Ever since Hollywood popped off about a century ago, Americans have been comparing the incomparable: New York City and Los Angeles. They're two completely different cities in totally different worlds, but if there's one way you can quantify an area, it's by the real estate prices.
So, imagine you're moving from LA to NYC and you need to get a place. Would you expect to afford the same luxury, square footage, or views?
For sure there's luxury to be had here in the City and we have some giant residences, but new data confirms that there's no way you're going to get comparable size in NYC for the same price as LA.
It's not so much of a surprise, especially considering NYC is the most expensive city in the world. Outranking such opulent places like Zurich and Geneva on the world scale, it's a no brainer that we're more expensive than Los Angeles, despite what you might think of how expensive those mansions are.
It turns out that it's very easy to compare neighborhoods in LA and NYC by the price per square foot of a given property, or the average price per square foot in a given neighborhood.
For example, if it's waterfront property we're talking about, then it's a matter of comparing Malibu or Pacific Palisades with Gowanus.
Despite the fact that Brooklyn's polluted like all get out, the Gowanus neighborhood averages $1,407 per square toxic and radioactive foot.
via Los Angeles Times
Line that up against prices per square foot running about $900 out West, the apparent savings of living in LA are much less shadowy.
How do Bel-Air and Beverly Hills measure up? Well, the rates right now for those areas are less than half the cost of a place in Tribeca, with Bel-Air and Beverly Hills weighing in at around $950 per square foot...and Tribeca at... $2,400.
There's no arguing that you'll likely get more space out in California for the same price in a comparable neighborhood in NYC. But this is New York. You never heard of the Fresh Prince of New York, have you? Exactly.
Check out How Does the City of San Francisco Stack Up Against NYC?
[via Los Angeles Times]
[Feature Image Courtesy DebbieDitanna.com]