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When comparing London and NYC for compensation, lifestyle, culture, and the social scene, here's a breakdown based on the most helpful WSO content:
Compensation
Lifestyle
Culture
Social Scene
Long-Term Perspective
Which One to Pick?
Both cities are incredible, so it ultimately depends on your priorities and long-term goals!
Sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/london-vs-new-york-city?customgpt=1, London vs New York IB
Based in New York but have family working in London. would say anecdotally, NYC > all outside of culture and ease of travel to various places (can take unlimited weekend trips out of london), harder to do so than NYC. with that being said Food (arguable), Comp (not arguably London will be a steep discount), and taxes (also not arguable), NYC all day
Disagree on food . NYC is only good for North American food (American-Italian, American-mexican) and that's it. London has a hugeee array of European food. Japanese is probably around equal but other for asian cuisines London takes it.
Also working culture in London is way better. Networking at post-work beers on for example is common. A glass of wine over lunch won't get you fired.
Agree on comp. Definitely 15-20% lower in London for equivalent roles. A stronger pound has (and will continue to) help even the gap.
Taxes are very very similar after local and state taxes in NYC. When i moved from NYC to London, effective rate (earning c. $500k cash) was around 2% difference (44% vs 42% effective) but when accounting for health deductibles i was slightly worse off in NYC in a year i had some ailments. Carry is also on the same tax rate (better in London for credit fund carry, which gets preferential treatment, but not so in the US).
Big one is housing. You have 40 year old millionaires still renting in NYC. I know people who buy houses in mid-twenties in London living in zone 1/2. Property taxes in NYC make it essential unaffordable but in London it's max a couple hundred a month in council taxes. And buying a house in London is do-able for any mid-level finance exec and being within 30-40 mins door-to-door for work.
I don't live in either and would probably pick London if I had to choose, but this is inaccurate as far as I'm concerned.
You can get all of the Italian American and Mexican American classics in New York City, sure, but that is only a small fraction of the restaurant scene, including various European and Asian cuisines made by chefs of those ethnicities who source ingredients from those regions. You can find Amatriciana and Tortellini in Brodo just as easily as you can find gabagool and a chicken parm, you just go to different restaurants.
I wouldn't argue it the other way either and claim New York food is infinitely better than London's or anything but IMO they are both comparable as far as cuisine goes. London has a couple more Michelin stars on the high end, but if we're talking everyday food, I'd take taco truck tacos and authentic enchiladas over tikka masala and butter chicken every time.
Every other point is fair, though.
are you talking about Manhattan / Brooklyn only or also including places like Harlem, Flushing, Queens. London is multitudes in size vs. NYC so not really an apples to apples comparison but not sure what you could find in London that isn't also in NYC. genuinely curious
I'd say for food, NYC is definitely better when it comes to North American, Chinese and Korean (arguably) cuisines, while London is definitely better for European, Southeast Asians (by a mile - as a Vietnamese native, Vietnamese food in NYC is subpar compared to London), African, Middle Eastern. Agree Japanese food is around equal.
Also agree on comps but in buyside it'd be around the same. UMM/US MF PE/PC pay around the same between two cities, some US MF do global payscale so essentially pay will be similar to what it is between the two cities. Hedge fund is an interesting one because most large pods based in London will pay in USD.
Having worked in both, taxes are actually higher in NYC all-in (property, local, city etc.). Different story if you live in NJ and commute. But then who wants to willingly live in NJ...
How do you find COL differences. I know you earn less in London but it seems COL is actually lower (Yes, definitely not low, but lower than NYC?) Rent for example for a 1bd is less insane than Manhattan, there's no tax and tips for eating out etc..
NYC is far superior to any Bri-ish city.
You’re clueless - how are you going to tell me, someone who actually lived in London until 6m ago that you can’t find a flat for 3k? I (and many of my colleagues) paid 2.2k/pm including council tax/utilities in a pretty nice building with a gym/concierge/coworking space/etc. You’re not going to find something similar in NYC for close to that price, also, I was 10 mins away from my office (by foot too).
You can eat for way cheaper than £80 for 2 in London without dipping into Nando’s territory - there are some nice Italian, Jamaican, Indian, Chinese places where you could divide that by 2. Obviously if you go heavy on booze that’ll double your bill pretty easily. + no 20% tip in London (& if you’re a cheapskate you can ask to have the service tax removed).
Same for clubbing, getting into a club in London won’t cost you more than £20-30pp + drinks are cheaper, depends what you mean by club - I’m talking about proper clubs where people go to dance, not some stuffy Mayfair club with ME kids blowing daddy’s money.
London is just cheaper than NYC in every aspect, NYC is consistently more expensive with all the hidden costs (sales tax, tips, etc)
Have you actually ventured out in NYC? Instead of looking at Manhattan, have you ventured out to Queens/Brooklyn? You can even get a newbuild in Astoria for half of Manhattan prices too, with only 20-min commute to Manhattan by train. And it's crazy since if your office is in Mayfair or the City then if you rent anywhere 10-min by foot then good luck getting anything livable for yourself for less than £2.5k. I work near Mayfair and I live in Holborn and my rent is similar between both cities. Your office is in Canary Wharf so obviously you're not paying Zone 1 prices. Living in Manhattan is like living in Zone 1 anyway so your comparison is not apple and apple comparison at all.
Also for eating out, isn't it the same as in NYC? I'm a picky eater and most restaurants that I've been to in NYC and London are all around the same prices. You could also ask to remove tips in NYC if you're not satisfied with the service or you're cheapskate too - it's not that deep. And NYC has a lot more decent cheap eats compared to London, again I've ventured out deep into Brooklyn/Queens (Woodside for Filipino and Flushing for Chinese food). Asian foods in NYC, except for Japanese are generally much cheaper than in London. Decent Vietnamese food in London for eg, though better than NYC, are ridiculously more expensive than the most sought after ones I had in NYC, easily double the prices.
As for clubbing, where do you go out for clubbing? I've done both commercial clubs + high end clubs and they all cost about the same. For commercial clubs I always went out in Bushwick, Flatbush and Koreatown in NYC. And for high end clubs, I go to Mayfair clubs and the entry prices + bottle services etc are all the same as the high end clubs that I went to in NYC (Nebula/Marquee/TAO). You just have to venture out a bit more lol. Ask New Yorkers where they usually go out, instead of sticking to transplants
Your anecdotal evidence doesn’t matter, CoL indexes with a breakdown by category put NYC 25% higher than London. That’s been reflected with my frequent trips there.
This is stupid take. You're renting in CW, which is not even in Zone 1, so obviously your rent price will be that cheap. Try getting the same one in zone 1 for less than £4k. Oh, and if your office is in Mayfair? £2.2k can barely get you a room. Also, you're very wrong that you cannot find that price for the same amenities in NYC because I've just gone onto StreetEasy and saw billions of 1br apartments going for $3k - 3.5k/month with full amenities in LIC, Astoria, East Williamsburg. Mind you LIC is only 7mins away from Midtown, and has the exact similar vibes of CW, with mostly luxury buildings all around. If you're lucky and know how to find, there are rent stabilised apartments that cost way less than that.
$100 is around £75. £75 for 2 people is already insanely cheap for half decent restaurants in central London lol. There's barely any decent options in London that cost less than £30pp. I am genuinely curious where you actually eat out and get a proper Chinese food, for example, for less than £40pp that are not noodle bars?
As for clubbing, most clubs in Brooklyn only cost around $20-25 entry fees, some even less, which is around the same prices as clubbing in Hackney, Brixton and Peckham tho. In Manhattan, entry fees for tons of decent clubs are only $35 (Nebula for example), which is around the same as in central London. Don't know where you go out tbh.
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