Someone I know makes $12 an hour. I think that's about $24k a year. He is single. He shares a small apartment with two other people. He doesn't own a car because he lives where he doesn't need one. His bedroom is about 10x10; they all share a small living room, kitchen and bathroom. He has no health insurance, but he and his friends take advantage of a nearby GLBT free clinic when they need to. He has a computer and they all share the cost of cable and internet access. His neighborhood in Brooklyn is a family-oriented neighborhood, not rundown or dangerous in any sense. He and his friends shop at second-hand stores. Their material demands are few. They don't belong to gyms, they don't go to clubs. He and they are among the happiest and most well-adjusted people I know.
Just agreeing with Steve that we all place our own meaning onto what "living" is.
