The Big Apple Vs. The Little Apple Food & Drink, Getting Around Michael Cohn / 12:02 AM, Wednesday, December 30, 2009 / Share /

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As you enter Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University (K State, not to be confused with my alma mater KU, which is in Lawrence), you'll see a road sign that reads "Welcome to the little apple." Here I've compared Rile County which contains Manhattan, KS, to New York City. The most surprising thing to me was that the house and home difference only comes to $187. Maybe that's because it takes into account New Yorkers who pay low rents (in the outer boroughs), but maybe there's also something in there about the rising cost of living in a quaint little college town. Land is cheap in western Kansas, but college students don't want to buy land; they want to live in nice apartments. Yankees and Mets fans spend $494 more per month on travel and leisure than Wildcats fans. On the one hand, it makes sense, because the average income in New York is higher, so there is simply more money to spend on travel. On the other hand, some might think that New Yorkers have so much to see and do right here in NYC that they'd actually be less motivated to travel than those who live in more rural environments. Probably closer to the truth, though, is the idea that people who live in big cities live there because they enjoy variety and surprise, which they can also find in travel; people who live in small towns enjoy safety, familiarity, and consistency, and that also means not taking a lot of exotic trips.