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It's Still Really, Really Expensive To Live In New York
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Dec 9, 2011
Modified Dec 9, 2011
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By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Dec 9, 2011
Modified Dec 9, 2011
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Oh hey, did you guys know that New York is an expensive place to live? Like, really expensive? Were you hanging on to some shred of hope that somehow, the cost of living here would become reasonable? Well, sorry, you poor, sweet thing: it's not happening anytime soon.
Manhattan and Brooklyn remain the number one and number two most expensive areas to live in anywhere in the country, while Queens is number five, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s quarterly index. The Wall Street Journal helps break down the wallet-hurting stats: "The cost of living in Manhattan is now 124% higher than the national average, up from 108% a year ago; life in Brooklyn is 86% more expensive than average, compared to 81% last year." Queens dropped from 59 percent above the national average to 54 percent, which is slightly good news, although it's still one of the most expensive places in the country. Other expensive cities include Honolulu, San Francisco, and Stamford, Connecticut, in case you were thinking of moving.
The Council gets their numbers by dispatching volunteers to collect prices on everything from groceries to mortgage rates on a specific date each quarter. The figures should come as no surprise to anyone who's ever gone to school here, bought groceries here, or tried to park a car here. There are, however, ways around the prohibitive cost of living here: just ask the 23-year-old who made Match.com suckers pay for her dinner!
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Council for Community and Economic Research
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Jamie Feldmar
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