Is New York really cheaper than Miami?  MLewyn's picture  The
Center for Neighborhood Technology recently issued a report
suggesting that compact cities with high housing costs (such as
New York or San Francisco) might actually be less expensive than
otherwise cheaper but car-dependent areas such as South Florida
and Southern California.  As provocative as this report is, it
seems at first glance to be the opposite of my own personal
experience: I am definitely saving less in New York than I was
in Jacksonville.  How come?  *I don't work downtown.  If I
worked in the urban core I could take a subway to work, and the
subway is of course far cheaper than car ownership.  But because
my job is in sprawl, I have to spend about $200-300 per month in
commuter train fare, which means I am not much better off than
if I had brought my car to New York.  *I am in a business where
wages don't keep pace with the cost of living.  I earn about 30
percent more in nominal dollars than in Jacksonville- an amount
quickly swallow