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Two cats. I've visited NYC before, and I'm planning to visit more and stay longer before making a commitment to live there. I'm not sure if I'll have a degree when I move there, it depends on a lot of things.. if I won't be able to afford the city without a degree, then I won't go there until I have it. Thanks for the info on what income I'll be needing.
I'm doing well in high school (3.8 GPA currently), but if college kicks my ass, I'll definitely rethink my plans, wherever I end up. I'm aware that med school is very competitive, and I am weighing other career options that are more viable if it doesn't work out (degree in animal science, become a veterinary technician), although I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to do NYC on the salary of a vet tech.
By the way, the 'online undergraduate university' I'm considering is Penn-State University. A regular university that offers online and distance education. (I'm under the impression that quite a few universities do this, actually.) My cousin takes online courses there and she was the one that suggested it to me as an option.
I'm CONSIDERING moving to NYC. Eventually. When I have the financial means. I'm not planning to head to the city with $1000 in my pocket, no knowledge of the city, no job, and be disappointed when I find out that the only place I can survive is in the slums. I'm not even sure whether I'm going at all. I'm just curious as to where I should look if I go. Hence why I'm asking questions years before the supposed move might happen. I'm not an idiot, but thanks for making assumptions.
They make $20-$25 per hour in some parts of Pennsylvania. Maybe not enough to live in NYC, but like I said before, if I can't afford the city before I have a good job, I won't go.
I still don't think you've thought this through completely. High school is not college. And not all high schools are created equally. Penn State is OK...but not the cream of the crop. You still have to take two years of chemistry (including one year of organic chemistry) with laboratories and a year of physics (also with a laboratory). That's something you can't do online. And you have to have stellar MCATs.
And, as I said, spots for residency in NYC are among the most competitive in the United States. Not only do you have to do WELL in medical school, you have to have gone to a decent medical school.
I still don't think you've thought this through completely. High school is not college. And not all high schools are created equally. Penn State is OK...but not the cream of the crop. You still have to take two years of chemistry (including one year of organic chemistry) with laboratories and a year of physics (also with a laboratory). That's something you can't do online. And you have to have stellar MCATs.
And, as I said, spots for residency in NYC are among the most competitive in the United States. Not only do you have to do WELL in medical school, you have to have gone to a decent medical school.
I've said already that I'm weighing another option (which may or may not involve the city) in case my hopes for med school don't work out. If nobody wants to answer my questions, then I'll go do research myself. Thanks for the concern, though, I appreciate it.
I'm CONSIDERING moving to NYC. Eventually. When I have the financial means. I'm not planning to head to the city with $1000 in my pocket, no knowledge of the city, no job, and be disappointed when I find out that the only place I can survive is in the slums. I'm not even sure whether I'm going at all. I'm just curious as to where I should look if I go. Hence why I'm asking questions years before the supposed move might happen. I'm not an idiot, but thanks for making assumptions.
I did not call you an idiot.
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Originally Posted by melonsoup
They make $20-$25 per hour in some parts of Pennsylvania. Maybe not enough to live in NYC, but like I said before, if I can't afford the city before I have a good job, I won't go.
Have you actually worked as a telemarketer and made $20-25/hour? I can tell you that those jobs pay around $8/hr here, and are mostly outsourced to India now. $20-25/hr as a telemarketer is definitely a pipe dream.
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Originally Posted by melonsoup
If nobody wants to answer my questions, then I'll go do research myself.
People did answer your questions, they just didn't give you the answers you wanted to hear.
Have you actually worked as a telemarketer and made $20-25/hour? I can tell you that those jobs pay around $8/hr here, and are mostly outsourced to India now. $20-25/hr as a telemarketer is definitely a pipe dream.
No, I haven't, but it was one of my dad's options when he was looking for work about 6 years ago. I'll keep in mind that it's out of the question in your state, though. Yay for job outsourcing. :/
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People did answer your questions, they just didn't give you the answers you wanted to hear.
.. no, they didn't. I didn't ask if they thought I could make it through med school, I asked about neighborhoods and rent estimates. I have no problem with the idea that I might not be able to make it in the city, I just get a bit flustered with everyone skipping the point of my thread to pick apart other things. I'm sorry if I seemed hostile or anything, I don't mean to offend anyone.
Do not go to college online. You will have serious problems getting into grad school in any competitive field. Getting into medical school is extremely competitive and unless you are capable of a 1400 or so on the SAT you will have problems getting an MCAT score that is high enough. Go to college, the experience is worth it. You can supplement your classes with an online class or two, but you will be missing out on too much if you forego the college experience and take your classes online.
Look into Astoria, or Hoboken for an affordable fun area to live in if you come to NY, but plan on kicking ass on the SAT, going to college, and getting top grades in competitive courses with the smartest people at the college and a forced curve.
I went through this process. I'm trying to give realistic advice, as is dukejeff.
You have GOT to go to the best college you can get into. You have GOT to get superlative grades. You have GOT to nail the MCATs. You have GOT to interview like a pro. And, further, to do a residency in NYC, you should be invited to join AOA (Alpha Omega Alpha), the national medical honor society, nail your national medical boards and be in the top 10% of your medical school class.
Count me on board with the online college naysayers. That sort of thing is fine in much of the rest of the country but you have to understand something about New York: It is where the best in all fields come to work and live. Competition is fierce in EVERY field and especially in finance, law, and medical. You will be competing with people who aced MCATS and got 4.0's from Ivy's. You can succeed here without that Ivy League pedigree but for the Wall St/Law/Doctor professions it isn't as easy.
As far as your initial question goes:
$2000 will get you a no frills studio in a nice part (not the ultraprime, best-of-the-best parts) or a decent one bedroom in a desireable Brooklyn neighborhood. Keep in mind though that most landlords follow the 40x rent/income requirement. So $2000 would require an $80k salary. There is some wiggle room on that if you are up front with the broker about your situation. For example they may give you the OK if you make $72k and can give some extra for the security deposit or pay a few months rent up front. The broker will usually know which landlords will be more lenient with income requirements.
Oh, and don't forget about the broker fee which is between 10 and 15% of your first year's rent. On a $2000 place that would be upwards 0f $3000 in most cases on top of all of your other up front money.
You're on the right track with saving now and if you want it bad enough you will make NYC work for you. Good luck.
I'm planning to go through college and medical school online to save money on tuition, so I obviously won't be living on such a low salary forever, but I want to be able to get a feel for the city and work my way up from there. And I'm willing to make compromises, I don't mind having to cut corners, shop cheaply and go out for free entertainment only. It's already in my blood to live that way. :]
Hey - I can't actually answer your original question, so that's my preface to that. And besides the debate about whether online degrees are acceptable, really research to see if they're less expensive. While I was in college (just graduated) I looked into some online graphic design classes from art schools and found that online classes can often be the same amount of money as traditional classes. So it may not save you money at all. And I'd recommend not online for the simple reason that college is an incredibly fun time. Don't miss out!
As for your original request, it is good that you are looking into different options and trying to plan ahead. Wish I could help with that end of things.
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