4 ms·

My decision to only live and work in a place that doesn’t require a car is looking better and better.

Someone1234 4y ago
What places are those where sky-high rent doesn't offset the benefit? I can think of a few places, but rents are $500 more than a mortgage here, let alone rent. The US public transport is shambolic generally, so you're forced to use cars, and the few places that buck that trend (typically major cities), are too popular for their own good. That isn't really a critique, being too popular is a good thing, but in terms of dollars and cents driving might be cheaper than living in a HCOL.
- mulderc 4y ago
  I live in Eugene Oregon and haven’t needed a car yet. Previously was in Portland and also didn’t need a car even though I lived fairly far from the city center.
- jlmorton 4y ago
  You're certainly right that there has been major housing inflation in almost all major urban areas with good transit in the US. Still, there are several cities that are still relatively affordable with good transit and walkable neighborhoods. Chicago. Philadelphia. Portland. Pittsburgh.
- acdha 4y ago
  > What places are those where sky-high rent doesn't offset the benefit? I can think of a few places, but rents are $500 more than a mortgage here, let alone rent. What are average salaries like, though? Cities are complicated because while rent is higher wages are often massively higher to compensate, although telework has complicated this a bit lately. Since cars aren’t any cheaper in low cost of living areas, that baseline cost is often harder to swing on lower income. Not spending the U.S. average of $11+k/year to own a car also gives you an extra thousand a month for rent, which goes a long way even in the most expensive cities, and not needing to pay for parking often allows a hefty reduction in housing expenses in many cases, too, especially with more employers offering cash alternatives to their parking spaces.
  - decafninja 4y ago
    Speaking just for NYC, outside of a (relatively speaking) few jobs in investment banking or trading in finance, FAANG tier SWE, and perhaps medical doctors and upper tier lawyers, I don't think Manhattan salaries are high enough to compensate actually living in Manhattan versus the suburbs. This is assuming without roommates. I've worked 4 SWE jobs in Manhattan in my career. The first 3 were at non-tech companies (investment banks) where SWEs were a cost center and paid like a cost center. Nearly all of my coworkers commuted in from New Jersey, Westchester, less expensive parts of Queens or Long Island. My current job (FAANG tier company) is the first job where most of my coworkers actually live in Manhattan, or at least Brooklyn.
    - acdha 4y ago
      Manhattan is definitely a painful outlier thanks to the finance industry. In this thread, I think the relevant question is whether that’s something which cars help with - most of the people I’ve known who commuted there were still car-free because transit or biking because of the traffic & the cost of insurance, parking, etc. making the cost higher than those AAA national averages.

What places are those where sky-high rent doesn't offset the benefit? I can think of a few places, but rents are $500 more than a mortgage here, let alone rent. The US public transport is shambolic generally, so you're forced to use cars, and the few places that buck that trend (typically major cities), are too popular for their own good. That isn't really a critique, being too popular is a good thing, but in terms of dollars and cents driving might be cheaper than living in a HCOL.

mulderc 4y ago
I live in Eugene Oregon and haven’t needed a car yet. Previously was in Portland and also didn’t need a car even though I lived fairly far from the city center.
jlmorton 4y ago
You're certainly right that there has been major housing inflation in almost all major urban areas with good transit in the US. Still, there are several cities that are still relatively affordable with good transit and walkable neighborhoods. Chicago. Philadelphia. Portland. Pittsburgh.
acdha 4y ago
> What places are those where sky-high rent doesn't offset the benefit? I can think of a few places, but rents are $500 more than a mortgage here, let alone rent. What are average salaries like, though? Cities are complicated because while rent is higher wages are often massively higher to compensate, although telework has complicated this a bit lately. Since cars aren’t any cheaper in low cost of living areas, that baseline cost is often harder to swing on lower income. Not spending the U.S. average of $11+k/year to own a car also gives you an extra thousand a month for rent, which goes a long way even in the most expensive cities, and not needing to pay for parking often allows a hefty reduction in housing expenses in many cases, too, especially with more employers offering cash alternatives to their parking spaces.
- decafninja 4y ago
  Speaking just for NYC, outside of a (relatively speaking) few jobs in investment banking or trading in finance, FAANG tier SWE, and perhaps medical doctors and upper tier lawyers, I don't think Manhattan salaries are high enough to compensate actually living in Manhattan versus the suburbs. This is assuming without roommates. I've worked 4 SWE jobs in Manhattan in my career. The first 3 were at non-tech companies (investment banks) where SWEs were a cost center and paid like a cost center. Nearly all of my coworkers commuted in from New Jersey, Westchester, less expensive parts of Queens or Long Island. My current job (FAANG tier company) is the first job where most of my coworkers actually live in Manhattan, or at least Brooklyn.
  - acdha 4y ago
    Manhattan is definitely a painful outlier thanks to the finance industry. In this thread, I think the relevant question is whether that’s something which cars help with - most of the people I’ve known who commuted there were still car-free because transit or biking because of the traffic & the cost of insurance, parking, etc. making the cost higher than those AAA national averages.