Two month's salary

[astcell]

Aykun, when I was 18 years old, base pay was $501.40 a month. Today a kid gets about $1400 to start. now here in TJK the local military makes much less, but when you consider that everyone owns their house outright thanks to Mother Russia, car insurance is $58 a year, food is 5% of American food prices, bus rides are 7 US cents and electricity is about free, the economy works fine on their pay scale.

Now go to the US where you pay monthly: $100 for a land line phone, $150 for a mobile phone, $125 for cable TV, $125 for car insurance, $500 for food, $2500 rent, $4 for a bus ride, and all of a sudden making $5,000 a month leaves little change. But take that $5k to Dushanbe and you are a king.

I have been to Istanbul a few times and I find the prices for clothing and shoes to be very very good. So good that I worry about the quality. If I do not pay $40 or more for one shirt I think it is junk. It would be junk in the US.

My Army pay is no secret, you can google it. And yes the US military is very well paid. It is a shame that we are still a nation in incredible personal debt!

[BigHat]

Originally Posted by astcell

Aykun, when I was 18 years old, base pay was $501.40 a month. Today a kid gets about $1400 to start. now here in TJK the local military makes much less, but when you consider that everyone owns their house outright thanks to Mother Russia, car insurance is $58 a year, food is 5% of American food prices, bus rides are 7 US cents and electricity is about free, the economy works fine on their pay scale.

Now go to the US where you pay monthly: $100 for a land line phone, $150 for a mobile phone, $125 for cable TV, $125 for car insurance, $500 for food, $2500 rent, $4 for a bus ride, and all of a sudden making $5,000 a month leaves little change. But take that $5k to Dushanbe and you are a king.

I have been to Istanbul a few times and I find the prices for clothing and shoes to be very very good. So good that I worry about the quality. If I do not pay $40 or more for one shirt I think it is junk. It would be junk in the US.

My Army pay is no secret, you can google it. And yes the US military is very well paid. It is a shame that we are still a nation in incredible personal debt!

Robert,
Are you a FAO?

[astcell]

Not a FAO, but I work for one.

[steel4me]

Originally Posted by astcell

I know women in the US compare diamond sizes.

Women in US want the big one ... diamond that is!