Can I really afford to live in Manhattan? Someone give me a reality check please.
I've got a Corp. Strategy role with $60,000 base + $10,000 signing. Would prefer to live in the city but I'm curious about expenses from those that have lived there.
Expenses: Gym membership, cable, transportation, food, bars, etc.
Rent - I'd prefer a studio somewhere in Manhattan.. either Murray Hill or on the West Side near Chelsea or something. I'm assuming this will run me from around $1,500-1700 a month.
There is always the option of getting a roommate, but does it really make that much of a difference in rent in the popular neighborhoods?
You can definitely live in Manhattan on that salary, but you can't live well. Do you have any student loans? Would you mind living with roommates? How often do you plan on eating out? Are you hoping to save a lot?
If I were you I'd get a room in an apartment in the East Village with like three or so attractive female roommates. Also, just so you know, average studio rent for popular neighborhoods is usually over $2500/month (it's not impossible to get one for ~$1700 or so, but it's very difficult).
Just because it's a sort-of cool neighborhood that's still reasonably affordable (when compared to places like the West Village, Noho, Nolita, etc.).
This is exactly what I do in east village - splitting a 3 bdroom with 2 girls. $1500/mo all in with utilities/cable. Place is nice, plenty of room, good bars/restaurants close.. easily doable
Per holla_back above, how attractive are the 2 lady roommates of yours? Also in general does the attractiveness of the female roommates correlate inversely with the all in housing costs?
You can definitely live in Manhattan on that salary, just like holla_back said.
I live on a lot less than that due to the loans I am paying off. I live with my girlfriend in a full 1 bedroom/seperate kitchen/full bathroom walkup in West Village for $2200 plus utilities, cable, internet. I pay $1200, I have a gym membership, cable, metrocard, stuff my face constantly and go out to bars. Its so feasible, you just have to get lucky when finding an apartment. And one roommate will make it much easier to find that apartment that fits your needs. We got incredibly lucky finding our good size apartment for that price. Most pay way more, and thats because they are rushed into finding an apartment, if you take your time, do your research, its easy.
In addition, gym membership, I pay $30 a month at Synergy Fitness, its the same shit as any workout place except its not $300 like equinox. Do your research and be smart, simple as that. It will be tough finding a place in the "popular neighborhoods" that fit the budget (like I said we got lucky) but LES is way cheaper and almost as cool as West Village people.
In my opinion, people really overexaggerate costs here, there is cheap alternatives that are equal in quality, you just have to be one of hte few to get the opportunities.
Get a roommate and live in a slightly bigger apartment (kitchen + 2 equal sized rooms; no living room). Rent will be higher ($2k+) but you'll be dividing it by two.
Believe me, you won't be in each other's faces often enough to make the fantastic savings not be worth it. Get your rent down to the sub-$1500 range and you'll be doing just fine. $70k is more than the average NYC schlub makes and most people seem to do OK. You will too.
Murray Hill is OK; EV is OK; which is closer to your office? Somewhere where you can walk to work is really the best. You'll thank yourself next time you're at the office until midnight!
east village so you can go to 13th step
Jesus Christ.
this guy knows
.
I highly recommend NYC if you are looking for a true, vibrant city life, which you seem to be. I've lived in 4 major cities so far (LA, Chicago, NYC, and Boston), and out of those 4, NYC is hands down the best place to be.
With your salary, you can definitely work things out. You may have to get roommates, since studios in decent locations will run 2k+ a month. However, getting roommates isn't bad at all and you will get used to it soon.
Stuy town - 2 roommates.
Why is everyone recommending female roommates?
Probably because they're horny or think they'll get free maids out of the arrangement. Sounds like a disaster just waiting to happen.
My first mention was sort of a joke. Living with females can be shitty (they're usually fucking disgusting), but the fact that you're automatically introduced to different groups of girls is nice (especially if you're not from NY and don't have many friends here).
East Village is a nice place to go make friends with some bedbugs. Just get a roommate and do a converted 1BR in Windsor Court or go Upper East like a sane person. Thanks.
do FIDI bro and live large with a studio for around $2K in a no-fee apartment building. you dig?
Living in FiDI means I have to take a subway to go hangout and meet cool people around my age. Dont really like FIDI area
It is all about priorities. The roommate thing is kinda the way of life since Manhattan rent always will sting. But roommates also help save on things like cable, internet and basics. As for location use the 20 minute rule. If your commute is more than 20 minutes (cabs don't count) it will feel like work. Walking is great as the sidewalk never has delays, but a 20 minute walk in the rain is exactly as bad as it sounds. As for female roommates I will mention that women don't like to be ignored. Since I assume you work (or will work) long hours this won't be too much of an issue since if you are not there it's no big deal, but females rarely can just live with someone without being involved in their life in at least some small way. This can be good, (friends, parties etc.) but it can also suck (venting, too much info & awkwardness). Oh and women can be just as much of gross slobs as men.
i have to agree. im living with 2 right now. i would say the upside is not worth the downsides that come with it. lol, not worth it after the first month ;)
You can live in Manhattan on $70,000 per year, but I don't think it would be an enjoyable experience.
I can't go out and enjoy myself in Manhattan without at least spending $50-$100 per night and that certainly isn't possible when you pay Manhattan rent and only make $70,000 per year.
Then you are really doing something wrong financially as are a lot of people on this site.
I don't get how the people on this site can't afford to go out on 70k a year salary. You must spend way to much on food and wasted expenses.
Going out to eat often will absolutely destroy a person in Manhattan making $70k/year.
Pro-tip: Trader Joe's Wine Shop and BYOW restaurants are a great way to save money.
I can't go out and enjoy myself in Manhattan without at least spending $50-$100 per night and that certainly isn't possible when you pay Manhattan rent and only make $70,000 per year.[/quote]
Then you are really doing something wrong financially as are a lot of people on this site.
I don't get how the people on this site can't afford to go out on 70k a year salary. You must spend way to much on food and wasted expenses.[/quote]
Typical bar in Manhattan after happy hour is $10/drink. A $100 bar tab is not hard to run up on a Friday night. Plus if it's 3:00AM, you didn't get laid and you just blew $100+ at the bar, you're gonna want to go to Artichoke Pizza and since you're already drunk, splitting a thin crust pie with friends isn't gonna cut it. You spend $30 on a pie for yourself and obviously you start drinking again as you wait for your food.
Boom. Done. $200+ down the drain on getting drunk and eating pizza.
Wtf else am I gonna do on a Friday night in Manhattan? Pregame and go for a walk in Central Park? This is why I'd rather live in Brooklyn. At least they still have places with $1 beer night.
How do you even find random female roommates?
what's the culture like in terms of brown bagging it a couple days every week to save money? i figure if i can pack a lunch 3 days a week that costs me a total of $15 or less to make, then that's $5 per meal. That saves a lot relative to other NYC lunches around midtown of FiDi.
why should you have to relate spending money at the bar to getting laid? Just pregame at your place, go out, buy 1 or 2 drinks.And talk to girls. If you're buying them drinks, then no.. you probably arent getting laid lol. But you shouldnt need $100 worth of drinks between you or your buddy to get laid?
Seconded. Just get a little nice at your apt, hit the bars, start a freestyle rap battle, and watch the ladies flock
It's doable, but it's not worth it.
1.) Split a two bedroom in Hoboken and pay $1300/month. 2.) Avoid NYC taxes. 3.) Profit.
$70K/year in Manhattan is a very tough life. $70K in Hoboken means you're living fairly well and putting $15K/year away for retirement.
I'd recommend Jersey City over Hoboken for anyone trying to save a bit of cash. $70k in Jersey is still shit for someone who works in Manhattan, as it's nearly impossible for that person to separate his social life from the island. Also, the NJ tax bracket for most of that income is still 5.525% -- a person making only $70k won't benefit from the residence change as much as a person making five times that.
If you live in Jersey City/Hoboken and work in Manhattan then your commutes must be hellish right now with NJ Transit and PATH trains knocked out by Sandy indefinitely.
Alphabet City is a good bet too and if you live on ave B or C the rent is still pretty cheap, and the L train is at 14th st which can basically connect you to any train to take you to midtown or the financial district.
Not the absolute most convenient location, but better than Hoboken and pretty much any more affordable place.
Also, if inappropriately thrifty IlliniProgrammer is telling you it can be done but just barely, that should tell you something.
Also, if you're willing to move a bit north of chelsea to Hell's Kitchen, you can save money and be pretty near your office (if it's in midtown).
The downside is Hell's Kitchen sucks (except for K-town j'nuh) and it seems to be where lost tourists find themselves
You can most certainly live in Manhattan but life won't be as grand as it could be. It just depends on what you're willing to sacrifice.
When I was an intern, I made it through the summer comfortably off of $54k prorated. Shared a studio apartment with a co-worker, $2000/month in Brooklyn Heights. My share was $1000 with utilities included. At that time, I was fine getting two slices of pizza for $3.00 as lunch and some $6.00 chinese for dinner. I drank beer. Saved most of my money for weekends to go out to bars/restaurants etc. Utilized the cabs as little as I could. Weekdays, didn't do shit.
Things have changed, I can no longer live off of that salary. I eat out at higher end restaurants, buy bottle service at nightclubs, and drink a lot more champagne(Dom, Cristal, Armand) at bars.
You should ask yourself a few questions: 1. Will you pack a lunch for work? 2. Do you like to go out after work? 3. Do you like to eat out after work? 4. Do you like to drink alcohol after work? 5. What types of activities do you engage in on the weekends?
After you've answer all of this, determine how much it all costs and what a reasonable budget is. You can most certainly live in NYC off of your salary, a lot of people do. But the question is, does that salary provide the quality of life that you expect?
If your idea of fun is reading books, going to the park, or visiting museums, then you've got it made for your salary. But if your idea of fun, like most youngsters, is going to a bar, nightclub, high end restaurant, golf, etc. You've got to budget and spend your money wisely.
Just don't let little things add up. Drink the office coffee instead of spending $10 a day at starbucks and don't take cabs all over the place. You'll be more than fine.
You can definitely live in NYC on that amount of money and you can live decently. Its really only once you start having kids that it becomes impossible to live in NYC unless you are doing really well.
i pay 1100 a month to split a 2 bedroom in brooklyn 30 minute commute which gives me solid time to catch up on reading i prefer the bars here than shit in the city and i stay at my girl's place during the weekend half the time anyway initially i was determined to move after i finished my first year but i'm thinking about staying.
I can see buying a couple rounds of drinks at a bar for your buddies and it getting a little high near $100 but if you're spending $100 on females then you are a dumbsht and you deserve to lose that money.
That being said, if you're getting 60k salary you should be able to live in NYC. Rent is your biggest expense.. keep that as low as possible and you'll be fine. The difference between paying 1700 and 1500 is massive and the 200 can go a long way during the month.
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