New York State Is Among The Top 5 States People Are Moving Away From

According to a new report, many New Yorkers are making a great escape from the Empire State. MoneyWise released data that says residents of New York State are leaving in greater numbers than new people are moving into the state. I love New York and I enjoy living here. I've lived in many other places across the United States, but NY is in my top 3 places to live. I especially enjoyed living in Manhattan to go to college (but the way my budget was set up at the time, I had to eventually leave). With that said, I can think of quite a few reasons people would want to move away from New York.

MoneyWise says that outbound moves are at 63.1 percent in New York State. According to the data MoneyWise used, the main two reasons people gave for leaving are to be closer to family (29.4%) and retirement (29%). MoneyWise quoted Steven Haddock on Quora, who makes a pretty good point,

Most of New York State’s population can be found in the New York City area and, frankly, there’s no more room … The other population centers in New York are suffering from a combination of urban sprawl and a hollow industrial base. Buffalo, for example, has been losing population since 1950 and the growth of the metro area hasn’t kept pace.

The only other two states that beat out New York when it comes to having the most people leaving are Illinois, which was number 2, and New Jersey, which topped the list.

I can personally think of a few reasons that people would leave New York State:

Climate

For the 2020-2021 winter season, three cities in the state landed in the top 5 for the most snowfall in the 2021-2022 winter season. One city in the state actually took the top spot. It's cold here for much of the year. Sometimes you just get sick of all of the snow, PERIOD!

Cost Of Living

As I said, I lived in Manhattan about 20 years ago to attend graduate school. I ended up leaving and finishing my degree from Florida (I still graduated from my university in NYC). It's not that I wanted to leave, but I was paying $1,200 per month to share a one-bedroom and that was two decades ago. When it comes to the cost of living, New York is higher than the national average. Now with the cost of food, gas, and products going up, it's surely squeezing people drier than they were before.

Retirement

After working 50 years, 60 years, or even longer, who wants to sit in the snow half of the year? When most people get up in age, they are more prone to slips and falls, especially when there is snow and ice hanging around. And then there is arthritis, which can be brutal in cold weather,

While cold weather doesn't cause arthritis, it can exacerbate aches and pains. According to the Arthritis Foundation, frigid temperatures can heighten pain sensitivity, slow blood circulation and cause muscle spasms.

Not to mention, many retired people have a fixed income, which can go way further in places with lower costs of living. And at 80 would you rather go skiing or sit on the beach watching the sunset?

Politics

One thing I have personally noticed in New York is that there is a huge political divide. You have lots of Democrats in the city areas and Republicans in the rural areas and they can't seem to agree on anything. There seems to be a lot of dislike and distrust of the 'other side,' which causes division. With such different ways of life and belief systems, it's hard to see how they will ever get along in the state. I believe some people might leave to live in states that are more in line with their political ideals.

These are just some of my thoughts, let me know what you think by tweeting @937WBLK!

Get our free mobile app