Is New York City worth the high cost of living?

[ringmastery]

I've always thought it might be fun to live there, until I see the housing costs and shudder.

Why are the most liberal cities the most horrid expensive places to live?

San Francisco, LA, Boston, are the same.

[unblock]

1. if you're young and single OR if you're VERY rich, sure

otherwise, living in new jersey and commuting into the city is emminently doable. much more affordable and i still get to do the kind of work that can (almost) only get done in the new york area.

it's also always there for a weekend visit, concerts, plays, restaurants, etc.

[mopinko]

2. chicago is better,

but still up there. the big reason is that wages are usually also higher, and jobs more plentiful.

[mountainvue]

4. I looove Chicago.

Don't think I'd like the winter though. I couldn't live in New york 24/7. Maybe as a second home. I like Atlanta too.

[Bat Boy]

3. C'mon down to Chicago.

It's more expensive than some places, but considerably less than New York or San Francisco.

And, in the interest of starting a pointless flame war, we have better pizza and hot dogs. So there.

[noahmijo]

6. Better than NYC when it comes to Hot Dogs and Pizza?

Nothing beats Nathans and when it comes to pizza even Bostonians will admit that New York is king when it comes to that.

But Chi-town has got some amazing food and if I were from Chicago I'd take pride in being from the city of blues (I know some argue it started in Tenn. but I say it was Chicago)

[Warren DeMontague]

8. As an ex-Chicagoan

I will concur, there is nowhere in the world with Pizza like Chicago.

Hot dogs, too, although it's been a decade and a half since I've touched a hot dog made of anything but tofu...

See, I moved to California, baby. And I will say that Chicago is a wonderful, great, excellent city... to visit, between May and August.

If I never hear the words "wind chill" or "minus" followed by a digit and the word degrees, ever, ever, ever again in my life, it will be too soon.

New York? Not a chance, the East Coast, although "liberal", is way too uptight for me. I couldn't live anywhere where my being a man with long hair is such a curiosity that total strangers feel the need to come up to me and comment about it. This has happened to me several times on the East Coast. It has never, ever, ever happened to me in California, and I've lived here for 15 years.

For the record, there are lots of places, outside of San Francisco, that are cheap to live and very, very liberal. If you don't need to live in the city (and I wouldn't want to, just because of the fog in the summertime) then there are lots of choices which are cheaper.

Oh.. wait.. it's crowded enough. Scratch that, forget everything I said.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

10. eh we get Pizzaria Uno here in Dallas, no need to go there

though I have. I asked to be taken to where they have the best pizza in Chicago. I was taken to Pizzaria Uno. I stood there, gobsmacked and said, "I just had this the other day in Dallas!!!"

[Warren DeMontague]

11. Yeah, there's an Uno in SF, too..

but it's not the same.

But, hell, I don't even eat pizza, anymore.
When I was 22, and could eat whatever the hell I wanted, and stay out to 5 AM on weekends drinking tequila shots and Jaegermeister, Chicago was the city for me. 24 hour mexican food. The Kingston Mines. Single Malt Scotch bars. Mmmmmmm.

But, now that I live a sedate, calm, pastoral life, and I'm closing in on 40, (and my cholesterol is down to 133) that sort of thing doesn't hold as much appeal.

But, for the record, I always thought Gino's East was better than Pizza Uno.

[HuckleB]

14. Dude. That's not the stuff.

Don't be fooled.

[markses]

5. So fucking worth it

So worth it.
So worth it.

Couldn't live anywhere else, and I've tried.

This is the best place to live in the entire world, and I'll stand on that til the day I day.

[aquart]

7. Addict. I'm sure there are multitudes of better places.

New York City is, however, home.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

9. You can add Seattle and Portland OR to that list too

we looked into moving to Portland. LOVE that place!

But then I saw that for what we paid for our house here in the Dallas area, we could get a 700 sf shack with indoor plumbing.

What we own here is a 2000 sf four bedroom 10 year old nice home.

And the teachers get paid the SAME AS HERE!!! So I wouldn't even go up in pay!!!

So it was a no go, for now. Sigh. I want to move there.

[HuckleB]

13. We moved here from Phoenix.

Yeah, housing is expensive by comparison, but when you take into context all expenses, it's pretty much a break even deal. Besides, now that we've been in our house for five years, our equity is incredible. I wouldn't be able to say that if we still lived in Phoenix, no matter how long we owned our home.

And, believe me, the quality of life is worth a little more.

[HuckleB]

12. The city is awesome. The location sucks.

No real mountains and no real surf nearby.

As for your question, you know the answer, don't you? People know and want to live in a quality destination. Unfortunately, we live in a nation of developers that can't figure out what people really want, er, they don't care, because they know that most people don't have any choice.