Why do so many people choose to live in SF, NY etc?

It's not really that simple. Most people are either born in that area or they move there when they are single and have enough money to get by. If you were born there it's really hard to move, especially if you are also poor.

Most people who make under $50k and move there are single or have no kids. I've never heard of a poor family moving to NYC/SF, that's impossible. If you are single $30k is probably enough to have a good time in those cities provided you get roommates.

 

Many reasons:

- the person just likes the city and is willing to accept the high costs/rents
- the person grew up there and it is the only way of life they know
- the person is there for a career or a job that is not available elsewhere
- the person is "stuck" there due to circumstances beyond their control (illness of themselves or family member, too poor to move, etc.)
- the person is wealthy enough to not care and likes it
- their family is there and they don't want to leave them

Just a few reasons.

 

From an immigrant's perspective, to succeed in a new country it is best to have tons of opportunities, fellow countrymen for support and tolerant locals.

Satisfy those requirements and they will accept nearly any other "burden"

It's as simple as that.

 

My first two questions are:

1) Have you been to San Francisco?
2) Have you been to NYC?

(Sort of being facetious with both questions, especially as I did read you lived in NYC.)

NYC is basically the capital of the world. It costs a ton of money to live somewhere that hosts the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grand Central Terminal, Central Park, The Brooklyn Bridge, The statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Broadway, The Guggenheim, Wall Street, every restaurant ever, every television network headquarters, The Cloisters, MSG... I could go on.

Part of what you pay for when you purchase a piece of property is the access and availability of amenities. NYC pretty much has every amenity ever, if city dwelling is your thing.

I personally used to think it'd be nuts to live in either of these cities over a place like Houston, that has a ton of city amenities at a fraction of the price. Then I visited both cities and completely understood... those cities specifically are two of the most beautiful, interesting and renowned cities in the world.

 

You'll never understand the answer because you understand the question.

 

You didn't make enough money to enjoy living in NY.

 

For the chance of impromptu Kanye concerts.

 

keep in mind that the pay is also much higher in those cities. Avg. teacher salary in Houston is 50k..in San Francisco its 70K.

Although to be fair to your side of the argument, you'd have to make 89K in San Francisco to = 50k in Houston.

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

 

It's fun, exciting, lots to do.

The best time to live in a city like that is when you're young and single. If you wait until your married and have kids, you're most likely not going to want to live there.

It's also probably a case of people being bad with money, or completely ignoring their finances at an early age. It will most likely come back to bite them later in life.

 

SF (and the bay area as a whole) is really difficult if you don't make any money. There's such a terrible lack of housing that you really don't have many options anymore. Even Oakland is getting out of control now.

NYC is a little different. You can actually live there if you are willing to stomach a longer commute. Public transit is also much better in NYC which increases the number of affordable housing options. Plus many of the entertainment options and amenities can be had for free or with large discounts if you know what you're doing whereas SF is just always expensive.

Also it depends on what your career interests are. NYC and the Bay Area have a variety of companies and non-profits that offer career options that simply aren't available in Houston.

 

San Francisco is amazing...

 

It could also be the type of job they want. Silicon Valley tech people will live in or near SF. People who want to get into Publishing, possibly modeling, art, theater etc. Might want to live in NYC.

It's possible to do any of things in other places, but the center for those things would be in SF or NYC.

 

If I could, I would live in San Francisco.

 

Im sorry you failed at living in NYC.

I made it work for me as a single guy in my 20s, and now I chose to live in LA in my 30s with a family. I buck the data and trends.