Why is it so expensive to live in tourist destinations?

Question

Like NYC, Miami, LA, Chicago, etc. etc.?

Answer 1

I live in Breckenridge, CO, a popular ski town and it is expensive to live here. I think it's because so many people want to live in these places that it forces the prices up. We pay more for rent, gas, groceries and clothes. A 300 sf studio condo here is nearly $300,000. Also, here they have to truck stuff up to us (9,600 ft) in snowy conditions which drives costs up, at least for us. We also have a lot of second homeowners here which definitely contributes to high costs of living.

Answer 2

Well there are many reasons I'm sure.  But I think the main one has to deal with how many people go there.  There is high demand in those areas.  A lot of people live there.  So, demand for living areas makes prices go higher.  With more demand, prices go up.  In addition, there isn't always enough supply to keep up with demand.  So, that is why prices are so high in those cities.

Standard of living can be high too.  Thanks to some of the areas being rich, (especially West LA and Staten Island), costs could go up.  Why?  Because with more wealthy people living in an area, the prices go up.  Richer people are willing to pay more.  But of course, there are also poorer areas too, but I don't think you're referring to that.

I hope my answer helped ya.  I think its mainly a wonder that can be answered by supply and demand.  :) And oh yeah, some cities made mistakes when trying to deal with the number of people getting apartments and prices being high.  They put rent control and controlled prices.  However, that lowered prices a lot and caused high demand (due to low prices).  And that made demand too much to handle.

But mainly, high prices are due to a lot of people wanting apartments/place to live.  That is what makes prices so high.  The rent control example I gave is just an example of how a few places haven't done great in dealing with these issues. (And oh yeah prices are also high, as I said before, because of how wealthy people want better areas, that contributes to the already high prices and demand).