When you take the salary of an average (not wealthy or poor, but middle class) New Yorker living in the heart of the city into account, is it even enough to not only pay rent (on top of a deposit in advance for first time renters) including bills utilities, internet, maintainence fees or muncipality fees & not forgetting food on the table. I’ve heard that NYC has the reputation of being the most expensive in the globe. Is that true?
the costs in NYC vary wildly. Manhattan is very expensive, Staten Island, not so much.
But most folks don’t want to live in Staten Island, hence why it’s cheaper. They want to live in the most expensive places, and hence they tend to live beyond their means.
I think that’s true for any city though. In my own city, people complain about the very high costs in the most expensive areas, but they never complain about the costs in the cheaper areas… and if you point out those areas exist they tend to get angry with you, because it’s not desirable to live in the more affordable areas.
There’s no doubt that New York is expensive. However, I don’t think it’s even the most expensive city in the country. San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston all come to mind as probably more expensive, at least in terms of rent.
Still, you will pay a premium to live in the five boroughs compared to most other places in the country. Salaries tend to be higher in the city compared to other parts of the country, but it’s not unusual for New Yorkers to spend 40%-50% or more of their income on rent. Especially for those who earn less.
But, there’s a reason most New Yorkers aren’t chomping at the bit to move out to flyover country.
It all depends on the zip code really. NYC is way more massive than the other cities and has a wider range of incomes. Sea/Bos/SF are much smaller and tend to have higher average incomes due to the lack of diversity, and the higher general education levels.
Everywhere is expensive if you’re not rich. It’s by design. Wages are just high enough to pay rent and keep you alive. When wages go up, rent goes up.
Yeah, it’s expensive. Any city that’s appealing to live in, has a lot of money sloshing around, and has limited housing is going to be expensive. You use what money you have to compete for housing so you can enjoy the amenities the city offers.
Lists of cities by their cost of living index typically put Swiss cities at the top. New York is #1 in the US, narrowly ahead of Honolulu, San Francisco, and Seattle. (https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings.jsp)
The increase cost make it hard to make it in the city. The minimum wage is higher and wages are generally higher but it hard and many have to deal with a long commute to get something affordable. I did want to mention that new york is pretty expensive but I usually saw london, moscow, tokyo vying for most expensive.
No matter who’s in charge, NYC in some areas are too much. Some not so much.
It depends, but when speaking in middle class terms, it’s way too expensive. I’m not from New York (nor will I ever go there), but it’s something to consider.
