Photo Essay

While the American Dream of owning a home is often associated with large homes, for many
that dream is not practical due to the great costs connected with buying and owning larger
homes. “The expenses [of owning a big house] are large- utilities, taxes, maintenance and
furnishing- in those homes there’s greater potential for something to go wrong and need repairs”
(Malito). Americans are downsizing their homes due to these expenses, with 60% of people who
live in 2,000 square foot homes or larger say they would move to a smaller house (Malito).

Many Americans feel they can achieve the American Dream by owning a mansion, yet “NAHB
data shows the average size of new houses fell for the third straight year in 2018. Median square
footage of single-family houses decreased to 2,320 last year after peaking at more than 2,500
square feet in 2015” (Willis). Due to this decrease in home sizes , “less than 20% of Americans
say they are living the American Dream. Although there are a complexity of factors in this
concept, home ownership is ‘the most important element’” (Carter).
 Achieving the American Dream requires hard work and a good education. Education levels are
associated with income as the income gap between the well educated and less educated has
widened over the years. One of the larger districts in Georgia, Dekalb County is overseen by a
seven-member Board of Education. “The system educates more than 102,000 students at 140
schools with more than 14,000 full-time employees and 6,600 teachers” (DCSD). The large scale
of the district educates children for successful futures and employs teachers, counselors, and
administrators, allowing them to achieve their “American Dreams” with stable jobs and careers.

“Nationwide, approximately 63.9 percent of families own their own homes according to the
latest census data” (Ingraham). Owning a home is an integral aspect of the modern American
Dream, though for many Americans that means owning a large and beautiful home.
 Money is one of the main components to kids’ athletic participation. “Compared to their peers
whose families make more than $100,000 per year, children age 6 through 12 whose family
income is under $25,000 per year are nearly three times as likely to be “inactive”- meaning they
played no sport during the year” (Flanagan). Club soccer, for example, can cost $2,500 to $5,000
per year and that’s not including the registration fee (Smith).

Nowadays, many people are spending more than they can afford. American culture has had a
long love affair with cars. They symbolize independence, freedom, success, and leisure. “Luxury
automakers from Audi to Mercedes-Benz made up more than one of the 16 million vehicles sold
in the United States in 2013. The median income of a luxury car owner in the United States, for
example, is $99,364, while a Mercedes C-Class sedan, the carmaker’s entry-level vehicle and
most popular model, starts at around $40,000” (Sullivan).
 “The cost of maintaining, repairing, and upgrading a typical home to current standards over 30
years was almost four times the purchase price” (Weston). Buying a house is the first step in
owning a own home, which will require constant upkeep. If you don’t care for your house in the
correct way, it is easy to lose the investment you made in the house. The economic recession
stunted such a considerable amount of U.S. economic growth over the last decade, that it “has
cost every man, woman and child in the country $70,000 each in lost income” (Puzzanghera).

Often referred to as the melting pot, the United States “has transformed from a predominantly
white population rooted in Western culture to a society with a rich array of racial and ethnic
minorities” (Pollard). The percent of white people has dropped to 60.7% and the growth of
Hispanic, African American, and Asian populations is altering the ethnic makeup of schools
(Quickfacts).
 .
The United States resettlement program is the largest in the world and since 1975 the country has
welcomed more than 3 million refugees (Hayine). Clarkson, Georgia alone has received over
40,000 people seeking refuge from “every corner of the world” (Long). More than 40
nationalities of people speaking 60 languages live in its 1.4 square miles (Today).

Works Cited
“About Us.” DeKalb County School District, 6 Nov. 2018, www.dekalbschoolsga.org/about/.

Carter, Shawn M. “Less than 20% of Americans Say They're Living the American Dream-Here's
Why.” CNBC, CNBC, 19 Sept. 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/09/19/less-than-20-percent-of-
americans-say-theyre-living-the-american-dream.html.

Ingraham, Christopher. “How Many Families Actually Own Half-Million Dollar Homes?” The
Washington Post, WP Company, 3 Nov. 2017,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/03/how-many-families-actually-own-half-
million-dollar-homes/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bbf9242199ef.

Long, Katy. “This Small Town in America's Deep South Welcomes 1,500 Refugees a Year.” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 May 2017, www.theguardian.com/us-
news/2017/may/24/clarkston-georgia-refugee-resettlement-program.

Malito, Alessandra. “More Americans Want to Downsize Their Homes than Supersize Them.”
MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 3 Mar. 2017, www.marketwatch.com/story/more-americans-want-
to-downsize-their-homes-than-supersize-them-2017-03-01.

Puzzanghera, Jim. “A Decade after the Financial Crisis, Many Americans Are Still Struggling to
Recover.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 11 Sept. 2018,
www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/a-decade-after-the-financial-crisis-many-americans-are-
still-struggling-to-recover/.

Smith, Jason. “Paying to Play: How Much Do Club Sports Cost?” USA TODAY High School
Sports, USA TODAY High School Sports, 18 Nov. 2017, usatodayhss.com/2017/paying-to-play-
how-much-do-club-sports-cost.

Sullivan, Paul. “In Sales of Luxuries, Geography Matters.” The New York Times, The New York
Times, 19 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/your-money/in-sales-of-luxuries-
geography-matters-.html.

TodayShow. “How This Small Town Has Welcomed Thousands of Refugees - and Thrived.”
TODAY.com, TODAY, www.today.com/news/clarkston-georgia-home-thousands-refugees-
t132421.

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, United
States Census Bureau, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217.

Weston, Liz. “The Huge, Hidden Costs of Owning a Home.” NerdWallet, NerdWallet, 30 May
2018, www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/the-real-cost-of-your-house/.
Willis, Haisten. “Downsizing the American Dream: The New Trend toward 'Missing Middle
Housing'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Feb. 2019,
www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/downsizing-the-american-dream-the-new-trend-toward-
missing-middle-housing/2019/02/13/0f6d0568-232b-11e9-81fd-
b7b05d5bed90_story.html?utm_term=.3602d0314feb.

Pollard Kelvin. “America's Racial and Ethnic Minorities.” Population Reference Bureau,
www.prb.org/americasracialandethnicminorities/.

Haynie, Devon. “10 Facts About Refugees in the U.S.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News
& World Report, www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-02-02/10-things-you-
dont-know-about-refugees-in-the-us.

Flanagan, Linda. “What's Lost When Only Rich Kids Play Sports.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media
Company, 28 Sept. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/09/whats-lost-when-
only-rich-kids-play-sports/541317/.