3 ms·

It could always end up having the opposite effect (over a period of time, anyway): the reason NY and SF became high cost of living was because everybody wanted

It could always end up having the opposite effect (over a period of time, anyway): the reason NY and SF became high cost of living was because everybody wanted to move there because that's where all the jobs were, in a vicious cycle. If, say, Manhattan loses its primary advantage of proximity to jobs and has nothing to offer besides walkability and population density, I can imagine it becoming a lot more affordable.

Devils-Avocado 6y ago
But that's a grinding process that good take decades to play out, leaving the city looking like Detroit or Chicago at the end.
jseliger 6y ago
In addition, high CoL areas have (mostly) self-inflicted their high CoL; nothing prevents them from building more housing and dramatically lowering their CoL! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501
- strombofulous 6y ago
  I don't know anything about this but I am incredibly skeptical that there's a magic silver-bullet solution with no side effects. I would imagine that there are a lot of factors that lead to this working in Tokyo.
nostromo 6y ago
It's hard to see how New York becomes more affordable without a bunch of serious knock-on effects that would make it a bad place to live. During "White Flight" New York lost a substantial, but not enormous number of people, but still the effects on the city budget caused quality of life to plummet, as crime spiraled and infrastructure crumbled. I was reminded of this after reading this recent New York Times article about the current massive budget shortfall as the tax base flees the city: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/nyregion/nyc-budget-coronavirus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/nyregion/nyc-budget-coron...
Aunche 6y ago
I think that's already the case to a certain extent. Rents are already 20% cheaper in desirable areas of Manhattan right now than before the pandemic.

Devils-Avocado 6y ago

But that's a grinding process that good take decades to play out, leaving the city looking like Detroit or Chicago at the end.

jseliger 6y ago

In addition, high CoL areas have (mostly) self-inflicted their high CoL; nothing prevents them from building more housing and dramatically lowering their CoL! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501

strombofulous 6y ago
I don't know anything about this but I am incredibly skeptical that there's a magic silver-bullet solution with no side effects. I would imagine that there are a lot of factors that lead to this working in Tokyo.

nostromo 6y ago

It's hard to see how New York becomes more affordable without a bunch of serious knock-on effects that would make it a bad place to live. During "White Flight" New York lost a substantial, but not enormous number of people, but still the effects on the city budget caused quality of life to plummet, as crime spiraled and infrastructure crumbled. I was reminded of this after reading this recent New York Times article about the current massive budget shortfall as the tax base flees the city: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/nyregion/nyc-budget-coronavirus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/nyregion/nyc-budget-coron...

Aunche 6y ago

I think that's already the case to a certain extent. Rents are already 20% cheaper in desirable areas of Manhattan right now than before the pandemic.