# Fictional television characters living way above or below their means **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705 "2009-02-06T15:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/1 "2009-02-06T15:11:34Z")
Some examples: Howard Wolowitz on _Big Bang Theory_ is a mechanical engineer who has worked on space probes, but apparently lives with his mother. Roommates Sheldon and Leonard are physicists who apparently need roommates to afford the rent. They also don’t have very good vehicles. Howard has a scooter, Leonard has a crappy old sedan and Sheldon either mooches rides or has to take the bus. Granted, he doesn’t drive very well, but I guess he has never heard of a taxi. The cast of \*Friends \*spend their days lounging around a coffee shop yet live in expansive New York apartments. I suppose \*Lost \*and \*Survivor \*are also examples, but I don’t like those because one is situational and the other is a reality show. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/2 "2009-02-06T15:14:17Z")
Homer Simpson. Remember Frank Grimes’s reaction? Grimey: How can you afford to live like this? Homer: Don’t ask me to explain how the economy works. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/3 "2009-02-06T15:18:40Z")
Mike Myers in _So I Married an Axe Murderer_. He didn’t live that well or poorly, but apparently had no job at all, except perhaps “jazz poet”. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/4 "2009-02-06T15:19:05Z")
I never understood how the employees of Angel Investigations stayed off the bread lines. My only fanwank is that Angel had a ton of money put away that he’d acquired when he was evil and was very ambivalent about ever touching and tried to access only in emergencies. (Plus, as he wasn’t getting older, he couldn’t afford to snack on the principal.) At first only he knew about it; then, when he grew to trust Cordelia more (I mean, she was obviously in charge of the money), he let her in on it, and probably transferred a good bit of it into her name. Eventually Wes knew about it too (it’s how he was able to afford renting the boat he used to retrieve Angel from the briney deep). Gun & Fred never heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/5 "2009-02-06T15:22:27Z")
Speaking of _BBT_, I’m not sure Penny can afford her apartment without a roommate on her Cheesecake Factory salary and tips. In fact, they covered it in the newest episode. Certainly Sheldon and Leonard make more than she does. I think they live together because they’re friends…or, at least, Sheldon can tolerate Leonard the most. I think Raj lives alone. Dr. House lives way below his means…I think he’s lived in the same apartment for 10 years or so? And from what I saw of Dr. Cuddy’s house (the episode where her handyman fell off her roof) it doesn’t look overly ostentatious for a dean of medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/6 "2009-02-06T15:26:56Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Howard Wolowitz on _Big Bang Theory_ is a mechanical engineer who has worked on space probes, but apparently lives with his mother. Roommates Sheldon and Leonard are physicists who apparently need roommates to afford the rent. They also don’t have very good vehicles. Howard has a scooter, Leonard has a crappy old sedan and Sheldon either mooches rides or has to take the bus. Granted, he doesn’t drive very well, but I guess he has never heard of a taxi. I’m not sure those characters are living below their means. I know plenty of PhDs in similar situations. Plus, there are plenty of examples in the show of them spending large amounts of discretionary income. > [@](#): > > Dr. House lives way below his means…I think he’s lived in the same apartment for 10 years or so? And from what I saw of Dr. Cuddy’s house (the episode where her handyman fell off her roof) it doesn’t look overly ostentatious for a dean of medicine. House lives in a very nice multi-room townhouse in a nice neighborhood. And he probably owns it. Same goes for Cuddy. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/7 "2009-02-06T15:29:34Z")
Fraiser Crane lives way too well for a radio talk show shrink. Kelsey Grammar use to speculate that he had a buttload of stock in Microsoft. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/8 "2009-02-06T15:31:47Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Fraiser Crane lives way too well for a radio talk show shrink. > > Kelsey Grammar use to speculate that he had a buttload of stock in Microsoft. I also think he and Niles both had money from their mother (or perhaps their maternal grandparents). They weren’t **rich** rich, but they could both live quite nicely without working. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/9 "2009-02-06T15:40:24Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > House lives in a very nice multi-room townhouse in a nice neighborhood. And he probably owns it. Same goes for Cuddy. Multi-room? All I’ve seen are living room, bedroom, kitchen and bath. The same set up I have, and I am certainly not a world famous doctor. Wilson had to sleep on the couch, and told House “You’ve lived in the same apartment since med school.” ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/10 "2009-02-06T16:06:57Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > I suppose \*Lost \*and \*Survivor \*are also examples, but I don’t like those because one is situational and the other is a reality show. How is _Lost_ an example? On the island they have extra inputs from the Dharma food drops, off the island any excessive housage is explained by a)Hurley’s lottery win b)Penny’s dad’s money c)Sun’s dad’s money d)massive Oceanic Airlines payouts to the Oceanic six ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/11 "2009-02-06T16:13:50Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Wilson had to sleep on the couch, and told House “You’ve lived in the same apartment since med school.” Touche. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/12 "2009-02-06T16:14:33Z")
_Married With Children_ mentioned Al’s lousy job and miniscule income pretty much every episode. Yet even with Peg’s spending habits, they always managed to make the mortgage payment on their crappy yet livable house. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/13 "2009-02-06T16:23:33Z")
Carrie Bradshaw lives well above her means on _Sex and the City_, and that fact plays a part in several episodes. She has a rent-controlled apartment in a nice building on the Upper East Side (which she eventually buys through the help of Charlotte), but blows all the money she makes through her column, books, and job at Vogue on expensive clothes and shoes. The other girls on SaTC live within their means. Samantha is a successful PR exec with a nice apartment in the then-trendy Meat Packing district. Miranda is a partner at her firm with a nice apartment and later a house in Brooklyn. Charlotte hits the jackpot with her divorce, acquiring a gorgeous apartment on the Upper West Side and some considerable sum of money, since she doesn’t go back to work afteward. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/14 "2009-02-06T16:25:08Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > _Married With Children_ mentioned Al’s lousy job and miniscule income pretty much every episode. Yet even with Peg’s spending habits, they always managed to make the mortgage payment on their crappy yet livable house. Right. And their next door neighbors the Rhodes were a double income professional couple with no children.😕 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/15 "2009-02-06T16:31:48Z")
In most British sitcoms nearly all the characters have large houses with living rooms the size of some family homes. The recent ‘Outnumbered’ is supposed to be a more realistic sitcom, yet it has a secondary school (just a teacher, not head of department) in his thirties (not old enough to have bought years ago, before the housing boom) with a wife who only recently went back to work, all living in a four bedroom town house with a garden and huge living room and kitchen in North London - but not the suburbs. That house would cost at least £650,000 and his salary is maximum £35,000. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/16 "2009-02-06T17:02:11Z")
Ugly Betty. Betty had to give up her apartment in Manhattan (Hope Amanda can keep up the payments, though a wacky new roommate seems inevitable). But even with her salary, her papi’s and her sister’s, how do they afford the place in Queens? None of them makes more than $12/hour! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/17 "2009-02-06T17:06:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Right. And their next door neighbors the Rhodes were a double income professional couple with no children. And supposedly the Rhodes were only able to afford their house because it was bargain priced due to be being next door to the Bundys. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/18 "2009-02-06T17:25:29Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > How is _Lost_ an example? On the island they have extra inputs from the Dharma food drops, off the island any excessive housage is explained by a)Hurley’s lottery win b)Penny’s dad’s money c)Sun’s dad’s money d)massive Oceanic Airlines payouts to the Oceanic six Sorry for the confusion, I just meant the fact that they’re starving on an island. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/19 "2009-02-06T17:34:11Z")
House’s street number is 221B (I know, I know). In these parts, “B” usually means a garage apartment or add-on, at best a duplex. His apartment/condo is not spacious or lavishly decorated. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705/20 "2009-02-06T17:39:34Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > The other girls on SaTC live within their means. Samantha is a successful PR exec with a nice apartment in the then-trendy Meat Packing district. Miranda is a partner at her firm with a nice apartment and later a house in Brooklyn. Charlotte hits the jackpot with her divorce, acquiring a gorgeous apartment on the Upper West Side and some considerable sum of money, since she doesn’t go back to work afteward. I always got the feeling Charlotte’s family came from money. Certainly I’ve not seen all the episodes, but do we ever meet any of the girls’ parents? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-television-characters-living-way-above-or-below-their-means/484705.md?page=2)