# Cost of Living Is Poised to Plummet in the Next 20 Years (SingularityHUB) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 21, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479 "2016-07-21T07:38:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479/61 "2016-07-26T13:40:44Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > That’s why people decide to live in different places. …and why cheaper places are cheaper because less people want to be there, which was my point. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479/62 "2016-07-26T14:04:46Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > …and why cheaper places are cheaper because less people want to be there, which was my point. Yeah, but I think you’re missing that many people don’t really _want_ to be there - they _have to_ due to job requirements. Demand doesn’t really care about whether someone wants to have something, only about whether they’re looking to obtain it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479/63 "2016-07-26T21:50:10Z")
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**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479/64 "2016-07-27T00:43:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > …and why cheaper places are cheaper because less people want to be there, which was my point. Your point is that people paying more to live in Minneapolis want eight months of winter, rather than telecommute from, say, Tennessee because of the museums and restaurants? I’m thinking not so much. Most people are in big cities because that’s where the work is - most big cities _became_ big cities because people moved there looking for work. Hell, given the option, people pay more to get _out_ of big cities, which is how we got the suburbs. People live as far from big cities as they can afford, and telecommuting becoming more prevalent would see tons of people leaving the areas or not moving there in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479/65 "2016-07-27T07:24:08Z")
_Some_ people like snow - I know I’d rather be in St Paul than Memphis. But I was only partly talking about such large-scale differences - I was _also_ talking about why people choose to live in a city rather than the periphery of that same city, and also why different parts of a city might be more expensive - it’s not _just_ because they’re all closer to where people work. Why is Manhattan more expensive than Queens? Or Mayfair vs Wimbledon? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479/66 "2016-07-27T17:44:16Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > _Some_ people like snow - I know I’d rather be in St Paul than Memphis. But I was only partly talking about such large-scale differences - I was _also_ talking about why people choose to live in a city rather than the periphery of that same city, and also why different parts of a city might be more expensive - it’s not _just_ because they’re all closer to where people work. Why is Manhattan more expensive than Queens? Or Mayfair vs Wimbledon? My father commuted from Queens to the UN for a long time, and I did it for several summers. It is a pain. Going into the city for a show or something is certainly doable, but it takes a lot more effort than going to a nabe. When we lived in NJ we’d often get a hotel room in the city and go to shows and museums and stuff, and it was a lot easier than public transportation or car. In fact our plan, now that I’m retired, is to live in New York for 6 weeks or so and see everything by subway or walking. I have not dared to check the prices yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-living-is-poised-to-plummet-in-the-next-20-years-singularityhub/760479.md?page=3)