[Kromm]

Put another way:

I live alone in an apartment with a large entry hall, a living room, an office, a dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, three closets big enough to lie down in, and front and back balconies.

I enjoy running water and working sewers, road and sidewalk upkeep, street cleaning and snow removal, three waste collection services (separate trash, recycling, and compost), daily postal delivery, electricity, fiber-optic Internet, and LTE+ cellular service.

The neighborhood isn't upscale in the traditional sense (rich-and-powerful neighbors living in mini-mansions with huge yards and multiple cars), but it's populated by the kinds of young people who are gainfully employed and spending lots of money on their lifestyle. Thus, it attracts the businesses that serve such people: artisanal bakeries, arty theatres, clothing designers, ethnic specialty shops, fitness centers, organic grocery stores, yoga studios, etc.

There are lots of trees and parks.

And it's all walkable and cyclable. People don't have cars by choice, not out of poverty.

There's crime, sure, but the police arrive in seconds because it's the kind of area lots of taxes and municipal votes come from.

So that might not be Status 1 or 2 as described on p. B266, but it certainly isn't Status -1. I'd argue it isn't even Status 0. It's more like Status 1 with the "comfortable house and a nice new car" traded off for things people who live here find more interesting, notably a comfortable neighborhood and no need for a car. I think that the more socialist you get, the more you have to make such tradeoffs; p. B266 represents a relatively low-CR society that puts an emphasis on individual capital, but that isn't the only valid picture.

I'd peg my cost of living at between 1,650 and 1,850 USD, so I'm most likely paying out for a "Status 1.2-1.3" lifestyle.

The kicker is that while I'm not a starving artist, I'm in the writing business. Not just that, but I'm in the very niche games business, which is hardly a way to get rich. I'm perforce not well off . . . that comes with the territory. It's true that I'm not saving much – my choice, my mistake to make. But at the end of the day, a very "average" job here in well-off North America supports more than what GURPS would call Status 0, and that lifestyle costs proportionally more.

My friends who are professionals and much better off than me are paying twice or more what I am: 3,330 to 3,700 USD, often more. They are supporting "Status 2-2.1" most likely. They're actually closer to the average for where I live, but they're way above the global average. That means they're Wealthy or better with Status 2+, and can't be used to rate that global average.