--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New York is a city where it's…" description: "\"New York is a city where it's particularly hard to be poor, not only because everything costs twice as much as it does elsewhere but because over-the-t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png" --- # New York is a city where it's particularly hard to be… ![“New York is a city where it's particularly hard to be poor, not only because everything costs twice as much as it does elsewhere but because over-the-top affluence is part of its identity.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png) > “New York is a city where it's particularly hard to be poor, not only because everything costs twice as much as it does elsewhere but because over-the-top affluence is part of its identity.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city's high cost and culture of excess make poverty especially visible and challenging. **In simple terms:** NYC makes being poor hard due to cost and wealth display. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic barriers to poverty. Themes inequality urban life poverty Mood critical empathetic Type sociological observational When to use this quote - housing - employment - social services - community support Key Concepts economic disparity social stratification Questions to Reflect On - What policies could reduce urban poverty? - How does wealth display affect community cohesion? A Different Perspective Individual effort alone may not overcome structural inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affluence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affluence/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Costs Twice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costs-twice-1775165/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Elsewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elsewhere/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-poor-971335/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Over the top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-the-top/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor Costs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-costs-1775164/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [Remember the poor, it costs nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/remember-the-poor-it-costs-nothing/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Anything free costs twice as much in the long run or turns out worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/anything-free-costs-twice-as-much-in-the-long-run-or-turns-out/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most people who love movies and kind of understand the process realize that if you do a character like Gollum or Jar Jar or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-mccallum/most-people-who-love-movies-and-kind-of-understand-the-process/) [Rick McCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-mccallum/) > [If you rent a U-Haul to move your company, it costs twice as much to go from San Francisco to Austin than the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/if-you-rent-a-u-haul-to-move-your-company-it-costs-twice-as-much-to/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [A hamburger by any other name costs twice as much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/a-hamburger-by-any-other-name-costs-twice-as-much/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [God has always been hard on the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-marat/god-has-always-been-hard-on-the-poor/) [Jean-Paul Marat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-marat/) > [I was very poor and I was a waitress, and it's hard to be a poor waitress in New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-davis/i-was-very-poor-and-i-was-a-waitress-and-it-s-hard-to-be-a-poor/) [Kristin Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-davis/) > [“This is the dark side of the “American dream.” We blame the poor, accusing them of being poor because they do not work hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogyen-trinley-dorje/this-is-the-dark-side-of-the-american-dream-we-blame-the-poor/) [Ogyen Trinley Dorje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogyen-trinley-dorje/) > [Piety's hard enough to take among the poor who have to practice it. A rich man's piety stinks. It's insufferable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/piety-s-hard-enough-to-take-among-the-poor-who-have-to-practice-it-a/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Times were very hard if you were a poor, politically correct Jewish girl living in the east end of London during the Blitz and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-grant/times-were-very-hard-if-you-were-a-poor-politically-correct-jewish/) [Linda Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-grant/) > [“...if they would but think how hard it is for the very poor to have engendered in their hearts, that love of home from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/if-they-would-but-think-how-hard-it-is-for-the-very-poor-to-have/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/to-be-a-poor-man-is-hard-but-to-be-a-poor-race-in-a-land-of-dollars/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It's really hard to be poor in New York - I was really poor when I lived in New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-radnor/it-s-really-hard-to-be-poor-in-new-york-i-was-really-poor-when-i/) [Josh Radnor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-radnor/) > [Jason Oliver C. Smith, a big dumb guy who was tan, died March 30 of lung cancer and old age. He was 13 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/jason-oliver-c-smith-a-big-dumb-guy-who-was-tan-died-march-30-of-lung/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Keep it simple. You don't want to overdo it with too much makeup or crazy, over-the-top hairstyles. Let your natural beauty show through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/keep-it-simple-you-don-t-want-to-overdo-it-with-too-much-makeup-or/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Affluence quotes > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [The secret of achieving prosperity lies in so vividly keeping yourself centered in the inner focus of affluence that you literally exude the consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-butterworth/the-secret-of-achieving-prosperity-lies-in-so-vividly-keeping/) [Eric Butterworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-butterworth/) > [Affluence = abundant flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-butterworth/affluence-abundant-flow/) [Eric Butterworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-butterworth/) > [“If I am to choose between integrity and wealth, I will go for integrity because I believe that lack of integrity is the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/if-i-am-to-choose-between-integrity-and-wealth-i-will-go-for/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > ['Playboy' made the good life a reality for me and made it the subject matter of my paintings - not affluence and luxury as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/playboy-made-the-good-life-a-reality-for-me-and-made-it-the-subject/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [Affluence creates poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/affluence-creates-poverty/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The primary cause of disorder and lawlessness today, as throughout history, is the poverty of the many in contrast to the affluence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-o-kelso/the-primary-cause-of-disorder-and-lawlessness-today-as-throughout/) [Louis O. Kelso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-o-kelso/) > [To generate any appreciable degree of long-term affluence requires scrupulous honesty and the willingness to honor long-term agreements with employers, suppliers, partners, and especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sheaffer/to-generate-any-appreciable-degree-of-long-term-affluence-requires/) [Robert Sheaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sheaffer/) > [“Imam Hussein Ibn Ali al-Shaheed was once asked: what is affluence? He said : Decreasing your wishes , and being satisfied with what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imam-hussein-ibn-ali-al-shaheed-was-once-asked-what-is-affluence-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't want to be around people who accept me as is, in my unrefined state of becoming. I consistently want people around me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-l-bates/i-don-t-want-to-be-around-people-who-accept-me-as-is-in-my-unrefined/) [Brandi L. Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-l-bates/) > [Large department stores, with their luxuriant abundance of canned goods, foods, and clothing, are like the primary landscape and the geometrical locus of affluence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/large-department-stores-with-their-luxuriant-abundance-of-canned/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [Owning a home is a keystone of wealth - both financial affluence and emotional security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/owning-a-home-is-a-keystone-of-wealth-both-financial-affluence-and/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [“Don’t let affluence make you impoverished of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bloom/don-t-let-affluence-make-you-impoverished-of-god/) [Jon Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bloom/) > [“Drama does not just walk into our lives. Either we create it, invite it, or associate with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-l-bates/drama-does-not-just-walk-into-our-lives-either-we-create-it-invite-it/) [Brandi L. Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-l-bates/) > [There is wealth but no wellbeing. What are you going to do with this wealth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/there-is-wealth-but-no-wellbeing-what-are-you-going-to-do-with-this/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) [Browse all 181 Affluence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affluence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New York is a city where it's particularly hard to be poor, not only because everything costs twice as much as it does elsewhere but because over-the-top affluence is part of its identity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particularly-hard-to-be-poor-not-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affluence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particularly-hard-to-be-poor-not-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/anna-quindlen-467_affluence_new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particular_2580669.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“New York is a city where it's particularly hard to be poor, not only because everything costs twice as much…” — Anna Quindlen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "New York is a city where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particularly-hard-to-be-poor-not-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/new-york-is-a-city-where-it-s-particularly-hard-to-be-poor-not-only/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```