conversation: User (AstronautBilbo): "From my research Ive found the salary range to be around $160k-$200k.  Not looking to live in Manhattan but would need a commute 35mins or less.  Those numbers seem really high, is NYC that expensive?  \n\nEdit: Holy shit, finally having time to read all of this...thank you guys!"
  Self: "90K in Tampa is like loving like a king. You'll be broke as shit and not have a house. Living with neighbors in a shit high rise with less room and triple the cost with no garage just isn't my thing. I don't get how people would want to pay more for way less."
  mateoete (mateoete): "And having a 3000 sq. ft McMansion that was shoddily thrown up in 6 months in a nondescript cul-de-sac suburb where you have to drive everywhere to do anything, everything is exactly the same as every other suburb in the country, and Olive Garden is the suburb's fanciest restaurant isn't my thing. You'll be rich as shit but have no life. I don't get how people would want to have more money but no culture.\n\nThe thing is, people like different things and that's OK. :)"
  jdub3132313 (jdub3132313): "Whenever I hear this line of thought from somebody living in NYC, it makes me think they haven't actually spent much time in other cities in the US. Tampa may not be a megacity, but is hardly this extreme dystopian suburban image you're painting."
  Deviant_Fart (Deviant_Fart): "It's ridiculous. You can even live outside of a city and go in for events when you want. New Yorkers act like the astronomical prices for everything makes it worth it. Lol no. Having actual property and actual land does."
  cciv (cciv): "I have friends who live in the city and talk about all the great stuff they have to do.  When was the last time they could actually do those things?  Maybe they take advantage of the city once every month, but that's it.  They have no retirement savings, but can go to a lecture at NYU or go see a concert at MSG several times a year.  If you are wealthy, there's a chance to really take advantage, but I just don't see the benefit for the average person."
  Deviant_Fart (Deviant_Fart): "Exactly. It's all about the hip lifestyle. I have a friend who lives with his fiancée in a gorgeous old brownstone in Harlem. He makes around $90k a year and his girl makes probably around $55k. Her uncle owns the building and they pay no rent. He told me if that wasn't the case he'd be living in a tiny apt in Brooklyn. Just not worth it."
  kziv (kziv): "I get that to you it isn't worth it but to some it is; you can't argue values. \n\nI used to live in SF, not Manhattan, but same principle. I loved the feeling of being in a crowd of people of all type, of taking public transportation and not worrying about a car. I loved having a tiny place that was easy to clean. I walked to my local parks often, I visited the amazing public library on a weekly basis, went to some interesting low-cost classes at the local women's center, found a bunch of cheap but tasty hole in the wall restaurants and bars. I met a ton of new people through random interactions that were way easier to have in a denser area.\n\nThen I met my husband and because of his dislike of people, I focused on my love of the great outdoors more and so my requirements changed. Now we live in the middle of nowhere on 20 acres in Florida. My values may have changed, but my earlier choices were not wrong, just different."
  Deviant_Fart (Deviant_Fart): "I live 20 minutes away from Seattle and can do (and do some of them) all those things you mentioned. But I still get to come home to a quiet neighborhood that isn't overwhelmed by city and street noise. As well as paying significantly less for housing. Cities are overpriced because they have to be. Everyone fighting for footing in a small area. It's nonsense. There's culture everywhere you look, some people just have this unreasonable desire to be "in the thick of it" when most city people 90% of the time are doing what other people do: coming home from work and watching Netflix."
  hammersticks359 (hammersticks359): "The thing is, 20 minutes from NYC is still expensive as shit. Hell, White Plains, which is still a 30+ minute train ride from the city is still north of $1200/month for a 1 bedroom apartment in most buildings."
  hashmalum (hashmalum): "Sounds like a great deal to me. "
  