Be Thankful – If You Can Still Afford to Live in This City

This is the time of year when we pause to say thanks. And you should be especially thankful if you’re among the lucky, and dwindling, number of New Yorkers who can still afford to live in this city.

More than one-third of the city’s residents – 37 percent – say they can no longer afford to live here, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this week. Despite the harrowing cost, two-thirds said they prefer to remain here, while 32 percent said they would skip town if they had the chance.

Loyalty was sharply split between the boroughs. Manhattanites were the most fiercely loyal, with 74 percent saying they wanted to stay, while Staten Islanders were the most ambivalent, with 57 percent saying they wanted to stay. There was also a racial divide: 57 percent of black voters said they can’t afford to live here, while just 41 percent of whites felt that way.

Even the financially strapped can be thankful they’re not homeless, in a city where the population in homeless shelters has risen to a record of 60,000.