I't been a while since i lived in Houston, but as a New Yorker, I don't find this too surprising. [rquoter]A new report from the Center for an Urban Future (whose previous report, "Attack of the Chains," sparked a bidding war between Fox and Warner Bros.) confirms the obvious: the so-called middle class can no longer afford to live in New York and are relocating in large numbers to the exburbs or far-flung cities like Houston, where $50,000 a year gets you the same standard of living as a $123,322 salary does in Manhattan. Don't scoff; Space City has theater, opera, ballet, air-conditioned skywalks, a Holocaust Museum—even a lively local weblog, just like the one you enjoy here! But if you're really determined to make a go of it here in New York, this report [PDF] is as sobering as it is unsurprising. Focusing on data primarily gathered before the economic deathspin went "full Bale," the study contends it's not just Manhattan that's cost-prohibitive to your average working stiff, but the boroughs as well: Queens is the fifth most expensive urban area in the U.S! Perhaps that's why twice as many New Yorkers relocated to Philadelphia ("the sixth borough!") in 2006 than in 2000. Or maybe they were just following orders from the Times Style section. In all, 151,441 residents left the city in 2006, a 7% increase over 2002. (The overall population increased due to births and immigration.) And it's not just working class families; the number of New Yorkers with bachelor’s degrees who left the city rose to 29,370 in 2006, up 127% from a year earlier. The report says the problem is that while everything costs significantly more in NYC—home heating costs, for instance, have risen 125% in the past five years and are up 243% since 1998—wages have remained stagnant, even while Wall Street business was booming. But Joe Salvo, director of the NYC Department of Planning’s population division, tells Crain's the study looked at too narrow a time period and didn't consider the people moving to New York. And speaking to reporters yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg seemed to shrug off the report, noting, "There is turnover all the time. That’s very healthy. We're doing fine." Then, perhaps realizing how that might sound coming from a gazillionaire, he added, "But it is very worrisome, the number of people who are losing their jobs." [/rquoter]
Most salary calculators have always said that the Manhattan area is about 75%-100% higher than Texas metro areas in terms of cost of living. It's one reason I like living in the Texas area.
If that wasn't enough, check out the comments to see another reason to leave NYC. Comparing Houston to Traverse City?
Loved reading the comments to the story. That east coast attitude (we're better than you) makes me appreciate Houston more and more.
yeah, gotta love the "NYC is getting too expensive for us, we're moving to Houston where we're better than everyone" attitude. Expect a warm and most sincere welcome. Ironically, it will probably be warm, but less sincere proportionate to any bad attitude and demeanor.
the fact that some cities aren't crammed with 9 million-ish pretentious attitudes stuffed vertically on a small island comes to mind.
city and state taxes, real estate regulations/zoning, and availability of land also play a part in this, Sam. I love the fact that people poop on Houston all the time - it keeps my cost of living down. The proof is in the numbers - people are moving to Houston because there are jobs here due to a very friendly business climate. The lack of the northeast winter is a nice bonus, too
Been there done that on both coasts. With that cost of living, they can have it. I do miss the kick ass weather in Cali but other than that, Houston by far. Hopefully not a lot of people read this article. We have enough yankees here already.
I met with a woman today at work who was in from NYC. It was her first trip to Houston. Her first comment was, "I had no idea Houston had such tall buildings! I was amazed at how tall they are here" (I work downtown) uhhh....ok, ma'am.
I really don't get it why almost all the immigrants want to live in NY SF LA etc when they are so damn poor to begin with, why not move to an affordable area? I am perfectly fine in my littel college city in IN.
Typical response from east coasters. Back in my corporate job days, people were amazed we didn't ride horses to work. They were 100% serious.
With the exception of taxes, which are not enough to make up the deficit - there's a reason why real estate/land are scarcer: a reason called supply and demand.
I think it's the ability to socialize w/ more people from their home countries and ease their transition. Not to mention the increased likelihood that they already know someone in those cities.
