The $1 million question: NYC vs. Raleigh

Ironically, while I'm down here in Raleigh, NC, my hometown newspaper is running a comparative study of what $1 million will buy you in Raleigh (a McMansion) vs New York City (a nothing-special 1100 square foot apartment in the West Village.)

G.D. Gearino, who fancies himself a humorist, makes the following observation:

Of course, the Triangle may well suffer from a comparison with Manhattan. They are very different places. Anyone living in the Triangle has to endure the numbing boredom of neighborliness, good manners, a relaxed pace of life and a mild climate. In contrast, residents of Manhattan get to enjoy aromatic subway stairwells, engage in lively discourse with culturally fascinating cab drivers, experience the excitement of citywide power blackouts, and revel in an economy so healthy that a bowl of Corn Flakes can fetch $8.

G.D., I know you're doing your best with the hometown boosterism thing, dude.

But as someone born and raised in Raleigh, and who spent the first thirty years of his life in the Triangle, and has been living happily in NYC for the last ten, I can tell you this:

The reason that housing is so much more affordable in Raleigh is that once you've bought the house, you have to live in Raleigh.

Also, in ten years, I have not had one single conversation about lawn care with *anyone*, and dammit, you can't put a price tag on that.

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