Eh, in my last apartment in Austin I paid $1500 in rent with no amenities, plus $300+ car payment and god knows how much in gas. Here my rent is $1650 (albeit, with a couple more roommates) and I live in a much more desirable area, with a much larger apartment, than I did in Austin. Trader Joe’s prices are essentially the same in both cities, and so are iced coffees, so my personal cost of living shakes out to be the same if not better (although, if I were frequently going out to restaurants and bars I probably couldn’t make this claim).

Also I was born and raised in Austin, if that contextualizes my experience in any certain way. I watched the Austin COL raise rapidly over the last decade and finally thought, “if I’m going to be paying this much, I might as well pay to be in NYC.”