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It depends on where you live and the lifestyle you live. I live in the suburbs and don't care about a trendy night life, so I don't need much. If you want to live in a luxury apartment in an expensive Manhattan neighborhood, and go to all the 'in' spots 2 or 3 nights a week, then you need a high income to support that.
From what I've seen on boards like these, far too many people from out of NYC want to come here and live the Sex in the City lifestyle. You need a huge income for that. This is NOT reality for most of NYC dwellers. Most of us lead pretty average lives.
i mean, if u shop at lv and gucci every weekend, then i can understand.
Me and my mother live together in a 1 family house in the Country Club section of The Bronx on a 90k combined income and life is great.
Not everyone wants to live in Tribeca or any other ritzy area in Manhattan.
Yeah 90K > 60K, so you're proving my point, I don't get it? If you were on your own, you'd need 60K to live close to the same lifestyle. Your living standard doesn't decrease exponentially with salary. If you were making 45K and living on your own, you wouldn't have the same lifestyle as you do now. You can't get an apartment for 1 person and living costs for 1 person exactly half that of a 2 person household. It doesn't work that way.
It depends on where you live and the lifestyle you live. I live in the suburbs and don't care about a trendy night life, so I don't need much. If you want to live in a luxury apartment in an expensive Manhattan neighborhood, and go to all the 'in' spots 2 or 3 nights a week, then you need a high income to support that.
From what I've seen on boards like these, far too many people from out of NYC want to come here and live the Sex in the City lifestyle. You need a huge income for that. This is NOT reality for most of NYC dwellers. Most of us lead pretty average lives.
I don't think that's true at all. It seems to me because of boards like these people are misinformed therefore people want to get informed. It's easy to understand why that image of NYC is stuck in peoples head. Mainly because of media.
That applies to a lot of things in life. I think the OP just wants some clarity and direction. Look at it from their perspective and try as best you can to inform not insult(not saying that your insulted anyone).
What it sounds like is, what is a decent amount of money someone can live off of in NYC. Sure, I know people want to live different lifestyles and whats decent to some is not to others.......I understand that.
But generally speaking,a single guy that wants to live in one of the many areas can live comfy on $40, $50k,etc...........that's what most people want to know.
First off, sorry if I offended anyone. I'm not trying to do that at all. I'm just curious, since I've always wanted to live in NYC what I'd have to do to be comfortable/make my dream a reality. However, I don't want to live in NYC because I want to go to trendy night clubs and all that. If I can earn enough to go to a night club a couple of times a month (if that), get a gym membership/other club that will let me play basketball/tennis with friends, and go on a ski trip once every couple of years or so, I'll be reasonably happy. I don't care about living in Manhattan, or a huge apartment. I have never complained about the space in a dorm room even, and as long as I'm not in a ghetto, crime-ridden area, I'll be fine in my home.
The only "lavish" comfort I like are nice clothes, but even then, I'm not crazy enough to buy LV or Gucci for no reason. I like to wear nicer brands (like Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers), but nothing too outlandish either, which I'm also willing to give up if absolutely necessary.
Yeah 90K > 60K, so you're proving my point, I don't get it? If you were on your own, you'd need 60K to live close to the same lifestyle. Your living standard doesn't decrease exponentially with salary. If you were making 45K and living on your own, you wouldn't have the same lifestyle as you do now. You can't get an apartment for 1 person and living costs for 1 person exactly half that of a 2 person household. It doesn't work that way.
well, if i made 45k i wouldn't be trying to live in a 1 family house. see where i'm going with this?
45k will you put you in a decent 1 bedroom in the bronx, queens, and brooklyn.
It's quite possible to enjoy life in NYC, even living alone, on 45 or 50,000.There are lots of neighborhoods where you can find a decent apartment for 900 or 1,000/mo. After that it's up to you.
How much do you pay where you are now? If you think the difference between what you pay in rent now and $1,000 will eat into your lifestyle too much then there is your answer.
My guess is that if you are an accountant you will have no problem.
Does that clear things up ?
When I was a kid, I always dreamed about living in NYC, but at the same time, I know I'm not smart enough to get into the really rich professions like i-banking/consulting/big law and all that jazz. Thus, I sort of gave up on it, but now I'm kind of wondering, how do normal people survive there? I mean, not everyone is a banker, so there must be a way. I don't even necessarily want a house or anything, I'd be perfectly happy with a condo, townhouse, or apartment in Brooklyn (I don't even care about living in Manhattan lol), so is it possible for an accountant, aka someone that isn't rich but not dirt poor either, to live in NYC? What kind of salary do you think you have to make to afford living in NYC?
There's nothing stopping you from living in New York if you wanted. Sounds like you ought to in fact. You've got a good specialization and obviously have experience. Just save up 6 months of cash, figuring you'd be spending $700-800ish a month on a share in Brooklyn or Queens and go find your angle in. Bonus if you can find a position first, but realize typical employers are going to give preference to locals, all else being equal. Less risk of their own time being wasted if someone flakes or chickens out.
When I was a kid, I always dreamed about living in NYC, but at the same time, I know I'm not smart enough to get into the really rich professions like i-banking/consulting/big law and all that jazz. Thus, I sort of gave up on it, but now I'm kind of wondering, how do normal people survive there? I mean, not everyone is a banker, so there must be a way. I don't even necessarily want a house or anything, I'd be perfectly happy with a condo, townhouse, or apartment in Brooklyn (I don't even care about living in Manhattan lol), so is it possible for an accountant, aka someone that isn't rich but not dirt poor either, to live in NYC? What kind of salary do you think you have to make to afford living in NYC?
You have to undertstand, many folks make compromises to live in NYC in the sense that late 20/30 somethings, still live with parents or roomates. Many homeowners are either married, older folks who bought homes when they were still semi cheap, or inherited the house.
You can survive as a single person with a decent job in NYC, but you just have to decide whether happy to just survive or live the good life.
Hahaha - I in no way shape or form meant to insinuate that you needed to make 80K to be happy here! I was just saying that if you did - that would be great! Like I said - you can find apartments to share where your rent would only be $600 or $700 a month in Queens or Brooklyn. And you can find studios in the city for $1500 - $1800. In fact, we are moving to the burbs and are going to rent out our studio on the upper east side for about $1500 - so I'm not making this up. You can find places. This is a great city - and as long as you come prepared - you can live here happily on any salary. But of course, the more money you make - the easier things will be. But I think that's true anywhere! If you've always wanted to come here - you should come! Nothing is permanant or set in stone - if you don't like it - you can always move again! One of my best friends moved to San Francisco for 3 days. No joke.
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