190k combined salary - enough to live in NYC/Manhattan as young couple?
After pouring through the wso discussion archives, I have found the topic of "salary required to live in NYC" is very divisive. So here I am hoping to hear some thoughts on my specific situation.
Partner and I are looking to move to NYC next fall, after we both graduate. My partner will be working remote, 90k base. I finished a summer internship and just accepted an offer to return as an analyst at an asset management firm, with an office in midtown. My comp is 90k base + 10k signing + bonus target somewhere between 15-30% from what I can tell.
Just looking at our base salaries of 180k combined, can we reasonably live in manhattan? Following the 50-30-20 rule, after tax we are looking at $5,244 monthly for necessities. Could we reasonably budget $3,500 a month for rent? That should be enough for a studio close(ish) to midtown?
For reference, we have little savings right now, but also have no debt, no car payments, and no other (major) recurring expenses. We are also pretty frugal, and are perfectly content with living off of Trader Joe's groceries for most meals. Our goal is to enjoy ourselves (go out on the weekends), but also work on building up savings as a couple of fresh graduates, not looking to be in NYC long-term.
Would love to hear any thoughts on this.
If you don't earn a car and don't have debt, you aren't going to be spending anywhere near 1750 on non-rent necessities, especially if the grocery budget is dented by one or both of you getting meals and snacks in the office. Personally I'd much rather have a 1bed in a luxury apartment in Jersey or the outer boroughs than a studio in Manhattan as a couple though.
$3,500/mo is definitely doable. The rule of thumb is salary divided by 40.
Yeah you should be fine with that budget. I’d reconsider living in Midtown though as it is super boring.
Agreed that your budget works especially if you two are living together and sharing rent - try to live somewhere downtown if you can. You could even push for a more spacious studio unit or a 1bd for a bit more each month.
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