It's Tough Out There for a Middle-Class New Yorker
Income levels that would enable a very comfortable lifestyle in other locales barely suffice to provide the basics in New York City, says the the Center for an Urban Future in a new report that merely provides data to back up what all city residents already new. The group estimates that the same quality of…
Income levels that would enable a very comfortable lifestyle in other locales barely suffice to provide the basics in New York City, says the the Center for an Urban Future in a new report that merely provides data to back up what all city residents already new. The group estimates that the same quality of life that costs $50,000 a year in Houston will run you $123,322 in the Big Apple; San Francisco is a distant second at $95,489 with LA at $80,583 and Philadelphia at $69,196. In addition, many New Yorkers put up with commutes that double the national average of 25 minutes. One Brooklyn Bridge Park even gets an unnamed reference: “If it wasn’t already clear that the cost of living in New York City is greatly out-of-whack with the rest of the country, it certainly became apparent in early 2008 when a new condo development in Brooklyn Heights began selling individual parking spaces—not apartments, parking spaces—for as much as $280,000.” So it’s no surprise that the report finds that many people have been giving up on New York. In fact, twice as many people with bachelor’s degrees left New York in 2005-2006 than in the prior two-year period. So what’s to do: Among other recommendations, the report suggests diversifying the economy, focus on basic infrastructure and quality of life issues rather than building flashy new projects and increase housing stock that is affordable to the middle class.
My point exactly at 10:29, betterside.
“More importantly, why is there no data for Lodi, NJ?”
No rants today. I will let the data speak for itself…
U.S. Jobless Rate Soars as Payrolls Plunge by 598,000 (Update2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9oqMkhAxpBM&refer=home
Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — The unemployment rate reached the highest level since 1992 and payrolls tumbled in January, with millions more losses likely until a fiscal stimulus and emergency lending programs begin to temper the U.S. economy’s freefall.
The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.2 percent in December, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Payrolls fell by 598,000, the biggest monthly decline since December 1974. Losses spanned almost all industries, from construction and manufacturing to retailing, trucking, media and finance.
“We are in the middle of a very severe, a violent, collapse in activity and it could go on for months,†James Galbraith, an economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The report will likely diminish objections “that somehow the president’s recovery plan is too large and should be trimmed back.â€
Obama, who predicted a “dismal†report, is trying to push lawmakers to approve a package of about $900 billion, and in three days plans to announce a new effort to shore up credit markets. The rate of the job market’s decline means it’s unlikely the steps will halt a collapse in consumer spending until the second half of the year, economists said.
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
Apples to apples, folks. A better comparison for most people that enjoy living in an urban neighborhood would be to compare housing prices of living in walkable/urban/interesting neighborhoods in different cities. New York has vastly more options in this category than any other city , and some/many of these options are much more affordable than the most expensive New York neighborhoods. Equivalent neighborhoods in Chicago are cheaper, but the price difference is much smaller in places like San Francisco, Boston, DC, etc. Houston has no such neighborhoods, and the few in the other listed cities have much more expensive housing stock than in then is available in other, less “urban” neighborhoods in those cities.
There was a similar discussion the other day on B’stoner.
Forbes Discovers New York’s Middle Class
http://bstoner.wpengine.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/02/forbes_discover.php#comments
Forbes cited NY Middle Class income was between 35K – 150K, but according to the above cost of living in NYC for middle class, anyone making 35K is probably low low income.
There’s no denying this city is expensive to live in. It’ll suck every penny out of you.
quote:
Why don’t you get started on people who work from home, rob. As someone who does, I’d just love to hear some more of your “ideas.” As you might guess, I have a few “ideas” about people who post without thinking first.
i refuse to take your bait. ive seen you fight and bicker with various people here and then causing dogpiles on innocent posters. im not touching that with a 10 foot pole sorry. youll just have to accept the fact that i have issues with “telecommuting princesses”
*r*
Finally, numbers that are more realistic than the assertion made in Wednesday post of Joel Kotkin’s article for Forbes that “The city’s middle class–those making between $35,000 and $150,000 a year”
http://bstoner.wpengine.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/02/forbes_discover.php
Where does Brooklyn’s Number fall? I’d say anywhere between the Manhattan and Queens Numbers based upon what neighborhood you live in.
No question, NYC is f’ing expensive. RE costs, utilities, taxes, etc. But I’m not even in prime Slope or Brooklyn Heights, let alone in Manhattan, and, within a few blocks’ walk, I can find a decent dinner out (ok, I’m not a foodie, but), go hear some pretty decent jazz, sit in a bar with an enjoyable vibe, not to mention the day-to-day stuff like dry cleaners, hardware stores, bakeries, and the like. And I’m at work in under 30 minutes without getting into a car. Can you do that, Houston?
Why don’t you get started on people who work from home, rob. As someone who does, I’d just love to hear some more of your “ideas.” As you might guess, I have a few “ideas” about people who post without thinking first.
I’m actually surprised that San Francisco is so much lower than Manhattan. It’s not a fair comparison if all these places are comparing large expanses of other cities against manhattan and not just the “core” or, as in the case of Philly terminology, the “Center City.”
And why the hell did they pick Houston as the benchmark?????????