Hey guys, what are your thoughts on the first apartment? Do you think it's worthwhile to get a relatively nice place, or is not worth it given that we pretty much live at the office?
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I would say just save more money for going out. Assuming you'll be in NYC, you will probably not be at home at all.
I strongly disagree. I did my 2 years in banking and I lived in a shithole my first year and moved into a nicer place my second year. The last thing you want is to work until 3/4am and then come home to a shithole of an apartment. It will make your life exponentially worse. Spend a little a get a nicer place. It will be so rewarding mentally.
Yes, you could save money, like I tried to do my first year, but it just isn't worth it. The incremental 3-5k you will save, is just not worth it, when considered in the grander picture.
Agreed. I have polar opposite experiences of the shitty NYU dorms in U-square and then a very nice, new apartment in the FiDi. It is just so mentally rewarding to come home to a nice place and so mentally damning to come home to a shithole.
So much better right? The whole argument of "saving money because you will be living in the office, etc" seems so logical (and I bought into it before I entered banking) but just doesn't play out that way.
save money. dont be dumb
If you spend 14 hours a day at the office, what's the point? You're just gonna come home and almost always fall asleep right away. Get a place that's tolerable (i.e. a place with wood/tile floors if you have severe allergies-or get a prescription for Allegra and suck it up) but save your money.
I think it is definitely worth the money if you're upgrading to a better location. Being close to your friends, work, and the places you frequent all have a pretty substantial impact on your life. If it is a matter of getting an extra 50 sq. ft., I think you'll find that you quickly adapt to whetever living environment you find yourself in.
Premium on proximity to office. Less travel = more sleep.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
And secondarily: TAXES, TAXES, TAXES. (Bear in mind that NYC has a 4% city income tax on residents- if you don't shell out for Manhattan, it makes a lot of sense to live in Hoboken or Jersey City. Commuters avoid this tax.)
For everything else, you don't have the money your first year- or the time to enjoy it if you're in banking. Bear in mind that at a 7% net-of-inflation return, $400/month your first year translates into $100K in purchasing power when it's time to retire. That was part of the reason I decided to stay at a dump in JC my first year. I would come home, and instead of seeing a drab apartment room, I would imagine my (future) 80-acre farm on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Then again, I didn't work in IBD and I went to a state school. I lived in a crummy dorm room and later a crummy apartment in college. The $600/month (hundreds more, tax-adjusted) I was saving over Manhattan was nearly twice what my senior year rent was, and the place was a heckuvalot nicer. (No roaches or people running around on a creaky floor above me at 3AM)
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