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All of these people painting this horrid bleak picture about living alone in NYC. The horrors... Listen many New Yorkers spend a large part of their salary in rent and that's been going on for many years now. It didn't just start because rents increased. I'm not understanding why this is such a shocker. It's an expensive place to live but not impossible by any means and many people do more with less. I think some of the people posting on here love painting a bleak picture and can't resist from creating these redundant threads about how it's so impossible to live in NYC. I feel like I'm living amongst the Trumps in here the way these people talk about how you have to so much money to live here. Where are the millionaires at here?
Many of these people do not live in NYC and can only look at it from a far. Like the fox and the sour grapes.
Many of these people do not live in NYC and can only look at it from a far. Like the fox and the sour grapes.
I would certainly hope that they don't because none of this is exactly new. The people that can't afford it simply move to somewhere cheaper and life goes on. I'm certainly not worrying about it and nor should anyone else, not unless they can't survive without living in the trendiest parts of the city.
I would certainly hope that they don't because none of this is exactly new. The people that can't afford it simply move to somewhere cheaper and life goes on. I'm certainly not worrying about it and nor should anyone else, not unless they can't survive without living in the trendiest parts of the city.
FYI - as is commonly commented, the person who likely lives nowhere near New York is that poster.
There are a few others, that one the most annoying and counterproductive.
Check the ADP take home pay calculator. Here is the weekly breakout with 15% 401k contribution and 1 allowance for Federal, State, and City income taxes.
Weekly numbers:
Gross pay: 2307.69
Federal tax: 478.98
FICA tax: 143.08
Medicare tax: 33.46
New York State tax: 136.68
NYC tax: 81.94
401k: 346.15
Health Insurance (my assumption): 41.50
Dental (my assumption): 4.50
Pretax Transit (my assumption, monthly NYC Metrocard): 29.00
Net Pay: 1011.68 PER WEEK
Pretty close to my original $1000/week estimate.
There are a lot of ridiculous assumptions being made here.
401k contributions are deducted from gross income before taxes are applied. The federal tax contribution here is pre 401k.
Health insurance at $160/month? If someone is being paid 120k, you better believe that they don't pay $160/month for health. Maybe more like $40/month, if that.
I know this has nothing to do with this forum but I'm new to this site and I'm wondering how you create your own new forum? I'm into thrifting (shopping at thrift shops) and I would like to start a forum to get an answer for my questions. Thank you.
On the top left hand corner of the page there is a 'start new thread' link right next to a post reply link. Click it.
Posts like these exaggerate the costs of living in New York City.
It's all about how a person chooses to live. If someone decides to eat out most meals in trendy, nice restaurants, must live in the nicest areas of the city (Tribeca, Soho, Financial District, West Village, Williamsburg, etc), buys pricey clothes, goes on trips often, bars it up several times a week, has pricey gym membership at Equinox (200/month), on and on, then Yes, $120k is barely cutting it.
But for MOST educated, budget-minded and responsible people, they can make $50-60-70k in New York City easily livable and sustainable.
In my experience people who think you MUST make this to survive or live here, live well beyond their means and/or are used to many luxuries on a daily basis.
Or, they do NOT live in New York City. Many friends I have or relatives who do not live here, always think "everyone in NYC must be millionaires." Nope, not even close.
Trust me, I get that living on and having that kind of money is amazing here in NYC--or anywhere else. But those amounts are BY NO MEANS a "MUST" to live here. Sort of ridiculous, really, to think that way. lol
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
3,530 posts, read 4,138,681 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc
Posts like these exaggerate the costs of living in New York City.
It's all about how a person chooses to live. If someone decides to eat out most meals in trendy, nice restaurants, must live in the nicest areas of the city (Tribeca, Soho, Financial District, West Village, Williamsburg, etc), buys pricey clothes, goes on trips often, bars it up several times a week, has pricey gym membership at Equinox (200/month), on and on, then Yes, $120k is barely cutting it.
But for MOST educated, budget-minded and responsible people, they can make $50-60-70k in New York City easily livable and sustainable.
In my experience people who think you MUST make this to survive or live here, live well beyond their means and/or are used to many luxuries on a daily basis.
Or, they do NOT live in New York City. Many friends I have or relatives who do not live here, always think "everyone in NYC must be millionaires." Nope, not even close.
Trust me, I get that living on and having that kind of money is amazing here in NYC--or anywhere else. But those amounts are BY NO MEANS a "MUST" to live here. Sort of ridiculous, really, to think that way. lol
This. I thrived in Manhattan (ZOMG!) on $50k. THRIVED. It's all about the lifestyle you choose to live. Don't eat out every day--save that for the weekends, or limit it to one meal a day (i.e. lunch). Learn to cook/eat TV dinners (the good ones). Eat good, healthy street and/or fast food (halal chicken salad, for example). Pregame before bars. Drink beers when you do go to bars. Never pay a cover. Go to free activities on Meetup. Live with two other people in a 2 bedroom apartment. Buy weekly Metrocards instead of monthly/annual, so when you inevitably lose one/get pickpocketed, the lost cost isn't as great. Run in parks when it's nice out. Do Planet Fitness instead of Equinox. Only buy clothing that's on sale for 30% or more.
So many people want to live the Sex and The City/Entourage lifestyle, and it's so laughable. Bunch of entitled suckers just throwing their money away to live a fantasy, to not have to deal with manageable inconveniences (i.e. normal daily city life). Did I live in SoHo? Hell no. But 125th and Broadway isn't too shabby, either, especially as Columbia continues to march on. But could I visit SoHo/insert trendy neighborhood anytime I wanted outside of work and have access to all of it's trappings (booze, women, "to be seen", coffee, etc.)? You bet ya! Frugality/street smarts seems to be a lost art, these days. Too many people want the easy way out or are just plain lazy. When you realize their are TONS of people living comfortably on under $30k in NYC, in MANHATTAN, you'll gain some perspective. Granted, most are in subsidized housing and the like, and live by strict rules, but hey, NYC is all about gaming the system. If living in the projects leaves you with more money to blow on the 'NYC lifestyle', hey, can't knock the hustle. Hustling is what NYC is all about...
This. I thrived in Manhattan (ZOMG!) on $50k. THRIVED. It's all about the lifestyle you choose to live. Don't eat out every day--save that for the weekends, or limit it to one meal a day (i.e. lunch). Learn to cook/eat TV dinners (the good ones). Eat good, healthy street and/or fast food (halal chicken salad, for example). Pregame before bars. Drink beers when you do go to bars. Never pay a cover. Go to free activities on Meetup. Live with two other people in a 2 bedroom apartment. Buy weekly Metrocards instead of monthly/annual, so when you inevitably lose one/get pickpocketed, the lost cost isn't as great. Run in parks when it's nice out. Do Planet Fitness instead of Equinox. Only buy clothing that's on sale for 30% or more.
So many people want to live the Sex and The City/Entourage lifestyle, and it's so laughable. Bunch of entitled suckers just throwing their money away to live a fantasy, to not have to deal with manageable inconveniences (i.e. normal daily city life). Did I live in SoHo? Hell no. But 125th and Broadway isn't too shabby, either, especially as Columbia continues to march on. But could I visit SoHo/insert trendy neighborhood anytime I wanted outside of work and have access to all of it's trappings (booze, women, "to be seen", coffee, etc.)? You bet ya! Frugality/street smarts seems to be a lost art, these days. Too many people want the easy way out or are just plain lazy. When you realize their are TONS of people living comfortably on under $30k in NYC, in MANHATTAN, you'll gain some perspective. Granted, most are in subsidized housing and the like, and live by strict rules, but hey, NYC is all about gaming the system. If living in the projects leaves you with more money to blow on the 'NYC lifestyle', hey, can't knock the hustle. Hustling is what NYC is all about...
Correction. They want to live the Sex and the City/Entourage lifestyle for free, without DOING the WORK that it TAKES to make that much money in NYC. The people I've met who really make lots of money in NYC don't have time to go out every night anyway.
You can still find dive bars in NYC where drinks are comparatively cheap. Not just talking about beer. You can find cheaper hard liquors and wines as well.
Even restaurants in Manhattan have huge price ranges. You can eat out at ethnic restaurants or bar/restaurants. You don't have to go to a 5 star restaurant.
I live in Manhattan and the main meal I eat out is lunch. I usually cook dinner.
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