I'm from Eastern Europe, and know many, many people from Eastern Europe, and, while they are poorer than the English of today, it can not even compare to the English from 100 years ago.

Our perception of the older times is based on books, paintings, etc, and those, in most cases, show idealized rosy picture, often of the people from the highest class. Even when they show lower classes, it is much prettied. Our perception of today is, however, based on the harsh reality...