'The middle-class is being priced out of the city'. Is this myth or truth? (Washington Heights: real estate, foreclosures)
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I've heard this statement or the general idea quite a bit. Does this mostly pertain only to Manhattan though? Obviously rents are lower outside of Manhattan, but what about groceries, etc? Are there any other cost of living differences between the boroughs? I assume that if you have a solid middle class income, and don't go out to the most expensive restaurants, etc, a family of 3 with $100,000 in income and not much debt could do fine in NYC.
Truth, all over the city. A family of 3 assuming we're talking about two adults and a kid on a thousand would just scrape by as being middle class now. HOWEVER that's about to drastically change. The reason why the middle class were getting priced out was mostly on the cost of real estate and the explosion of property values from the 90s to about 2008. NOW things are changing and we're looking at dramatic drops in property values as well as rental costs on housing, retail and office space. In fact, I'd argue that 2 years from now the middle class won't be priced out of the city since we'd start seeing some serious foreclosures in the coming year.
The problem then would be what they would return to. Offices have left for greener pastures (read: anywhere offering them tax breaks and grant money) and if they do come back we're years away from seeing a return, which means that the city would be still missing a ton of jobs. The city is in a perfect storm for financial collapse, and I think that we might not be so far from Bloomberg slashing social services and begging the state/feds for money.
this is truth. Unless you want to live in a gang infested area, you got no where to go in NYC without spending $2000 a month.
i just rented a true 2 bedroom with a separate kitchen and family room on 87th and 3rd in the heart of the upper east side for 1895. that means my roommate and i are paying less than 1000 each. you are way off. things are changing big time given recent economic trends.
Middle class like myself when not ever fully vacate NYC or NYS. What's happening at the present time is the gready is being weeded out for the new generation. Without the middle class NYC would fail.
It's all about housing and, if you have small children, education. That's what really squeezes the middle class. Yes, the general cost of living is higher, but if you don't have a car it more than evens out.
No its not necessarily true, see my other post for details, don't believe what you read in the media or forbes magazine which by the way contradicts itself all the time.
Its more expensive for newcomers generally speaking that don't have a lot of cash and people who are not as well connected, but the middle-class being priced out, not in my playbook at least not what I am observing, now in the nyc metro area where property taxes are high in certain cases, then you have a bit more of a problem, its a bit complicated
but to answer your question no, if anything the middle class is being priced in due to the economic situation.
It's not so much that the middle class is priced out, it's that much of the housing and development projects are not really catered to the middle class. For years middle class housing development was mostly ignored in the city. This creates situations where a lot of the middle class feel like the city is not for them or is not "middle-class friendly," and they leave. On top of that much of the middle class don't like the public school system but they can't really afford privates, so that is yet another reason many end up leaving.
Yes. Groceries are more in Manhattan, gas is more, restaurants cost more, even movies cost more.
Is the middle class getting squeezed out? Tough to say...it depends on how you define middle class....and what you define as "city." There is tremendous diversity in prices in Manhattan: are you talking about a 5th floor walkup? an elevator building in UWS? a place in Washington Heights?
I think a family with kids will get more for the $$ in the boroughs...that being said, I know of plenty people who would be considered "upper middle class" that are staying in NYC for convenience.
I think it depends on an individuals current living condition. A family with two children may be feeling the pinch a little more than a single person in NYC, Also I think it must be very difficult for people who are retired to continue living in NY, and many are choosing to get more bang for their buck elsewhere.
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