Comments on: America’s Most Expensive Cities

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:30:08 +0000

I would swap Seattle with Houston and call the list complete, if only for the enormous difference in real estate prices. Everything else looks about right, although it seems silly to include White Plains when most of greater NYC is at or near the top of this list.

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:36:04 +0000

I think Seattle should be there too. Seattle is very expensive, especially housing.

By: LasX

LasX — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:27:55 +0000

a cup of coffe costs $4.80 in Moscow ((average)

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:23:11 +0000

I was surprised to see White Plains stuck between New York and LA, but then I realized Westchester County, New York has the highest property taxes in the country. Other cities on the list have something to offer while I can tell you from personal experience that White Plains is quite dismal and — on the basis of this survey — a gigantic ripoff compared to all other cities listed.

By: Jo/GaelicWench

Jo/GaelicWench — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:04:40 +0000

Last night while eating at our favorite small-town diner, I overheard a young (early 20s) man talking about the cost of living in CA; the COL was twice as much as here (Podunk, PA).

When I was done eating, I politely walked up to the group and said that I was from San Diego. Using our property as an example (2000sf on nearly 2 acres)which cost us $111k, I went on to say that over there the same piece of property would be around half a mil – easily, if not more.

All of a sudden, moving to CA didn’t sound as appetizing to him as before.

By: El Cheapo

El Cheapo — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:45:20 +0000

Having lived many years in Chicago and now Los Angeles with a sister whom I visit frequently in New York…. my pocketbook hurts the most when I’m in Hawaii than anywhere else. Maybe its the island/tourist effect, but even the most basic stuff out there costs 30% more than what we pay in LA. Just my 2 cents.

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:51:35 +0000

Hey Susan I may be your neighbor! Long Island here. My current City is only 5% less expensive than NYC. I am about 35 mins from the City.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:20:52 +0000

I live in one of those ridiculously priced NY suburbs where the property taxes start at $10,000 a year and houses start at $300,000 for something you will need to tear down and start over. But, this is where we grew up, this is where all of our family is, and it has plenty of benefits that we take advantage of and we love it, warts and all.

On the upside, we can vacation in places like California, Hawaii, and London and it doesn’t seem all that expensive to us.

I do feel badly for people who relocate here and haven’t quite done their research. Ouch.

By: GM

GM — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:49:24 +0000

Just a couple of thoughts..

It is a good thing that not many American cities are amongst the world’s most expensive. Often an “expensive” city show a lack of something – be in affordable housing or affordable hotels or the like. That is the reason why so many third world cities often show up on these lists.

For instance if you only have 3 good hotels in the city then they will be exhorbitantly priced..or if there are a lack of apartments or homes for sale/rent then the available stock will be high priced.

By: Nickel

Nickel — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:53:50 +0000

Yeah, Houston was the most surprising entry on the list. Not sure what to make of it, but I bet that once you get beyond the truly expensive places, things move around a lot depending on how you weigh the different factors.

By: TheDebtHawk.com

TheDebtHawk.com — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:45:22 +0000

I agree with Jim that Houston must be a mistake. I don’t think that Houston is that expensive. All of the other ones make sense to me.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:31:38 +0000

There is no way Houston is in the top 10. Median home prices in Houston metro are below the national average. They seem to be using some sort of concocted formula based on multiple cost factors and I think they’ve got their #’s or assumptions a bit out of wack at least for Houston.

By: Keith Morris

Keith Morris — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:27:43 +0000

I moved from Suffern, NY to Raleigh, NC and went from a crappy suburban $1,675/mo two-bedroom condo with zero ammenities to a $1,000/mo three-bedroom apartment with a heated pool, gym, indoor basketball court, racquetball court, dog park and more, walking distance from a huge shopping area. AND we’re saving $300/mo in commuting fees. I love the Triangle area.

By: Floridian

Floridian — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:04:26 +0000

New York is
75%
more expensive than where I live.

Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.

Housing is
188%
more expensive in New York.

thanks for the link! I wonder how accurate it is?