Los Angeles versus New York 1958 - 50 long years ago...
...both the Dodgers and Giants left New York for California, and the hearts of baseball fans were simulataneously broken in Gotham and awakened on the West Coast. In Brooklyn there are still people who scowl and clench their fists at the mention of Walter O'Malley - Newman! In Los Angeles at the time, the nearest teams were the Milwaukee Braves, both Chicago teams, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a mere 2,000 miles!
U.S. migration is well documented between these two cities. However, a SAG membership is not required to make the transition. If you think it's difficult to make ends meet in New York, the zip codes of 90402 and 90210 should be avoided. If you think it's expensive to live in Brentwood, Hollywood, or Santa Monica, try Gramercy Park, Greenwich Village, or the Upper East Side on for size. During an 11-year period back East, I called all three of these neighborhoods home. The 20th-floor apartment in a 34-story building at 8th and Broadway brought the clear realization that few (if any) other neighborhoods or cities compare to the Village specifically and New York on the whole. However, if it's quality of life and climate that you're looking for, Los Angeles is difficult to beat.
Without getting any deeper into the question of one area over another, here is the sales data for each city:
| New York: Neighborhood and Borough | 2003 | 2007 | 2007 % of |
| median | median | 2003 value | |
| Upper East Side, Manhattan | $ 1,475,000 | $ 2,240,150 | 152% |
| Greenwich Village, Manhattan | $ 850,000 | $ 1,580,000 | 186% |
| Gramercy/Flatiron, Manhattan | $ 580,000 | $ 1,330,000 | 229% |
| Far West Village, Manhattan | $ 500,000 | $ 700,000 | 140% |
| Astoria, Queens | $ 405,000 | $ 625,000 | 154% |
| Bkln Hgts/Dumbo/Cobble Hill, Brooklyn | $ 380,000 | $ 619,000 | 163% |
| Sunset Park/Borough Park, Brooklyn | $ 428,000 | $ 600,000 | 140% |
| Flushing, Queens | $ 490,000 | $ 593,000 | 121% |
| Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $ 320,000 | $ 585,000 | 183% |
| Morningside Heights, Manhattan | $ 286,917 | $ 554,400 | 193% |
| St. George, Statan Island | $ 245,000 | $ 402,800 | 164% |
| Riverdale, Bronx | $ 155,500 | $ 245,000 | 158% |
| Los Angeles: Neighborhood and City | 2003 | 2007 | 2007 % of |
| average | average | 2003 value | |
| Beverly Hills, 90210 | $ 1,881,331 | $ 4,059,681 | 216% |
| Santa Monica, 90402 | $ 1,602,287 | $ 2,657,286 | 166% |
| Malibu | $ 1,149,299 | $ 2,106,046 | 183% |
| Brentwood, Los Angeles | $ 1,189,041 | $ 1,811,249 | 152% |
| Venice, Los Angeles | $ 733,242 | $ 1,321,027 | 180% |
| Santa Monica, 90405 | $ 673,405 | $ 1,054,000 | 157% |
| Sherman Oaks | $ 721,554 | $ 991,500 | 137% |
| Westwood, Los Angeles 90024 | $ 715,959 | $ 960,352 | 134% |
| Mid Wilshire, Los Angeles | $ 432,010 | $ 795,779 | 184% |
| Westchester, Los Angeles | $ 511,163 | $ 782,207 | 153% |
| Culver City, 90230 | $ 364,122 | $ 576,306 | 158% |
| Inglewood | $ 257,257 | $ 465,353 | 181% |