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.
sixyearsandcounting–as a New Yorker, I commend your post. You are right. And I am secure enough with myself to agree with the content of your post and not feel threatened. Unfortunately, many people who live in NYC are myopic, provincial, and elitist, but they THINK they’re liberal, progressive, and worldly. They give my city a bad rap.
I think the good nuns and priests of SSJ required that a few Irishmen be brought in for their own sanity. People these days forget that at one time there used to be alot of tensions between the “white ethnics” of NYC. The Irish looked down on the Italians many years ago, and the nuns had some of that.
(mine ends in A)
Whoah Benson what gives? Who let McFarland’s admissions paperwork get through? I don’t see a vowel at the end of that name!
(mine ends in O)
mopar on SF: “Everything starts at $750,000 and yes it’s bigger and better but it’s not cheaper than $750,000. In fact, on the low end, for a single person, owned housing is much more affordable in NYC than in SF. Whereas rents and food are much more expensive.”
total rubbish. check out SF real estate (it’s easy, they have multiple listings and everything’s available from any site,) and you’ll find tons of 1-beds for 350-500k. In great condition too, and great locations unless you’re talking the equivalent of the UES. In fact, I’d almost challenge you to find many 1 beds in SF for over 750k
Biff and all;
Take a look at the whole site – it is akin to that “Canarsie in the 80’s” post that Mr. B ran a few months. If you look at our 1981 reunion photos,it looks like the casting call for “Saturday Night Fever”.
Here is my diploma from the site:
http://groups.msn.com/SaintsSimonandJude1971Graduates/diplomaphotos.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=162
As you can see, we had “just a few” Italians in my class 😉
First of all, I completely agree with Sparafucile @12:57:
For general quality of life, I don’t doubt for a minute that you can live a very rewarding life at much lower cost in many cities around the country. The idea that culture or diversity is exclusive to NYC is simply misinformed chauvinism. There is good food, interesting art (performing and graphic), and lovely urban design in almost any decent-sized city.
And now for my own two cents. I don’t comment often here, as I have very limited internet access during the day (I’m a high school teacher). I usually find the comments entertaining and informative, but in this thread you all have become parodies of New Yorkers, talking about your celebrity sightings. I’ve lived her for ten years, not because I have any particular love for NYC (although I do genuinely like Brooklyn, it will never compare to my hometown of San Diego!), but because I happen to like my particular job and school and my group of friends. That said, I’d gladly leave NYC, and may leave next year if I get into a PhD program elsewhere. I find New Yorkers oddly provincial (people in other areas of the USA are more aware that they aren’t the center of the world, if only because they don’t constantly see their home city on TV), overly obsessed with style and trendiness (Sex and the City syndrome), elitist and classist, and strangely unwilling to grow up, get married, and actually commit themselves to other people over the long term. Every year I tell my students to broaden their horizons and increase their chances of acceptance by applying to colleges outside NYC, and they recoil in horror at the very idea. Where I grew up, our parents encouraged us to leave, and it wasn’t for lack of job opportunities in southern California. It was to get a taste of the larger world while still being in a safe college environment, and take some responsibility for themselves. New Yorkers these days are (oddly) amazingly afraid of the world out there!
That is one bunch of wild and crazy guys, THL!
‘You don’t get alot of invitations to cocktail parties when you tell folks you’re going to talk about chromatic dispersion, atenuation, and other such “chick-magnet” topics.’
Well thanks for the warning as to the topic of conversations you’ll be engaging us in at the next brownstoner shindig. Should be a loooooong night.
oh Bennie, you know I jest. It is very impressive.
Why are most commenters so damn defensive over this report? It was done by the CENTER FOR AN URBAN FUTURE. Hello??? They are pro-NYC. Get it? I was born and raised in NYC and I take no offense from this. You people are weird…
The name of the study is “REVIVING THE CITY OF ASPIRATION.”
“This major report by the Center for an Urban Future concludes that New York’s longstanding legacy as a place that both sustained a large middle class and elevated countless people from poorer backgrounds into the middle class is now in serious jeopardy. ”
What’s the problem???????