…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.
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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.
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.