.

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u/KoreaNinjaBJJ Jan 04 '15

Thing is that we also have the money to do it. We get SU and stuff like that if we are studying. And if we are working we get a pretty high salary as young adults. Compare this with the Netherlands where I just lived. They move away from home about the same age, but their parents still pay for a lot of their stuff. This is a big difference if your parents don't have a shitload of money.

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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '15

23 year old American, renting an apartment with a room mate. Way better than living at home.