Sucks to be us! Harder for NY'ers to make ends meet than ever

[roenyc]

New Yorkers Are Spending More as Cost of Necessities Rises
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Published: February 8, 2005

A red-hot real estate market, high-priced orange juice and a ceaseless array of fare increases have combined to make it harder for New Yorkers to make ends meet than at any time in a decade, according to new federal statistics.

Facing prices on necessities that are growing faster than almost anywhere else, many New Yorkers have stopped buying books, hand creams and other discretionary treats, and have sharply decreased their charitable giving in the last few years. A New York family gave nearly 30 percent less to charity on average in 2003 than in 2000, the statistics show.

Between 2000 and 2003, according to figures released on Monday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, spending among New Yorkers rose 4.3 percent, while price inflation went up by 5.5 percent. That is the opposite pattern from most of the rest of the country, where spending went up faster than inflation.
for the rest of article
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/nyregion/08spend.html

[BayCityProgressive]

1. wow

what the hell is going on there?

[roenyc]

2. i thought i was the only one having a hard time!

i want to know how my neo-con neighbors in staten island can afford their suvs, benzs and bmws? WTF?

[stopbush]

3. I lived in NYC from 1977-90 (moved to Yonkers for 5 more

years and worked in Manhattan) and it was expensive then, relatively speaking.

I've been applying for jobs in and around NYC because I'd like to move back there (lots of friends, the culture, etc). But the cost of living in Manhattan is 86% higher than Las Vegas! Yikes.

How can one survive in NYC unless they make over a million a year and live in a rent-stabilized apt?