It may cost more to live in the

It may cost more to live in the suburbs than the city, when the expenses of commuting and of operating and maintaining a larger suburban house are included. That’s the conclusion of a study in greater Toronto led by Eric Miller of the University of Toronto and commissioned by the Neptis Foundation. In 1996, a suburban family with two cars, living 50 kilometers from downtown Toronto, spent $5,800 more than their urban counterparts on transportation. Buying, operating, and maintaining bigger suburban houses, on bigger lots, may exceed what it costs for a more compact urban house on less land. “The idea that city living is too expensive just does not seem to hold up,” the study concludes.