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Old 07-07-2012, 09:27 AM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,800,678 times
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That's $35K gross. Not sure how much that's gonna be after taxes as I am from NY and not familiar with the tax rates for GA. I hear they're lower than here, but $30K is like poverty here lol.
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Old 07-07-2012, 09:30 AM
 
1,250 posts, read 1,881,528 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ja1myn View Post
That's $35K gross. Not sure how much that's gonna be after taxes as I am from NY and not familiar with the tax rates for GA. I hear they're lower than here, but $30K is like poverty here lol.
Nope. Unless you live in a slum or with roommates.
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Old 07-07-2012, 09:32 AM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,800,678 times
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Originally Posted by Onthemove2014 View Post
Nope. Unless you live in a slum or with roommates.
Thanks for the response. What would be the absolute lowest I could go?
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:06 AM
 
Location: North Fulton
1,039 posts, read 2,421,218 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ja1myn View Post
That's $35K gross. Not sure how much that's gonna be after taxes as I am from NY and not familiar with the tax rates for GA. I hear they're lower than here, but $30K is like poverty here lol.
For 30K, you need roommates, probably 2 to live in a decent apartment in midtown. It would be hard to live alone on that in an efficiency unless your place was way out in the suburbs.

If you move to area with no debt or a car payment, it is doable, but very hard. You will have to live out in the cheaper suburbs to get by living alone.

I think 40K minimum gross is just enough to live here alone intown, given there are no other huge financial obligations and being strict on a budget.

Use online tools like this to compare salaries: http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costo...tofliving.html
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,800,678 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by berkeleylake View Post
For 30K, you need roommates, probably 2 to live in a decent apartment in midtown. It would be hard to live alone on that in an efficiency unless your place was way out in the suburbs.

If you move to area with no debt or a car payment, it is doable, but very hard. You will have to live out in the cheaper suburbs to get by living alone.

I think 40K minimum gross is just enough to live here alone intown, given there are no other huge financial obligations and being strict on a budget.

Use online tools like this to compare salaries: Cost of Living Calculator: Compare prices in two cities - CNNMoney
Awesome info! Thank you.

The online tool says the following:

Groceries will cost 4% less.
Housing will cost 24% less.
Utilities will cost 11% less.
Transportation will cost 1% less.
Healthcare will cost 5% less.

So I'm glad that everything is cheaper down there to some extent.

I was looking to live in the West Condominiums as I like the look of the building. Is it too expensive for the $35K a year income? Says online that a studio is $900-$1,000, but I called their office last week and the woman told me that a studio ranges from $750-$1,000...which sounds unbelievable to me.

1280 West Condominiums Apartments in Atlanta, GA | Apartments.com
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:38 AM
 
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General rule of thumb is to never go over 25%-30% of your income in housing. So for 35k that would be no more then around $800 a month tops that you should be looking at.

I'd look in Sandy Springs or Dunwoody for some more affordable but close to midtown options.
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:40 AM
 
Location: North Fulton
1,039 posts, read 2,421,218 times
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Originally Posted by Onthemove2014 View Post
General rule of thumb is to never go over 25%-30% of your income in housing. So for 35k that would be no more then around $800 a month tops that you should be looking at.

I'd look in Sandy Springs or Dunwoody for some more affordable but close to midtown options.
Yep, good measurement (rule of thumb).

To the OP, you might be unpleasantly surprised at how high your utilities can get in an apartment here. Definitely ask the apartment complexes what is included and not in your rent in case your budgeting gets really, really tight.
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:43 AM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,800,678 times
Reputation: 6663
Quote:
Originally Posted by Onthemove2014 View Post
General rule of thumb is to never go over 25%-30% of your income in housing. So for 35k that would be no more then around $800 a month tops that you should be looking at.

I'd look in Sandy Springs or Dunwoody for some more affordable but close to midtown options.
Quote:
Originally Posted by berkeleylake View Post
Yep, good measurement (rule of thumb).

To the OP, you might be unpleasantly surprised at how high your utilities can get in an apartment here. Definitely ask the apartment complexes what is included and not in your rent in case your budgeting gets really, really tight.
Thanks for the help guys.

Looks like I'll need to squeeze a bit more than $35K out of this job offer in order to live like how I want to down there lol.
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Old 07-07-2012, 11:16 AM
 
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Depends. It can be done but depends on your lifestyle. If you get a place for $800-900 month in midtown (doable depending on your standards) then it would just depend on how you live your life and how much you spend on things. If you have things like car payments then it becomes very hard.

Get a roommate and you could be paying much less, then you have money for your 401k, nights out etc.
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Old 07-07-2012, 12:06 PM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,800,678 times
Reputation: 6663
Quote:
Originally Posted by noah View Post
Depends. It can be done but depends on your lifestyle. If you get a place for $800-900 month in midtown (doable depending on your standards) then it would just depend on how you live your life and how much you spend on things. If you have things like car payments then it becomes very hard.

Get a roommate and you could be paying much less, then you have money for your 401k, nights out etc.
Good point. I guess it's not about how much you make but about how much you can keep in your pocket at the end of the day.

I have a fully paid off car that gets around 26MPG city and around 29MPG highway. My commute to work and back would be like 15 minutes if I live in Midtown.

I don't really go out all that often with the car as I prefer to walk around aimlessly. I barely ever shop unless it's for work clothes. I have my bike which I use to work out and entertain myself. I know how to cook rather well and how to use coupons when grocery shopping.

Maybe living in Midtown won't be so bad for me?
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