AEE 2624：如何谈论住房成本而不显得无礼

这是《All Ears English》播客第2624期。

This is an All Ears English podcast episode twenty six twenty four.

怎么谈论住房开销，又不显得没礼貌。

How to talk about housing costs without sounding rude.

欢迎收听《All Ears English》播客，全球下载量已超过两亿次。

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200,000,000 times.

你是不是觉得自己的英语进步卡住了？

Are you feeling stuck with your English?

我们会教你如何通过注重交流，而不是追求完美，变得自信又流利。

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection.

本期节目由两位美国主持人带来：英语探险家林赛·麦马洪，以及纽约电台女孩米歇尔·卡普兰，他们从科罗拉多和纽约市为你直播。

With your American hosts, Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.

想每周收到我们的文字稿？请访问 allearsenglish.com/subscribe 订阅。

And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com/subscribe.

你该不该问别人房子花了多少钱？

Should you ask someone how much their home costs?

今天我们就来揭晓答案，告诉你如何用更委婉的方式问这个问题，避免在英语交流中显得不礼貌。

Today, find out the answer and how you can ask this question in a more indirect way to avoid being rude in English.

嗨，林赛。

Hey, Lindsay.

你怎么样？

How are you?

嗨，米歇尔。

Hey, Michelle.

我特别兴奋。

I am excited.

你最近怎么样？

How are you doing?

我挺好的。

I'm good.

林赛，你有没有因为某人买房花的钱而大吃一惊过？

Lindsey, have you ever been really surprised by how much someone has paid for their home?

也许是某个名人，或者你认识的人？

Maybe a celebrity or someone you know?

是的。

Yeah.

不是我认识的人，因为我通常不知道别人买房花了多少钱。不过每次看到卖出去的房屋价格，我都会很惊讶，尤其是在丹佛地区。

Well, it's not people I know because I I don't usually know exactly how much people paid for their home, but I when I look at houses that have sold, I'm very surprised by the prices, at least in Denver.

我就会想，这些房子真值这个价吗？

And I think, was it really worth are these houses really worth that price?

我不太确定。

I'm not so sure.

对。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

挺有意思的，有时候你会看到，换个地方，同样的钱能买到什么样的房子？

Interesting how, like, you know, sometimes you'll see, oh, what could you get in another part of the country?

是的。

Yeah.

这就像是

That's like

一栋全新的房子，纯粹靠地段取胜。

a brand new house and then in a in a it's just it's location, location, location.

对吧？

Right?

所以如果是在全国最热门的区域，那价格自然就高了。

So if it's in, you know, a really hot spot of the country Yeah.

价格高了，你可能只能买到一栋老房子。

It's just gonna cost more and you'll probably get an an older house.

有些人对这个并不在意。

Some people are are okay with that.

所以各有取舍。

So there's trade offs.

巨大的权衡。

Huge trade offs.

你还得考虑你所在的城市。

And then you have to think about the city you're in.

这座城市是在上升期，还是已经过了巅峰？

Is it an up and coming city, or is it past its prime?

有时候我挺担心丹佛的。

You know, sometimes I worry about Denver.

丹佛在2010年到2024年之间特别火。

Denver was really hot in between, like, 2010 and 2024, I think.

疫情期间，很多人因为可以远程工作搬到了这里。

Like, a lot of people moved here from the during the pandemic because they could work remotely.

是的。

Yeah.

但现在我不确定丹佛的未来会怎样。

But now I don't know what the future of Denver is.

我不确定需求会不会还这么高，但价格也没降下来。

I don't know if it's gonna be in as much demand, but the prices haven't come down.

你懂的。

You know?

价格根本没往下走。

It's not like they're coming down.

所以买房的时候真挺纠结的。

So it's tricky when you make a purchase.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

Yeah.

完全正确。

Absolutely.

你知道的，世界各地的房价都不一样。

So, you know, their housing prices are different all around the world.

比如在美国，纽约的两居室肯定比郊区的贵多了。

Like And we said, even in The US, so like a two bedroom in New York is gonna be much more expensive than one in the suburbs.

纽约的两居室，价格可能比北卡罗来纳州新建的房子还高。

A two bedroom in New York is gonna be probably more expensive than a new construction in, you know, North Carolina.

我不太确定。

I don't know.

北卡罗来纳是个很不错的地方。

North Carolina is an awesome place.

是的。

Yeah.

不是。

No.

不是。

No.

不是。

No.

我刚说呢，就连亚特兰大这样的大城市，房租也要便宜不少，对吧。

I was saying, like, even a even a major city like Atlanta is gonna be a lot cheaper Right.

比纽约便宜多了。

Than yeah.

在亚特兰大，你可能花不了多少就能买栋房子，而在纽约，那点钱只能租个两居室。

You could probably get a house in Atlanta for what you pay for a two bedroom apartment in New York.

是的。

Yeah.

这太

It's

疯狂了。

crazy.

对啊。

Yeah.

所以今天我很想聊聊这个话题。

It's so this I'm excited to get into this topic today.

是的。

Yeah.

我们有个听众对这个话题很感兴趣，特意给我们提了个问题。

Well, so we had a listener who was curious about this topic and asked us a question.

这是来自YouTube的，发信人是Richard Ramirez 5746。

So this was from YouTube, and it's from Richard Ramirez 5746.

所以，Lindsay，他问了什么？

So, Lindsay, what was his question?

他说，嘿。

He said, hey.

你们应该聊聊美国的住房成本。

You should talk about housing costs in The US.

好的。

Alright.

我特别期待，因为你们猜怎么着？

And I'm excited because guess what?

这些是我们和家人、朋友以及伴侣之间经常进行的对话。

These are the conversations we're having with our families, with our friends, our partners all the time.

我经常和伴侣讨论这个问题，因为我们想买新房，但就像我之前说的，现在不太确定价格是否合理。

I'm constantly having this conversation with my partner because we wanna buy a new home, but we're just not sure if the pricing makes sense right now, you know, like I said before.

确实是这样。

Yeah.

这真的很难。

It's it's really hard.

真的很难说。

It's really hard to know.

而且你知道，有些人一旦买了房，

And, you know, you have some people who then they get in.

我是说，我有些朋友，当时利率超低，对。

I mean, I have friends who, when the interest rates were super low Yeah.

他们就买了，还说再也不搬了。

They bought and they're like, we're never moving.

没错。

Exactly.

你认识那些人吗？

Do you know those people?

还是你就是那种人？

Or are you one of those?

是的。

Yeah.

我就是那种人。

I'm one of those.

我就是那种人。

I'm one of those people.

是的。

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah.

所以我意思是，我有些朋友就是这样，我的情况不算差，但也就那样吧。

So you're like, if I mean, I have friends that's like so I mean, mine isn't low, but but it's okay.

不过也是。

But Yeah.

我那些朋友呢，他们根本搬不动。

You know, for my my friends, they're they're like, we cannot move.

就是那种情况。

Like that.

是的。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

挺有意思的是，大家聊利率都没问题，可一谈到房价就避而不谈了，其实房价对你的生活成本影响可大了。

And isn't it really interesting that it's okay to talk about interest rate, your interest rate, but it's not okay to talk about the price of your house because that also factors into the price of your house in a major way.

没错。

Right.

这真有意思。

Which is fascinating.

确实如此。

True.

我觉得，聊聊你的房产税以及具体数额，其实也没问题。

And it's also, I think, kind of okay to talk about your property taxes and how much those are.

挺有意思的。

Interesting.

是啊，今天的节目会探讨美国文化中的一些社交规范，哪些话题能谈、哪些不能谈，还会具体聊聊美国房地产市场的实际情况。

Yeah, I mean today's episode is going get into some aspects of social norms in American culture, what's okay to talk about, what's not, and actual numbers here of what's going on in the housing market in The US.

今天的话题挺大的。

Big topic today.

对。

Yeah.

不过我们会尽力给听众提供一些实用的建议和收获。

But we will do our best to give our listeners some great takeaways and tips.

是的。

Yeah.

这肯定会非常有趣。

This is gonna be this is gonna be very interesting.

所以，没错。

So, yeah.

对。

Yeah.

我们会，嗯，来回答这个问题。

We're gonna, yeah, answer the question.

我们会聊聊怎么自然地讨论住房和房价。

We're gonna talk about how to discuss housing and prices naturally.

没错。

Yep.

感到好奇很正常，但确实如此。

It's normal to be curious, But Yes.

林赛，如果我直接问你，林赛，你家房子花了多少钱？

Lindsay, if I said to you, Lindsay, how much did your home cost?

你觉得你会怎么

What are you gonna

我会很惊讶。

I would be shocked.

是的。

Yeah.

如果你直接问我，我确实会很惊讶，首先会觉得这么问不太礼貌。

I could be shocked if you asked me that directly, First of all, it would feel rude.

以我对你的了解，你根本不会问这种问题。

I I don't think you would ever ask me that, knowing you.

我也不会去问你这种问题。

And I would never ask you that either.

这也太直接了。

It's way too direct.

没错。

Yeah.

太直接了。

Way too

直接。

direct.

所以我们需要换种方式来建立联系，慢慢引出这个话题。

So there are other things that we need to do instead to build connection to ease into this conversation.

也许可以委婉地问，或者从其他渠道了解，但依然可以聊聊你所在国家或城市的住房状况。

Maybe ask the question a little indirectly or find the information elsewhere, but you can still talk about the status of housing in your country or your city.

对。

Right.

完全可以聊这个。

You can totally talk about that.

直接问人家房子花了多少钱，确实有点太私密了。

It's just asking directly how much did your home cost is just is a little too private.

对。

Right.

而且你得想想，你为什么想知道这个？

And also think about why you're asking.

你是随便好奇，就想了解一下？

I mean, are you just for fun, you wanna know?

还是想摸清楚朋友到底有多少钱？

You wanna kinda feel out, you know, how much money your friend has?

还是说你真打算在那片区域买房，需要这些信息做参考？

Or is it actually because you're considering buying in that area and you you actually need that information for some reason?

这点也挺有意思的。

So that's interesting too.

是的。

Yeah.

我的意思是，如果我们像推动薪资透明那样把这事摊开来讲，可能确实会有帮助，至少能知道，比如一个人的收入大概是多少，才能判断他买这个东西是不是合理。

I mean, I think it would if if we did have this out in the open, like people are trying to push salary transparency in the same way, it probably would be helpful because we could know, like, what is an like, you know, I guess you'd have to then know someone's salary, though, to understand, is it reasonable for someone to make that purchase?

对吧？

Right?

没错。

Right.

是啊。

Right.

得看全面的情况。

Have to know the whole picture.

这个我也说不准。

So don't know.

这里面牵扯的东西太多了。

A lot that goes into this.

确实，这事儿挺复杂的。

Yeah, guys.

别忘了点关注或者订阅，如果你是在YouTube上看我们，这样就不会错过任何一期节目了。

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当然。

Yes.

没错。

Exactly.

首先，我们来理一理，米歇尔。

So first of all, let's just break it down, Michelle.

咱们给听众说清楚点。

Let's be clear with our listeners.

到2026年，平均一套房子卖多少钱？

As of 2026, how much does the average house sell for?

这里说的是全国平均价，包括南达科他州和纽约市，所有地方都算在内。

Now this is average, so we're taking into account South Dakota and New York City and everything in between.

是的。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah.

所以平均价格是41万美元。

So average is $410,000.

这个数据是哪来的，Lindsay？

And where is this from, Lindsay?

这个数据来自圣路易斯联邦储备银行。

So this data came from the Federal Reserve Bank of St.

路易斯。

Louis.

对。

Yes.

那平均租金是多少呢？

Now what about the average rental?

因为很多人由于2024年利率飙升，只能被迫租房。

Because a lot of people are stuck renting because of interest rates having skyrocketed in 2024.

对吧？

Right?

所以他们本来想买房。

So they wanted to buy.

但买不起，后来利率上涨，房价也跟着涨了。

They weren't able to, and then the prices went up because the interest rates went up.

没错。

Yep.

涨了多少？

Like how much?

是啊。

Yeah.

至于租金，平均每月将近两千美元。

For rental, the average rental is almost $2,000 per month.

是啊。

Yeah.

所以这就是Zillow。

So that's Zillow.

对。

Yeah.

Zillow。

Zillow.

数据。

Data.

是的。

Yeah.

没错。

Yes.

就是这样。

Exactly.

这些数字让你惊讶吗，林赛？

So do those numbers surprise you, Lindsey?

这些数字听起来差不多吧？

Did those sound about right?

是的。

Yeah.

听起来确实差不多。

They sound about right.

听起来确实差不多。

They sound about right.

在丹佛和纽约，你不可能花平均4100美元就买到一套房子。

Obviously, in Denver and New York, you're not gonna pay an average of $4.10 k for a house.

那价格肯定更高。

Like, it's gonna be higher.

但全国平均数其实提供的有用信息不多，毕竟各地房价差距实在太大了。

But again, national average doesn't give you a whole lot of valuable data, I guess, just because there's such a wide range between Right.

没错。

Exactly.

确实有一些异常值。

There's there's outliers.

有些情况完全干扰了数据。

There's, you know, things totally messing with the data.

是的。

Yeah.

当然了。

For sure.

所以，没错。

So but So, yeah.

房价取决于你住在哪里，是在城市里，还是在郊区。

The price varies depending on where you live, in a city, in in the suburbs.

还有，房子有多大呢？

Also, yeah, what is the size?

是单间、一居室，还是两居室？

Is a a studio, a one bedroom, two bedroom?

对。

Mhmm.

另外，如果是受租金管制的租赁房的话。

And also then for rentals, if it's rent controlled.

是的。

Yes.

没错。

Yes.

在纽约这种情况比较常见，而波士顿我很少见到有租金管制的房源。

And that's a thing in New York more so than I didn't see much rent control stuff going on in Boston.

是的。

Yeah.

我知道在纽约，有租金管制和租金稳定这两种类型。

I I know in New York, you have rent controlled, rent stabilized.

如果我们想深入讨论，改天再细说吧。

We can go into that another day if we wanna be really specific.

不过，确实地点是最关键的因素，我觉得。

But, yeah, a lot of things location is the biggest thing, I think.

我也这么觉得。

I think

所以这能决定在一个城市里，某个区域到底有多受欢迎。

so That can determine within a given city, you know, how desirable is that area.

对吧？

Right?

是的。

Yes.

没错。

Exactly.

嗯。

Mhmm.

对。

Yeah.

所以，米歇尔，我们能给听众提供哪些切实可行的建议呢？

So, Michelle, where can we take this episode for our listeners to give them some tangible skills?

对。

Right.

就像我们说的，如果你想买房或租房，了解朋友的支出情况是有帮助的。

So as we said, you know, one a reason that you might wanna know what your friends are paying is if you're looking to buy or rent.

但直接问别人花了多少钱，这在文化上可能不太合适，尤其是在美国，你不能随便问：‘你房子花了多少钱？’

But again, asking directly, this could be very cultural, but in the, in American English in The US, it's not really polite to just say, oh, how much did you pay for your house?

不过我觉得，问租金这个问题相对没那么敏感。

Although, I will say that I feel like the rent question is a little more okay.

你不会觉得问‘你房租多少？’比较自然吗？

Don't you think like, oh, how much is your rent?

不知为什么，好像确实不一样。

I feel like for some reason, right?

有点区别。

It's a little different.

确实有点不一样。

It's a little bit different.

不知为什么，问起来没那么让人不舒服。

For some reason, it's a little less intrusive.

我还是会小心一点，但你问别人房租，大概比问他们买房花了多少钱更让人容易接受。

I still would be careful, but you're probably more likely to feel okay asking people about that than how much they paid for their home.

我也说不清为什么。

I don't know why.

也许是因为租房属于市场行为。

Maybe because it is it's a market.

对吧？

Right?

租房是市场行为，而买房不一样，那是把房子当成资产来承担。

The rental market as opposed to you're buying this home, you're taking this on as an asset.

我觉得买房这件事本身要更重大一些。

I don't It's I mean, it's more intense to buy a home.

对吧？

Right?

要更强烈得多。

There's more Way more intense.

是的。

Yeah.

而且，租房可能是暂时的。

So, and also rentals may be temporary.

所以我觉得，总的来说，你在考虑要不要问，就算是租房，也最好别问。

So I think that, I mean, I think overall, you're trying to decide if you should ask or not, even with rentals, probably try not to.

但我确实觉得，我更可能忍不住说：哇。

But I do think that I am more likely to be like, woah.

所以，那怎么

So how yeah.

房租是多少？

How much does the rent?

而且这样感觉没那么打扰人。

Like and that feels less invasive.

所以是的。

So Yeah.

这倒挺有意思的。

Kinda interesting there.

不过也有一些例外情况。

Although there are some caveats.

我觉得，米歇尔和我都同意，我们大概不会直接问别人买房花了多少钱。

So we're I think Michelle and I, you and I both agree that we probably wouldn't ask someone directly how much did you pay for your house.

对。

Yeah.

不过我确实问过几个人，结果有人回答说他们会问。

Although I did survey a few people and got some answers of yes, they would.

他们确实会问，而且通常是问关系特别铁的朋友，比如从小一起长大的那种。

They do, and they have asked their closest friends, like their lifetime friends.

他们还会跟这些朋友聊自己的收入是多少。

And they have conversations about how much money they make too with those friends.

哦，真的吗。

Oh, wow.

他们竟然打破了这些常规，越过界限了

Like so they cross the norms, cross the

社会上的那些禁忌。

social blocks.

不会。

No.

我从不跟任何人聊这个。

I don't talk about that with anybody.

是的。

Yeah.

所以这其实也跟个人性格有点关系。

So so it's a bit of a little personality intertwined here too.

但总的来说，我们的建议是别碰这个话题。

But in general, I think our advice is don't go there.

对。

Yeah.

没错。

Exactly.

就是这样。

So, yeah.

不过你可以间接聊聊成本，看看对方会不会自然地透露相关信息。

And, you know, but you can talk about cost indirectly and see if somebody offers that information naturally.

那我们来谈谈具体该怎么操作。

So let's talk about how you might do that.

你可以给对方一个契机，让他们自然地谈到价格问题。

So, you know, you can give them a window into the pricing conversation.

那具体会是什么样子呢

So what might that look

这其实就是抱怨。

It's basically complaining.

对吧？

Right?

我每周都会和人这么聊上三次。

So I have this conversation like three times a week with people.

对吧？

Right?

最近丹佛的房租涨得实在太离谱了。

So rent has gotten so expensive lately in Denver.

是啊，太真实了。

I know, right?

是不是

Is that

嗯哼。

or Uh-huh.

是的。

Yep.

对，还有另一种情况。

Yeah, or here's another.

现在在纽约想找一套价格合理的房子真是太难了。

It's so hard to find a decently priced house right now in New York.

我知道，市场确实不怎么样，但我听说今年正在好转。

I know, the market isn't the best, but I hear it's improving this year.

所以，说不定就会有机会了。

So, like it just might open the door.

比如你说房租最近涨得厉害，我可能会接一句‘对啊’，然后接着说，我那房子以前是这个价，现在涨到这个数了。

Like, oh, if you're saying rent has gotten so expensive lately, and I might say, I know right, and then it's possible that could lead me to say, yeah, mine, you know, it it was this much, and now it's this much.

对吧？

Right?

但这样就给了对方一个机会，看他们要不要接着说下去。

So but it gives that person an opportunity to decide if they wanna say something or not.

是的

Yeah.

而不是直接去问他们。

Instead of asking them directly.

因为直接问这种违背社交惯例的问题，会让人特别尴尬。

Because that's just very awkward when you ask someone something directly that's breaking a social norm.

接下来这个例子，我们稍微再直接一点，米歇尔。

And then here's an even we're getting slightly more direct with our indirect questions here with this next one, Michelle.

我们还能说点别的吗？

Could be another thing we could say?

对。

Yeah.

你对买到的这个房子满意吗？

Were you happy with the deal you got?

比如说，有个人刚买了一套房子。

So let's say somebody just bought a house.

是的。

Yeah.

所以在这里，我可以决定要不要告诉你我花了多少钱。

So here, I can decide whether I want to give you the information of what I paid or not.

对吧？

Right?

这次我就告诉你吧。

Here, I'm going to give it to you.

没错。

Yes.

我们最后花了三十万，比市场价略低一点。

We ended up paying 300 k, which was just under the market rate.

三十万就是三十万美元。

And 300 k is 300,000.

对。

Right.

是的

Yeah.

不是三十万。

Not 300.

对。

Right.

我的意思是，这种说法其实挺有意思的，都能单独做一期节目了。

I mean, but with like, that is an interesting that could be a whole episode.

我们平时说数字都会省略，大家默认都懂是什么意思。

You know, how how we do shorten numbers and it's implied what it is.

对吧？

Right?

比如我们可以说最后付了300，大家都知道是30万，因为大家都明白。

Like, we ended up you could even just say we ended up paying 300 and we know it's thousand because Yes.

对。

Yes.

是的。

Yes.

对。

Yes.

对吧？

Right?

所以这倒是个挺有意思的切入点，确实。

So that kind of would be an interesting direction to go Sure.

现在，我们要直接问听众一个问题。

Now, so this is for we will give our listeners the direct question.

如果你觉得和某人特别亲近，觉得你们之间有特殊例外，可以不遵守不问这个问题的社会惯例。

If you feel you're super close to someone, and if you feel like you have a special exception to the social norm of not asking this.

对吧？

Right?

对。

Mhmm.

所以我们把这个问题的表述告诉你，但得提醒你，999次里有999次你都该避开它。

So we will give you the language, but we just wanna warn you, 999 of the time, you wanna avoid this.

是的。

Yeah.

好的。

K.

没错。

Right.

我能问一下，你买房花了多少钱吗？

Mind if I ask, how much did you pay for your place?

哦，根本没什么。

Oh, not at all.

我们出价2500美元，比标价略低一点。

We paid $2.50, just under the asking price.

再说一遍，大家要小心。

And again, be careful, guys.

对。

Yes.

没错。

Exactly.

但还有其他方式可以聊住房，又不直接问价格。

But there are other ways to talk about housing without asking the price.

所以聊天的时候，就像我们说的，对方可能会主动提到，这样他们也有选择的空间。

So as you talk, like we said, they might volunteer that information, this gives them the choice.

你也可以问问位置或者生活方式。

So you could also ask about location or lifestyle.

是的。

Mhmm.

对。

Yeah.

比如，你住得离市中心近还是远？

So for example, do you live closer to downtown or further out?