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Chicago is the best bang for your buck when considering urbanity and cost.
Chicago is most bang for your buck at almost any income level, but I think that if I were single and childless New York would be too hard for me to pass up.
Chicago is most bang for your buck at almost any income level, but I think that if I were single and childless New York would be too hard for me to pass up.
Not at that salary though. If youre making 200k, Id go for NYC or SF no problem. At 100k, go to Chicago and live like a king.
You can do well in many place on that salary; just likely not large cities
You can live like a king on that salary in low COL areas.
I'm right around that salary and I live really well here as sole breadwinner. I would probably need to make double that to live well in NYC or other high COL cities.
Chicago and Philadelphia are the best picks, with Chicago being my favorite. Pittsburgh as a dark horse.
If urbanality is less of a consideration, Dallas, Nashville, Charlotte, Columbus, and Kansas City are great choices. Those last 3 have some of the best buying power indexes in the nation. You can get a heck of a lot for your money.
100K in NYC proper is nothing, maybe crappy areas of Queens, The Bronx or Staten Island?
As a single person, I'd want double that amount before even considering NYC.
100K in NYC proper is nothing, maybe crappy areas of Queens, The Bronx or Staten Island?
As a single person, I'd want double that amount before even considering NYC.
*Le sigh* this isn’t remotely true, and I’ve already posted the apartment listings to prove it
*Le sigh* this isn’t remotely true, and I’ve already posted the apartment listings to prove it
The costs of living in NYC isn't just housing. Taxes kick your butt and most everything else is high. In the city you pay both state and city taxes. For $100,000, the total state and city tax burden is over 10%. Calculators suggest that the total tax burden for someone in that salary range is approaching 40%. So, let's say that someone nets $60,000 a year that they can actually spend. That's 5 grand a month. Now, I've been in my fare share of $2500 a month apartments in Manhattan and can tell that none of them have been places that I'd choose to live. They are teeny-tiny, without central A/C or elevators. Look out onto dumpy side/back yards and don't have kitchens that you'd actually want to (or could) use. You'd probably cut off the gas to your oven and use it to store something because you don't have enough closet space. Of your $2500 left over after rent, you'll pay about $125 for your monthly metro card, and God knows how much in monthly uber rides because you won't always be able to use the subway. An average of just one $10 uber ride a day will set you back another $300. You'll spend $15 bucks a day to eat a healthy fast lunch near your job for a total of another $300 a month. You'll have monthly internet and cable bills from $100-$200. Now, because you live in NYC and you're single, you'll belong to gym that will set you back another $200+/month. So far, your $2500 has evaporated down to under $1400, or $350 weekly, and we haven't even talked about utilities, laundry, groceries, evenings out on weekends with friends, vacations, savings/IRA, clothes, etc. It's just not enough money. Now, don't tell me that you could live without this and live without that. That's unrealistic, especially since living in NYC means taking advantage of all the things that the city has to offer. You're not just going to sit at home on evenings and twiddle your thumbs. If you were going to do that, you could just live anywhere that's cheap. Oh, and forget about EVER owning a piece of real estate at that salary.
Now that I've outlined the scenario above, I'd like to revise my previous post and say that I wouldn't consider NYC as the single person that I am without at least $250,000 a year.
I’m just going to remind everyone that only 8% of American adults make $100k and up per year. Only 2% make $250,000 and up per year. It’s actually uncommon for an individual to make six figures in the United States. Even in New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC, the vast majority of people do not make that.
The costs of living in NYC isn't just housing. Taxes kick your butt and most everything else is high. In the city you pay both state and city taxes. For $100,000, the total state and city tax burden is over 10%. Calculators suggest that the total tax burden for someone in that salary range is approaching 40%. So, let's say that someone nets $60,000 a year that they can actually spend. That's 5 grand a month. Now, I've been in my fare share of $2500 a month apartments in Manhattan and can tell that none of them have been places that I'd choose to live. They are teeny-tiny, without central A/C or elevators. Look out onto dumpy side/back yards and don't have kitchens that you'd actually want to (or could) use. You'd probably cut off the gas to your oven and use it to store something because you don't have enough closet space. Of your $2500 left over after rent, you'll pay about $125 for your monthly metro card, and God knows how much in monthly uber rides because you won't always be able to use the subway. An average of just one $10 uber ride a day will set you back another $300. You'll spend $15 bucks a day to eat a healthy fast lunch near your job for a total of another $300 a month. You'll have monthly internet and cable bills from $100-$200. Now, because you live in NYC and you're single, you'll belong to gym that will set you back another $200+/month. So far, your $2500 has evaporated down to under $1400, or $350 weekly, and we haven't even talked about utilities, laundry, groceries, evenings out on weekends with friends, vacations, savings/IRA, clothes, etc. It's just not enough money. Now, don't tell me that you could live without this and live without that. That's unrealistic, especially since living in NYC means taking advantage of all the things that the city has to offer. You're not just going to sit at home on evenings and twiddle your thumbs. If you were going to do that, you could just live anywhere that's cheap. Oh, and forget about EVER owning a piece of real estate at that salary.
Now that I've outlined the scenario above, I'd like to revise my previous post and say that I wouldn't consider NYC as the single person that I am without at least $250,000 a year.
That may seem extreme if you’re comparing it to the Sunbelt, but most of the places I’ve lived have had similar tax burdens. What you won’t have a New York is a car payment, auto insurance or weekly gas fill ups. You also won’t pay for heat in your apartment. Renting, in Chicago and Boston, I’ve paid as much as $300/mo for heat.
I haven’t lived in New York since 2012, but I did so quite comfortably on $50,000. I have friends in the city earning 100k, and doing quite well for themselves. They don’t need anyone’s definition of rich, but they live in decent apartments in decent neighborhoods and can afford to dine out and travel while saving money. Maybe you aren’t built for the New York lifestyle, but the notion that a single, childless person can’t live comfortably on 100k is just silly.
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