Have I seen a lot of poverty in the United States? First impressions #019

I haven't explored the country much yet, basically so far I only know the city where I'm doing my MBA. I've seen some complicated situations here, but nothing compared to the reality of a city of the same size in Brazil.

Houses

There are neighborhoods with better houses, other neighborhoods with more humble houses, some older and others in the style of trailers, but nothing precarious like a favela. Some houses seem more comfortable, others more basic, but all offer a good quality of life.

Cars

Here one thing is very far from the other, here it's almost impossible to get around without a car. A car is really a family necessity, maybe larger cities that offer a public transportation system are easier on this requirement. But in small and medium-sized cities, people have to have a car. Here there is a huge variety of cars that you didn't even know existed, you see cars much more frequently than in Brazil, which are not very hard to find. It's the same thing with houses, there are simpler cars, some more sophisticated ones, I've seen some older cars. People who have motorcycles here do so more for their lifestyle, it doesn't seem like it's because they're cheaper, here they have those well-equipped motorcycles that in Brazil would cost the same as a car, very robust motorcycles, I haven't seen any "skinny" motorcycles so far. I've seen people driving around with their cars all rolled up, probably because they crashed and can't buy another one or fix it right away, so they have to drive around like that, it's the only option, since there's no public transportation (I've seen it, but it's very scarce).

Poverty on the streets

I've seen about four people begging for money on the street, they just go to the traffic lights and hold out their hand asking for money. I've seen this in Brazil too, but most people who are in need try to sell something like candy, water or some sweet. I have the impression that most people in this situation here have some kind of drug addiction, but it could be because they lost their jobs or some other issue.

Overview

Many people do manual labor and live a simple life without much waste. They have their own little house, their own car, they buy their groceries at the supermarket and they work hard to pay their bills. Many people think that everyone here is rich. People who work can buy their own things, but it's not as easy as people outside the country imagine, so don't be fooled. Poverty is less than in Brazil, but it exists and the working class also seems to live on a tight budget.

Perhaps the most common problem here are the "food deserts"; fruits, vegetables and legumes are more expensive than certain processed foods, so a family with a higher income may not be able to afford to eat properly. But those who earn a little more can eat well more easily if they want to.