Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-09-21
NEW YORK AND LONDON.

NEW YORK AND LONDON.
Tho Cost of Living In tho Two Cities, and
the Comparison In Favor Of London
The question as to the relative cost
of housekeeping in London and New
York has often interested me greatly.
says MIR. Jennings, in his World CORE
spondence, as doubt not it may have
done some of your readers.
A very good house, with eight bed
rooms, dining, drawing and reception
rooms, can be had in Kensington, a
fashionable suburb, for 9100 year. Go
a little further into the suburbs, and
you can do it for much less. For in
stance, know of a family which has a
small but neat and comfortable house
six rooms-near Dulwich, that is to say
between three and four miles from Lon
don bridge, EOS year-$125. 1 really
do not know where I could find house
anything like it within twenty miles OF
New York for three times the money.
There is small garden, both back and
front. For ESQ a year IN excellent house
can be got in the northern part OF Lon
don-that great region extending from
Islington 10 Highgate. These are houses
chiefly intended for what are called the
"middle classes" and certainly no one
need be ashamed to live in them. An
other house of which I know is at Ken
sington not far from the South Kensing-
ton museum, and ia pleasantly situated.
It has nine rooms, small garden, and
the rent is e1OO ($5OO year. The To-
cality about corresponds to Fiftieth
street, below Sixth avenue, in New York.
It is difficult, of course, to make such
comparisons between two cities, but 1
think this does no injustice to either.
Rents such as are common in New York,
of from 81, 200 to $1,000 year, would
here suffice to hire mansion In the
most fashionable parts of the town, and
the class which can afford to pay s500
or s6OO year for house is exceedingly
limited. I should myself, speaking from
personal experience and after careful in
quiry among my friends, put down for
rent and taxes, in a very good locality,
G15O year. For this you may obtain 3
house in almost any direction-north or
south, east or west-such as you have to
pay, even now, from 81, 200 to 81 500 a
year for in New York, not including
taxes. Here the tenant pays the taxes
in New York the landlord does-so
that the comparison cannot be made
with entire accuracy. And it must be
remembered that L have taken the
diminished New York rents-not the
prices of three or four years ago.
Servants wages, Mr.. Jennings says,
are much higher in New York than in
London. The cook in QUE case gets Els
year $50 gold); i'll the other e22
(si1O). We used to pay from $40 to $50
month in Ney Yorkfor a cook, andshe
was not so good as a EGO a year cook
would be here. Twenty dollars month
is about g43 year, currency. - =,
Clothing, for adults as well as chill
dren, is very much cheaper in London
than it is in New York, and q man can
get very good pair of boots in London
for Ell s., lady for 16s., and child
for from As. to 7s. Cd. l do not know
where a well made pair of mems boots
could be got in New York for Sc or 81.
In London beef is Is. a pound, and
steaks the best) Is. Sd. We used to
pay in New York, for precisely the same
description of beef, 30c. and 35c. apound
respectively. Lamb is Is. Sd. pound,
! and 35c. in New York. Fowls are now
scarce and bring rs. pair. Eggs are
Is. cd. dozen; tea, 4s. pound. For
tea not so good the New York price was
s1.5O a pound. Lump (or loaf sugar
is AID. per rou"d, as against lac. IN
New York. The best butter is 2s. per
pound; we paid SOC. in New York.
Bread is much cheaper and much better
here than in New York-the seven
pound loaf now costs "a. Potatoes vary
| from Id. to Sd. per pound. Fish gener-
ally is very cheap. Coffee is Is. Sd. per
pound (45c. in Now York;, and rice 2!d.
per pound Q2c. per pound in New
York;.
Taken altogether, I think that a fam
lily of six or seven persons can live very
comfortably in or near London for 9lo
(say $56) week, not including rent.
This would cover reasonable npendl-
tare on "extras," such as newspapers,
postage, etc. 10 live on similar scale
in New York would cost 800 week. l
am quito sure that G1, 900 year here
which is what is generally called mid
dle-class income-would 60 further here
than $4,000 year would in New York,
when rent and all other expenses are
taken into account. Any family which
has an income of e100 a month can at:
ford to live in very good house and
have well supplied table. There would
not be enough for horses or carriage, OF
ANYTHING of that kind, but summers
holiday might be got out of it. and some
provision made for doctors bills and
other incidental expenses. know, how
ever, of la ge family which lives very
well in the country on G4OO a year, and
another which is doing it on about 97OO
also know myself of country parson
who brought up family and lived com
fortably on Gl20 year, but how on
earth he did it passes my comprehen
sion. Probably "butcher's meat .
scarcely ever went into the house, Vege
tables were doubtless grown in the par
sons own garden, and wife and daugh
ters made their own clothes. In sucl