My students were doing a project where they had to write how they would spend a million dollars in French.

"Mrs. * how much does a big mansion cost?"
"Where is it?"
"In NYC."
"Ten million dollars."
(grumbling disappointed sounds)
"What about in a normal city?"
"In a suburb? I guess like half a million, you did say you wanted a 'mansion'"
(grumbling)
"How much would the school cost?"
"It's not for sale."
"My dad says everything is for sale for the right price."
"I don't know like 30 million?"

@futurebird .o(a whole school is a very big pet)

My students were doing a project where they had to write how they would spend a million dollars in French.

"Mrs. * how much does a big mansion cost?"
"Where is it?"
"In NYC."
"Ten million dollars."
(grumbling disappointed sounds)
"What about in a normal city?"
"In a suburb? I guess like half a million, you did say you wanted a 'mansion'"
(grumbling)
"How much would the school cost?"
"It's not for sale."
"My dad says everything is for sale for the right price."
"I don't know like 30 million?"

"A million dollars is a lot less money than I thought."
"Yeah... and yet it still is a lot of money at the same time."

It was a really interesting conversation. Kids who grow up in NYC are impressed with "lots of rooms" in a way that I have trouble relating to. Yeah... you have a "rec room" but it's far away from everything.

But, it also takes less to impress them. When we noticed that some "mansions" had 5 bedrooms (not that many for a suburban mansion at all) they thought it was "too many rooms"

@futurebird
You guys in the states have *no idea* how privileged you are with all that space you are used to.

@grootinside

People in cities do not have a lot of space. If you want space you must have a car.

@futurebird
Would be curious what "not have a lot of space" actually means. Seriously.
There is a lot of cliche about "normal"/average size even of apartments bc. of tv shows, movies etc.
What's the average regarding the size of an apartment?

My students were doing a project where they had to write how they would spend a million dollars in French.

"Mrs. * how much does a big mansion cost?"
"Where is it?"
"In NYC."
"Ten million dollars."
(grumbling disappointed sounds)
"What about in a normal city?"
"In a suburb? I guess like half a million, you did say you wanted a 'mansion'"
(grumbling)
"How much would the school cost?"
"It's not for sale."
"My dad says everything is for sale for the right price."
"I don't know like 30 million?"

@futurebird This is a lovely thread - I think I had one or two teachers like you and it made more of an impact that some of the less good teachers

Now, as a semi professional smartass kid, I would have expected one of them to say "If I have to spend a million dollars in French, I would move to France (or maybe Quebec)"

@grootinside

If your living space has a bedroom for each person and one bathroom for each three people that is "a lot of space" most other Americans would call that "bare minimum" but that's my dividing line.

If you have extra rooms beyond this that's "too much" in my view.

@futurebird
I'd say the usual flat of a family here in europe has one bathroom, one bedroom for the parents, one for the kids and a living room. Anything more is already a sign of wealth above average (here in germany). Not to mention the size of a flat altogether.

@grootinside

I've lived in London and the size of apartment there was very similar to NYC ... the prices too. It was kind of identical. Though, maybe NYC is a little smaller.

I grew up in a classic US suburb, in a house with four bedrooms, living room, office and big garage and two yards. I was one of the poorest kids at my school. But that was in Ohio.

@futurebird @grootinside I think there's an essential metric missing from this conversation, and that's area. I notice that McMansions may have 3 or 4 or 5 bedrooms, but the size of those bedrooms can be cavernous. In my house, I have 3 bedrooms, but the total area is under 1000 sqft for all rooms.

A "standard" suburban house in the US use to be 1000 sq ft, then in the last 50 years it grew to over 1500 and now is routinely over 2500, and that's for "normal" houses in suburban areas.