[klipklop]

I don't understand why this is downvoted so much? A janitor has a wide spectrum of pay in the US and what he describes is certainly possible.

People also forget how good the standard of living can be for tradesmen charging $100-500/hr to reset a GFCI outlet or perform basic plumbing tasks in the US.

This mythical tradesman I describe often lives in a 1500+ sq-ft house and drives a pickup. He takes his kids dirt biking every weekend or goes fishing in his boat. The folks I met in the Google London office have none of these things. Most of them didn't even own a car and had a long public-trans commute home.

The bottom is really hard in the US, but the middle can be fairly good if you are working in the right areas of in-demand employment.