High Rise or Home with a Yard?

The New York Times recently did a study and found, much to my surprise, that its actually less expensive to live in Manhattan than it is to live in the suburbs surrounding the city such as Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey.

Of course there are trade offs...nothing can compare with the convenience of walking to work, being able to order in virtually anything you might want and of course, NYC is the cultural hub of the world. On the other hand....living in the burbs generally means lots more space, a yard for the kids to play in and usually the bus stop for the kids to get to a top notch school is only a few houses away.

Coops and Condominiums are much more expensive per square foot than a house outside of the city but when you live in a house you need a car (or two) gas, insurance and repairs chew up a lot of the monthly budget. Its expensive to heat a large home and maintaining the house and the grounds can add up too.

So, its not as much of a financial decision as most of us would have thought. Its more of a life style decision. Personally, I've lived in the city, the suburbs and in very rural parts of the state. I am now back in NYC and cant imagine ever leaving again. No two ways about it....there is only one Big Apple.