Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Data must be seen in context, or...
Everything looks cheaper when you live in Westchester.
In my previous post, I talked about looking at the other state schools here in New York, but I glossed over the monetary considerations. Westchester is one of the most expensive places to live in the world, with a rating of 154.3. 100 is the average. An impressive (or sickening?) stat to be sure, but what does that mean? Gas, food, medical care, and the like are fairly even throughout my home area, and if you spring for a Costco or BJ's membership, your costs are a little lower. The key variant is housing. You can find a two-bedroom in Peekskill for $650 a month, or for $2500. In my hometown of Mamaroneck, you can rent a 2br condo for $6000! This isn't a misprint; it's in a very rich section called Orienta. The cheapest 2br is a $1550 place in what's called the Flats, prone to flooding and not the nicest section of town - to put it mildly. The apartment itself wasn't bad, but could have used fresh paint.
In both locales you get what you pay for. The Peekskill apartments are night and day. The $650 place is in horrible condition in a drug filled part of town, and the most expensive place is in a huge subdivision with a pool, clubhouse, etc. Mamaroneck has a similar variance, though the low end isn't nearly as bad. The Orienta condo is stunning, with peacock granite countertops, backyard, sauna, security; I could go on. The Flats apartment actually isn't terrible, but the geography of Mamaroneck makes it a little risky. We call it the Flats because it's in a basin between the Sheldrake and Mamaroneck rivers, and is really prone to flooding. There is one advantage the Flats apartment has over Orienta; the train station is 3 blocks away as opposed to 2 miles. I've never commuted to the city, but that would make a difference in my eyes.
There are other costs that should be included when comparing these towns. As alluded above. the next major factor is commuting. Gas prices are very high in the New York City area, as we get the most expensive blends in winter and summer, and the taxes are among the highest in the nation. Therefore, if you drive a lot, your costs are much higher. Keep that in mind when choosing Peekskill over Mamaroneck. Let's say you work in White Plains. It's 6.1 miles to downtown, where all the corporations are. Our Peekskill example is 27.6 miles away. Moreover, you can take Mamaroneck Ave. directly to White Plains, avoiding all the highways and parkways that drive me insane on a daily basis. Peekskill requires a traversing a daily gauntlet on 9A. Not including wear and tear, the cost of such drives are as follows: (this assumes a combination of city and highway mileage, as both routes have some stop and go driving throughout, and we'll use my Corolla as the vehicle) 6.1 miles at 30 miles per gallon equals 0.2 gallons, while Peekskill is .92 gallons. At $3.60 a gallon, the costs are $2.88 and 6.62 a day, respectively. Working 49 weeks a year, that's $705 versus $1622, or a savings of $76 per month. If you take the train to Manhattan, the stations will cost more if they're father away. Peekskill is $343 a month, not including parking; add another 30 per month. Mamaroneck is $249. If you live in the Flats, you don't pay for parking at the station, as you can walk to the train instead.
Lost in all of this is quality of life. Here we have a trade-off. Using either commute, Peekskill is a much worse situation. On the other hand, you have a much nicer place to live. I looked for Mamaroneck rentals at a similar price to the Peekskill 2br at $2,500. Some were close in price, and in nice buildings and areas, but none had the amenities.
Now, lets look at Niagara Falls and Plattsburg. I don't know the good versus bad areas, since I don't live there. Plattsburgh doesn't give us much to go on. There was only one listing, but it was a nice 2br at $995 a month in the center of town, such as that is. Niagara is a much larger city, and there were many listings. All were in the city itself, but the Community College isn't actually in Niagara Falls, NY; it's located in Sanborn to the east. The rents were quite low, anywhere from 500 to 750, but they weren't that good. Upstate/Western New York has an glut of housing due to the population drain mentioned in my last post, so no one is building the nice places available here in Westchester.
I know many people who give the cost of living as a reason for leaving the area, but what's ignored is the pay. Everything is relative, as the lower costs are driven by lower salaries. This doesn't apply as much to me, and this is where things get a bit wonky. The SUNY system pays well, as do all public sector jobs in New York. If it's a small college town, the professors and administrators may be the best paid residents, which is actually a symptom of the larger problem I've been writing about since I started this blog.
Getting good information to compare salaries and unemployment seems to be hard to find, and financial aid jobs all but impossible to accurately quantify. As such, I am forced to use anecdotal evidence. Tompkins County Community College (Stylized as TC3), is looking for a director, with a salary of 82,000 per annum. Not bad for Westchester, but great for Ithaca or Cortland, the two largest towns equidistant between the school.
The roughly equivalent salary here in my area is $114,000! This is a huge difference, and the director of financial at SUNY Purchase probably makes less the $82,000 offered at TC3. Wow. So long as you're willing to live Upstate, working for the local SUNY or Community College affords you a great quality of life, if you can handle the winters.
Part 2 coming up.
In my previous post, I talked about looking at the other state schools here in New York, but I glossed over the monetary considerations. Westchester is one of the most expensive places to live in the world, with a rating of 154.3. 100 is the average. An impressive (or sickening?) stat to be sure, but what does that mean? Gas, food, medical care, and the like are fairly even throughout my home area, and if you spring for a Costco or BJ's membership, your costs are a little lower. The key variant is housing. You can find a two-bedroom in Peekskill for $650 a month, or for $2500. In my hometown of Mamaroneck, you can rent a 2br condo for $6000! This isn't a misprint; it's in a very rich section called Orienta. The cheapest 2br is a $1550 place in what's called the Flats, prone to flooding and not the nicest section of town - to put it mildly. The apartment itself wasn't bad, but could have used fresh paint.
In both locales you get what you pay for. The Peekskill apartments are night and day. The $650 place is in horrible condition in a drug filled part of town, and the most expensive place is in a huge subdivision with a pool, clubhouse, etc. Mamaroneck has a similar variance, though the low end isn't nearly as bad. The Orienta condo is stunning, with peacock granite countertops, backyard, sauna, security; I could go on. The Flats apartment actually isn't terrible, but the geography of Mamaroneck makes it a little risky. We call it the Flats because it's in a basin between the Sheldrake and Mamaroneck rivers, and is really prone to flooding. There is one advantage the Flats apartment has over Orienta; the train station is 3 blocks away as opposed to 2 miles. I've never commuted to the city, but that would make a difference in my eyes.
There are other costs that should be included when comparing these towns. As alluded above. the next major factor is commuting. Gas prices are very high in the New York City area, as we get the most expensive blends in winter and summer, and the taxes are among the highest in the nation. Therefore, if you drive a lot, your costs are much higher. Keep that in mind when choosing Peekskill over Mamaroneck. Let's say you work in White Plains. It's 6.1 miles to downtown, where all the corporations are. Our Peekskill example is 27.6 miles away. Moreover, you can take Mamaroneck Ave. directly to White Plains, avoiding all the highways and parkways that drive me insane on a daily basis. Peekskill requires a traversing a daily gauntlet on 9A. Not including wear and tear, the cost of such drives are as follows: (this assumes a combination of city and highway mileage, as both routes have some stop and go driving throughout, and we'll use my Corolla as the vehicle) 6.1 miles at 30 miles per gallon equals 0.2 gallons, while Peekskill is .92 gallons. At $3.60 a gallon, the costs are $2.88 and 6.62 a day, respectively. Working 49 weeks a year, that's $705 versus $1622, or a savings of $76 per month. If you take the train to Manhattan, the stations will cost more if they're father away. Peekskill is $343 a month, not including parking; add another 30 per month. Mamaroneck is $249. If you live in the Flats, you don't pay for parking at the station, as you can walk to the train instead.
Lost in all of this is quality of life. Here we have a trade-off. Using either commute, Peekskill is a much worse situation. On the other hand, you have a much nicer place to live. I looked for Mamaroneck rentals at a similar price to the Peekskill 2br at $2,500. Some were close in price, and in nice buildings and areas, but none had the amenities.
Now, lets look at Niagara Falls and Plattsburg. I don't know the good versus bad areas, since I don't live there. Plattsburgh doesn't give us much to go on. There was only one listing, but it was a nice 2br at $995 a month in the center of town, such as that is. Niagara is a much larger city, and there were many listings. All were in the city itself, but the Community College isn't actually in Niagara Falls, NY; it's located in Sanborn to the east. The rents were quite low, anywhere from 500 to 750, but they weren't that good. Upstate/Western New York has an glut of housing due to the population drain mentioned in my last post, so no one is building the nice places available here in Westchester.
I know many people who give the cost of living as a reason for leaving the area, but what's ignored is the pay. Everything is relative, as the lower costs are driven by lower salaries. This doesn't apply as much to me, and this is where things get a bit wonky. The SUNY system pays well, as do all public sector jobs in New York. If it's a small college town, the professors and administrators may be the best paid residents, which is actually a symptom of the larger problem I've been writing about since I started this blog.
Getting good information to compare salaries and unemployment seems to be hard to find, and financial aid jobs all but impossible to accurately quantify. As such, I am forced to use anecdotal evidence. Tompkins County Community College (Stylized as TC3), is looking for a director, with a salary of 82,000 per annum. Not bad for Westchester, but great for Ithaca or Cortland, the two largest towns equidistant between the school.
The roughly equivalent salary here in my area is $114,000! This is a huge difference, and the director of financial at SUNY Purchase probably makes less the $82,000 offered at TC3. Wow. So long as you're willing to live Upstate, working for the local SUNY or Community College affords you a great quality of life, if you can handle the winters.
Part 2 coming up.
