Tips for European moving to NYC

Hey everyone,

Just got offered a transfer at my firm (MBB) to the NYC office. Will be working in an EM/PL/CTL role, all in comp around 250k. GF is moving with me, will also be working, comp 100-150k, probably higher in the future (she would be taking a pay cut to move with me). We are 31 and 30 years old, no kids (and no plans for at least 5+ years as is common over here). No major student debts (just a 200 dollar monthly repayment on a 0 percent loan). Significant room for compensation growth (actively on partner track). Any ideas on the lifestyle we will be able to have? Its quite a bit more than I made in the same position here in the EU (especially at current exchange rates), especially with taxes being much lower (currently pay over 50% in tax) but COL is also a lot higher.

Been hearing a lot of horror stories about the reality of living in NYC, but since we are still young it sounds attractive.

5 Comments
 

350-400k in household income will be enough to live quite comfortably in the city, assuming neither one of you has a spending problem. The city is only as expensive as you make it. There's great (and oftentimes cheap) food all around the city, and most neighborhoods have everything you need. This means a few things: A) after traveling all week you should be no more than 5 blocks away from whatever you need, and B) it shouldn't be outrageously expensive. The real kicker in NY is the housing costs, and with a household income like that, you should be able to bring in about 220-230k all together. Even if you splurge and have 5k/month in rent, you're still looking at 150k left over. Even in Manhattan, that's plenty.

As for New York horror stories, everyone has them. The city is just too great, though, to let them legitimately impact your decision making process.

 

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