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Yes, I've been to other cities. I've even been to Denver. In Denver the only thing that is free is a streetcar that runs in a one-mile loop around the mall area. Everything it connects to (buses and lightrail) cost $2 and more. I'm just wondering how that helps you if don't live near the pick-up point and your destination is nowhere near the drop-off point.
No city in the US has anywhere near the amount of public transportation coverage that NYC has.
You mentioned that most people drive in other cities. Driving is not free. In fact, car costs like car payments, maintenance, gas, and insurance are generally significantly more than a monthly NYC metrocard. And how do you drive your car home after you have had nearly an entire bottle of wine (from your example)?
If you are going to argue that going out in NYC costs more than in other cities partly because of transportation costs, your numbers and facts need to be stronger.
If I drove my car there and crashed at a friends overnight, it would not cost me as much as taking cabs back and forth. It does not cost $20 to drive into the city and park on the street. I'm only talking about what it costs for the night, not the long term. Those are very different things. You are getting very defensive, and I'm not trying to argue with you. I don't know if you are a NY native or how long you have lived in the city if you do at all, but I am and having lived in Manhattan for 5 years and spent time in the city pretty much my whole life, I am familiar with the costs of getting around the city and how much money I need to take with me if I am going out.
Owning a car is a higher expense than a metrocard there is no disputing that, but when people only consider the metrocard as an expense cost, that is not realistic because taking cabs at times is a way of life here. I don't know any female who takes the subway home alone late at night after going out. Transplants often have a false sense of security and no street smarts, and unfortunatly, those are the people that something happens to.
All I was saying is that when I am taking money out of the ATM to go out that night, if I am going to be taking cabs there and back I take that into consideration of what the evening is going to cost me. Its not as big of a deal now that cabs take credit/debit cards, but when I first lived in the city they didn't and even now sometimes they have non-functioning credit card machines and you need to pay cash.
And how do you drive your car home after you have had nearly an entire bottle of wine (from your example)?
Unfortunately, too may people continue to do precisely that...leaving behind a trail of broken limbs and lives and heartache for themselves and their innocent victims when they crash into other vehicles or into hapless pedestrians.
One positive of living in many parts of NYC is that access to public transportation can somehow negate some of that by providing other "going home" options for the inebriated. And absolutley, the costs of car ownership do outweigh the costs of public transportation for work and pleasure.
To the OP, in response to some of your questions, as others have suggested, I'd expore the outer boroughs for units near to public transportation, roommates or a small studio/1 bedroom in those boroughs or a roommate situation in Manhattan, learning to cook simple meals and getting ample suplies of simple breakfast items like cereal, rolls, cheese, etc. in your kitchen, keeping your wardrobe plain and simple...and doing what you're already doing...preparing a budget and trying to live within your means.
Best of luck when you arrive here. 70k is absolutely doable in NYC.
If I drove my car there and crashed at a friends overnight, it would not cost me as much as taking cabs back and forth. It does not cost $20 to drive into the city and park on the street. I'm only talking about what it costs for the night, not the long term. Those are very different things. You are getting very defensive, and I'm not trying to argue with you. I don't know if you are a NY native or how long you have lived in the city if you do at all, but I am and having lived in Manhattan for 5 years and spent time in the city pretty much my whole life, I am familiar with the costs of getting around the city and how much money I need to take with me if I am going out.
Owning a car is a higher expense than a metrocard there is no disputing that, but when people only consider the metrocard as an expense cost, that is not realistic because taking cabs at times is a way of life here. I don't know any female who takes the subway home alone late at night after going out. Transplants often have a false sense of security and no street smarts, and unfortunatly, those are the people that something happens to.
All I was saying is that when I am taking money out of the ATM to go out that night, if I am going to be taking cabs there and back I take that into consideration of what the evening is going to cost me. Its not as big of a deal now that cabs take credit/debit cards, but when I first lived in the city they didn't and even now sometimes they have non-functioning credit card machines and you need to pay cash.
Thanks for the feedback, but I'm not getting defensive. I have nothing to defend. If transportation costs are really lower in other cities, that's fine. But you are not really proving your point. That's all.
What bothers me on here is people stating things as facts when they are really just opinions. I can deal with it if it's your opinion, in your life, that for you -- going out here costs more than it cost you going out in another city. That's your opinion and your experience and that's perfectly valid. But you are the one who wanted to argue that you were right and another poster was wrong when she questioned your numbers and gave an example of what a night out costs her.
It's also only your opinion that "Transplants often have a false sense of security and no street smarts, and unfortunatly, those are the people that something happens to." If that's based on fact, I'd like to see the facts and how that information was gathered.
And back to the OP's first post: regarding coops-- you might see coops listed for rent. This most likely means that you would be renting from the owner of an apartment within a coop building. This has some advantages and disadvantages.
Cons:
#1 There may be extra fees like a move-in fee and a fee to have your application processed by the coop board. #2 Since you are renting from a small owner, he may not be an experienced landlord and there may be a learning curve. #3 Sometimes there are restrictions in coops as to how long a unit can be rented out. So your lease term may be two years, but at the end of the two years it may be uncertain as to whether you will be offered an additional term.
Pros
Coop buildings may be better kept because there should be a high percentage of unit-owners living in the building.
Prices tend to be a bit lower for coop rentals.
The building may be more stable than a rental building, in terms of the length of time people live there, etc.
There may be extra amenities like a private garden or nice holiday decorations, if you are into that.
Building on Henna's run-down of the co-op situation, there are times when the sponsor has not left the building, and in such cases, you are renting directly from the management company. These are somewhat rare, but there is no need for board approval in such cases because the sponsor is not constrained by the board's decisions, hence why some people are reluctant to buy in buildings that have large blocks of sponsor-owned apartments because they are free to rent/sell without any oversight or financial vetting.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Thanks for the feedback, but I'm not getting defensive. I have nothing to defend. If transportation costs are really lower in other cities, that's fine. But you are not really proving your point. That's all.
What bothers me on here is people stating things as facts when they are really just opinions. I can deal with it if it's your opinion, in your life, that for you -- going out here costs more than it cost you going out in another city. That's your opinion and your experience and that's perfectly valid. But you are the one who wanted to argue that you were right and another poster was wrong when she questioned your numbers and gave an example of what a night out costs her.
It's also only your opinion that "Transplants often have a false sense of security and no street smarts, and unfortunatly, those are the people that something happens to." If that's based on fact, I'd like to see the facts and how that information was gathered.
It bothers me too that people who are not even from here or live here have so much to say about living in Manhattan. Maybe it is my opinion, but the only people that I know who bad things happened to were people not from here. You also hear on the news and in the papers that most of these girls that terrible things happen to are not from here either. People that are new to NYC tend to walk around in places that arent that safe and ride the subway late at night by themselves more than people who are from here, at least that is my experience from talking with people, they freely admit that they do this. How about the gentrification of dangerous neighborhoods? Why do think this is? Its because people not from here are convinced to move into these areas because they are misled into thinking they are moving to "east williamsburg", "upper east side", "south park slope". They don't know any better that they are living in bad areas. There is no data to "prove" this, but live here long enough, pay attention to the news and talk with people you meet and you will see.
As far as the cost of going out, I'm talking about the cost of dinner and drinks at a decent/nice place. Not a diner and not anything fancy either. If your interests are the hole in the wall chinese place in chinatown and a dive bar at night of course you won't be spending $100 a night, but if you like to eat at decent places and then go out a nice lounge afterwards, its going to cost you approx what I said it would, especially if you are cabbing it there from across town. Where else in the country do you go out and it costs you $10-15 for a regular size/small drink at a lounge? I have never experienced that anywhere else with the exception of San Francisco. If you are man and are buying drinks for ladies, then definitly going to cost you that much. I guess it all depends on whether or not you are a college student, professional and what type of scene you are into.
There are also different "rules" in NYC than in different parts of the country. If you are from elsewhere and you go out to dinner with a group of friends, its standard to split the whole bill by the number of people no matter what you ordered. To someone who is on a tight budget, this can be costly if you go out dinner and drinks often. All I meant by bringing this up in the first place is that people who make $60k cannot think that they are going to party like a rockstar and live a sex in the city lifestyle on that salary. They need to realize that going out here is expensive. That is all I was trying to get across. I am not going to argue anymore, that was not my intention by adding my opinion. Its better for people who have been there to share the truth than to sugarcoat things and see the OP struggle later or not able to have the social life that he wanted because its a strain on his budget.
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