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Old 10-04-2012, 07:28 PM
 
581 posts, read 2,297,426 times
Reputation: 312

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Love Manhattan, Love Boston, DC is nice too but it's no Manhattan or Boston..

The problem is that living downtown in any of the major East Coast cities is priced out
of reach for even well paid working professionals.

In Manhattan the top IT jobs requiring 10+ years of experience and a masters degree pay 100k-110k.
Yet 400 sqft studio apartments are renting for $2,900 and 600 sqft 1br apartments are renting for $3,800.
2BR? Try $4,700 per month!

In Boston the top IT jobs requiring 10+ years of experience and a masters degree pay 90k-100k tops.
Yet nice 600 sqft 1br apartments in the heart of the city rent for $2,800-$3,600. 2br? Try $4,000 per month!

In DC the same story..

So what gives??
Renting downtown in any of these cities is priced well outside what employers are able/willing to pay.
How do people afford to live downtown in any of these major East Coast cities?
Has downtown become a reserved location for only the multimillionaires and people engaged in vast illegal activities?
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Old 10-04-2012, 07:33 PM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,774,738 times
Reputation: 6662
Stop complaining and move somewhere else if you can't pay the rent. Sheesh.
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Old 10-04-2012, 07:44 PM
 
Location: DC/Brooklyn, NY/Miami, FL
1,178 posts, read 2,942,088 times
Reputation: 391
Quote:
Originally Posted by ja1myn View Post
Stop complaining and move somewhere else if you can't pay the rent. Sheesh.
Lol straight like that
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Old 10-04-2012, 07:46 PM
 
Location: roaming gnome
12,384 posts, read 28,396,380 times
Reputation: 5877
maybe for newcomers... people who have lived there for awhile don't pay that much... I know a couple with a nice size bedroom in the east village that still has rent control at 300 a month from the 60s. of course when they moved in, it was sketchy/dangerous... very nice area nowthough...

same will be for emerging areas yet to gentrify there... they will likely be nice if you invest in it 10-15 years from now. most cities work like that... there are places in brooklyn queen you can get into manhattan in 15-20 minutes, so I don't see the big deal?

also, lots of people have roommates there, even people in 30s, 40s... if not, then DINK's are pretty normal also. I have been able to pull it off by either having a roommate or being in a DINK situation.
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Old 10-04-2012, 08:04 PM
 
Location: Indianapolis
3,892 posts, read 5,483,206 times
Reputation: 957
Move to Indianapolis and take advantage of the lowest cost of living of any large US city. The nations most affordable housing market/2nd strongest economy and fastest growing city in the midwest.
Not to mention Chicago is only 3 hours away and Indy offers many great amendities for a city of 2M people.

Otherwise i agree with Ja1myn.
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Old 10-04-2012, 08:27 PM
 
581 posts, read 2,297,426 times
Reputation: 312
Lot's of snarky remarks.. And why to do you assume I live in any of these 3 cities? I don't. I have
visited and think they are great cities with lots of amenities.

I'm sure many people look at Manhattan and Boston and wonder how the math works for so many people
to live there. I guess the people who moved in 20 years ago got in cheap. But NYC has had a massive
influx of newcomers despite the high prices. My amazement is how so many people can afford to snap
up these astronomically priced rentals when it would seem that the salaries do not pay enough to live in
the city. Great cities no doubt, I just don't understand how the Math works to live in the Manhattan or
downtown Boston.
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:30 PM
 
Location: East Coast of the United States
27,276 posts, read 28,346,580 times
Reputation: 24801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom55116 View Post
Lot's of snarky remarks.. And why to do you assume I live in any of these 3 cities? I don't. I have
visited and think they are great cities with lots of amenities.

I'm sure many people look at Manhattan and Boston and wonder how the math works for so many people
to live there. I guess the people who moved in 20 years ago got in cheap. But NYC has had a massive
influx of newcomers despite the high prices. My amazement is how so many people can afford to snap
up these astronomically priced rentals when it would seem that the salaries do not pay enough to live in
the city. Great cities no doubt, I just don't understand how the Math works to live in the Manhattan or
downtown Boston.
Many salaries do pay enough. For example, first year associates in big law firms start out making $140K+ in cities like DC and Boston and $160K+ in NYC. That's enough to pay the rent in 1 bdr apartments in or near the downtowns.

If you don't make at least those kinds of salaries, then you cannot afford the rent and have to look elsewhere. Simple as that.
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Old 10-04-2012, 11:54 PM
 
Location: South Beach and DT Raleigh
13,966 posts, read 24,026,488 times
Reputation: 14760
I have friends in old city Philadelphia and their rent is quite reasonable for what they have compared to New York, Boston and DC.
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Old 10-05-2012, 12:50 AM
 
Location: In the heights
36,918 posts, read 38,864,790 times
Reputation: 20949
Philadelphia is an affordable major east coast city. Baltimore, too, unless you consider it too small.
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Old 10-05-2012, 01:51 AM
 
289 posts, read 394,749 times
Reputation: 291
What are you definitions of "downtown" in these areas? Where are you getting these rental rates from?
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