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Lifestyle of Young Wall Street: 5 Banker Neighborhoods
 

Aaron Burr's picture
PE
(Gorilla, 561
 
Points)
 on 5/27/13 at 4:00pm
The Big Apple

The New York City area is home to nearly 20 million people and 20 trillion cockroaches living together in blissful harmony. Well over 1 million people alone are packed into the 23 square miles that make up the island of Manhattan. New York is known for high rents, high couture, and of course – high finance. Every summer, waves of newly-minted investment bankers descend upon the city, snapping up apartments left and right in several of the many neighborhoods and areas in proximity to Wall Street.

Let’s take a walk down NYC’s East Side and survey the typical mistmaker lifestyle in a few of the City’s most banker-heavy nabes:


The sweet nectar of Bud Light

    1. The Murray Hill Bro-Shak

    Four banker bros just graduated together from the same frat and all landed jobs in finance in NYC. At first, they considered trying to find an apartment on the Upper East Side, because that’s where the smokeshows on Gossip Girl lived. Then they realized that 90th and York is actually pretty quiet, and man, there are like, so many families up in that area.

    Inevitably, like a ten-ton magnet, the wafts of Victoria’s Secret perfume, the blaring tunes of The Boss, and the familiar stank of sweat-n-booze-stained wooden floors attracts these strapping young fist pumpers to the Hill. Armed with fray-brim Duke Lacrosse douchetops, you’ll find the typical inhabitants of a Murray Hill Bro-Shak throwing “totally sick pregames” every Saturday night somewhere around East 34th.


    2. The Stuy-Town Single

    The fifth bro of the group got in the rental market a little late – as the one guy with a long-term girlfriend in another city, he was the obvious odd man out, and fell behind in the apartment hunting game.


    The world's biggest post-college dorm

    While he still wanted to be close to his college bros and Bar XII, there weren’t any studios or 1-beds available in Bro Shak Country. So he caved in and called the number on the banner ad on the 6 train, and ended up in a small convert in Stuy Town. What he didn’t realize at the time is that he’d stumbled upon a goldmine. Packed with similarly-clueless college grads, this banker bro’s go-to mass text quickly became “Stuy Town then Still Bar!”

    Needless to say, the long-term relationship didn't work out - trolling the elevator banks in Stuy Town was just too easy.


    3. The East Villager

    Below 14th Street, you find young bankers in an identity crisis. Too inexperienced to navigate the trendy yet hit-or-miss LES apartment market, yet savvy enough to avoid the neverending jello-shot parade that dominates life north of 20th, the East Villager decides to settle into an overpriced renovated walkup on lower 2nd Ave.


    So, so awful... yet so good.

    In stark contrast to his roommate – an old friend who took a decidedly different path in life and works at Generation Records – this young banker suits up every day, slogs past the piss-stained KFC on East 14th, and takes the train from Union Square to his midtown office feeling like a sellout. He chose the East Village because hey – he’s not really a frattastic banker bro. He snags Mudd Coffee and hits the Greenmarket on the weekends. In the evenings, he takes pleasure in trading his pressed shirt and tie for a rumpled flannel. He voted for Obama and might even do it again. But once in awhile, he’ll dig deep into his dresser, throw on a polo, and hit 13th Step. Secretly, he thinks Carly Rae Jepsen is insanely catchy, but don’t tell that to anyone at Knitting Factory.


    4. The SoHo Sophisticate

    In every first-year investment banking class, there is always a son of great privilege. Raised on the Upper East Side and educated at Trinity, upon graduating from Penn, this young man had the sophistication and parental means to secure a 2,000 square foot loft on Mercer Street. On the weekends, the Yankees game buzzes on the 55-inch wallmount flatscreen as the young banker sips top-shelf liquor with his cadre of cokehead college friends before heading out to cocktails at Pegu Club.


    Comes with basketball hoop and NBA player.

    An avid sailor and scratch golfer, this young banker may have an incredibly refined social skillset – but even with the comforts of a multimillion dollar apartment, life in the city presents challenges. When walking, he gets lost within blocks of his own home - non-numbered streets are confusing. He has no idea where the nearest subway station is, nor does he possess a Metrocard. He’s a “Giants fan” but he can name more green jacket winners than football players. Despite these and several other glaring real-world deficiencies, within the cocoon that is New York City, he is a king.


    5. But… I have a balcony! (FiDi)

Don't jump.

    Ah, the Financial District. The allure of towering skyscrapers, new units, rock-bottom pricing, and some good-ol’-fashioned broker bullshit (“this is where the action is!”) sucked the unassuming young banker into a 1-year lease down in no-man’s-land.

    Thinking he had come to New York to experience the vibrancy and excitement of the City That Never Sleeps, young FiDi banker failed to recognize that below Canal Street, that moniker is only true because everyone is always working. True, he’s saving tons of money on rent, but the often-lonely lifestyle that comes with 80-hour workweeks isn’t helped by the fact that nobody ever wants to come hang out at his 58th floor 2-bed. Plus, his next-door neighbor is the group’s staffer, who’s married with an infant child. Soon enough, he'll "trade up" to an apartment twice as expensive and half as spacious in the West Village.

So, what neighborhood do you live in, and what do you think about the lifestyle?

If you don’t live in New York, what are the equivalent yuppie-heavy neighborhoods where you live?

Next up, West Side edition.


Aaron Burr is a retired investment banking analyst and currently works as an associate at a private equity fund. Email him at [email protected]

See my other WSO blog posts

Comments

yeahright's picture

It sounds like I'm gonna have

O
(King Kong, 1,208
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 1:34pm

It sounds like I'm gonna have to wait for the West Side edition...

I live in Greenwich/West Village (depends on who you talk to, because my street is right on the line) in a 1BR with seperate LR and Kitchen. Fourth floor walk up. The lifestyle is awesome, bars and nice restaurants everywhere, my gym 10 blocks away, laundry pickup and drop off. Also, similar distance to all other parts of Manhattan so its pretty centralized.

And I don't fall under the category of the kid who lives in SoHo, after all I only work in middle office :)

Hopefully I can relate to the "West Side Edition" coming soon!

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."

WSOusername's picture

Idk why, but I always thought

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 1:40pm

Idk why, but I always thought of Stuy-town as a Co-op City on Manhattan. No, actually I do know why- because it looks just like it. I first figured I was wrong when I looked up what rents were in there, lol. "The world's biggest post-college dorm". Sounds good to me.

GBS

Fundamentally Undervalued's picture

noted

IB
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 1:48pm

noted

buy it. ride it. sell it.

vtech243's picture

Midtown East ... about a 5

IB
(Baboon, 173
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 1:54pm

Midtown East ... about a 5 minute walk to work. Def a double edge sword. Nothing beats the short commute to work, but I never really feel like I leave because spend 95% of my life in the same 5 block radius.

akim89sp's picture

Might trade down my Gramercy

ER
(Monkey, 48
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:04pm

Might trade down my Gramercy apt and move to Stuy Town (picture looks like the projects, seriously.) if what you say is true. I think I'll break even after 3 months based on the incremental savings + lease-break fee. But first, I need to get over my fears of being stabbed at night... for those late office nights (read: every night).

In reply to vtech243
Bearearns's picture

vtech243: Midtown East ...

(Orangutan, 280
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:14pm
vtech243:

Midtown East ... about a 5 minute walk to work. Def a double edge sword. Nothing beats the short commute to work, but I never really feel like I leave because spend 95% of my life in the same 5 block radius.

You try Tudor City. Feels like little separation there. I like Midtown East a lot.

TheLastCall's picture

Unless you're making $200K+,

(Baboon, 134
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:15pm

Unless you're making $200K+, NYC is a miserable city to live in.

analyst1609's picture

Love this post!

(Baboon, 156
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:28pm

Love this post!

No contract means I have all the power. They want me, but they can't have me. - Don Draper

NYU's picture

I go running through Stuy

PE
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:35pm

I go running through Stuy Town sometimes. Don't knock it. Place is really well maintained and has an outdoorsy feel with all the open space and grass. The basketball and roller hockey courts all have nets on the hoops and goals. The grounds are well maintained with farmer's markets on the weekends. They have coffee shops and restaurants. I havent been in any units but I hear they're huge.

The only problem is that after it was taken over the rents skyrocketed to market value and of course you're a 10-15 minute walk to the closest train, unless you take the westbound L from 14th and 1st which is very close.

Commuter's picture

I lived in Turtle Bay/Sutton

IB
(Neanderthal, 3,010
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:39pm

I lived in Turtle Bay/Sutton Place when I first moved here.That whole bar scene over there is tad too broish for me. Nice area with the consulates and such.

I work here...whassup
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BTbanker's picture

Damn Burr.

IB
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:45pm

Damn Burr.

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

In reply to TheLastCall
Bearearns's picture

TheLastCall: Unless you're

(Orangutan, 280
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 2:55pm
TheLastCall:

Unless you're making $200K+, NYC is a miserable city to live in.

Well I think many will disagree with this statement. Yes maybe you cant club every night or eat $100 steak dinners and sushi, but you can clearly still have fun and enjoy it.

In reply to NYU
WSOusername's picture

NYU: The only problem is that

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 5:53pm
NYU:

The only problem is that after it was taken over the rents skyrocketed to market value

Problem? Nothing wrong with a little gentrification, lol. Besides, if I'm not mistaken- the fact that that DIDN'T happen is what caused the project (no pun intended) to go ass up.

GBS

BTbanker's picture

Has anyone ever attempted

IB
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 3:36pm

Has anyone ever attempted living at the office? Great way to save 20-30k/year.

You've got your bathrooms, high ceilings, lounge area, home office, maid + house guest (2-in-one), unsurpassed security, seamless for food, and free internet/tv.

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

Ron Paul's picture

Wait, what about midtown as a

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 3:39pm

Wait, what about midtown as a neighborhood for analysts? I thought most junior bankers lived there b/c, according to other threads on WSO, you absolutely have to live within walking distance of the office as an IB analyst.

In reply to TheLastCall
AgentBishop's picture

TheLastCall: Unless you're

(Monkey, 30
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 3:58pm

73 good sir!

nonos's picture

I'm in the UWS and would

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 4:12pm
In reply to nonos
DonVon's picture

nonos: I'm in the UWS and

IB
(King Kong, 1,915
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 4:28pm

"An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Check out my blog!

WallStreetOasis.com's picture

love the post Burr...curious

EN
(Human, 12,198
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 4:34pm

WSO Conference 2013

Private Certified User Chat

johndoe89's picture

golden post

PE
(Orangutan, 321
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 4:43pm
jpc100's picture

I live on the Upper East

O
(Monkey, 51
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 4:49pm
brandon st randy's picture

SoHo is not really on the

PE
(Gorilla, 734
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 6:46pm

...well, he's no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town!

brandon st randy's picture

I think it makes sense to do

PE
(Gorilla, 734
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 6:46pm

...well, he's no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town!

In reply to DonVon
holla_back's picture

DonVon: nonos: I'm in the

O
(King Kong, 1,195
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 5:45pm
Ches's picture

Hoboken

HF
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 6:21pm
SamuelClemens's picture

I'm trying to move to east

PT
(Baboon, 116
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:15pm
In reply to akim89sp
SamuelClemens's picture

akim89sp: Might trade down my

PT
(Baboon, 116
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:20pm
Relinquis's picture

Someone should write a London

RE
(Neanderthal, 2,186
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:19pm

relinquis... Killing the GMAT this December; Over/Under set at: 725 GMATs.

In reply to SamuelClemens
holla_back's picture

SamuelClemens: I'm trying to

O
(King Kong, 1,195
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:20pm
In reply to holla_back
SamuelClemens's picture

holla_back: SamuelClemens:

PT
(Baboon, 116
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:23pm
In reply to SamuelClemens
brandon st randy's picture

SamuelClemens: I'm trying to

PE
(Gorilla, 734
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:24pm

...well, he's no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town!

In reply to brandon st randy
rufiolove's picture

brandon st randy: I think it

IB
(Neanderthal, 3,579
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:31pm

1/2 of the WSO Bash Brothers
"Licensed to Ill It"
We all know Bro J did it...

In reply to SamuelClemens
holla_back's picture

SamuelClemens: holla_back:

O
(King Kong, 1,195
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:36pm
In reply to holla_back
yeahright's picture

holla_back: DonVon: nonos

O
(King Kong, 1,208
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 7:42pm

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."

Boothorbust's picture

This is so right it's

O
(King Kong, 1,130
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 8:01pm
In reply to rufiolove
brandon st randy's picture

rufiolove: brandon st

PE
(Gorilla, 734
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 8:01pm

...well, he's no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town!

In reply to holla_back
APAE's picture

holla_back: Anyway, here are

(Neanderthal, 3,713
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 8:36pm

A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.

EdwardDementia's picture

Writers, artists, families

(Chimp, 4
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:04pm
In reply to brandon st randy
rufiolove's picture

brandon st

IB
(Neanderthal, 3,579
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:12pm

1/2 of the WSO Bash Brothers
"Licensed to Ill It"
We all know Bro J did it...

In reply to rufiolove
holla_back's picture

rufiolove: brandon st

O
(King Kong, 1,195
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:20pm
Determined's picture

What about Harlem?

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:20pm

Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.

Tommy Too-toned's picture

I just live on the High Line

(Gorilla, 512
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:23pm
Relinquis's picture

do any of you find the idea

RE
(Neanderthal, 2,186
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:37pm

relinquis... Killing the GMAT this December; Over/Under set at: 725 GMATs.

Tommy Too-toned's picture

^Come to High Line dawg, it's

(Gorilla, 512
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 9:53pm
WSOusername's picture

Meatpackers? lol

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 10:01pm

GBS

Kenny Powers's picture

I still think brooklyn

O
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 10:12pm

pick em, lick em, stick em

livingthedream86's picture

A shot at the Chicago version

PT
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 10:50pm
In reply to livingthedream86
brandon st randy's picture

livingthedream86: A shot at

PE
(Gorilla, 734
 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 11:08pm

...well, he's no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town!

In reply to brandon st randy
Ron Paul's picture

brandon st randy: I would

 
Points)
 on 10/4/12 at 11:35pm
In reply to brandon st randy
DonVon's picture

brandon st

IB
(King Kong, 1,915
 
Points)
 on 10/5/12 at 1:49am

"An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Check out my blog!

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