[yunwal]

There are really really good reasons why certain places are expensive vs. cheap. Having no access to walkable areas, fresh food, education, safe water, or public amenities in general is not a dignified way to live for most people. It's not about fun, it's about your health, community, support system. Changing that situation in cheaper areas is not necessarily going to be easier than changing housing affordability.

[jjav]

> Having no access to walkable areas, fresh food, education, safe water, or public amenities in general is not a dignified way to live for most people.

These things are easily found outside of Manhattan (in my example, or whichever large downtown area you prefer).

In my little suburb I can walk to just about everything I could need, multiple farmers markets for fresh food (probably more than in Manhattan since there are many farms within an easy drive; not too many farms in Manhattan!), top rated schools, public parks, libraries, theaters, etc.

The only thing missing here compared to Manhattan is tons of bars within walking distance for the nightlife. There are a couple breweries within walking distance so that's good enough for me, given all the tradeoffs.

[yunwal]

> These things are easily found outside of Manhattan

True, but in my experience every place that’s satisfactory on these fronts is also getting insanely expensive, even the suburban areas. I currently live in a walkable small town and COL in walkable areas is essentially the same as, say, Astoria, without nearly as many transit options or amenities.

[charlie0]

I'd challenge that. I recently moved and was able to find a place that had all that and was cheaper. Having lived in big cities all my life, I totally believed that only big cities had this. Of course, now that I challenged myself to look outside the box, I was finally able to find something.