I grew up in London, and while the UK is a First World country, it seems (until fairly recently) that there wasn’t that sort of consume,consume,consume mentality.
Even now, while people have a lot more disposable wealth than they did a few decades ago, people tend not to live ‘beyond thier means’. Lenders are a lot more conservative over there, so its harder to get in over your head.
Not saying its impossible, and they are having a housing boom too, but in most cases mortgage companies won’t allow you to borrow over 3.5 times your annal salary (or 3 times main earner + 2 times secondary earner).
Of course, the UK and the Us are very different from each other, have different histores and economies. I’m not ‘having a go’ at Americans, far from it, i live here now after all, but I have to admit at being shocked at the consumerism over here.
Regarding the TV, my favourite ads are still the perscription drugs they sell on TV, where they won’t even tell you what it is . Apparently, if they name the drug on TV, they also have to tell you the side-effects. So, its easier to say “talk to your doctor about XYZ” and leave out what its for…still makes me chuckle
