Best real city for the money?

[thwanko]

Originally Posted by Clark Park

Of the big cities of the North-east and Mid-Atlantic region - Boston, NYC, Washington, Baltimore - Philly is certainly the most affordable one to live in.

I would have figured that Baltimore would be relatively affordable as well, am I mistaken?

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by thwanko

I would have figured that Baltimore would be relatively affordable as well, am I mistaken?

Our move to Philly took about five years from end-to-end. Within that time, we had an offer that would have brought us to Baltimore. COL was roughly similar considering our incomes, living preferences, etc. And while Baltimore is a cool city in its own right, I feel you get more for your money in Philly. Both cities have a good number of gentrifying areas to choose from, with Philly probably having more. I assume highbrow living probably goes higher in Philly.

[AgelessStranger]

And here's a related article I found:

Cost of Living: How Expensive is Philadelphia?

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Truth11

Naturally you'd say that,because you're biased to Philly. Ever been to Atlanta or even Jacksonville or Houston,which are actually larger than Philly area-wise...

If you're speaking of the cities & not the metros you should substitute Charlotte for Atlanta. the city of Atlanta is closer to the size of Raleigh.

[pwduvall]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

Our move to Philly took about five years from end-to-end. Within that time, we had an offer that would have brought us to Baltimore. COL was roughly similar considering our incomes, living preferences, etc. And while Baltimore is a cool city in its own right, I feel you get more for your money in Philly. Both cities have a good number of gentrifying areas to choose from, with Philly probably having more. I assume highbrow living probably goes higher in Philly.

As a Baltimore resident, I tend to agree that, for comparable real estate, Philly is a hair cheaper. Still home prices in Baltimore City are relatively cheap for an east coast city. The Baltimore Metro area contains a couple of counties that are influenced by DC area home prices and that drives up the Metro averages.

Also, developers are scrambling to bring new rental housing on line in the Baltimore City. At least for now, there is a shortage of quality apartment units. I wouldn't be surprised to see that going on in Philadelphia to some extent.

[VASpaceMan]

Originally Posted by Blackjack2000

A suburb has to be sub to an 'urb. Saying Soutern cities like Atlanta and NOLA are overgrown suburbs makes no sense.

I'm grew up in the South, have spent plenty of time in sunbelt cities and what he said makes total sense. Cities where the "downtown" is a cluster of office buildings (so basically a corporate office park), where it becomes a ghost town after everyone gets off work and the rest of the place is single family homes, malls and chain restaurants..