We all have aspirations of leaving college and starting our professional careers in a fun, young city. Like many students I would love to work in one of the greatest cities in the world, New York City. Although this is many students goal they cannot ignore the price tag that comes with the life of living in the big apple.
The Council for Community and Economic research recently published its most recent cost of living report. The report revealed New York city as being the most expensive city to live in with the price of living in Manhattan 225.4% of that for the nation. A major factor aiding to the high price tag that comes with living in the city is the cost of housing. The organization's index of housing cost is 455.2 percent of the national average. Some examples given in the study were relative prices between the same good. But, one good was sold at the average price in Manhattan while the same good was sold at the national average price. The one that stood out to me the most was definitely veterinary costs in the city (~$99.50) versus veterinary costs in the average American town (~$45.53). Almost double!
Although this is a little disconcerting to those of you who aspire to one day live in Manhattan not all hope is losses. This study has its imperfections. A lot of the amenities of various cities are not captured by the price of individual goods. The example the article gives is New York keeps its restaurants open later and has more high end restaurants than the rest of the country. These amenities might push other prices such as rent higher. So in essence you are getting your moneys worth in a city like Manhattan.
Link:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/what-makes-manhattan-cost-so-much/?ref=economy
You made some great points Matt. Although the city is very exciting there are some cheaper alternatives that young people are able to take advantage of. One of them is living in Hoboken which is right across the Hudson river located in NJ. The prices are a lot less expensive compared to Manhattan and is a quick 10 minute Path train ride into Manhattan. Also, living in the other boroughs of New York City allows people to sieze the benefits of Manhattan without the outrageous prices.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the things mentioned in the article but this comparison neglects a very important factor which largely offsets the otherwise higher cost of living in Manhattan: transportation, and in particular the fact that, unlike almost all other parts of the country, a car isn't necessary (or even very useful) to live in Manhattan. One doesn't have to pay for car insurance/gas/maintanence etc. And sure it is certainly possible to go to the fanciest restaurants and spend $500 on a meal (which you can even do in Columbus). It is also possible to buy decent pizza slices for $1, or a decent meal from a food truck for $5, or anything in between. And as John said, there are other cheaper alternatives to Manhattan
ReplyDeleteMikael has a good point about not needing to spend a large portion on income, but it still might be necessary for some to purchase subway tickets and pay cab fares. Although, this would not be nearly as much as owning a car in this city and paying for parking. But also keep in mind, the "higher up" jobs in these cities usually are comparable to the prices that people have to pay in the sense that they would get paid more for a similar job as someone living in a small town outside a city. Clearly, millions of people can find their way of living in NYC.
ReplyDeleteI can see why NYC is one of the most expensive cities. It is a world renowned city and has the reputation of "if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere." When I visited the city for ten days I was surprised at how expensive everything was there, especially the cost of transportation. I was surprised at how much people have to spend on transportation alone to get to and from work. Even though it would be awesome to live in New York City right out of college, we still have to live within our margins. There are plenty of alternative cities that are more affordable and are still young and fun to live in.
ReplyDeleteBeing a native of the New York City area, I agree with what is being said. New York City is without a doubt an expensive city to live in and for someone that just graduated college it might also be hard to find a job, especially one that can pay for the expensive of living in the city. With the current unemployment rate in the NYC is around 8.8% it isn't the best place to start. Although some can result to living just a couple train rides away from Manhattan, the costs of that monthly train ticket can also add up depending where you're coming from. The value of the time spent getting into the city is also a big factor when choosing to live around the 5 borough area or even further out on long-island. Salaries in the NYC may seem to be high at times, but it is only to compensate for the high living costs of the city.
ReplyDeleteMikael brought up a very good point, people who live in NYC usually use public transportation as it is cheaper and way more convenient considering how crazy the traffic is. New York certainly is very expensive to live in but people who work there also tend do get paid more. So I feel like New York is not an easy place to live in for people who are unemployed or college graduates.
ReplyDeleteMikael brings up a great point but subway costs and taxi fare is by no means cheap. Every time you take the subway you have to pay $2.50. Being a native of Long Island this all adds up very quickly. You can purchase a monthly or annual pass but this is also not cheap. You also have to factor in your expenses when you want to travel off the island of Manhattan. LIRR rate and Metro rates are relatively high. Traveling ends up becoming a much larger expense.
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