New York and San Francisco residents -- how do you afford it?

Factual Questions
41

My wife and I live in a decently sized rent stabilized studio apartment (EIK, dressing room I use as a studio, lots of closets) in a doorman building on a quiet dead-end street on the upper east side of Manhattan. Most mornings I walk or ride my bike to work. I’ve had this apartment for about 10 years and the woman who had it before me was here for 25 or so years so this year our rent just broke $600.

It’s too small, we’re at sidewalk level (can’t really throw open the windows), but we put up with it because we dig living in NY (less and less but we still basically dig it). Most people I know who live in the city have a roommate (whether boyfriend/girlfriend or not) or their parents help them buy or buy a small place for them.

It’s either the city or the sticks for me. For this particular phase of my life it’s the city.

So the answer to the OP is: luck into a cheap apartment that you can stand and don’t move. Ever.

42

I guess I shouldn’t be too pissed over my rent being raised from $995/mo to $1070/mo for a 1430 square foot 3/2 apartment (I live in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas). The increase in rent when I moved here from a small town 50 miles to the east really shook me up, though - I was paying $265/mo, all bills paid. Of course, this was for a 300 square foot efficiency in an aging building that used to be a hotel, but an apartment comparable to what I am paying a grand a month for now would have cost me no more than $700 a month.

43

spits out chaw and thumbs Stetson back on head

Wal, shucks, Ike, we got us some opera here in Dallas too. and it ain’t like it’s that cowboy singing “La donna é mobile” as a country song on the Cingular Wireless commercial, either. AND we have better barbecue and better Mexican food, although I’ll admit the bagels aren’t as good.

[sub]the preceding texas twang was simulated for comic effect. Chef Troy does not own a Stetson or chew tobacco.[/sub]

44

Chef: The “opera” line was an obscure reference back to when Dave Barry Was Funny…the long article he did about New York City as a rebuttal to the “Can Miami Save Itself?” piece in the NY Times Sunday Magazine.

In the midst of detailing the many horrible aspects of life in NYC circa 1988, Barry lobbed in the line “Also, there is opera here” which, even in cold print, took on the sound of a man solemnly intoning “there is a poisonous snake in the outhouse.”

The immigration of Mexicans to New York (they’re now the Hispanic majority, having unseated the Puerto Ricans) means that the Mexican food situation has gotten a lot better up here in the past few years. I’ll cede you the point on barbecue, though, especially if you’re talking beef.

45

Chef: The “opera” line was an obscure reference back to when Dave Barry Was Funny…the long article he did about New York City as a rebuttal to the “Can Miami Save Itself?” piece in the NY Times Sunday Magazine.

In the midst of detailing the many horrible aspects of life in NYC circa 1988, Barry lobbed in the line “Also, there is opera here” which, even in cold print, took on the sound of a man solemnly intoning “there is a poisonous snake in the outhouse.”

The immigration of Mexicans to New York (they’re now the Hispanic majority, having unseated the Puerto Ricans) means that the Mexican food situation has gotten a lot better up here in the past few years. I’ll cede you the point on barbecue, though, especially if you’re talking beef.

46

Seems like a pretty basic concept…you want the city and the things it has (more jobs, seemingly better wages [nevermind cost of living adjustments I guess], more opportunities for movies, theater, music, food, etc.) then you pay for it. although if I’m spending half my earned income on rent it’s hard to imagine how I’m going to have any money to go out for dinner, have a few drinks, and go see a show…but I suppose it works. I live in podunkville, PA, where there’s nothing but community theater, only half of the movies I want to see, horrible live music, and shitty food…I’m here cause my family’s here and my friends are here and my job pays a ridiculously high wage for this market. and I’m on my way out of town to find someplace else…knowing that I’m going to get punched in the gut (wallet) wherever else I go, but I’m still trying to find reasonable options. To me, the stress associated with living paycheck to paycheck, begging that my rent doesn’t blow its cap, spending 3 hours of my day commuting in traffic (either vehicle or human), and praying that I get that next 4% raise…that stress seems to take away from quality of living, in a way that no opera can heal. So my eye’s out for the “next” place…San Fran’s been done, NYC’s been overdone, Denver, L.A., Boston…you don’t have to move to the highest markets to find the best culture, you just pay more for it once you get there.

47

** Acco40**, I understand what you are saying, but as many said following your post said, there are certain things that you just can’t experience in Lou-ville that you can in other, larger and more expensive, cities. The question is, do those that live there actually take advantage of the benefits and facilities they are so willing to pay to be near?

I liken it to buying the highest-level membership to a gym because you’ll have access to everything there, from the steam rooms and nautilus to the jazzercise, personal assistant, private locker room and 24-hour key-card access. Do they use it all? Probably not. Do they use even enough to justify the increase over another plan? Probably not. Why do it? Because if they want to,* they can.* They could go to the Opera every week. They could go to a major league game in each sport without traveling a great distance. They could work for a huge, multi-national corporation or publication, or work in the Arts. Do they all? Certainly not. But they could.

Or, they could life outside the city and commute. My uncle lives in Scarsdale, NY, and used to take the train for something like two hours a day to get to work in NYC. The commute was worth it for him. Friends of mine used to live in SF, in the Presidio (read: on the Bay, right downtown.) They lived in a 3 BR, 800 ft[sup]2[/sup] apartment that only ran $1,800/month. They got it cheap because they were post-Doc folks doing research at UCSF. Had they not been working for the University, it would have been a $3,600/month apartment. There it wasn’t so much a matter of being worth it or not, as it was a matter of facing a commute, still having to find somewhere to live (even outskirts are expensive), and practicality.

I, too, am living in Lou-ville, but I live in Dublin (Columbus), Ohio (work related temp. relocation.) I have an apartment in Columbus where I keep all my stuff. It’s nice: 2 bed x 2 bath (“garden” tubs, too), 1,100 ft[sup]2[/sup], sunken living room, 10’ ceilings with floor to ceiling windows. It costs me $780/month. I drive a sports car and have 6 points on my license (all speeding, no accidents) and my insurance runs about $1,100 year and is dropping every 6 months. When I get back to Dublin, I’ll be 5 minutes from Muirfield, some of the best golfing in the country, and I will be utilizing it. I’ll be 15 minutes from OSU, and I will be going to games. I’ll be 20 minutes from downtown Columbus and I will be going to BlueJacket hockey games, COSI, The Ohio Theater and Gallery Hop Fridays.

I was offered a job in Camarillo, CA last fall at a 26% increase in salary. The job itself was good, but I turned it down for a few reasons:[list=1][]I’m a Buckeye.[]The difference in the cost of living was about 25% (read: a wash). My ~$800 apartment there was more like ~$1,200-$1,300, actually, but I was looking at buying, so… []Personal reasons.[]My insurance would have jumped about $800/year. []Gas was already noticeably more expensive out there. []Though it was close to LA, I didn’t really see myself availing myself of anything there that I couldn’t live without or find elsewhere. []Cols, Cinci and Cleveland have decent, if not world-class, Arts, zoos and areas of interest. []Ohio State Football is better than any “professional” team out there (Go BUCKS!). [/list=1]Does that mean I wouldn’t ever move out of Ohio? No. In fact, I’d love to move to Denver (or there-abouts) because proximity to the mountains is worth a lot to me. Would the cost bother me? Probably, but there are some things in life you cannot put a price on.

48

$1000 bucks a month just to escape that ghetto? Hon, out here you are lucky to pay $1000 a month to live in the ghetto.

Why do I stay? First is employment. I am a student, and I could not afford out-of-state fees anywhere, so I had to stay in California. I am also a film student, and there are not many places that you can do film and afford to live at the same time. So I am stuck here pawning off my firstborn sons to the landlord, in hopes that all this study will one day get me a paying job (which will very likely be in LA, New York, or San Francisco). Expensive houseing seems to be inescapeable for me.

I can’t really complain too much, because I love it here. This place is nearly paradise. Location is pretty important to me. I would rather live in a smaller dumpier house but have an awesome environment around me than live in a palace that is a forty minute drive to anything except for Wall*Mart. I tried the suburbs and I hated it. I want to be out of my house as much as possible, and when I go out I want more than endless lawns and silent streets.

49

That’s funny, I would say that about DC! I lived there for many years, and jumped on the chance out here to SF. I would gauge it as more expensive for housing of course, but the other cost of living is similar where I am (excepting utilities, of course, but that may hot the rest of the US too in time).

The weather here is soooo much better. And the strawberries I ate this morning will never be rivaled in Maryland! :wink:

50

Yes, and rain is caused by people turning on their windshield wipers. Also, it gets dark when people turn on their headlights.

51

The DC-area housing market is getting crazy too! When I left last summer, I was paying $685/month including utilities for an ENORMOUS studio apartment in Mount Pleasant. Separate kitchen, huge walk-in closet, my windows overlooked the Rock Creek Park, hardwood floors, beautiful woodwork, high ceilings, near public transportation, 45 minute walk to downtown, etc. I recently recommended that a friend check out my old building - that same apartment now rents for $1100-1300/month.

In Chicago, I live in a huge 2 bedroom with 2 porches, my roommate and I each pay about $400/month. We are lucky, though - rents in this neighborhood are rapidly going up as we get gentrified. This is the biggest and nicest apartment I’ve ever lived in and the cheapest rent I’ve ever paid.

I tried to look for jobs in the Bay Area about 2 years ago, when they would hire anything with a pulse out there, but the cost of living and prospect of commuting was too daunting. I like not having to have a car, I like being in a walkable city with trains that take you where you need to go, and still have a beautiful body of water nearby.

I second the answers in this thread about how people afford the big city: You live with roommates, you don’t have a car, you try to cut down on other expenses so you can afford your rent, the salaries are somewhat higher to compensate, couples are more prone to move in together, and hopefully you take advantage of enough of the cool aspects of city living to convince yourself that it’s all worth it.

52

Hey Thinksnow, I just moved from Columbus, Ohio to Louisville, KY. I am too a Buckeye, (ever read the Lantern?) and I enjoyed the perks of living in Ohio. Go Bucks!

Anyway, I moved to Louisville for a job, and I haven’t felt like I’ve been thrown in solitary just yet. It’s nice here (even though “the gym” is smaller, Thinksnow).

I really don’t miss the things I don’t have access to anymore because I never used them in the first place, so I guess Thinksnow’s point stands. For high-maintenance types, this may not be the case.

If someone NEEDS to donate more than half their hard-earned’s to rent so they can walk to the opera, that’s fine. But I think that level of commitment to cultural enlightenment is more of a curse than anything else.

I’d just prefer to go to those sorts of places on VACATION. After all, it’s people like me who go to those places, come back and say “_________ is nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”

53

Rent Control, Rent Control, Rent Control!!!

I live in the Lower Haight/Western Addition area of San Francisco and although not the best neighborhood, it is centrally located . . I found a huge one bedroom apartment with a parking spot for 1000 back in '96 . . my rent has only gone up to $1150 since then due to rent control restrictions . . I converted the living room into my bedroom and have a roommate who shares the place with me . . therefore my rent is only $500 . . . . my neighbor moved out and his apartment was re-rented at $1800!!! Everyone here has to get creative to be able to afford it, but I love it here and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon . . You do hear how the high rents are driving out many of the non-profits, artists and other residents that give this city its sometimes “quirky” nature . . its a shame . .