The Good Guide to Hustlin': Best Cities for the Young and Broke (live, compared)

[caphillsea77]

Originally Posted by Woof

You must have been in the upper crust of poor people if you could afford a Big Mac. You're not really poor unless you have to steal condiment packets from fast food joints to use on the stale bread you got from the bakery dumpster.

I actually saw a Reality Show about some strange couple from Sydney who were impoverished by choice (extreme Budddhists perhaps) that raided dumpsters from high end restaurants in Sydney and then brought tossed out food back to their home and invited their friends over for a barbeque/picnic with dumpster food. They indulged in the food (rotten? I don't know) and then patted themselves on the back for eliminating excess waste and being human scavengers. Strange but true.

[bradjl2009]

Pittsburgh has a little grit but it's slightly insulting to put it in the same category as Newark and Detroit. Pittsburgh is light years ahead of both cities and you can actually walk around Pittsburgh without being afraid of becoming a crime victim.

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Pittsburgh has a little grit but it's slightly insulting to put it in the same category as Newark and Detroit. Pittsburgh is light years ahead of both cities and you can actually walk around Pittsburgh without being afraid of becoming a crime victim.

I agree with this. Pittsburgh's a mix of good and bad pockets within the city limits, not an almost completely unsafe central city surrounded by crime-free suburbs.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Meh, poverty sucks any way you slice it. Ramen noodles and Big Macs taste the same in Philadelphia as they do in New Orleans. If one is broke, I'd say go for an area with plenty of good parkland and ample recreational opportunties.

Ample parkland and an abundance of other cheap or free activities help when you're flat broke.

The bigger thing to me is living in a place where there are opportunities for work and education, so that you may enjoy lifting yourself out of poverty.

[Gateway Region]

I believe Jersey City, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas and Chicago give the best bang for your buck.

[brent6969]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Their take:



I strongly disagree with Philadelphia being characerized as an 'alternative' to a nearby huge city. That's dumb. Its a massive city in its own right.

I like the inclusion of New Orleans and Kansas City in the list of artsy places and agree.

Pittsburgh does not really need TLC imHo. It seemed nice enough to me.

Boston and DC are expensive arent they? I guess the logic is at least you'll find a job.

LMAO, Nashville is in no way a liberal oasis, I love Nash but liberal it ain't.

[Mutiny77]

Jersey City, easy on the wallet? Really? Is that compared to NYC?

[Woof]

I think Philly has the best bang for the buck in terms of having any kind of scene you want to get involved with, but with almost absurdly low rents for such a large city.

[dosequis man]

Nashville

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by Woof

I think Philly has the best bang for the buck in terms of having any kind of scene you want to get involved with, but with almost absurdly low rents for such a large city.

Philly rents have historically been low because Philly has always been a "homeowner city" due to the huge amount of rowhomes. People here know the value of owning a home and how absurd it is to pay drastic prices in rent when you know the owner can't be paying more than 1/5th of that price for the mortgage. Don't mean to offend anyone but I just don't understand why people would pay so much money to rent something. Is a 2 year lease really less of a commitment than buying a property and having the options to live there, rent it out, sell it, etc?

Anyway, for the young and broke yes Philly is a great city to live because rents are so cheap.