3 ms·

For all sorts of reasons, multipliers like the CoL adjustment in this article don't work for New York. (And really, they don't work in general.) To be "equall

For all sorts of reasons, multipliers like the CoL adjustment in this article don't work for New York. (And really, they don't work in general.) To be "equally well off," there are a lot more factors than living in an equally-sized apartment with an identical car ... after all, living in a place that doesn't suck counts for something. As does not needing that car. Or having an immense amount of stuff to do (much of which is free or close) that keeps you out of that apartment. On a personal level as a NYC resident, I live in a nice apartment in a nice (though not ritzy) neighborhood for $600/month, my transportation costs are $100/month and everything else is just about the same as it would be elsewhere. Every time I think about moving somewhere else, I have a hard time figuring out how I could come close to my current level of expenses without sacrificing quality of life.

lutorm 17y ago
To be fair, "living in a place that doesn't suck" is largely why the cost of living is so different between places. It's the other side of the equation that makes people pay the extra money. Though I agree with you that calling it "equally well off" is giving it too much credit for what it measures.
warfangle 17y ago
Absolutely. While apartments are smaller and more expensive per square foot in NYC, the city itself calls you out. You spend time in a park; at a sidewalk cafe; on a friend's (or your own) roof-deck. I guestimate that I spend 50% more time outdoors living here in the city than I did living in a suburb down in NC. I also spend a lot less in transportation costs, and go to a lot more concerts. While, according to this guy's statistics, NYC is the poorest.. well, that's not taking into account the culture, the convenience, and so forth. (I'm in a share with a couple friends; My monthly bills - including rent [utilities included], phone, and transportation - are about $900. If you consider that a job that would pay $30k elsewhere will pay $40 or $50k here, and that if you're smart you can live on the cheap - you'll be able to retire a lot sooner if you plan on retiring out of the city, because the money that doesn't go far here goes very far elsewhere..)

lutorm 17y ago

To be fair, "living in a place that doesn't suck" is largely why the cost of living is so different between places. It's the other side of the equation that makes people pay the extra money. Though I agree with you that calling it "equally well off" is giving it too much credit for what it measures.

warfangle 17y ago

Absolutely. While apartments are smaller and more expensive per square foot in NYC, the city itself calls you out. You spend time in a park; at a sidewalk cafe; on a friend's (or your own) roof-deck. I guestimate that I spend 50% more time outdoors living here in the city than I did living in a suburb down in NC. I also spend a lot less in transportation costs, and go to a lot more concerts. While, according to this guy's statistics, NYC is the poorest.. well, that's not taking into account the culture, the convenience, and so forth. (I'm in a share with a couple friends; My monthly bills - including rent [utilities included], phone, and transportation - are about $900. If you consider that a job that would pay $30k elsewhere will pay $40 or $50k here, and that if you're smart you can live on the cheap - you'll be able to retire a lot sooner if you plan on retiring out of the city, because the money that doesn't go far here goes very far elsewhere..)