worst places to live

I was just reading some headlines and came across an article that names the worst cities in which to live. New York was #4 (although I don't know if they are actually in any order) and this is what it says about it:

The high cost of living and dense population of New York City make it seem a daunting place to live. The average price of a Manhattan apartment is $1.3 million. Parking spaces go for the price of McMansions in other cities. And many apartments aren’t that much bigger than parking spaces. Everything seems like a project – even getting a table in a restaurant – in this fast-paced, aggressive, ambitious culture. Rapid high-end real estate development has quashed some of the city’s charm and made living here all but impossible for young creative types.“One of the great things about New York used to be the incredible cross-section of people. You could be rich or poor, but as long as you were willing to work hard and give up some of life’s luxuries, you could live near some of the greatest cultural amenities in the world,” says Andrew Berman, president of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Still, New York has done a better job fending off the crushing wave of chain stores that make every place in America feel the same, Berman says. And since so many people continue to want to live in New York City, its real estate market remains surprisingly healthy. Bottom line: New York City is still a land of opportunity – whether you’re seeking fame, fortune, culture, or just want to live in the center of it all. On that score, no other city can compete.

Comments: yes, it's expensive (average price of an apartment is 1.3 million! shocking, and yet, I totally believe it) and it is losing a lot of it's charm because of all the luxury buildings that are going up everywhere. It is sad to me that regular people are being priced out of the city. Despite what this blurb says, there are way too many chain stores here, although I guess it's good that there are less than other cities. But I will say this: in many of the descriptions of other "worst" cities, the reason they are bad are because there are a lot of murders, high infant mortality, illiteracy and (at least in the case of Las Vegas) prostitution. If this is the worst that you can say about New York, that it's really expensive and everyone wants to live here, that's not so bad, right?