New York’s Great, But Not That Great For Young People

New York City is famous for many, many, many things: Broadway, the Met, a little patch of land called Central Park, and some of the smallest apartments known to man. It's a town of bright lights and even bigger rents. New York's cost of living, in case you weren't aware, is astronomical, even when you're a salaried employee in your twenties and early thirties. Luckily, there are always other cities like Portland, OR, where the average monthly rent of a 2-bedroom apartment is similar to the cost of a shoebox-sized studio in Manhattan.

If you're not into birds on everything and that irritating über-hipster stigma of the Pacific Northwest's largest city, why not try Seattle? The town is notable for its abundance of coffee shops, cheap electricity, and even cheaper marijuana. Score! Vocativ, the newly launched global news channel, released its first Livability Index, which ranks the 35 best cities for people under 35 to live in. Portland, OR came in on top, with Austin, TX, and San Francisco, CA rounding out the top three. (Seattle came in at number four.)

These days, 36% of people between the ages of 18 and 31 are living at home (the highest its been in 40 years). So, Vocativ decided to crunch numbers and figure out the best places for those twenty- and thirtysomethings to shack up and make a home. Its Livability Index factors in the boring stuff like average-rent costs, employment rates, and gas prices, alongside the things it believes the majority of Millennials need and want. Which city has the most coffee shops per capita? Where's the cheapest take-out? (Finally a win for New York!) Where can one toke up without burning through their wallet?

So, NYC might be 23rd on the list, but at least it made it, right? And, hey, if we ever have a fall off completely, well, we have 34 more amazing cities to choose from. (PR Newswire)