Why Is Philly Cheaper Than Other East Coast Cities? (Philadelphia: attorneys, law school)

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

Not at all. Boston is home to Ropes & Gray and WilmerHale, which are perennial Top 10-15 AmLaw powerhouse firms. Then it has major satellite offices for firms such as Skadden Arps, Weil Gotshal, and Latham & Watkins (none of these firms have offices in Philly). Morgan Lewis and Dechert are the two biggest shops in Philly and those are really national firms, not global law firms. There's a heavy focus on traditional commercial litigation and employment in the Philly market rather than the complex transactional stuff they have going on in Boston. And the Boston market pays significantly more than the Philly market. Boston, I believe, matches DC and NYC with starting associate salaries at $160K. Philly comes in around $115K to $125K and the gap widens tremendously as you move up the ladder.



No, it's definitely not a slouch. I don't think it compares to Boston, however. Who is the Philadelphia equivalent of Ted Kennedy, John Kerry or Mitt Romney?



Not sure about that one either. Boston has more finance, tech, etc. than Philly.

nyc, boston and dc are much more expensive than philly so the higher salaries are not really higher

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

nyc, boston and dc are much more expensive than philly so the higher salaries are not really higher

NYC, Boston and DC are more expensive because the salaries are higher. That's essentially what the OP is asking. Philadelphia is cheaper than those cities simply because you don't have as many high income earners.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

Are you asking who Ed Rendell or the late Arlen Specter is?

Ed Rendell and Arlen Specter are not the equivalent of Ted Kennedy whose family has generations of wealth and power and is considered American royalty. John Kerry also has tons of dough and came from a family that had tons of dough. Rendell and Specter are both the sons of immigrants and do not have the aristocratic pedigree of an Ed Kennedy. Not to mention that John Kerry probably has 300 times as much money as both of those guys combined.

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

Also - Boston does NOT have more schools than Philadelphia.

Do you have a link to support this?

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

Philadelphia is a bigger city that is more economically important than Boston. Philly has a larger GDP by every scale and measure. It's that simple.

Well, Philadelphia is a bigger city than Boston, so I would expect that. But Boston has more cutting edge industry that attracts a wider range of professionals.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

NYC, Boston and DC are more expensive because the salaries are higher. That's essentially what the OP is asking. Philadelphia is cheaper than those cities simply because you don't have as many high income earners.

yea but if ur like most people and not a big shot lawyer, yo salary is gon be similar in philly so then ur better off with the lower philly COL, the % of the population that gets salaries you mentioned is tiny and they are not the main reason for making the COL higher, look at places like chicago and houston, they got a buncha rich people, but are still very affordable

[pman]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

NYC, Boston and DC are more expensive because the salaries are higher. That's essentially what the OP is asking. Philadelphia is cheaper than those cities simply because you don't have as many high income earners.

Since you need less money to live well, you're actually making the same amount in Philadelphia at a lower nominal salary. there's nothing more unamerican than royalty

[MikeNigh]

I think NYC is expensive mostly because of just plain demand. Because of all the movies and propaganda towards NYC etc everyone in the world wants to live there. A lot of people spend everything they've got to be there...

My guess for DC being expensive is because a lot of money outside of DC is coming in and then staying / building up there.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

yea but if ur like most people and not a big shot lawyer, yo salary is gon be similar in philly so then ur better off with the lower philly COL

Not really. People are generally paid better in those metros; it's not just the big shot lawyers.

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

the % of the population that gets salaries you mentioned is tiny and they are not the main reason for making the COL higher, look at places like chicago and houston, they got a buncha rich people, but are still very affordable

Well, the reason DC and NYC are expensive is that people make a crap load of money. And people who have already have a crap load of money move there. There's a whole lot of wealth in those metros so it's understandable why they cost so much. Boston, on a whole, is a little cheaper because it has less money. Chicago and Houston probably don't have the international presence of DC and NYC that jacks the prices up in those cities.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

I think NYC is expensive mostly because of just plain demand. Because of all the movies and propaganda towards NYC etc everyone in the world wants to live there. A lot of people spend everything they've got to be there...

My guess for DC being expensive is because a lot of money outside of DC is coming in and then staying / building up there.

thats exactly what it is, its crazy overhyped, and it makes eryth around it super expensive so cant even live in da burbs on a middle class salary
boston and dc are expensive too, but not as grossly overpriced plus they have better economy and pay than nyc

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

My guess for DC being expensive is because a lot of money outside of DC is coming in and then staying / building up there.

There's just a lot of high earners. $100K is really not doing much of anything in DC. Nobody's going to be impressed by that.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

Not really. People are generally paid better in those metros; it's not just the big shot lawyers.



Well, the reason DC and NYC are expensive is that people make a crap load of money. And people who have already have a crap load of money move there. There's a whole lot of wealth in those metros so it's understandable why they cost so much. Boston, on a whole, is a little cheaper because it has less money. Chicago and Houston probably don't have the international presence of DC and NYC that jacks the prices up in those cities.

i already addressed this, but u keep on believing the nyc hype so i ma say this again, unless u got some kinda big shot unique to nyc type job, as a regular, middle-upper middle class person, yo pay is gon be comparable in nyc and philly, median income is almost the same while philly area is at least 40% cheaper than nyc area
now dc and boston pay even more than nyc, but philly is still at least 30% cheaper than them so the higher salaries in dc and boston are still behind their COL so in the end ur still better off in philly

Metropolitan statistical areas ranked by median household income
1 San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose, California CMSA 7,239,362 $63,024
2 Washington–Baltimore, District of Columbia–Maryland–Virginia–West Virginia CMSA 7,608,070 $57,291
3 Anchorage, Alaska MSA 260,283 $55,546
4 Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota–Wisconsin CMSA 3,615,902 $54,304
5 Boston–Worcester–Lawrence, Massachusetts–New Hampshire–Maine–Connecticut CMSA 5,819,101 $52,792
6 Hartford, Connecticut MSA 1,183,110 $52,188
7 Atlanta, Georgia MSA 4,112,198 $51,948
8 Honolulu, Hawaii MSA 876,156 $51,914
9 Rochester, Minnesota MSA 124,277 $51,316
10 Denver–Boulder–Greeley, Colorado CMSA 2,581,506 $51,088
11 Chicago–Gary–Kenosha, Illinois–Indiana–Wisconsin CMSA 9,157,540 $51,046
12 New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York–New Jersey–Connecticut–Pennsylvania CMSA 21,199,865 $50,795
13 Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, Washington CMSA 3,554,760 $50,733
14 New London–Norwich, Connecticut–Rhode Island and Providence Plantations MSA 293,566 $49,283
15 Madison, Wisconsin MSA 726,526 $49,223
16 Detroit–Ann Arbor–Flint, Michigan CMSA 5,456,428 $49,160
17 Austin–San Marcos, Texas MSA 1,249,763 $48,950
18 Raleigh–Durham–Cary, North Carolina MSA 1,187,941 $48,845
19 Fort Collins–Loveland, Colorado MSA 251,494 $48,655
20 Salt Lake City–Ogden, Utah MSA 1,333,914 $48,594
21 Salinas, California MSA 401,762 $48,305
22 Naples, Florida MSA 251,377 $48,289
23 Philadelphia–Wilmington–Atlantic City, Pennsylvania–New Jersey–Delaware–Maryland CMSA 6,188,463 $47,528
24 Appleton–Oshkosh–Neenah, Wisconsin MSA 358,365 $47,438
25 Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas CMSA 5,221,801 $47,418