U.S. Most Expensive Cities (condos, how much, salaries)
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According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2006 survey, the top 10 most expensive cities in the country are as follows:
1. New York, New York
2. Los Angeles, California
3. San Francisco, California
4. Chicago, Illinois
5. Miami, Florida
6. White Plains, New York (New York metro)
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
8. Houston, Texas
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Morristown, New Jersey (New York metro)
Which ones are worth your money?
Which ones are you surprised about being left out of the top 10?
Houston? Really? That totally surprises me because it has always seemed to me to be quite INexpensive. I'm in Houston at least several times a year and I've even thought about relocating because I so like the area--and the area's prices.
So that one surprises me.
Other than Houston I wouldn't even contemplate any of the others on the list. Those are some of my LEAST favorite cities in America. It just amazes me that people still actually want to live there.
I would have expected most of that list to be on there but I am surprised not to see Seattle or San Jose on there. And with the definition of city including grown-up suburbs like White Plains and Morristown, I'd figure a few Cali towns (La Jolla, Walnut Creek) would have qualified as well.
In one of the few times I may agree with Rawlings , I too am surprised at Houston's inclusion on the list. I was under the impression that the cost of living in TX as a whole was inexpensive.
According to the survey, this list is based on the factors of monetary value, consumer confidence, investment, interest rates, exchange rates of the country's currency, housing costs, and others.
I'm not quite sure how Houston got up there. Maybe there's enough money within the city limits (like River Oaks) to drive things up a few notches.
If that was the case then I'm sure Dallas would have been up there. Again people, it's not just housing costs nor is it how much money is in the city. It's how expensive the city is
I can vouch for Chicago (even though Ive never lived in its limits) as being expensive. I saw some one bedroom condos being built on Michigan Ave (near the Art Institute) that were $550,000!!!! I about died from laughter....
I'm still surprised as well by Houston's inclusion, as well as considering that White Plains did make it, other NY metro urban centers didn't make it- particularly Stamford, CT. Stamford I thought to be AT LEAST as expensive as White Plains. I lived too long in and around NY, as well as the DC burbs and the only place on that list where I would even consider it worth my money with the right job, would be Chicago.
I'm also surprised that Las Vegas is not up there; until about 6 years ago it was dirt cheap; now housing prices have gone up the roof, approaching California-level prices in the desirable parts of town like Summerlin.
I wonder if there is a list ranking the average earning power of different cities, taking into account not just prices but average salaries as well. That would probably be a better indicator of how viable a city is to live in.
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, I too am surprised at Houston's inclusion on the list. I was under the impression that the cost of living in TX as a whole was inexpensive.
