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The OP said nothing about matching his Houston lifestyle or living in Manhattan yet everyone keeps reiterating both. So absurd.
Actually, he did mention that he didn't want to downgrade his quality of life if you read closely and pay attention. I'm not talking about Manhattan at all. Luckily I think he's done enough homework on his own to confirm the obvious: that his employer is lowballing him. Pity you don't seem to care about that or his desire to maintain his quality of life.
"Quality of life" and matching a lifestyle isn't the same thing.
The op isn't saying he's desperate to move to NYC, and willing to do whatever that takes. If he said that, then the advice would be different because of course you can survive fine on 50K. He seems focusing on having a similarly situated life up here - in that case, you need a lot more money in NYC than Texas.
Ugh, sorry to hear that. I cant help but agree with Alknost and some of the others that they definitely low-balled you, and that a sub 60K salary in NYC wont really open a lot of doors for affordable housing in Manhattan or areas close to the City (Astoria, Bklyn Heights, etc).
I did not move out of my parents house until my salary increased to $60K. I had 1 job that paid $35K and I had to find a part time job just to make my a dent into my loan payments ($1200/month)- I cant imagine paying $1200/month for housing on a 35K salary, it would be financially difficult...
Its possible to live in NYC for $45-60K but I daresay it wont be fun at all. $45-60K is around $2,500-$3,800/month after taxes and god knows what other deductions you need (401K, health benefits, transitcheck, etc). Factor in housing at $1,500/month for a relatively decent studio or 1 bedroom within 30 min commuting time of Manhattan (extremely conservative estimate - anything decent in Manhattan will run you closer to $2K/month or less if you choose roommates)......Then add utilities/food/groceries (another $300-500/month depending on your personal budget) and you're already at about 65% into your budget - leaving you with 35% toward (1) cell phone bills/gym membership/expenses/debts/loans/credit cards, (2) savings, (3) entertainment/social life/personal expenses/maybe taking a nice girl to the movies, (4) other misc things that always pop up in life.
And the further you go out from Manhattan (ie Jersey or deep residential parts of Queens/Bronx/LI/Westchester) - you are looking at increased transportation costs (car payment, car insurance, gas).
I wouldn't leave Houston for those figures. If they cant come up to a decent number ($60-75K), I would just say "thanks but no thanks".. Hope it works out for you.
Last edited by LegalDiva; 06-06-2012 at 09:41 AM..
I honestly don't think I should be considering anything less than these $1500 places in Astoria. I mean, these are not ritzy places. They are pretty basic, but clean and comfortable in decent neighborhoods.
If these people really want me, they can't expect me to live in a lesser place. I'm not moving to NY to slum it up. So I basically need to be in the mid 60s (40x1500) to really be comfortable with this.
Here's the deal (And the payroll numbers look about right, as I handle payroll).
Can you afford the $1500 rent on 50K salary? Yes, but it will end up eating half your salary as you can see. So it can be done.
You can also get a nice apartment for less than $1500, you just have to know where to look. Deals can be had, they're just not usually widely advertised.
Now you see why when most people move here it's in a roommate situation or they live an hour from the city to get what they want at the price that they want. However, this sounds more like they are not trying to pay you a proper cost of living change, and that is another issue all together.
P.S. Don't just check Craigslist for apartments. Most of those are overpriced scams. Forget Greenpoint. You won't find anything under $1800 there anymore.
Here's the deal (And the payroll numbers look about right, as I handle payroll).
Can you afford the $1500 rent on 50K salary? Yes, but it will end up eating half your salary as you can see. So it can be done.
You can also get a nice apartment for less than $1500, you just have to know where to look. Deals can be had, they're just not usually widely advertised.
Now you see why when most people move here it's in a roommate situation or they live an hour from the city to get what they want at the price that they want. However, this sounds more like they are not trying to pay you a proper cost of living change, and that is another issue all together.
P.S. Don't just check Craigslist for apartments. Most of those are overpriced scams. Forget Greenpoint. You won't find anything under $1800 there anymore.
YEs I agree that one should be very careful about using craigslist. A lot of brokers will "bait and switch" and advertize a cheap apartment, but when you call about it they'll say "Oh sorry, that one just rented. I have something in the same neighborhood but it's a little more...". There's also scams, which are worse.
Another thing to ask about is relocation expenses.
It's pretty standard for landlords to ask for 3 months of rent up front upon lease signing: first month, last month, and one month security. This is a lot of cash to have up front. If you use a broker they usually ask for one and a half times the monthly rent in commission and it's not usually paid by the landlord.
Combined with the cost of the moving company it's a huge price tag. I hope your employer would be willing to cover those costs as well... But that assumes that they'd be negotiable on the salary to make the move worth your while.
I agree some posters like to discourage new comers and exaggerate here, but the truth is it's gon end up being 2-3 times more expensive than where you're at like that cost of living comparison someone posted, it seems pretty accurate. I moved to the area from across the country last yr, and it is ridiculously expensive even if you don't live in Manhattan and just want a regular lifestyle without blowing mad money every day. The bad part is-most salaries are not properly adjusted to the high cost of living in this region unless you have exceptional skills or some kinda big shot banker and what not. For an average person, yea, you might make more here than there, but the cost of living will still outweigh that salary increase.
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. If they cant come up to a decent number ($60-75K), I would just say "thanks but no thanks"..
Hope it works out for you.
