A typical house is not only " standard project", popular in America, but also a home that the average American family can afford. For an example, I went to a real estate website and looked for houses within a 30-mile radius around me.
Photo Depositphotos
By the way, I searched for a long time because the photos are bad. Americans don’t really bother taking photographs, since everyone roughly knows what’s inside. You'll still have to go and see. I have selected a couple of houses costing up to $200 thousand, and using them as examples I will tell you about a typical American house.
The ad text 3 Bed, 3 Bath means that the house has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with toilets. And besides this - a living room, a utility room, a garage.
The most common house design in the USA. Photo realtor.com
I lived in almost one of these and know the structure of the house well. On the right is a garage for 2 cars, and the garage is quite long and spacious. On the left is the entrance and a small porch. A tiny front garden, by default the builders plant rose hips there. We go into the house.
The hall in the house is the default. Photo realtor.com
On the left is the entrance door, immediately from it there is a staircase to the second floor. In the hall there are windows overlooking the “front yard,” that is, the area in front of the house. In the first photo, these are the same windows to the left of the front door, are you oriented?
If we reach the opposite wall of the house, we will exit through the glass sliding door to the “back yard”, that is, to the back yard.
A typical home has doors to the front yard and back yard. Photo realtor.com
A microwave oven is attached to the wall above the stove - this is often done now. This seems inconvenient to me, because it is simply dangerous to lower the hot stuff from above. There must be lighting above the stove and a hood with a fan at 2 speeds.
When renting out a house, as a rule, everything is already built in, except for the refrigerator. Or maybe they are already building in a refrigerator. To the right of the sink is a dishwasher - “dish washer”. The sink itself must have a built-in waste shredder - “disposal”.
In the kitchen there is a door to the basement or “basement”. Builders usually rent it out with cement walls. But you can turn this basement into candy. For example, like this:
The basement is arranged as the owners' imagination dictates. Photo realtor.com
Usually in the basement suspended ceilings, and to the right and left there are long white doors - these are built-in storage rooms. In general, I didn’t see anything in the basements: bars, game rooms, gyms, workshops.
Let's go back to the first floor. Here, in addition to the hall with the kitchen, there are other rooms. Some have done game room for children. Often one of these side rooms has a fireplace, TV and armchairs.
Classic lounge. Photo realtor.com
This is a classic of the genre - a relaxation room with a fireplace and a TV on the wall. And in this picture there is already the second floor - one of the bedrooms.
Master bedroom. Photo realtor.com
Most likely, this is the parent's bedroom, that is, the “master bedroom”. It differs in that it comes with its own toilet and bathtub. There is often a double sink there, so as not to quarrel in the morning.
Photo realtor.com
All toilets must have ventilation. Turns on next to the light. The remaining bedrooms (children's) have a shared toilet. Americans always try to ensure that each child has his own room.
A mandatory room in a typical American home is the “landry room,” that is, the room in which the washing machine and dryer are located.
Photo realtor.com
This room is small, just outside the door from the garage. Finally, look at the back of this house.
Photo realtor.com
Apparently, the bedrooms here are small. On the ground floor there is a small kitchen window. They always make him so small.
There are moments that were not included in the photo. Every room must have a smoke detector hanging on the wall or ceiling. And now they are obligated to hang a CO indicator, that is, carbon monoxide. This is the so-called carbon monoxide, colorless and odorless, which is what causes poisoning if the stove is closed early. All these sensors howl terribly if something is on fire in the house. And they only fall silent when you have thoroughly aired everything out.
These indicators have another unpleasant property. When the battery starts to run low, they beep. At night - that's it! You get up, pull the battery out of it and put a new one in in the morning.
I haven't talked about lighting yet. There are a lot of switches in the house. The simplest example is that you entered the house, turned on the light, undressed and took off your shoes and went straight up to the second floor. There is a second switch there that can be used to turn off the light on the stairs. And there are plenty of such “paired” or even triple switches throughout the house.
Both houses that I described are not far from me and from Chicago. The one I mainly talked about costs about $190 thousand, the second one costs about $170. Approximately, because you can always bargain and come to an agreement.
About how they live in America ordinary people, there are two myths circulating among Russians. Interestingly, they are exactly the opposite of each other. The first can be characterized as follows: “The USA is a country of great opportunity, where a shoemaker can become a millionaire.” And the second myth looks like this: “America is a state of social contrasts. Only the oligarchs live well there, mercilessly exploiting the workers and peasants.” It must be said that both myths are far from the truth. In this article we will not delve into the history of the United States or talk about slavery and racial discrimination that took place a hundred years ago. We will not admire the standard of living of the Soros family or focus on the homeless people sleeping with ventilation grilles metro. We'll just look at how ordinary people live in America now. Let's take an average family: two working parents, three children. Ordinary middle class. By the way, he makes up the lion's share of all US citizens.
Housing
The USA, among all countries in the world, boasts one of the most high levels life of the population. But at the same time, quite a few citizens have a house in full ownership. And even city apartments are preferred by Americans to rent. But a family that considers itself middle class must settle far from dusty cities. White-collar workers get to work by train or car, spending an hour and a half on the road. The house of an ordinary American family is a one-story (for the high middle-class - two-level) cottage with a green lawn in front and an extension-garage, with a spacious backyard, which houses a play area for children or a swimming pool. The area of the house ranges from 150 to 250 square meters, and its cost is from 500 to 650 thousand dollars. Not everyone can just take it and lay it out like this. But here are ordinary people: the standard of living in the United States is quite sufficient to pay off a mortgage. A third of the amount must be paid in advance and taken out a loan for thirty years at 5-10 percent per annum. But! The loss of the job of one of the parents threatens the family with disaster - after all, for the house you need to pay the bank at least two and a half thousand “green” monthly.
Communal payments
Now let's look at how ordinary Americans live in America and what they pay for their mansions besides a loan. So-called townhouses (cottages) are a very expensive business. Although... how to calculate. Ordinary Americans don't bother with housing offices. In the basement of each house there is its own mini-boiler room, which is responsible for heating and heating water. Average bill per public utilities(electricity and gas) - about three hundred dollars. Since the water is served cold, the fee for it is small - about $10. In addition to utility bills, you need to pay property taxes: $500 - municipal and another $140 - the so-called community charges (for garbage removal and cleaning the area adjacent to the house). The lawn in front of the house must be well-groomed - this is the custom here. Don't get around to cutting it yourself? Hire a student and get ready to fork out $60. Mortgage loans require property insurance. Typically it's $300 per year. In total, you need to pay about three thousand dollars for housing every month.
Food expenses
A caveat needs to be made here. In the US, there is a big difference between so-called “healthy” foods labeled “organic” and conventional ones. Since ordinary people live in America, they tend to save on food. Yes, everyone knows about the dangers of chicken stuffed with growth hormones, as well as unhealthy fast food. But the average middle-class American couple usually shops at the grocery store, buys red-marked groceries, and eats lunch at Starbucks, McDonald's, or similar fast food establishments. By the way, prices for some products in America are lower than in Russia (especially in Moscow). But eating in restaurants or self-respecting cafes is very expensive. The average middle class family allows themselves this pleasure twice a month. Usually, about four hundred dollars are spent on food - this is if you do not deny yourself anything, and two hundred if you establish a strict economy regime.
Car and spending on other devices
How do ordinary people outside the city live in America? They start their day with and then get behind the wheel of a car. Living without a car in the American countryside is simply suspicious. Every adult is required to have a car - at least a used one. Leasing helps. Moreover, in the event of a breakdown, the company bears the cost of repairs. Thus, monthly payments leasing company for two cars - from 300 to 600 dollars, and gasoline - 150. Cars must be insured. Typically this is two hundred dollars per month per car. But you can reduce the cost of insurance by using a package with a higher price. For Internet and cable television, you need to pay about eighty-five greenbacks per month. No one can tell you how ordinary people who don't have money live in America. mobile phone, since there are practically none there. Even a child visiting kindergarten, has such a device (with a beacon, just in case). A package with unlimited calls will cost about sixty-five dollars per month.
Insurance
Foreigners who observe how ordinary people live in America probably notice that they have a lot of income going to various funds. They are insured against everything: from disability, from the loss of a breadwinner, from weakened visual acuity, in case of problems with teeth, and even in case of an unforeseen situation if a dog damages a neighbor’s property. Sometimes the policy is paid for by the employer. But after dismissal, it stops working. In total, the family needs to shell out about five hundred dollars every month, enriching various insurance companies. But in the USA there is a practice... of transferring pensions by inheritance. Every working person pays contributions, which accumulate on his individual card. Americans can use these accumulated funds as they please. After a person’s death, the money does not burn, but, as with a regular deposit, is passed on to inheritance.
Spending on clothes
Another discovery that foreigners can make by observing how ordinary people live in America is that they do not wear expensive things. They usually dress simply and practically. On the street you rarely see a woman wearing high heels. The typical American wears jeans and a jacket in winter, and a T-shirt and shorts in summer. But this does not mean that all US citizens do not know how to dress. It’s just not customary here to show off your income. Casual style reigns here. Branded clothes are worn on occasion. And they buy it easily. The fact is that in America sales never stop. They are timed to coincide with some holidays, but after them the prices drop even more: the collection that was not sold during the sales is sold for next to nothing. Particular excitement reigns during the so-called Black Friday (after Thanksgiving). Then you can buy branded clothing for a price ten times lower than its usual cost. Thus, the average US citizen does not spend much on clothes: up to one hundred dollars a month.
Education
Training in high school USA free. And this debunks the myth that in America you have to shell out money for everything, and a lot of it. By the way, medicine for the poor is also free here. But how does ordinary America live? For kindergarten you need to pay about eight hundred dollars per child. Or for a baby sitter - $10 per hour. An American's income directly depends on his education. Therefore, parents try to “invest in the child’s future” at any cost. To study at a college or institute, they take out loans. Especially highly paid professions in America they are lawyers, managers, doctors. After graduating from a university in this profile, a young man can count on twenty thousand dollars a month. Bank employees, civil servants, junior medical staff and teachers earn slightly less. But studying at an American university is expensive: from three to ten thousand dollars a year. Although there are also flexible scholarships available here.
Income
This is how they really live simple people Abroad. Huge expenses every month. Where do they get this kind of money? The answer is trivial: they don’t drink and work hard. They don't go out for a smoke break every hour. They are paid not for sitting at work, but for a specific result. And the better it is, the higher the wages will be. This motivation forces Americans to work conscientiously. At the same time, the minimum wage is seven and a half dollars per hour. This is the kind of money paid to teenagers or students on vacation just to walk your dog while you're at work. Cleaning by a visiting housekeeper will already cost one hundred dollars a day. But for that kind of money you need to do more than just vacuum the carpet: wash it, iron it, and polish it.
How do Americans who are private entrepreneurs live?
Private operations in the US can provide good income. The country is so large that if you wish, you can find a niche in any field. Government encourages opening own business and supports it in every possible way, especially if you create new jobs. There should be no bureaucratic delays when registering your business. Doing business in America is easy, as long as it is honest.
We sorted it out in past messages. Now let's look at the layout American houses.
In American homes you almost never see a hallway or hallway. Instead, all entrance doors lead directly to living room or another living room. You can enter the house not only through the front door. Most often there are at least two or three entrance doors. Front door or front door. Backdoor(usually glass) leads to the back patio. The third door is to the garage. Sometimes a door to the outside can be found in the most unusual place, for example in a toilet. This is explained quite simply - so that you can go to the toilet from the pool without entering the house.
When you ask an American about the size of a house, you will almost always hear three parameters - the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, and the total area. For example, 3/2 1600 sq. ft. means that this is a house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a size of about 150 sq. m.
Private rooms
The interior space of American houses is divided into a private zone and a public zone. The private zone primarily includes bedrooms. The bedrooms are divided into a “master bedroom” and all other bedrooms. A separate bedroom is provided to the parent couple and each adult family member. Children of the same sex, up to a certain age (12 years old), can share one bedroom, and then get their own. For example, a family of 4 will almost always live in a house with 3-4 bedrooms. The bedroom must have a window. If a room does not have a window, then it cannot be a bedroom. Also, almost always the bedroom should have a built-in wardrobe or storage room.
The master room is the largest bedroom, it usually has a walk-in closet, or even two dressing rooms s, and almost always has its own separate bathroom with toilet and bath. IN expensive houses, bathroom in master room it can be very sophisticated, with a jacuzzi, several washbasins, sophisticated showers, etc.
The remaining bedrooms usually have wardrobe cabinets smaller sizes. The remaining bedrooms may not have their own toilet and bathroom, and they can combine one toilet/bathroom for 2 bedrooms.
For children's bathrooms, a fairly typical layout is washbasin>toilet>bathtub. Also, very often lower washbasins, toilets, and bathtubs are installed in children's bathrooms.
Here is an example of a typical plan for an inexpensive American house. 
Sometimes there is a configuration where the toilet has two doors, and access is possible from two different bedrooms (this is called a Jack and Jill Bathroom). 
There is almost never a chandelier on the ceiling of a bedroom. Often instead of a chandelier there is a fan (with or without a lamp). And the main lighting in bedrooms, as a rule, is not very bright, and is arranged using spotlights or floor lamps.
Public rooms
If the house is two-story, then the private zone is located on the second floor, and on the first there will be a public zone - kitchen, living room, hall, dining room. If the house is one-story, then the public area will be in the center. Also, one room can be reserved for an office or library. The basement, if there is one, will be equipped as a library, gym, bar or game room.
The public area is usually not divided into separate rooms; instead, the entire space is open and divided only by arches, partitions, and shelving. The kitchen from the dining room is most often separated only by a bar counter or not separated at all. For example, on this plan, family room ( family room), dining room (dining room), living room (living room/living room) and kitchen (kitchen) are actually combined into one space. It is worth remembering that in English language, the word room means both a room with 4 walls and just a place/space, so a dining room can be either a dining room or just a place for a table.
In addition, half of the bathroom is often in the public area. What is half a bathroom? This is a toilet with a hand washbasin so that guests do not have to go to the toilet through the bedrooms. 
A patio is not only welcome, but considered a must. You can arrange a nursery there playground, a small garden, there are often swimming pools, and there will almost always be a place for a barbecue.
Auxiliary or work premises:
For storing things there are ba large number of built-in wardrobes, storage rooms, a basement and attic equipped for storage, and a spacious garage attached to the house. The washing machine is not installed in the bathroom or kitchen, but in a special room for washing. Sometimes they are placed in the garage. Linen can also be dried and ironed here.
You almost never see wallpaper on the walls inside American homes. Internal walls almost always painted. Light and plain walls dominate
Separately worth mentioning interior doors. Besides regular doors with hinges, in American homes there is a very wide variety of other options:
1. Barn door, moves sideways on a rail. 
2. Folding doors are usually used for closets and other utility rooms.
3. Sliding doors 
4. Pocket doors that go into the wall are also common. 
A few more different plans
The skyscrapers of New York and the Las Vegas casino are just the outer façade of one of the largest countries in the world. Real America is cozy, a little provincial, “one-story.” Projects of American houses are spacious and substantial cottages “for the whole family”: on the ground floor there is a common living room, a kitchen, access to the garage, and utility rooms. On the second floor there are the parents', children's and guest bedrooms. Attics in this style are not very common, although they are not completely excluded.
Thus, traditionally house designs in American style involve the construction of one-story, more often two-story buildings using frame construction technologies. In warm states there is no need for thick walls, and the low crime rate and friendly relations with neighbors in private sectors make it possible to do without the usual Russian buyers security systems and precautions. House projects presented in our database American type modified and adapted to the climatic conditions of our country.
Projects of American houses and cottages in Russian
The main thing that we preserve is the expression expressed in architectural features Americans' love for privacy - personal space. The houses are designed in such a way that no one is cramped there, and everyone has their own secluded corner. Also, such house designs imply a backyard, but fences and high barriers are not always provided - US residents prefer to be friends with their neighbors and do not hide their estates from prying eyes.
To adapt to Russian realities, we had to slightly change traditional American cottages: the projects in our database mainly involve aerated concrete rather than a wooden frame “box,” although they can be made using a new energy-efficient frame technology developed specifically for Russia. Also, an architecture connoisseur can find stylistic differences and inconsistencies. This is normal - any project must be “tied” to the place, otherwise the building will be of little functionality. However, we managed to preserve the best and recognizable features of the American style:
- wide porch;
- cozy attics right under the roof;
- bay windows;
- terraces;
- tiled roofs.
The American-style house designs presented in the catalog were developed by professional architects and contain photos, layouts, and detailed descriptions.
Author: This summer we went to the Poconos, about which I wrote several posts, and at the same time we stopped by to look at a house that our good friends were selling. We dream of moving away from New York sometime in the future, closer to nature and all that, and if possible we are exploring various options. Of those more or less nearby, everyone praises Pocono. This is a resort town in Pennsylvania, where quite a lot of Russians live and vacation, and which is considered quite popular place for relaxation and permanent residence many New Yorkers. Pros: relative proximity to New York (only two hours by car), beautiful nature(mountains), availability of infrastructure (shops, restaurants, etc.), low prices on housing (compared to New York). Of the minuses: relative proximity to New York (as much as two hours by car), lack of railway connections (you can only get there by car or bus), provinciality (this is not New York). Pocono isn't close enough to commute to work every day (although some people do), but it's not so far away that you can't commute to New York a couple times a week if you need to. In general, what we need is if you work at home, have a desire to live in beautiful place outdoors, and at the same time I want to be able to get to New York in a reasonable amount of time.
There are no questions about the place itself. The Poconos are truly a great place to live, with something for everyone to enjoy. There is everything you need for life and recreation: an excellent water park, a bunch of different shops, shooting clubs, decent restaurants, hunting, fishing, and wild nature, and alpine skiing, and so on, and the like. This is certainly not New York, but it’s hard to call this place a wilderness. A sort of village with minute transport accessibility to urban civilization. Pennsylvania also has more relaxed laws and you can, for example, own a gun without any problems. You can even buy black bread and boiled sausage - the Poles sell it (for some reason I have a special attachment to these products). Car insurance there is much lower than in New York, many Russians buy land or a house there, and then drive around New York with Pennsylvania license plates (this is illegal, but if you are careful, it is possible). Pocono also compares very favorably with New York in terms of real estate prices. If in New York there is nothing to catch with $100,000 in your pocket, then in Pocono you can already look for something. With two hundred thousand dollars, you can choose pickyly. With three you can start making your childhood dreams come true.
Our friends are selling a house located in a closed community. A fairly popular format for living outside the city, which can be compared to a gardening partnership. A limited area inhabited by additional rules and agreements. This is both good and bad. It’s good that you live in an area that is guarded, cleaned and lives according to certain laws. It’s bad that you have to pay extra for this and you have to obey these laws. But here everyone chooses what they like.
Central community road.
This community, for example, has its own beach, a swimming pool with a restaurant and a luxurious children's playground. The entrances are guarded, and the territory is patrolled around the clock by the local security service, which replaces the police in its functions. Among the disadvantages of such a life, for example, the speed limit is 15 miles in the territory.
I like living in a house outside the city, and I have decent experience - I lived in own home in gardening near St. Petersburg. True, it will not be possible to adequately compare, Russian reality is too different from American reality.
One could only dream of such roads in our gardening. The limit is to chip in with your neighbors for a KamAZ truck of crushed stone for backfilling. All the roads here are like this, and no one rushes along them. The local security guards' favorite pastime is catching people for speeding.
The house is a classic frame house, standing on strip foundation and covered with siding. Everything here is like in Russia, except for the decorative external doors. I would also make a canopy over the porch. But here the climate is better and the canopy is not so relevant.
In America they really like to make terraces. It's called damage. This house is no exception.
The damage is obvious better than gazebos or bare ground, but in Russia such a use of space would be considered wasteful and a covered veranda would be made.
In America, the rules of life are slightly different and, in addition to the desire to increase the area of the house, there is also a reasonable attitude towards property taxes and difficulties with permits for any construction works. You, for example, can be a super builder, but you will never be able to build a house yourself unless you have the appropriate license. So the terrace is something you can do yourself, but the veranda covered on all sides is no longer there.
This neighboring houses. Everything here is like gardening. Everything is in plain sight. Except that no one puts up fences.
But if you look only back, there will be a forest and no neighbors. Not everyone has this look, of course.
You can find living creatures in the bushes on the site. She grazes along the roads and sometimes jumps right under the wheels.
The living creatures are larger. The presence of a person a meter away from her did not bother the living creatures at all.
Inside the house. Entrance door with glass. Not a very popular solution for Russian life. A door in Russia must be iron and impregnable. In America, security is not an issue at all. The lock on the door to the house is no different from the cabinet lock inside a Russian office.
In the USA, all new houses are sold with finishing, equipped kitchens and bathrooms. This standard kitchen with stove, refrigerator and dishwasher. By local standards, parquet is considered not so cool, but kind of an advantage. Here it is made of bamboo. I've always had a soft spot for windows opposite the sink.
The house is small by American standards. But I'm all for these sizes. Cleaning and heating such a house is easier and cheaper than a three-story mansion. I'm silent about taxes.
Living room with gas fireplace. I have a question about the wisdom of using a gas fireplace, but the owners say that it heats well and does not burn oxygen. Let's take their word for it. Also incredibly popular in America ceiling fans. Cool stuff actually. They say that the Poconos are not as hot as New York, and you can live here without air conditioning. Of course, I don’t believe them, but there really aren’t as many air conditioners in houses as we have.
The bathroom is really equipped with fittings and furniture. All you need to do when moving into such a house is just to buy furniture for your rooms.
One of the rooms. In total the house has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The floor is carpeted, popular in the USA. Heating is provided electric convectors.
The classic American window, which I already wrote about.
