How much $$$ to raise a family in NYC?
Buddy of mine (non-finance) and I were talking and he thinks UMC for a family of 4 with a stay at home wife is doable on ~$400k because his dad did it. I told him that is probably fucking impossible especially since that is like $800k in 2020 dollars but he doesn’t think that inflation is a thing so what the fuck do I know
I feel like I am barely getting by as UMC by my fucking self at somewhat close to his entire 1990s household income, and that’s when my bonus isn’t fucking up in the air. To any of the married folks with families, how much does it really cost to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in nyc? Numbers I hear are all over the place but I think NYMag and my MD have very different ideas of what UMC entails.
How much will I really need to have a Panamera to drive the fam to our lake house when the next pandemic breaks? Will I really need to be pulling in $1mm? How the fuck am I supposed to pay for 2 kids to go to goddamn Trinity? Will I be able to shop at Whole Foods anymore?
Edit: literally why the fuck is anyone throwing monkey shit at this? Because you don’t believe in inflation either? Because your income ceiling is sub-400? Because you went to Dalton? What the f
Cmon guys
lived in nyc for a while now. no kids yet but own a condo in BK with my wife. knowing what I know through personal experience & network/friends, a lot is contingent on the life style you want.
for the lake house, porsche, multiple kids at a private school, stay at home wife, etc, $1mm is probably what you’ll need.
for public schools, ski house in VT, & bmw, you’d be able to make it work for $600k respectfully.
this isn’t based on hard facts more so an estimate based on first-hand experience & network.
hope this helps.
Thanks man. Can I ask what you estimate your friends’ income / lifestyle trade-offs might be?
If you don't pay your taxes you can probably get all of that with 500k
This would definitely depend on what circles your wife and daughter run in. Daily SoulCycle, sorority philanthropy contests, and Love & Lemons add up (source: am a sorority girl).
u single?
Depends on if you are prepared to support a daily SoulCycle habit, sorority philanthropy contests, and a closet full of Love & Lemons...
The limit does not exist.
Is this supposed to be a calculus reference? (Or am i just way too nerdy)
Both a reference to calculus and the young hardos on these forums as well as a direct answer to the originally poised question. NYC is freakishly expensive.
Low-hanging fruit there...
Depends on how many luxuries you want to throw in (private schools, vacation homes, nanny, car, etc.) Most folks in NYC make it on like $60k a year, so pretty much anyone in finance should be able to comfortably raise a family.
When I lived there I was just out of college and not married, so not totally applicable. But my experience was that NYC offers an unparalleled opportunity to piss away literally any amount of money. Amazing how many people have been living there for years making good money with no savings at all.
I agree with this. I’ve lived in nyc through a wide range of comp and as much as you don’t think there is “lifestyle creep” it happens if you aren’t careful. Even going out to eat can get very pricey, add to that the vacations, all the experiences, etc.
That being said I find this question pretty ridiculous. It all depends on what lifestyle you want. If you want the most expensive area, schools, vacations, etc then, yes, you need to make a bunch of money (and you can still find ways to burn through it). But you can also send kids to public schools, live in a fine area but not “great”, and be totally fine on a good but not great salary.
it’s so fucking tough. good school is 40k per year, rent maybe 100k, food and shit probably $100k. that alone is $240 and on a pretax basis you have to earn like $450k plus. NYC taxes and taxes in general make living incredibly tough in places like this
You could move to Florida, buy a couple of Porsches, buy the lake house and send your kids to an elite prep school without worrying about any of this.
Definition of South Miami Beach area
Can someone explain to me why private school matters so much in NYC? What justifies 40-50k/year
It's not so much that the private schools are worth that much, it's just that the public school system is completely and utterly messed up. So private schools are pretty much your only option. I encourage you to read the following article if you want to learn more about absolute dysfunction, it's worth the long read
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/10/when-the-culture-w…
I think that private schools are worth it. Kids get more attention, they are taught it a manner that gets them to think critically, they will have ingrained into them a set of cultural and social norms that will help them make it through life more easily. Plus, even if my kid is dumb as rocks, they’ll get into at least a top ranked LAC
Class Divide, a documentary, on HBO goes somewhat into detail about this, talks about Avenues, a ~$60K year private elementary school, and how the High LIne was built
If you want your kid to be a lifer at Trinity...that's close to $1mm by itself. Add 4 years of college and that's another ~$300k (Ivy League / NESCAC for preftige, give or take). Vacation home? Another $1mm.
To live the lifestyle you're describing you probably need to clear $1mm annually at minimum in NYC for a few years.
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