New York is potentially the most famous city in the world.
The number of people coming and going out of New York each day is overwhelming.
There are some really great things about New York that you won’t find anywhere else.
However, New York has some difficult things which make it a tough place to live and survive.
One of those things is that New York is really expensive.
Why Is New York So Expensive? (Top 20 Reasons)
1. Convenience
In New York City, everything is convenient.
Whether you want to go to dinner, see a show, or fly to Paris, you won’t have to do very much to get it done.
New York is a place where the possibilities are endless, and you can get everything you need within a radius of few blocks.
This is also partly what makes New York City so expensive.
When you live here, you don’t need a car because you can simply walk or take public transportation to get everything you need.
This is a much different lifestyle than someone who is living in a remote area and needs to drive everywhere they go.
2. Transportation
There are lots of different ways to travel around New York City, and once you get the hang of it, they are all pretty easy.
If you want to take a bus or a train or a subway, the routes are easily accessible.
Although public transportation costs will eventually add up, they will not be as high as owning a car.
With public transportation, you will usually have a reliable way to get from point A to point B on time.
For those who don’t have their own means of transportation, living in the city and using public transport is a great option.
3. Entertainment
There is no shortage of entertainment in New York.
You can go to a Broadway show, see a play, or head to a small concert.
Regardless of the type of thing you find entertaining, you will have quick access to it.
In more remote areas where you have to drive for hours to get to a museum, chances are you can walk to one in New York City.
This type of access to entertainment is very valuable to people.
You also don’t have to be in New York City to have access to entertainment.
The entire state is filled with lots of great things to do.
You will have access to beaches and skiing, all within a few hours of each other.
This is a nice feature for those who like to explore.
4. High Paying Jobs
In New York, you can find jobs that pay quite a bit of money.
These jobs are not always going to be dream jobs, but they will pay more than in other states.
If you take a job serving at a restaurant in New York City, you will make quite a bit of money.
That same job in another area of the country could be half the price.
Unfortunately, these high paying jobs can sometimes be a bad cycle.
The high paying jobs make the city so popular that other people want to move there to get these jobs.
Once the word is out, then the prices will continue to rise for all other things in the city.
High paying jobs are a major reason New York City is so expensive, yet you need these high paying jobs to make it there.
5. Strong Economy
The economy in New York can sometimes be a good indication of what the rest of the nation will do.
If the economy is strong in New York, you will notice that other states may soon follow.
At the same time, New York can be a place that will alert other areas as to a potential downturn in the economy.
Having this type of information about the economy and this strength and power makes New York more expensive.
People want to stay ahead of the curve and be a leader in a strong economy.
6. Wide Range of Industries
It really doesn’t matter what your career path is, chances are you can find an opportunity to follow it in New York.
Regardless of your skillset, there are jobs you can take in the state of New York.
With a wide range of industries, New York tends to get very expensive.
Knowing that there is essentially a place for everyone to work and to live and to survive certainly will raise the price of things like housing and even food.
Although New York has a wide range of industries, there are other places that have very good infrastructure as well.
Don’t get caught up in the fact that New York City is the only place you can be.
7. Limited Supply
New York has a limited supply.
Even if every person in the country wanted to live in New York, this would not be possible.
There are only a certain number of homes, apartments, and buildings, and most of the land is occupied in the city.
Since there is only so much of New York to go around, it is hard to give everyone a piece.
Therefore, the prices go up, and it gets more expensive to live in New York.
This essentially becomes like the survival of the fittest type of situation, and only those who can make it get the chance to live in New York City.
New York is not going to get any less expensive any time soon, and the supply is certainly not going up either.
In fact, development is not something that happens all that often in New York City and the surrounding area.
Things are already so developed that builders and people have decided to move to less populated areas.
8. Rent Control
Rent control is supposed to help keep rent in check.
Rent control makes sure that the price to rent an apartment in New York City does not get too high.
The rent control is intended to keep the pricing fair, but it eliminates some of the competition in the market.
Since there is not much landlords can do when it comes to rent pricing, it can be hard to find a great deal on housing in a New York apartment.
Once you are established and in place, you will know that your rent won’t get too incredibly high in a short period of time.
Although rent control may seem like a thing that keeps New York less expensive, it can sometimes work against you.
9. High Construction Costs
The cost of any kind of construction in New York is expensive.
The construction costs are high because the workers make so much money.
Everything being more expensive in New York leads to construction costs skyrocketing.
Where you may pay a painter $5000 in one state, it could be $15000 in New York for the same job.
This is difficult to do anything about as the construction workers are just trying to afford to live in the state as well.
The only way to cut back down on these costs would be to bring workers in from other states, have them build, and take them back.
Clearly, this does not make much sense, and people have essentially just accepted paying higher rates for construction.
10. No Parking Space
It is very hard to find parking space in New York.
With all of the building that was done being commercial and residential, there is not much room left for cars.
Although there are some parking garages, they are going to cost hundreds of dollars a month.
Even parking on the street can be expensive, and your car can get easily damaged.
Since there is not much space available, you will have to pay a lot more for any kind of a parking space you can find.
The high price of parking is something which makes many people in New York choose not to own a car at all.
Certainly, when you have to pay for a car payment, insurance, and then hundreds in parking every month, you will have to make quite a bit of money.
11. High Rent
Another reason New York is so expensive is that the rent is quite high.
Rent in New York has been high for many years, so this is not something new.
What you can get for $1000 a month in New York City is a bit scary at times.
As a New York philosopher once said, the rent is too damn high. https://t.co/XDD7GaepDV
— ConStellar (@ConStar24) January 19, 2023
Chances are you could not make a space like this work for a family or more than one person.
In fact, $1000 may only get you a room in a house shared with a bunch of people.
High rent is frustrating, and it is something that has been an issue in New York for many years.
The problem is that people find so much value in the state and the access to all great things that the rent continues to stay high.
The more rent you pay, the more money you will need to make.
This is, again, this high paying cycle that New York gets caught up in and will have a hard time avoiding or breaking.
12. Tourist Destination
New York is undoubtedly a tourist destination.
People want to see New York, understand what is there, and experience it.
Since this is known by the businesses and people of New York, they charge higher prices.
The tourist cycle is not necessarily a good thing for New York.
Although New York can make a lot of money from their tourism, it is not always good for the people who live there.
The people who live in New York City end up having to pay higher prices for things like restaurants and shows.
This happens because people are on vacation.
13. Taxes Are High
There are a lot of great things about living in New York.
Some of these things are public services, and they cost money.
It takes a lot of money to keep a state with this many people operating and functioning in a positive way.
This money need to be made up by people paying taxes.
When you pay taxes, you are helping to support the economy of the city while enjoying all of the things you love.
The problem with these high tax rates is that New York becomes a little less affordable.
When you look at purchasing a property in New York, you have to be prepared to pay very high property taxes as well.
Unfortunately, they are some of the highest in the country.
14. Competitive
New York is a very competitive place to grow up and to work.
In New York, you have to have a certain amount of drive and work ethic to be able to succeed.
For people who don’t have this drive, they will quickly learn that they can’t make it in New York.
If you grow up in New York and then head out of state, this can be a very positive thing.
For those who have never lived in New York and are trying to learn to survive there, this gets more difficult.
If you don’t have some sense of competitiveness or want to succeed, it is going to be hard to make it.
This competitiveness makes New York more expensive.
People keep striving for more and wanting more, and the prices will continue to rise.
Some parts of this competitive spirit and drive in New York are positive, and some can be quite negative as well.
15. Prepare for Variety of Weather Conditions
New York is expensive because you will need to be prepared for a variety of weather conditions.
Regardless of where you live in the state of New York, you are going to have four distinct seasons.
You will experience Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall when living in New York.
This means that you will need to have a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe.
Although this may not seem like a large expense, it can add up quite quickly.
You need to be prepared with boots, hats, gloves, and more.
With styles changing and sizes changing, you will likely have to change your wardrobe from time to time.
Keep in mind, if you are planning a move to New York, that you will have to have an extensive wardrobe.
16. High Insurance Rates
New York has some of the highest insurance rates in the country.
If you decide to purchase a car and pay for the parking on the car, you will then have to figure out insurance.
By the time you pay for all of this, many people find that it is not necessary even to own a car.
Insurance rates are high sometimes because of the chance of damage to your vehicle.
Since there are so many cars and people around, there is a quite a bit of damage that can occur to your car.
Insurance companies want to protect themselves, so they make sure to charge a high amount for your vehicle insurance.
Unfortunately, the car insurance rates in New York continue to go up and do not seem to be falling at all.
It is very important to consider this if you are planning a move to New York because you may decide to leave your car behind.
17. Transient
People are coming and going from New York at all times.
Some people try to make it and decide they can’t or that there are better places to be.
Others find that, after a while, they want to go somewhere that is more affordable to live.
Since New York is transient, it tends to be more expensive.
When people are coming and going, they are going to be less aware of pricing.
They will pay what they need to just to get the project completed and move on with their lives.
States where people are not coming and going quite as much are going to have much more consistent pricing.
18. Travel to Anywhere in the World
From the New York airports, you can travel to almost anywhere in the world.
This is a benefit that most states do not have.
Having access to the entire world right in your backyard is certainly a reason that New York is more expensive.
People who live in other states often have to fly to New York prior to flying to other countries.
This will add money to the cost of the plane tickets.
In this regard, you can say that flights from New York are sometimes cheaper, but the problem is that life is so expensive, it will quickly cancel that out.
19. Public Services
New York offers quite a few resources to the people who live there.
With such high population, these public services start to get very expensive.
Whether it be a homeless coalition or services for children or simply just taxes and car registrations, New York is a busy and bustling place.
To keep all of these people in line and functioning not only requires a lot of time but a lot of money as well.
If you are a person who can benefit from public services in any way, then it may be worth the extra money to live in New York.
20. Service Costs
In New York, if you need a car washed, your house cleaned, or your food served to you at a restaurant, it is going to cost quite a bit.
Services costs in New York are quite high.
A major reason behind this is that the service staff and personnel need to be paid accordingly for their work.
If they don’t make enough to survive in New York, there would be no service personnel.
With that being said, if you don’t make a large sum of money each year, you won’t be able to afford these services either.
This is, again, the cycle that we talked about in New York.
It continues to repeat itself until everyone can look and determine that New York is very expensive.
