Monica's apartment in Friends, Carrie's house in Sex and the City, and the beautiful homes in Modern Family have inspired real estate dreams in many fans, but one question always looms among TV watchers: could these characters really afford to live in such homes in the United States?
Who hasn't imagined their daily life like that of the characters in their favorite TV series or movies? They have the dream job, the perfect relationship, a nicely decorated house, and a great location. But judging by real estate market valuations, many of these situations are actually pretty unrealistic. A study conducted by Clever Real Estate, a real estate company based in St. Louis, USA, looked at several popular TV series and movies, analyzing “salary, home price, property tax rate, and insurance rate data from the Federal Reserve, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Bankrate, Tax Foundation, Rocket Mortgage, Home Bay, and various sources about homes in pop culture.”
American Homes: Deciphering the Lavish Lifestyles of Characters from Friends, Sex and the City, Modern Family, and More
Carrie Bradshaw is well known for having relationship problems, but as a columnist for Sex and the City, she would have had trouble paying for her apartment. The mortgage payment for her apartment in New York City's upscale West Village is several thousand dollars more than the typical New York area writer/columnist's monthly income of about $9,669. It's also well outside the threshold for what she could afford to pay rent. “Monthly rent would eat up about 60% of Carrie's pre-tax income,” the report states. To rent her apartment, an editor would have to earn $660,429 a year, an amount that seems questionable given the character's activities. It's questionable whether Carrie is earning a six-figure salary for only writing one column a week. Naturally, the show makes this point by stating that her apartment is rent controlled, which is a key plot device for characters who live beyond their means.
By the same token, another unlikely housing scenario would be Monica Geller's purple apartment from Friends. The rent reduction would have allowed her two roommates to continue living in the spacious abode. The chef, who makes an estimated $120,920 a year, could not have afforded the $321,429 in rent that would have been needed, according to real estate estimates.
In contrast, fans of the cult series That '70s Show will be happy to know that Kitty and Red Forman could have raised their son and daughter in the home. The Roseanne series also respects this degree of realism, but the report notes that the homes in the Modern Family series “probably” could be affordable for renters in the U.S., and Walter White's house in Breaking Bad could be affordable for both renting and owning.
The most affordable rental properties based on average occupational income
The Notebook The Goonies Mrs. Doubtfire Sex and the City The Sopranos
Most affordable rentals
That '70s Show Roseanne Breaking Bad 10 Things I Hate About You Twilight
Hero and feature images: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television
This story was published via AFP Relaxnews.
Notes:
The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date.
