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I was searching with google and ran into the helena building on W57th when I quoted the prices.
It seemed like a nice 7 year old apartment tower. Studio=$2900 1BR=$3800 2BR=$4700
They are nice but not overly highend.. IE: Cheaper White faced appliances not Stainless Steel.
For all those claiming that I overstated the prices.. Check the link below. I did not lie. Even though
people are so quick to accuse me of overstating.
Perhaps people are right that 110k is a low salary and that the majority of people have salaries between 100k and 3 million per year.
It is widely known that New York City has the highest COL in the nation. Were you expecting middle income people to populate the affluent neighborhoods in Manhattan?
A new building on west 57th St. is just about the most expensive baseline you could find. Even in Manhattan you could find lots of cheaper alternatives. Most people there trade off the wonderful convenience for smaller spaces. But I too thought of Philadelphia as a relatively cheap eastern city with a terrific downtown. There are lots of different price levels within Center City Philly. You just need to be able to find a job there!
Lot's of snarky remarks.. And why to do you assume I live in any of these 3 cities? I don't. I have
visited and think they are great cities with lots of amenities.
I'm sure many people look at Manhattan and Boston and wonder how the math works for so many people
to live there. I guess the people who moved in 20 years ago got in cheap. But NYC has had a massive
influx of newcomers despite the high prices. My amazement is how so many people can afford to snap
up these astronomically priced rentals when it would seem that the salaries do not pay enough to live in
the city. Great cities no doubt, I just don't understand how the Math works to live in the Manhattan or
downtown Boston.
Even on those salaries you quoted they pay enough though, if not get roommate, and just assume you are going to pay a greater portion of your salary in rent. But, you don't need car payments, don't need car insurance, can eat out food for cheaper... Yes, in NYC or SF you can eat dirt cheap food, sometimes 3x cheaper than you would get elsewhere.
I was just looking at prices though recently and found several options in good areas in Queens/Brooklyn for sub 1500 for 1 brs... I viewed a nice basement apartment in Queens in FH for 1g, about 400 sq feet, but renovated and in nice neighborhood, 15 minutes to Rockefeller Center. That was 2 months ago, so I know it can be done in NYC. I could live there with my gf for instance and only pay 500 a month.
I have several friends in NYC also and most pay around 800 or so a month in rent b/c they have roommates. Couples can do a little better if they share a studio.
The OP apparently has silver spoon tastes with only Manhattan an option and living in Queens, Brooklyn...or gasp (New Jersey?!) completely beneath them. Moving on...
Love Manhattan, Love Boston, DC is nice too but it's no Manhattan or Boston..
The problem is that living downtown in any of the major East Coast cities is priced out
of reach for even well paid working professionals.
In Manhattan the top IT jobs requiring 10+ years of experience and a masters degree pay 100k-110k.
Yet 400 sqft studio apartments are renting for $2,900 and 600 sqft 1br apartments are renting for $3,800.
2BR? Try $4,700 per month!
In Boston the top IT jobs requiring 10+ years of experience and a masters degree pay 90k-100k tops.
Yet nice 600 sqft 1br apartments in the heart of the city rent for $2,800-$3,600. 2br? Try $4,000 per month!
In DC the same story..
So what gives??
Renting downtown in any of these cities is priced well outside what employers are able/willing to pay.
How do people afford to live downtown in any of these major East Coast cities?
Has downtown become a reserved location for only the multimillionaires and people engaged in vast illegal activities?
For comparison sakes... DC Metro, six years out of college making 110 (underpaid relative to my peers) in IT Security, live in a 1200 sq foot condo that cost 500k with 600/month condo fees in Old Town w/ parking space in Alexandria.
It is widely known that New York City has the highest COL in the nation. Were you expecting middle income people to populate the affluent neighborhoods in Manhattan?
This.
Manhattan is for the wealthy, near-wealthy, elites, and supported-by-others categories.
Being a Social Worker, living in Manhattan is not within my income range and I can accept that. If I wanted to live bare bones and pinch pennies, Jersey City or Center City Philly might be options. Baltimore is the most affordable of the big East Coast cities. You can rent a beautiful apartment in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood (basically downtown) for comparatively little.
The smaller cities near the East Coast are much more affordable. Think of Allentown, Reading, Bangor, Wilmington, Providence, etc.
Last edited by PreservationPioneer; 10-07-2012 at 01:35 AM..
In addition to all of the above, you're only looking at "IT professionals with 20 years of experience and a masters". As others have stated, $110,000/yr is not all THAT amazing. I know many people in my field (finance) who have 20 years of experience and a masters making $400k ++.
Love Manhattan, Love Boston, DC is nice too but it's no Manhattan or Boston..
The problem is that living downtown in any of the major East Coast cities is priced out
of reach for even well paid working professionals.
In Manhattan the top IT jobs requiring 10+ years of experience and a masters degree pay 100k-110k.
Yet 400 sqft studio apartments are renting for $2,900 and 600 sqft 1br apartments are renting for $3,800.
2BR? Try $4,700 per month!
In Boston the top IT jobs requiring 10+ years of experience and a masters degree pay 90k-100k tops.
Yet nice 600 sqft 1br apartments in the heart of the city rent for $2,800-$3,600. 2br? Try $4,000 per month!
In DC the same story..
So what gives??
Renting downtown in any of these cities is priced well outside what employers are able/willing to pay.
How do people afford to live downtown in any of these major East Coast cities?
Has downtown become a reserved location for only the multimillionaires and people engaged in vast illegal activities?
I don't buy that top paying IT jobs in Manhattan requiring 10 years of experience pay 100-110k...
There are waiters in manhattan that make more than that. 10 years of experience is no joke, you should be earning more, even outside of manhattan. That's my 2 cents. There are people in far less "skilled" fields such as HR, marketing, sales, etc. that make over 100k with 5 years of experience.
I'd say you might be underpaid. Explore a few opportunities outside of your company and see if you can climb the ladder a bit quicker in a different company.
Philadelphia. Really, there's plenty more to the East Coast than Boston, DC, and New York. Personally, the only city I see as better than Philadelphia on the East Coast is New York.
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