More than a third of New York residents complaint that they "can't afford to live there" anymore (and yet they do). On top of that, many believe that economic hardships are going to force them to leave the city in five years or less, according to a Quinnipiac poll published Wednesday. The poll surveyed 1,216 voters between March 13 and 18.

In total, 41% of New York residents say they can't cope with the city's high cost of living. They believe they will be forced to go somewhere where the "economic climate is more welcoming", according to the report.

Ari Buitron, a 49-year-old paralegal from Queens said: “They are making this city a city for the wealthy, and they are really choking out the middle class. A lot of my friends have had to move to Florida, Texas, Oregon. You go to your local shop, and it’s $5 for a gallon of milk and $13 for shampoo. Do you know how much a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is? $1700! What’s wrong with this picture?”

In response to a similar poll in May 2018, only 31% of respondents said they felt as though they would be forced to move, indicating that the outlook among residents is getting much worse - very quickly.

New York native Dexter Benjamin said: "I am definitely not going to be here five years from now. I will probably move to Florida or Texas where most of my family has moved.”

Many of those who have moved, prompted by New York's tax burden and new Federal law that punishes high tax states, aren't looking back. Robert Carpenter, 50, who moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey told the Post: “Moving to New Jersey has only added 15 minutes to my commute! And I am still working in Downtown Brooklyn. I save about $300 extra a month, which in the long run it matters.”

He continued: "Because of the city tax and the non-deductibility of your real estate taxes, we’re seeing a lot more people with piqued interest."

The poll also found that minorities have an even more pessimistic outlook on things. Non-whites disproportionately ranked their situations as “poor” and “not good” according to the poll.

Clifton Oliver, 43, who is black and lives in Washington Heights, said: "When I moved here there was no H&M, no Shake Shack — it was authentically African-American New York Harlem. Now Neil Patrick Harris lives down the block. People are going down south to Florida, Alabama, Baltimore."