[eschaton]

Originally Posted by JManc

Read all of what Crawford wrote: Baltimore and Buffalo aren't more affordable than DC or SF. They have a similar or higher share of income going to housing costs, because incomes are so low.

If I am to interpret this correctly, relative to their respective populations, Buffalo really isn't that much of a bargain compared to SF because the higher percentage of people living well below the poverty line. Houses may in the millions in SF but wages are much higher. I am from Upstate NY and the poverty is pervasive and an $80k house we may think is affordable is waaay out of reach for many families in that area. Contrast to the west coast where $80k is about what people pay for a car.

Incomes are not 16 times higher in San Francisco as Buffalo. Not even close.