This is the question posed on CityNerd video titled “Walkable Cities But They Keep Getting More Affordable”
If you ditched your car, could you afford to leave the suburbs for a great urban neighborhood?
Ray Delahanty answers the question in the 26 biggest US cities.
The analysis assumes the all-in cost of owning and operating a car is $1,000 per month, including purchase, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.
In the city, transportation costs might total about $250 per month for transit passes, biking, ride-hailing, and other small expenses.
This results in an effective $750 per month increase in the housing budget for city center residents who do not own a car.
The results of the video are quite interesting, as you can get more m² in walkable areas in most cities
There are unfortunately so many American metro areas like the one you’re describing: poor public services in city vs suburbs, more jobs in suburbs, cheaper housing. Its definitely not a natural law of the universe but a result of short-sighted, racist, classist planning and development, and it forces lots of people to live in the burbs even if they’d rather not.
I do want to push back on the monthly car cost a bit. You didn’t factor in gas, maintenance, repairs, etc in your own estimate of your car cost. Those really add up and would probably push you closer to the $1000/month/car mark.
Also, your insurance rate seems extremely low. I’m happy for you, but I think you might be an outlier.