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I know a lot of these conversations are about families and older people than me, so an anecdote from the POV of a 26 year old I just moved from Durham, NC back

I know a lot of these conversations are about families and older people than me, so an anecdote from the POV of a 26 year old I just moved from Durham, NC back to New England after a year (Moved to NYC specifically, this is my first time in a truly large city) I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone in my age group (and in tech) would want to move to Durham/Raleigh from NYC, except for raising a family The cost of living in these places New Englanders and Californians are flooding has been shooting through the roof faster than the standard of living, which is staying steady to dropping as gentrification and population growth causes very real problems with traffic, crime, and homelessness. Ironically, the low taxes that draw people to most of these places are a result of conservative policies, the same of which lead to limited infrastructure spending and ability to handle all this growth. - Sure I pay 40% more for less space, but I don't need a car anymore, I can still go out to nature on the weekends, I can still go out to nature on the weekends, food scene on my surrounding few blocks is equivalent to the whole of Durham (and paradoxically cheaper, CoL calculators compare things like milk and bread, but when there's a restaurant on every corner, pricing is somewhat competitive), there so many activities, the list goes on. Also the elephant in the room for all these low COL area conversations is savings. I can save the equivalent of my entire paycheck from Durham every month, and still live off what's left when subtracted from my NYC salary. And while it's true NYC is more expensive, there's no rule that says one day when I'm retiring and trying to live off my savings I have to live in NYC. A dollar is a dollar. If you take a pay hit based on lower COL, you're making a long-term sacrifice based on your current situation.

ipnon 7y ago
90% of people become parents [0]. Raising children is difficult in a city where single people struggle. [0] https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-people-become-parents https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-people-become-paren...
- BoorishBears 7y ago
  Yeah... I specifically prefaced the comment with "most people in these conversations are talking about families" and specified in tech. Even if it's just for a few years, the amount of money you can save up by living in these high COL cities is insane (for tech workers at least) Honestly, part of it is I don't know how long that's going to be true. If we have a sudden tech bust, I'd rather be sitting on a large amount of savings and trying to find work anywhere it pops up than on a smaller amount that won't sustain me if I have to move to a high CoL area
sudosteph 7y ago
I'm not a fan of Durham, but I really like downtown Raleigh. The food is good, the people are friendly, and the local music scene is surprisingly vibrant. I've met at least two young people in Raleigh who are originally from NYC, a couple from Philadelphia too who said they don't want to move back. The things those young people seem to have in common: - Work low-skilled service industry jobs - Have involvement in the music or art scene - Are unhappy with standard of living available to them in "affordable" parts of bigger cities (ie, crime + pollution, not being able to afford a car for trips / gigging). So that's one example of the type of young person who would prefer to move to Raleigh. I don't know if they're the type who will stay long-term, but there's definitely an appeal to a certain set of people. Highly paid techies who can work anywhere may not get much out of it. Personally, I just enjoy being here because I'm from NC and like the culture and my friends and family here. I might consider a bigger east-coast city in the future - but the west coast in general has completely lost its appeal.

ipnon 7y ago

90% of people become parents [0]. Raising children is difficult in a city where single people struggle. [0] https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-people-become-parents https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-people-become-paren...

BoorishBears 7y ago
Yeah... I specifically prefaced the comment with "most people in these conversations are talking about families" and specified in tech. Even if it's just for a few years, the amount of money you can save up by living in these high COL cities is insane (for tech workers at least) Honestly, part of it is I don't know how long that's going to be true. If we have a sudden tech bust, I'd rather be sitting on a large amount of savings and trying to find work anywhere it pops up than on a smaller amount that won't sustain me if I have to move to a high CoL area

sudosteph 7y ago

I'm not a fan of Durham, but I really like downtown Raleigh. The food is good, the people are friendly, and the local music scene is surprisingly vibrant. I've met at least two young people in Raleigh who are originally from NYC, a couple from Philadelphia too who said they don't want to move back. The things those young people seem to have in common: - Work low-skilled service industry jobs - Have involvement in the music or art scene - Are unhappy with standard of living available to them in "affordable" parts of bigger cities (ie, crime + pollution, not being able to afford a car for trips / gigging). So that's one example of the type of young person who would prefer to move to Raleigh. I don't know if they're the type who will stay long-term, but there's definitely an appeal to a certain set of people. Highly paid techies who can work anywhere may not get much out of it. Personally, I just enjoy being here because I'm from NC and like the culture and my friends and family here. I might consider a bigger east-coast city in the future - but the west coast in general has completely lost its appeal.