WEBlue

Two Manhattan neighbourhoods are top of the list (of course)- over $4,000. average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment. But some of the other pricey areas came as a surprise to me. (A few I'd never heard of, actually...)

The 10 Most Expensive Neighborhoods for Renters | Money Talks News

Pulaski

So reading the rather sketchy explanation, the ranking includes a component related to affordability compared to the income of renters in the area, making it difficult to understand exactly what it means. Separate rankings of absolute rent and of percentage of income would have been clearer, I think.

Michael

None of them really surprised me but I think the list is wrong. Some areas have very few rentals so seem to be not included. For instance in along the peninsula, they are many areas that are significantly more expensive than Palo Alto but have few apartments. I'm surprised there is not even one area in Marin county that is listed and there are quite a few very expensive areas there.

And only one from the greater LA area. How about Malibu (not sure if there are 1 bedroom apartments there), Bel Air, and Santa Monica.

Sally Redux

I was wondering about that too. It appears they also take income into account:

Because the rankings include both average rent and the percent of income spent on rent, you may not see some notoriously expensive neighborhoods on the list, most likely because the renters have higher incomes.

Michael

When I lived in LA in the 1960s, I was looking for places to rent and I happened to go to Bel Air without knowing it was really expensive area. I walked into an apartment complex and they showed me a studio and the rent was more than my income. I politely looked around and said I'd have to think about it.

Sally Redux

At least it wouldn't have taken long to look around

Michael

After that fiasco, I realized that I didn't know what the hell I was doing trying to find an apartment so I looked in the newspaper for apartments to share and shared a two bedroom apartment with another in beautiful Alhambra. After that one, I then shared another two bedroom apartment in beautiful Monterey Park.



After that, I moved to the bay area and prices were so much cheaper. I found a one bedroom in Sunnavle in a pretty decent area for a good price. At that time, the average price for a house in San Jose was about $15,000 and Sunnyvale was about $20,000 and the real expensive areas were about $25,000-$30,000.

Sally Redux

I certainly wish I could have kept my first flat in Holloway.

hoffage123

In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground was where I spent most of my days ....

*Fresh Prince*

Sally Redux

Ha ha I was thinking Michael would have been OK if that show had been made earlier.

Bob

Boston, kind of makes sense, though who actually lives in Government Center? It's a ghost town over the weekend...plus parking rental can cost just as much as the apartment

Michael

About 15 years ago, parking spaces in Manhattan could be bought for about $250,000.

scrubbedexpat091

The San Diego neighborhood listed doesn't surprise me, it's downtown in a central location, mostly newer build condo's, and well San Diego salaries don't really match the cost of living there.

But luckily there are some more affordable regions there, but they are not pleasant places to live if you can avoid it.

My sister lives in one of those, not a nice place to raise kids.