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[Litflynt912]

Wow that's $144k? that would cost like no less then £300k over here. Great house, back garden looks amazing. Smallish lot of land my ass



My god, moving to America and live like a king.

pretty much...here in Arizona, once the market crumbled, it seems Canada was gutted and all the residents moved down here once the loony was on par with the dollar.
Most of my neighbors are older almost retired/retired Canadians and love the fact they have a winter home here in AZ and cost a fraction of the price.

We bought our home in March 2008 right when the market started to fall...best sub division in our neighborhood....quaint house, 1400sq feet and it was $150K....originally sold for $255K in 2005...
first home...3bd 2 bath, fireplace and nice backyard

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

Because of the angle I took the photo, it looks closer than it actually is. That said, they are still pretty close. Nothing you can really do about it in this city.

Yeah, a lot of builders are doing this now these days...

 

[BeEatNU]

Not sure if I'd post where you live on the internet...

funny part is I just realized that LOL!

 

[Antagon]

At least its not like this:

 

[BeEatNU]

At least its not like this:

that would drive me crazy, it's pretty much a town house at that point

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

I just bought a townhouse

 

[BeEatNU]

I just bought a townhouse

its ok <3 *hug*

there is actually alot of good townhouses around.

 

[dudeworld]

town houses can be great if you're not looking for a lot of outside space. We don't need a lot of outside space, which is why we don't mind the house being so close to us. The house to our left (on the right in the pic I posted earlier) is for sale for like $900,000 so it's not like there's some ugly house right next to us.

All the trails and stuff make up for the lack of immediate outside space around the house.

 

[Houston3000]

That's what 144k buys you in America?

Your house looks amazing. I would love to go and buy property in USA

My god, moving to America and live like a king.

You all are funny, seriously. People keep trying to explain it - I'm surprised at the naivety.

Around where I live a four bedroom house would cost over a million dollars, easily. Move 45 minutes away and you'll be lucky to find a 4 bedroom for less than three-quarters of a million. This is in New York City, but even in South Florida, my parents bought a 3BR house in 1999 for $200k - they had it refinanced a couple of years ago and it was almost half a million!

You have to live out in the country to find a deal like the OP. I mean, it's not necessarily away from civilization - you could definitely be part of small-town America but you're not going to live in any of the majorly populated and culturally diverse areas of the country.

 

[GaimeGuy]

You all are funny, seriously. People keep trying to explain it - I'm surprised at the naivety.

Around where I live a four bedroom house would cost over a million dollars, easily. Move 45 minutes away and you'll be lucky to find a 4 bedroom for less than three-quarters of a million. This is in New York City, but even in South Florida, my parents bought a 3BR house in 1999 for $200k - they had it refinanced a couple of years ago and it was almost half a million!

You have to live out in the country to find a deal like the OP. I mean, it's not necessarily away from civilization - you could definitely be part of small-town America but you're not going to live in any of the majorly populated and culturally diverse areas of the country.

Twin Cities

 

[MechDX]

You all are funny, seriously. People keep trying to explain it - I'm surprised at the naivety.

Around where I live a four bedroom house would cost over a million dollars, easily. Move 45 minutes away and you'll be lucky to find a 4 bedroom for less than three-quarters of a million. This is in New York City, but even in South Florida, my parents bought a 3BR house in 1999 for $200k - they had it refinanced a couple of years ago and it was almost half a million!

You have to live out in the country to find a deal like the OP. I mean, it's not necessarily away from civilization - you could definitely be part of small-town America but you're not going to live in any of the majorly populated and culturally diverse areas of the country.

I am 20 miles outside if Houston, you dont have to live in "the country" to buy a larger house for less money.

 

[DietRob]

I am 20 miles outside if Houston, you dont have to live in "the country" to buy a larger house for less money.

I live 15 minutes outside of Cincinnati. I know LOL Ohio but whatever. Paid 179k for the house I'm in now. 4 bedroom, 3 bath, large lot with a pool.

ps. Your house looks very nice from the outside Mech

 

[distantmantra]

Wow, super jealous of the prices/sizes of your guys houses. They look very nice. I bought my first house in Nov '09. Seattle housing prices are pretty high (as with many other places as already posted).

We bought our Seattle (Greenlake neighborhood) house back in 2007. Paid $445k for it, and since then we've renovated the basement and built a patio in the back. We were able to refinance a couple years ago, plus we've been very lucky that the value (pre-basement renovation) has actually stayed steady or gone slightly up.

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

its ok <3 *hug*

there is actually alot of good townhouses around.

And I bought one of them ^_^ I just wish I had more driveway space for another car. It's going to suck leaving the fun ride at my parents house (since they have the garage space) when I buy it once it's legal (other story). That was the only thing I didn't get when we had gone a head with the purchase. 9ft ceilings, open concept, and wood floors, granite countertops? $315K?!?

town houses can be great if you're not looking for a lot of outside space. We don't need a lot of outside space, which is why we don't mind the house being so close to us. The house to our left (on the right in the pic I posted earlier) is for sale for like $900,000 so it's not like there's some ugly house right next to us.

All the trails and stuff make up for the lack of immediate outside space around the house.

Yeah I'm not to big on having a lot of green space myself. The wife would like a bit more to have something to do during the summer months. I would trade that for more garage space (just don't tell the wife). We have a park, sport complex, and a pond in within walking distance so I'm good with that.

 

[BeEatNU]

And I bought one of them ^_^ I just wish I had more driveway space for another car. It's going to suck leaving the fun ride at my parents house (since they have the garage space) when I buy it once it's legal (other story). That was the only thing I didn't get when we had gone a head with the purchase. 9ft ceilings, open concept, and wood floors, granite countertops? $315K?!?

yeah it seems like you came out pretty good then (except the drive way space lol)
See I love dogs so the backyard space is what I need in my life!

Also, I have a big driveway and a pretty good 2 car garage for my next precious M3!

 

[Darth Pinche]

Yes, we just moved into our first home in Kirkland WA (just outside Seattle). 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story, 1300 sq ft, garage, newly remodeled, stainless steel kitchen. Awesome! It is 2 blocks from Lake Washington and we can see it from our bedroom window (if you tilt your head sideways and squint!) It was $335K 6 months ago, they took it off the market and when they put it back it was listed at $230K, we made an offer below that 2 days after it came back on sale and they accepted! I am still amazed and freaking out at the same time. Timing is everything man. I am glad we were ready to pull the trigger when we found the right place.

 

[Confused101]

^^^ Nice job dude! That was a HUGE price drop!

 

[captive]

I am 20 miles outside if Houston, you dont have to live in "the country" to buy a larger house for less money.

I'm just north of memorial city mall. Paid 164k for a 2200 square ft house with detached 2 car garage. Takes me 15-20 minutes to get to an astros or texans game.

 

[=GabrielKnight=]

Whaaaaaat? How south are you? My cousins live 15 minutes outside Cosenza and one lives in a 2 bedroom apartment that cost $160,000 and the other has a 3 bedroom house that cost $200,000. Dirt cheap compared to Toronto. Plan on moving there in a few years.

I live near Naples

prices are absurd here. We have a little house in an old town near Cosenza too, and I know that there it's more cheap

 

[Bboy AJ]

Because of the angle I took the photo, it looks closer than it actually is. That said, they are still pretty close. Nothing you can really do about it in this city.

Which city is this?

I am 20 miles outside if Houston, you dont have to live in "the country" to buy a larger house for less money.

Yeah, but then you'd have to live in Texas.

 

[BeEatNU]

Yes, we just moved into our first home in Kirkland WA (just outside Seattle). 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story, 1300 sq ft, garage, newly remodeled, stainless steel kitchen. Awesome! It is 2 blocks from Lake Washington and we can see it from our bedroom window (if you tilt your head sideways and squint!) It was $335K 6 months ago, they took it off the market and when they put it back it was listed at $230K, we made an offer below that 2 days after it came back on sale and they accepted! I am still amazed and freaking out at the same time. Timing is everything man. I am glad we were ready to pull the trigger when we found the right place.

that's a really good drop. gratz!
I wish the market would drop like that out in cali

 

[Darth Pinche]

^^^ Nice job dude! That was a HUGE price drop!

Thanks, but it also kind of sad seeing the housing market fall so much. We looked at so many short sale and forclosed homes. Our was a straight up sale, the owner was moving so they were just very motivated to sell.

Oh yeah, granite fireplace and countertops. I'm still geeking out on it.

 

[Cr0wn0]

pretty much...here in Arizona, once the market crumbled, it seems Canada was gutted and all the residents moved down here once the loony was on par with the dollar.
Most of my neighbors are older almost retired/retired Canadians and love the fact they have a winter home here in AZ and cost a fraction of the price.

We bought our home in March 2008 right when the market started to fall...best sub division in our neighborhood....quaint house, 1400sq feet and it was $150K....originally sold for $255K in 2005...
first home...3bd 2 bath, fireplace and nice backyard

For Arizona thats an Awesome looking house! I live in AZ too and I hate how none of the houses have any character anymore. Its all the same desert landscaping with the same beige colors. Its funny you say that about Canadians because we just had like 3 couples move into our subdivision. Were renting a small townhouse right now but I know they are getting sick deals on these houses. Like sub 75K.

 

[Confused101]

Thanks, but it also kind of sad seeing the housing market fall so much.

I know what you mean and it sucks for so so many people, but damn is it a good time to buy. I just wish I was ready when the new home buyer credit was still around. Ah well. I really have no reason to complain. I have a great value in the house I bought.

 

[Skiptastic]

You have to live out in the country to find a deal like the OP.

Or just not on the coasts. I got my awesome deal and I live in the suburbs of Indianapolis. I'm forty minutes from downtown Indy, not out in the country. I'm five hours drive from a ton of big cities (Chicago, Cinci and Louisville in less than three, St. Louis, Columbus, Detroit, and Nashville in less than five.)

You can't live like that on the coast?

 

[Litflynt912]

For Arizona thats an Awesome looking house! I live in AZ too and I hate how none of the houses have any character anymore. Its all the same desert landscaping with the same beige colors. Its funny you say that about Canadians because we just had like 3 couples move into our subdivision. Were renting a small townhouse right now but I know they are getting sick deals on these houses. Like sub 75K.

Thanks man...I'm in the West Valley of Phoenix and moved here from NY due to work...
I like the feel of my sub division...all the houses look similar to the Spanish style and modern.
My wife is from Mesa and I HATE the adobe old school style...the new brown cookie cutters look nice though...

very fortunate...we are happy to move into this particular HOA due to the amenities (even though the concept still makes me mad)

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

Yes, we just moved into our first home in Kirkland WA (just outside Seattle). 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story, 1300 sq ft, garage, newly remodeled, stainless steel kitchen. Awesome! It is 2 blocks from Lake Washington and we can see it from our bedroom window (if you tilt your head sideways and squint!) It was $335K 6 months ago, they took it off the market and when they put it back it was listed at $230K, we made an offer below that 2 days after it came back on sale and they accepted! I am still amazed and freaking out at the same time. Timing is everything man. I am glad we were ready to pull the trigger when we found the right place.

Good lord! That's quite the deal. Here in Canada, prices are getting crazy. Housing sales in the GTA have gone down 3% since last year, but prices have gone up by about 5%?!?! And now crappy new builds have people sleeping outside for WEEKS in order to snap one up since they are not building as much in my area (since there's no more real space).

I'm just glad I got in when I did. The same model of the house I bought is currently selling for $365K from a division that just closed!?! Think about it, they paid less then I did (though they did get less free upgrades).

 

[Socreges]

Holy Christ you guys have got some nice, inexpensive houses. You must live in the suburbs of the suburbs or something.

 

[Seth C]

Whaaaaaat? How south are you? My cousins live 15 minutes outside Cosenza and one lives in a 2 bedroom apartment that cost $160,000 and the other has a 3 bedroom house that cost $200,000. Dirt cheap compared to Toronto. Plan on moving there in a few years.

Take me with you? I miss Italy.

 

[Houston3000]

I am 20 miles outside if Houston, you dont have to live in "the country" to buy a larger house for less money.

Well yeah, but Houston.

Or just not on the coasts. I got my awesome deal and I live in the suburbs of Indianapolis. I'm forrty minutes from downtown Indy, not out in the country. I'm five hours drive from a ton of big cities (Chicago, Cinci and Louisville in less than three, St. Louis, Columbus, Detroit, and Nashville in less than five.)

You guys are right, I was generalizing to vaguely.

The point is living in the United States is only cheap if you live in a less populated area with there is less demand. Someone living in Alberta or Ontario saying the United states is cheap is like someone living in California saying Canada is cheap because someone pays $100k for a house in Newfoundland or some small town in Saskatchewan.

P.S. I don't know anything about Canada, I just assume those places are cheaper to live in.

 

[Nerevar]

I am 20 miles outside if Houston, you dont have to live in "the country" to buy a larger house for less money.

Of course, the tradeoff is that you have to live close to Houston.

Kidding (kind of), but the major American cities in the south & southeast are really the only cities that this applies to, for various reasons. Not coincidentally they also tend to be the cities with the least desirable transit options and the greatest degree of urban sprawl.

Or just not on the coasts. I got my awesome deal and I live in the suburbs of Indianapolis. I'm forrty minutes from downtown Indy, not out in the country. I'm five hours drive from a ton of big cities (Chicago, Cinci and Louisville in less than three, St. Louis, Columbus, Detroit, and Nashville in less than five.)

FORTY MINUTES outside the city, and you think that's not out in the sticks? That's an hour and a half round trip to get in or out of the city, not including fighting traffic / parking / etc. I don't even want to know what it would cost you for gas to drive in and out of the city on a daily basis. Seriously, that's ridiculous.

 

[MechDX]

Of course, the tradeoff is that you have to live close to Houston.

Kidding (kind of), but the major American cities in the south & southeast are really the only cities that this applies to, for various reasons. Not coincidentally they also tend to be the cities with the least desirable transit options and the greatest degree of urban sprawl.

I know Houstons "urban sprawl" I live in a planned community, Kingwood, and I have tons of trees and a "greenbelt trail" I can use to basically walk or ride a bike to anywhere I need to go. Food, shopping, entertaining, etc...

Hell I cant get grass to grow in my backyard because its cpmpletely shaded by trees. Lets not turn this thread into the typical GAF "OMG!!111! Its Houston/Texas" thread.

I'm just north of memorial city mall. Paid 164k for a 2200 square ft house with detached 2 car garage. Takes me 15-20 minutes to get to an astros or texans game.

Nice area but I just cant stand the rush hour traffic in that part of town.

 

[distantmantra]

FORTY MINUTES outside the city, and you think that's not out in the sticks? That's an hour and a half round trip to get in or out of the city, not including fighting traffic / parking / etc. I don't even want to know what it would cost you for gas to drive in and out of the city on a daily basis. Seriously, that's ridiculous.

It's not out in the sticks, it's just being out in the suburbs.

With that said, I can't imagine living in the suburbs ever again. Nothing but strip malls, big box stores and planned communities creep me out. I had a good childhood in the suburbs, but it's all about city life for me now. I'm very excited to raise a kid in the city.

 

[(._.)]

I just put in an offer on an incredibly nice foreclosed house. 2 bedrooms in a really nice area. If it goes through I would be getting it for a little over a third of what it is worth. Bid 25k while the place is worth 60k. I am the winning bid but I am now waiting for them to accept it. I have family who has dealt with this bank before so there is a good possibility they will take it for that low. Hope it goes through.

 

[Zoe]

FORTY MINUTES outside the city, and you think that's not out in the sticks? That's an hour and a half round trip to get in or out of the city, not including fighting traffic / parking / etc. I don't even want to know what it would cost you for gas to drive in and out of the city on a daily basis. Seriously, that's ridiculous.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, the majority of people live in suburbs and never even have to set a foot in Dallas proper to work at large companies.

 

[EricM85]

So my I just closed on a place a couple weeks ago. This past week I received an email from my lender saying I need to sign a few additional disclouse statements and an updated payment letter as they forgot to include PMI at closing. As such, they won't be able to sell the loan. I'm not really sure how a lender makes a mistake like this. At this point, I'm thinking this really isn't my problem. I'm locked into the payment letter I signed at closing, why should I agree to additional fees weeks after funding? Also, for real estate lawyer GAF, isn't this a violation of the HPA?

 

[Devin Olsen]

Just sold my place, made a little over 100k profit in one year... Looking to do the same thing with the next place that I move into.

 

[Enco]

Sweet house dude.

Damn the UK house market sucks (price and size wise) in comparison.

 

[onipex]

Congrats to all the new home owners. I just got an offer accepted on a 5,000 sqt home for 190k. Inspection was just done and some issues with the roof were found. Trying to negotiate to that fixed.

 

[Devin Olsen]

Congrats to all the new home owners. I just got an offer accepted on a 5,000 sqt home for 190k. Inspection was just done and some issues with the roof were found. Trying to negotiate to that fixed.

Where is the world do you live? Perhaps housing prices in BC are a bit off, but 190k for a 5000 sq ft home seems like a great deal.

 

[captmorgan]

It's not out in the sticks, it's just being out in the suburbs.

With that said, I can't imagine living in the suburbs ever again. Nothing but strip malls, big box stores and planned communities creep me out. I had a good childhood in the suburbs, but it's all about city life for me now. I'm very excited to raise a kid in the city.

May I ask why? what does a city have that the burbs doesn`t other than noise?
I can understand wanting to live in the city if its closer to work, but I never understood what was so special about the city, I lived in Vancouver for years and all it ever was was noise and more noise (traffic, sirens, yelling, music) I mean to everyone their own, but I could never imagine giving up my workshop that you can only really have if you live in the burbs or an acreage.

Congrats to all the new home owners, post some pictures of your guys places when decorated its always neat to see different styles.

 

[Sanjay]

Good lord you Euros are insistent. You realize that you're basically comparing housing in your local area with houses in Bulgaria / Romania, right? A similar house in the northeast corrider (area stretching between Washington, DC and Boston encompassing NYC, Philly, Baltimore, etc.) would cost between $400k to $1mil+ depending on where exactly it's located.

You all are funny, seriously. People keep trying to explain it - I'm surprised at the naivety.

Around where I live a four bedroom house would cost over a million dollars, easily. Move 45 minutes away and you'll be lucky to find a 4 bedroom for less than three-quarters of a million. This is in New York City, but even in South Florida, my parents bought a 3BR house in 1999 for $200k - they had it refinanced a couple of years ago and it was almost half a million!

You have to live out in the country to find a deal like the OP. I mean, it's not necessarily away from civilization - you could definitely be part of small-town America but you're not going to live in any of the majorly populated and culturally diverse areas of the country.

No you guys fail to see our point, no matter where you live for £150k will most likely net you a bob standard house over here, sure we also have it where house prices in London are a crazy but even in remote places like small-town England in the middle of no where houses are still expensive.

 

[distantmantra]

May I ask why? what does a city have that the burbs doesn`t other than noise?
I can understand wanting to live in the city if its closer to work, but I never understood what was so special about the city, I lived in Vancouver for years and all it ever was was noise and more noise (traffic, sirens, yelling, music) I mean to everyone their own, but I could never imagine giving up my workshop that you can only really have if you live in the burbs or an acreage.

Walkability and access to things that aren't in your typical American suburb community. Within a mile of my house in Seattle, I can walk to independent art house movie theatres, tons of small restaurants, music venues, coffee shops, bars, locally owned stores, a farmers market, etc. There is also a big lake a few blocks from my house with tons of greenspace and sports fields.

I commute during the week, but it's awfully nice parking the car on Friday and being able to walk everywhere until Monday morning. We'll have a lightrail station about three blocks from our house in 7-8 years, which will make it even better to access other parts of the city that currently require a car or bus.

I realize that the city isn't for everyone, just like the suburbs aren't for me.

 

[speculawyer]

She accepted 144k and is going to pay 4k of my closing costs.

Wow . . . homes are really inexpensive in other places around the country.

 

[Skiptastic]

FORTY MINUTES outside the city, and you think that's not out in the sticks? That's an hour and a half round trip to get in or out of the city, not including fighting traffic / parking / etc. I don't even want to know what it would cost you for gas to drive in and out of the city on a daily basis. Seriously, that's ridiculous.

Well, I don't work downtown, so I wouldn't know. But I work ten minutes outside of downtown (give or take) and I use about a gallon back and forth. I used to live in the NW suburbs of Chicago. It would take forty minutes to even approach downtown. It was not out in the sticks. So the ability to get downtown in forty minutes is pretty sweet from my point of view. What small city are you living in where 40m is the sticks?

 

[Litflynt912]

Wow . . . homes are really inexpensive in other places around the country.

a house similar to the one I posted on this page that is behind our house sold for $85K last August...
granted, ours has all the upgrades and bells and whistles...for the difference I would have jumped on it.

homes in the southwest and west have taken the brunt of price drops...things have gotten A LOT better...but still has a ways to go...

other parts of the country seem to be rebounding nicely...as least from what I have seen

 

[Lazlo]

Ugh... for those in BC even looking at far out places like surrey gets you a 1br for 170k. House for that price? Laughing. My buddy in chilliwack has a townhouse thats only about 1200sq ft and it's ~180k. Ugh...

 

[captive]

Nice area but I just cant stand the rush hour traffic in that part of town.

Since i10 opened up its a lot better, unless you have to get on 610 then it just sucks. I10 is pretty awesome now, I've been having to drop off film at shepherd and washington and its a breeze in the morning before work driving there and back.

But i too don't like rush hour traffic, which is why my house is less than 1 mile away from my place of work.

 

[Nerevar]

I know Houstons "urban sprawl" I live in a planned community, Kingwood, and I have tons of trees and a "greenbelt trail" I can use to basically walk or ride a bike to anywhere I need to go. Food, shopping, entertaining, etc...

Hell I cant get grass to grow in my backyard because its cpmpletely shaded by trees. Lets not turn this thread into the typical GAF "OMG!!111! Its Houston/Texas" thread.

I was partly kidding, but to each his own. I distinctly remember visiting Houston to see Rice when I was doing college tours, and being pretty misreable. There were numerous pollution warnings and you couldn't get anywhere without a car.

No you guys fail to see our point, no matter where you live for £150k will most likely net you a bob standard house over here, sure we also have it where house prices in London are a crazy but even in remote places like small-town England in the middle of no where houses are still expensive.

Again, you're missing the point. Comparing the British Isles to America is ridiculous - there's literally 10 times more land, even just looking at the contiguous US alone. Housing is purely demand-driven, so the much higher person-per-area ratio is going to dictate that housing is going to be more expensive in the UK than it is here in the States. That's why I'm bringing up places like Bulgaria or Estonia or whatever - that's the only way to get an even remotely close to apples-to-apples comparison. If you want to compare the UK to the US you really have to narrow it down to something like the northeast corridor, or the state of New York. Comparing the UK to housing prices in Oklahoma is just dumb. For comparison, the state of New York is bigger than the country England.

Well, I don't work downtown, so I wouldn't know. But I work ten minutes outside of downtown (give or take) and I use about a gallon back and forth. I used to live in the NW suburbs of Chicago. It would take forty minutes to even approach downtown. It was not out in the sticks. So the ability to get downtown in forty minutes is pretty sweet from my point of view. What small city are you living in where 40m is the sticks?

Of course "40 minutes" is purely a subjective measurement, but living "40 minutes" outside Boston puts you in New Hampshire. Chicago / New York / LA excepted you're going to find exurban communities 40 minutes outside a major city.

Realistically, I think we're just redefining terms. Virtually every major city outside the southeast, and with New York / Chicago / LA excepted, towns that are further than about a half-hour outside a city are widely regarded as "exurbs". That doesn't mean that the vast majority of people who live there don't commute, but IMO that is not a suburb. Edit: Then again, I'd also never leave Chicago for Indy

 

[Houston3000]

May I ask why? what does a city have that the burbs doesn`t other than noise?
I can understand wanting to live in the city if its closer to work, but I never understood what was so special about the city, I lived in Vancouver for years and all it ever was was noise and more noise (traffic, sirens, yelling, music) I mean to everyone their own, but I could never imagine giving up my workshop that you can only really have if you live in the burbs or an acreage.

I haven't ever been to Vancouver so I can't comment directly but having grown up in the suburbs of Miami (though, only 20 minutes away) and moving into New York City I can think of quite a few advantages.

Some Examples:

• I can go see a play on Broadway after work on impulse.
• Three or four days a week I can drop by Union Square and attend a Green Market festival or buy artwork from dozens of independent artists selling their work
• I could sign up and go watch Late Night, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, etc any night of the week.
• I'm a couple of minutes from dozens of movie theaters. I can go next week and see The Tree of Life literally over a month before anyone in say... Texas would have a chance to see it. This can also be said about advance screenings.
• I could of jogged over to Grand Central Station and played with the Nintendo 3DS weeks before it released because of the special demo pod there.
• If there's ever a rally, a parade, a march, whatever - I'm able to attend without much thought. I attended the Veterans Day Parade by accident.
• There's not one cool hangout spot if I'm looking for a fun night out, there's entire neighborhoods, multiple neighborhoods, that seem practically dedicated to just that - night life.
• Central Park, Times Square, MOMA, Natural History Museum, Yankee Stadium, Bronx Zoo, etc...

That's not mentioning the extremely obvious advantage of having hundreds or thousands of restaurants to choose from whenever I want to go out and eat, same thing with stores when I want to buy something. If I ever need to go shopping I don't have to drive to the mall 15 minutes away, practically any block I walk to has stores up and down... some parts in Manhattan the most prestigious stores in the country. The landmarks, the atmosphere, the culture it's all right at my fingertips.

So Ease of Access, First Access, Choice of Venue, etc. obviously there are drawbacks. Price being the biggest, noise pollution, air pollution, lack of open space, homeless people, drugs, violence, overcrowding, bad primary schooling system, first target of terrorism attacks, non-public transportation woes. Really if you like hanging out in a big comfy house with your wife and kids, playing video games, going out to dinner and the movies for special occasions, having big family get-togethers at your house, owning a lot of pets, stuff like that I can't blame someone for not wanting to live in the city. Don't put it down though, it definitely has it's advantages.