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A Third Of New Yorkers Under 30 Want To Leave
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 13, 2011
Modified May 13, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published May 13, 2011
Modified May 13, 2011
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That recent NY1/Marist poll didn't just find out that New Yorkers are pretty evenly split on the issue of marriage equality, it also found out that more than a third of the state's young residents are aiming to get the heck out of dodge in the next five years. More room for the rest of us?
According to the poll (which surveyed 941 adults, 43 percent of whom live in NYC), 26 percent of adults in New York State plan to move someplace else in the next five years while 67 percent say they will stay (another six percent are unsure). Things get more interesting when they talked to residents under 30. Of those New Yorkers, 36 percent say they want to leave the state. 60 percent, however, say they will remain in the Empire State (and three percent are unsure).
Broken down by region the numbers are slightly different. Here in New York City, for instance, the number of residents looking to leave is just 24 percent versus 33 percent in the suburbs and 26 percent upstate.
Why the interest in leaving? “New Yorkers are feeling the financial squeeze on the home front. Right now, many young people do not see their future in New York State,” explained Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “Unchecked, this threatens to drain the state of the next generation.”
Another clue as to why people might want to leave the Greatest State in the Union might be the fact that 77 percent of New Yorkers apparently believe that New York is an expensive place to live for an average family. We can't imagine where anyone might get that idea.
Meanwhile, what we want to know is if these folks really want to leave in the next five years or are just saying that. Because we've been threatening to pack up and move to the left coast for years now, but it isn't like we ever actually will (we'd have to get a drivers license first!). But if a quarter of the kids running around the city making it impossible for us to enjoy our food, drink and entertainment in peace really do want to get out of town? Why not scrap the in five years part and just go now? We'll help you pack!
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