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Says this morning’s New York Times, sure, when you’re starting out in The Working World, New York is where you’d rather stay — the paychecks are bigger (that’s “the New York premium,” which I was offered for $5 in Times Square back before it was scrubbed up), and the delis are so much better. But according to a new report from the Office of the New York City Comptroller, that money comes at the front end of a career — especially if you’re a man. And then begins the inevitable salary dive that drives folks elsewhere — like, back to Dallas, where it pays to get old. (Still waiting.) The chart up top says it all. And what it doesn’t say, SMU Cox School of Business economist and Maguire Energy Institute associate director Bernard Weinstein adds:
“The New York metro area is always sucking people in and spitting them out,” said Mr. Weinstein, whose daughter works for an advertising agency in Manhattan. “I’ve watched this cycle of all these kids moving to New York and 10 years later moving back to Dallas. You discover that you can find employment in Dallas or Atlanta at a roughly comparable salary, but in real terms it’s a boost because the cost of living is much lower.”
