So What If New York Is Unaffordable? That Helps the U.S. (Commentary)

[ChargerCarl]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

While one could argue that increases in equity is a passive form of wealth creation -- indeed, the fact that it is not a form of wealth generated through active work is what spurs land-value taxation -- it is a form of wealth creation in a deeper way than, say, a highly-leveraged "billionaire's" paper wealth is. Land where people want to be is, after all, inherently more valuable than where they don't.

To put it another way, saying that equity-based wealth does not exist lies somewhere between "ridiculously naïve", "probably deceptive", and "complete and utter bullshit".

No, it's not individually-generated wealth. It's socially generated. But it's wealth all the same.

Nobody is saying equity based wealth doesn't exist, but it's not a form of aggregate wealth creation when it comes via an increase in the scarcity premium of housing.

[Jonesy55]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Not just rent, but also goods and services. Food, transit, taxes... I believe are much more in London. Right? Correct me if I'm wrong I'm curious on the topic. I've read in the past that London, with respect to goods and services, makes NY look cheap.

It depends what you are looking at I think, some things are more expensive, but other things like medical expenses, property taxes etc are a lot cheaper.

The fall of sterling to $1.30 even makes many consumer goods fairly comparable I think, you'll pay £4.50-£5 ($6-6.50) for a pint of beer in a pub, £3 ($4.00) for a Big Mac, £539 ($705) for an iphone 6s, all including tax at 20%.

[PhillyRising]

It seems to be helping Philadelphia with some new arrivals who move here for the affordability but commute back to New York for work.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

It seems to be helping Philadelphia with some new arrivals who move here for the affordability but commute back to New York for work.

I've met people who have done that commute. IDK, but way to long. Even for ones who drive from Easton PA to NY to work. When you approach that 2 to 2 1/2 hour commute each way, that just sucks. Actually longer if they take PATH or if they drive, and have to take the Lincoln Tunnel...

I just can't imagine the horror of a 2.5+ hour commute. I commute about 50 minutes each day to Elizabeth,NJ for work, and even that sucks. But I've also been used to train rides for 60 minutes each way. Either way, not fun. Gets old real quick.

[Jonesy55]

That commute must be horrendous. On a good run with little traffic, or by fast train, I'm not much more than 2.5 hours from London but there's no way anybody I know here would consider that to be a viable daily commute. It might be ok if you have to spend 3 days per week in the capital and stay over in a hotel but otherwise forget it, life is too short for that.

[chris08876]

^^^^

I agree. A lot of time wasted. I can understand why some would do it because of costs, but take NJ, I can tell you that you don't need to go to PA for cheaper prices. You can get good deals in NJ and still be within an hour of NYC. Plus, its PA. It's not the Garden State (which is a superior state, right next to California)!!!

Although I wish we had bullet trains. Then I could understand someone living in Philly but working in let's say Midtown. Figure going 200 mph or more, yeah, you'd commute 65 miles or so pretty quick. But the U.S. is not Japan unfortunately. Could be transportation wise, if it cared enough.

BTW, I kid about the superior state for the PA folks.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Jonesy55

That commute must be horrendous. On a good run with little traffic, or by fast train, I'm not much more than 2.5 hours from London but there's no way anybody I know here would consider that to be a viable daily commute. It might be ok if you have to spend 3 days per week in the capital and stay over in a hotel but otherwise forget it, life is too short for that.

Remember that 2.5 hours is a lot farther away in England than it is in the US because American trains suck. But it's the time that matters.

Still, I've met people who commute from as far as Cambridge, Oxford or Wiltshire. Those are all about an hour (give or take) by train, but then depending on how far you are from the station at each end, it could be more like 1.5 hours each way, door to door.

[Crawford]

The train between Philly and NYC takes about an hour, if you take the express. I seriously doubt many people are doing a 2.5 hour commute, at least not daily.

I have met plenty of people who commute from PA to NYC, but they tend to be in NE PA, which is a low-cost exurban region for NYC-area commuters. They take buses though a commuter rail extension is u/c. Actually my butcher lives in PA and commutes to Brooklyn daily.

I would bet that Philly to NYC commuters tend to be relatively few, and probably mostly executive types with family in Philly. The train is relatively fast but expensive, so you would have to be very well compensated or your company is paying your train fare.

I met one person who commuted by regular train from Cornwells Heights, which is (I think) far Northeast Philly. He took SEPTA to NJ Transit, and I think it was about 1.5 hours door-to-door. Bad commute but tolerable, I guess.

Amtrak is upgrading the NE corridor line to 175 mph, so maybe these commutes will become more common in the future. We'll see.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The train between Philly and NYC takes about an hour, if you take the express. I seriously doubt many people are doing a 2.5 hour commute, at least not daily.

That's exactly what people in the Bay area do who have jobs in Silicon Valley and commute from San Francisco. The trip is about an hour and five minutes.

In comparison to the train commute of course.