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The cost of living in NYC is the same or lower than elsewhere in the country? I've been to plenty of other states and this is not the case. Besides rent being MUCH cheaper everything else such as groceries, gasoline, auto insurance, taxes,and pretty much anything else you can think of is cheaper. I love NY believe me I do, but their is no way someone can say the cost of living is the same.
Transit is everything. No car, no car insurance, no gasoline. All other cost differences pale in comparison to the thousands of dollars a year saved by not owning a car. (Obviously this doesn't apply to people living in Douglaston or Tottenville, but most of NYC is perfectly livable without a car.)
State and city taxes are basically irrelevant if you're talking about the poor.
The cost of living in NYC is the same or lower than elsewhere in the country? I've been to plenty of other states and this is not the case. Besides rent being MUCH cheaper everything else such as groceries, gasoline, auto insurance, taxes,and pretty much anything else you can think of is cheaper. I love NY believe me I do, but their is no way someone can say the cost of living is the same.
Outside of rent, everything else is much cheaper than it was in Chicagoland. It's an oddity, I know, but give it consideration. No deli's means eating out at all is absurdly expensive on top of the 12.5% tax because of that stupid food and drink tax. $4/hr street parking, gas higher than here, insurance as high as here, property taxes outrageous (aunt was paying $25k), then a city sticker just because you have a car?! There's also a huge difference in groceries and clothes as they were more expensive and were taxed...
Nickle and dimed everyday. Also reason why I resent ever owning a car haha.
Transit is everything. No car, no car insurance, no gasoline. All other cost differences pale in comparison to the thousands of dollars a year saved by not owning a car. (Obviously this doesn't apply to people living in Douglaston or Tottenville, but most of NYC is perfectly livable without a car.)
State and city taxes are basically irrelevant if you're talking about the poor.
We definitely do have a great transit system, but you're still paying $112/ month for that transportation. In many places in this country you can have a 1-2 bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood for around $700-800/month. In NYC you would be lucky to find a studio for that much unless your on section 8 or one of the other housing programs.With the equivalent in NYC you're paying at least 1500-1800/ month. I'd rather pay for car insurance/ gasoline and other associated costs because I'd still save more money. I make the same as one of my Navy friends from a different state and he has 2 cars, a massive apartment, and pays much less in expenses per month than I do. Granted I'm not saying the poor should move out or anything, but those that make enough to not be poor, but are barely middle class have it much harder here than they would anywhere else. This is in regards to quality of life/stress.
Outside of rent, everything else is much cheaper than it was in Chicagoland. It's an oddity, I know, but give it consideration. No deli's means eating out at all is absurdly expensive on top of the 12.5% tax because of that stupid food and drink tax. $4/hr street parking, gas higher than here, insurance as high as here, property taxes outrageous (aunt was paying $25k), then a city sticker just because you have a car?! There's also a huge difference in groceries and clothes as they were more expensive and were taxed...
Nickle and dimed everyday. Also reason why I resent ever owning a car haha.
When I lived in Great Lakes for a year all of the grocery stores that I went to were much cheaper than over here. I'm not sure where in Chicagoland you are from, but I am clearly not from Illinois and can't speak on behalf of other parts, but in regards to Great Lakes it was much cheaper. Gas was definitely not higher than NY though. When I was there just 1.5 years ago I could get premium gas for 3.50/ gallon. Usually I pay around 4.70-4.90 for premium gas in NYC. Honestly I think it all just depends on what you value and what you look for in life. I feel this city is too crowded and expensive for my taste and I do plan to one day move out permanently unless I get a much better paying job! lol I love the city I just wish I could afford a better quality of life at the moment.
We definitely do have a great transit system, but you're still paying $112/ month for that transportation. In many places in this country you can have a 1-2 bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood for around $700-800/month. In NYC you would be lucky to find a studio for that much unless your on section 8 or one of the other housing programs.With the equivalent in NYC you're paying at least 1500-1800/ month. I'd rather pay for car insurance/ gasoline and other associated costs because I'd still save more money. I make the same as one of my Navy friends from a different state and he has 2 cars, a massive apartment, and pays much less in expenses per month than I do. Granted I'm not saying the poor should move out or anything, but those that make enough to not be poor, but are barely middle class have it much harder here than they would anywhere else. This is in regards to quality of life/stress.
I was talking about costs ignoring rent. Obviously rent is the big differential that makes NYC more expensive--if and only if you live in market-rate housing. But, combined with the enormous number of subsidized apartments in NYC (60% of all rentals in the city), cost of living in NYC can actually be lower here. Median rents in stabilized apartments are only about $1,200 across the city, with not much difference borough-to-borough (see the Furman report I posted earlier; median in Manhattan is just $1295/month), and other subsidy programs like NYCHA, Section 8 and Mitchell-Lama result in even cheaper rents. Once you're down at rental prices that low, you can see why it's really not harder to be poor in NYC than it is to be poor elsewhere in the country, at least if you are in subsidized housing, which explains how so many poor people live here. (Not to say that it isn't hard to be poor in NYC--it's hard to be poor everywhere in the country. But it isn't harder in NYC and may actually be easier.)
And $112/month is nothing compared to gasoline plus car insurance plus car loan/rental costs plus upkeep costs, which are together going to run maybe $500/month or more (even ignoring extra costs like tolls and parking/traffic tickets).
My auto insurance/gas has never been more than 250 in any state outside of NY(possibly due to my driving history). I guess I need to read up on some of these programs because if those are the average costs of rent here I could live with that. I do want to earn more hence why I'm pursuing my degree and should have my B.S. by this June, but in the meantime cheaper housing would definitely relieve a ton of my financial stress. Also what I meant by being harder in NYC was that 40k goes much further elsewhere than it does in NYC. If you make 30-40k in some other cities and states you could be living a much more comfortable life and not be considered poor. I feel kind of poor making 40-45k in NYC. I've even thought about finding a second job to work overnight for some extra income.
My auto insurance/gas has never been more than 250 in any state outside of NY(possibly due to my driving history). I guess I need to read up on some of these programs because if those are the average costs of rent here I could live with that. I do want to earn more hence why I'm pursuing my degree and should have my B.S. by this June, but in the meantime cheaper housing would definitely relieve a ton of my financial stress. Also what I meant by being harder in NYC was that 40k goes much further elsewhere than it does in NYC. If you make 30-40k in some other cities and states you could be living a much more comfortable life and not be considered poor. I feel kind of poor making 40-45k in NYC. I've even thought about finding a second job to work overnight for some extra income.
Unless you have cheap to very cheap housing costs $45k or so *is* poor in NYC, especially if you want to live in Manhattan.
After taxes (about 33%) that $45k is only around $30k and that is assuming there aren't other payroll deductions such as health insurance and 401K. In the end you could be looking at low to mid twenties as real take home pay.
Every young adult or even some middle aged persons we know making that sort of money either has two or more side gigs, relies upon a trust fund or money from parents/family, and or is married/partnered/living with roommates all of which bring the COL in NYC down.
Overall I would say the very basic explanation as to why the poor can afford to live in NYC was accurate. It is all about the breadth of the social services network and rent regulations which protect and insulate them from any free market problems (rent spikes, for example). In addition, the free market poor folks, like transplants, are not subsidized by government the way poor locals are, but by parents, or simply managing (or not managing) debt. Seems pretty straightforward and accurate to me.
People who were grandfathered into many stabilized rent and lifelong social services users are much better off than new comers here who have to pay today's prices on everything.
People who were grandfathered into many stabilized rent and lifelong social services users are much better off than new comers here who have to pay today's prices on everything.
Grand fathered would imply RS has ended or substantially altered, which has not happened.
Those living in below market RS or even RC apartments have "cheap" rents by virtue of long term tenancy.
On average you find most such persons moved into their apartments before early 1990's, with some even before 1970's. Even with the high annual increases during much of the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's it would take a lot of heavy lifting to move rent of $400 per month to anywhere near $2k.
Those that moved into units say around the late 1980's through early 1990's are probably paying a few to several hundred less than market rate in Manhattan as least. A co-worker lives in the East 80's and she pays *only* $1300 per month for a large studio. She moved in after college (early 1990's). There are older "lifers" in that building who are paying <$700 per month for basically the same apartment (all units are studios in this building).
You also have to consider until about the middle of the 1990's moving and finding another RS apartment wasn't that big a deal. People moved all the time and found other RS apartments so they didn't need to remain stuck. Now of course finding an inexpensive RS apartment at least in Manhattan and perhaps parts of Brooklyn or Queens is like the proverbial needle in a haystack. So these lifer RS tenants are basically "stuck" where they are unless they are willing to go market rate.
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