We have discussed how much it costs to be a New Yorker so many times yet I never gave the subject a deep thought until yesterday. Every other piece we read has mentioned unbelievably expensive lifestyles that have to be conformed to and prices that are rising at the speed of the light. Unaffordable groceries, real estate, home goods and low wages, all of which are always discussed, is only the surface of the problem.
I never payed attention to such small routine details as subway rides for example. Using unlimited metro card was always convenient. It left me oblivious to the cost of underground trips. I forgot my metro card at home, so i had to stop by the machine to buy a new one. It was a shock to find out that we have to pay a dollar for a new card and the cost of the ride is $2.50 now and a separate dollar fee for the metro-card itself, as opposed to less than a year ago when the piece of plastic used to excess the underground transportation was free and a ride was only $2.00
Two fifty doesn’t sound too expensive but as for right now its a cost of 30 minutes of work on the minimum wage job. How are people supposed to survive in NYC, feed their families, support themselves with basic necessities if only getting to their workplace costs them half of their salary?
