New York City Metro Area ($350,000) or D.C. Metro Area ($275,000)? (living, better)
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Which city / metro would you prefer, assuming two adults and no children: New York on $350,000 salary or Washington, D.C. on $275,000? For whatever it's worth, I'd need a home / apartment (small) yard . . . so that would seemingly rule out midtown Manhattan, but I'd need to commute there every day. It's my understanding that a lot of the row houses in D.C. have small backyards.
Happy to answer any questions that would be necessary to help with your answers.
If you aren't looking for multifamily living, I would probably lean DC area. Although the pay gap is big enough to make this close. You could live in DC proper for the salary. However, you likely couldn't live with a yard in prime area on that salary. Crime in DC is no joke, so you want to take that into account. In NY, you could find a nice commuter town in NNJ for the salary. The salary gap is probably high enough to offset the higher COL relative to MD/VA suburbs.
Tough call because it’s more of a question of whether a rough commute into midtown is worth the extra $75,000 per year in income. I think the additional income may be worth it honestly. If you invest the extra $75k per year (after taxes) it’s going to really add up over time. You may pay more for housing, but you’ll eventually get it back if you own.
I would imagine someone commanding the combined salaries of all the teachers at a typical small American public school would be able to figure this out on their own.
If you aren't looking for multifamily living, I would probably lean DC area. Although the pay gap is big enough to make this close. You could live in DC proper for the salary. However, you likely couldn't live with a yard in prime area on that salary. Crime in DC is no joke, so you want to take that into account. In NY, you could find a nice commuter town in NNJ for the salary. The salary gap is probably high enough to offset the higher COL relative to MD/VA suburbs.
I would imagine someone commanding the combined salaries of all the teachers at a typical small American public school would be able to figure this out on their own.
I asked which city others would prefer to live in if presented with my opportunities, with my needs. I'm not a psychic; I can't "figure this out on my own."
I voted NYC because I like NYC better, not because you would get a better quality of life or be able to rent/buy larger living quarters. NYC is like no other place in the world; you will either love or hate it. It is no comparison to DC, which is kind of like a mid-sized Midwestern city, with a lot of snooty people, the great majority of whom have mundane jobs. If you will be working in DC proper, you might want to take into account the outrageously high crime rate, which per capita is many times the crime rate in NYC.
Have you lived in either of these two cities before? If not, you should go and spend as much time in these places as possible, even if it is only for weekend visits.
I’ve lived in both. NYC is NYC… no city comes close (even though you’d be in the metro). DC is cool but in the city crime is a real problem so keep that in mind. However, I do feel like it’s easier to make really good money or continue to climb the ladder and make good money if that is important to you and just networking overall is easier - that’s not really the case in NYC. I found it to be siloed, everyone lives in their own world which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Since you also want a yard I think DC fits more of what you’re looking for. Granted, you don’t get much yard if any in DC but it’s more than what you’d get in NYC. Also, commuting into Manhattan is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Definitely, DC. NYC is good to visit not live around at that salary comparison.
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