Estimating cost of living in New York City - potential move to NYC - need advice! (real estate, apartment)

[ag75]

Hi there,
I'm a young physician currently living in California who has been offered a great job in a hospital in the Bronx. The job is great, but the salary is low by any standards and, especially for an expensive city like NYC.

Before I accept the job, I need to understand what types of expenses I should be budgeting for. Can anyone give some realistic estimates on the following:

1. Good studio apartment with appliances, near the subway on the upper east side ( I want to "experience" NYC, hence many of my friends have told me to consider living in the UES, which is likely more expensive than other parts; I'd be commuting daily to a hospital in the Bronx)
2. approximate estimate for food/groceries per month (do young people even cook in NYC?)
3. travel/logistics (ie subway fare) per month
4. utilities/phone/cable/internet
5. car parking - (this seems like a nightmare - many of my friends who've lived in NYC in the past have told me to ditch my car - which begs the question - does one need a car in NYC - and if I do choose to keep it - are there less pricey lots/parking garages?)

I'd be making anywhere from 200-225 K/year, however, after witholding and taxes, my take home cash would likely be around 10,000-11,000 per month. This is pretty good in suburban parts of the country, and in certain parts of california as well; however I have no idea how good that is for NYC.

Any advice/insight/info GREATLY appreciated!

thanks and have a good weekend

[Viralmd]

You'll be fine. BUT - where in the Bronx are you heading? Is it easily reachable by subway? If it isn't you're liable to regret living in Manhattan because a car can EASILY cost you around $10,000/year to just KEEP in Manhattan: between insurance, garage (unless you LIKE driving around for 45 minutes every day looking for a parking space), maintenance and tolls, it can put a major dent in your budget. Just look at www.bestparking.com to look at prices. It's positively scary. The prices START at $400 or so per month and go up from there.

I assume you're going to be an attending - so you need to have access to the hospital on weekends, to cover or make rounds when you're on service. Another subway issue, because they're much less frequent on weekends.

You're fine for the UES. Remember, also, that there's a NYC income tax. But even so, I think you could branch out and get a 1 BR apartment.

Edited to add: also parking at work won't be free, either....

Edited to add: The salary is NOT low. I won't even tell you how much I made as an attending....It was SHAMEFUL for 120h of work/week.

[dixiecupdrinking]

You really won't get a whole lot of empathy here saying $200,000 a year is "low by any standards." If you're young and single, you can live wherever you want in NYC without a financial care in the world. As long as your workplace is on the subway, you don't need the car; it's a luxury. But again... likely, one you can afford.

[ag75]

Thanks - I do agree with you - it sounds pretty incredulous and out of touch to say that "200K is low by any standards" especially in these hard economic times; what I actually meant to say is that it's low for what a surgeon would typically make anywhere else in the country, and low in terms of what it translates to in terms of "buying power" in NYC; in other words, what 200K can buy in NYC would likely translate to about 130K anywhere else in the country, except for other "preferred" cities like San Francisco, the california coast, etc.

[ag75]

Thanks for your response. I guess what I'm wondering is this: if I have to apportion roughly 4000 per month to various other obligations (ie debt/loan repayments etc) and am then left with approx 5000 left for myself, is that enough or am I stretching it? (Baring in mind that I'm ok with living in a small studio, but I really don't want to live like a student or resident again...)

[Viralmd]

Bearing in mind everything you outlined, $5000/month is PLENTY. MORE than plenty. Look, you're a surgeon: you get up at the crack o' dawn to round and make your first case, you're going to be beat by the time you finish rounds at the end of the day and review what you're going to do the next morning. I assume you'll have teaching responsibilities...you are NOT going to have a wild and wooly social life (not if you don't want to fall asleep in the OR).

And most people in NYC raise entire families on less than $5000/month, so you're not going to elicit much sympathy, as dixiecup stated.

[Otis_Nevins]

Too low a salary, eh? That is A LOT of money anywhere, even here, Doc. Suck it up or stay in SF. You have misjudged and mischaracterized NYC as well as your own worth.

$5k a month spending money in the Bronx will go pretty far in Riverdale.

[ag75]

Thanks for the response - well, that's why I'm here - to clear up any misconceptions that I have (which clearly I do) and to make a balanced well informed decision. As indicated before, (and perhaps I didn't convey this properly), I don't want to "spend" 5K a month. That's the max. Ideally, I'd like to start saving for retirement as well. I'd like to keep my expenses at 3K a month, and put 2K away every month for the future, or for a rainy day. I'm not interested in living a crazy party-life (nor will I have the time!) in NYC, but at the same time, would like to enjoy some things in life.
Speaking of Riverdale, can you give me any info on what it's like living in Riverdale? My sense is that it would be cheaper to live there than the UES, for example. Thanks again.

[Viralmd]

Riverdale would be MUCH cheaper. You'd probably still have to keep your car in a garage, but the rent you'd pay for an apartment would be MUCH lower. Check the NY Times real estate site for an idea.

[ag75]

Thanks again. Anyway, I'm NOT trying to elicit sympathy or empathy. I'm trying to gather information to make a well informed decision, simply because I don't really know anyone in NYC. I'm trying to distill rumor from fact. I'm assuming that is one of the purposes of having this type of message board, to gather information. Thanks again for everyone's input.