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You say you've been here 5 times, and are still unable to figure this out. Maybe this thread is just to say you're making whatever.
1 visited Phoenix from NYC a whole once before moving here, and it was already apparent, as it would be for any city, what the general cost of living was from wandering around, driving and from looking online at apt./house prices.
Fugedaboudit, this is silly. You already know.
Negative. I have no idea what salaries mean in the Phoenix area. Please don't take my original post as if I am trying to brag The only reason why I posted salary numbers is because I wanted to provide as much info as possible. Beside...I have enough money to repay in student loans for the education I have that any salary always feels like a joke anyway
I already said I went there for vacation. When you are a "tourist" you don't take any of these things into consideration because you are on spending mode having fun. So I didn't need to figure what it would mean to actually live in that state.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
75K in Phoenix is equivalent to 170K in Manhattan, 142K in Brooklyn and 120K in Queens
Nearly everything is cheaper here: renting, owning a home, gas, utilities, healthcare, shopping, grocery, dining, movies, you name it. 72K is fine for Phoenix.
Unless you were making well into the 6 figures in NYC, your standard of living will be much higher here hence the reason so many people from the East Coast move here. This is why Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the country was ranked 1st or 2nd for fastest growing for nearly a decade.
Thanks for the info.
I am not into 6 figures, but close to it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ
I think a $72K/ year salary is livable for a single person and maybe a couple if the spouse is also working, but if you're talking $72K/ year with a non-working spouse and kids...I think it'd be much more difficult.
Not sure you'll be able to find much of a house in the Scottsdale area on that salary, I'd suggest looking in Chandler or Gilbert where housing prices are more affordable yet still in very nice areas.
Expenses add up quickly even if the cost of living is relatively inexpensive. Once you factor in a house payment, car payments, insurance (health, home, car, etc), food, miscellaneous, etc etc...it's amazing how fast money can go even if you're making $100K+/ year.
You should do fine on $72K/ year as long as you don't overextend yourself.
Welcome to the Phoenix area by the way .
Thanks a lot!
I still have a couple of months to find a place to live. Next month I am taking a week off work to fly there, see places and hopefully make a downpayment somewhere to secure an apartment.
Tomorrow I am signing the contract with my new place of employment. Exciting!!!
Negative. I have no idea what salaries mean in the Phoenix area. Please don't take my original post as if I am trying to brag The only reason why I posted salary numbers is because I wanted to provide as much info as possible. Beside...I have enough money to repay in student loans for the education I have that any salary always feels like a joke anyway
I already said I went there for vacation. When you are a "tourist" you don't take any of these things into consideration because you are on spending mode having fun. So I didn't need to figure what it would mean to actually live in that state.
Thanks for the info.
I am not into 6 figures, but close to it.
Thanks a lot!
I still have a couple of months to find a place to live. Next month I am taking a week off work to fly there, see places and hopefully make a downpayment somewhere to secure an apartment.
Tomorrow I am signing the contract with my new place of employment. Exciting!!!
Coming from NYC, by taking this new job I've also taken a good salary cut. I think it is worth it though, because I am ready for a lifestyle change. The glamour of the big city quickly fades out if a few years, and I am an outdoors person anyway.
I understand that salaries in NYC are higher than most parts of the country. $72,000 is as high as I could negotiate with my new employer in AZ. Generally speaking, is this a decent salary to live decently in the Phoenix area?
I've been to AZ 5 times before on vacation, Sedona, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, the whole tourist thing. I know vacation is not the same as living and working in the place. I just want to make sure that my salary negotiation was decent enough, and that it will help me be comfortable living in the Phoenix area.
Considering living in the Scottsdale area but am also open to other places as I continue my research.
What do you all think?
Thanks
$72000 affords a very good quality of life. I am a native NYer and make a solid middle class salary. I opt for 3.6% state income taxes and actually got a refund. I owed NY State most of my adult life with nearly 7%. You can opt for as low as 2.7% in AZ but I'd suggest against doing so since you will likely owe. I know I would at 2.7 and am happy to get a small refund at 3.6. Property taxes are approximately 1% of the appraised value of your home for the most part. A 2000 sq foot home here costing 200K likely has not much more than $2000 a year in property taxes. A 2000 sq foot home within an hour of NYc you talking 8-10K/year. I encourage you to make the move out west. Best decision I made in a very long time.
Next time you come out, make a point to eat at LaFamiglia's on Alma School and Warner (NE corner in shopping center) in Chandler. Place is run by owners who came here from Brooklyn and it's the only place I get Italian living here in Tempe. NYers drive from all over in the East Valley to eat there. Nothing wrong with Tempe south of Broadway to live in either. Solid middle class area with respectable homes in the 100-200K range.
PS: Native New Yorker is a cookie cutter bar food chain out here that does not serve very good "Native New Yorker" food. The cheesy commercials make it even more revolting.
You'll be fine. Anyone that cannot make it on $72k in Phoenix only has his or herself to blame. I make it on nearly 1/3 of that.
I know I don't understand why that's a shock to some people. When I moved here over 20 years ago, I was making 29K per year and I lived well. My apartment was on the pricier side back then ($600 per month) for one a bedroom one bath with a walk in closet. I lived by myself and paid for my own utlities, a car payment, insurance etc. I couldn't buy anything extravagant (no bling) but I was able to have a good time. I did everything any young person did. I went to bars, ate out, bought clothes, rented movies. I was responsible. I didn't do anything crazy like taking expensive vacations, buying expensive furniture, driving an expensive car I couldn't afford but I was able to live well making 29K a year as a single person. So I don't know how someone can't live making nearly 3 times that here.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 03-20-2013 at 11:38 PM..
I think the poster is aware the NYC is an expensive place to live, and that many cities are cheaper than there, but just the thought of taking a $20,000 to $25,000 a year pay cut feels a little strange.
It all depends on how you expect to live. With $72k / year, you can live very comfortably by most people's standards.
I know I've posted this elsewhere, but I'll recap here: I live very comfortably in the Phoenix area on about $12,000 / year. I'm a full-time student, eat well, drive a nice car, and live in a nice part of Chandler. Though, I'll probably be moving up to Mesa or Tempe soon. Here's the breakdown on $1000 / month --
$400 -- rent (1 bedroom in a 3 bedroom house, utilities included). Most rooms for rent are around $4-600, some include utilities. Works for me, but not for everyone. A friend of mine rents a 1 bedroom apartment in a nice part of Tempe, for $700 plus utilities, for comparison.
$300 -- car expenses. If I'm honest, I splurge here. I enjoy driving a nice car. Insurance on my daily driver runs me $90 / month, and on my toy (a track-built Miata) runs $30 a month. The rest goes to gas.
$300 -- Food. Believe it or not, you can eat for $10 / day pretty easily. The trick? Don't go out. We cook a lot of food at the house. Buy generic brands as well (tastes just as good). Occasionally I'll splurge and go out to eat (maybe 2-4 times a month).
All said, I do actually make more than $12,000 / month. The rest goes into savings. If my car needs an expensive repair, or I feel like buying something shiny, I know I have the money for it. My medical is covered by the military, and I'm still on my parent's phone plan. Included in my rent is internet, and we don't have cable TV at the house (we've got Netflix and Hulu Plus -- really covers all the shows we watch). If I were more reasonable with my car (bought a cheap, reliable beater for a daily driver), I could have my expenses down to around $800 / month (or, under $10,000 per year). That's how I was living when I first moved to Phoenix, actually.
If I had $72,000 / year, I'd be living like a king. You can rent a very nice house in Chandler for about $2,000. My car expenses wouldn't really change. I'd probably spend twice as much on food (eat a little nicer)... That puts me around $3,000 per month. I honestly don't know what I would do with the rest of the money.
It all depends on how you expect to live. With $72k / year, you can live very comfortably by most people's standards.
I know I've posted this elsewhere, but I'll recap here: I live very comfortably in the Phoenix area on about $12,000 / year. I'm a full-time student, eat well, drive a nice car, and live in a nice part of Chandler. Though, I'll probably be moving up to Mesa or Tempe soon. Here's the breakdown on $1000 / month --
$400 -- rent (1 bedroom in a 3 bedroom house, utilities included). Most rooms for rent are around $4-600, some include utilities. Works for me, but not for everyone. A friend of mine rents a 1 bedroom apartment in a nice part of Tempe, for $700 plus utilities, for comparison.
$300 -- car expenses. If I'm honest, I splurge here. I enjoy driving a nice car. Insurance on my daily driver runs me $90 / month, and on my toy (a track-built Miata) runs $30 a month. The rest goes to gas.
$300 -- Food. Believe it or not, you can eat for $10 / day pretty easily. The trick? Don't go out. We cook a lot of food at the house. Buy generic brands as well (tastes just as good). Occasionally I'll splurge and go out to eat (maybe 2-4 times a month).
All said, I do actually make more than $12,000 / month. The rest goes into savings. If my car needs an expensive repair, or I feel like buying something shiny, I know I have the money for it. My medical is covered by the military, and I'm still on my parent's phone plan. Included in my rent is internet, and we don't have cable TV at the house (we've got Netflix and Hulu Plus -- really covers all the shows we watch). If I were more reasonable with my car (bought a cheap, reliable beater for a daily driver), I could have my expenses down to around $800 / month (or, under $10,000 per year). That's how I was living when I first moved to Phoenix, actually.
If I had $72,000 / year, I'd be living like a king. You can rent a very nice house in Chandler for about $2,000. My car expenses wouldn't really change. I'd probably spend twice as much on food (eat a little nicer)... That puts me around $3,000 per month. I honestly don't know what I would do with the rest of the money.
Good luck on your move to Phoenix!
$12k/yr tax free? When most people refer to salary they use their gross income. I'm assuming yours is actually higher than $12k/yr gross considering you just showed $12k/yr in expenses for just rent, food and car expense.
You'll be fine. Anyone that cannot make it on $72k in Phoenix only has his or herself to blame. I make it on nearly 1/3 of that.
I think there's a substantial difference between "making do" and "living well" and that's where people have differing viewpoints. Most people want to live comfortably so while it's fairly easy to simply live on $72K/ year, the OP was likely wanting to know how well he can live on that type of salary here.
He asked questions about what city would he fit best in, what lifestyle he could afford, etc. That signals to me that he's aware he'll make a livable salary...just not HOW livable it is.
If you pay $2000/ month for a mortgage payment
$800/ month car payment
$500/ month for food
$500/ month for entertainment
Etc etc...it really doesn't take too long for that $72k salary to evaporate. However if you're paying only $1000/ month for a house, $400/ month for a car, and you're primarily making your own meals and not going out all the time...$72k/ year can go quite a ways.
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The only reason why I posted salary numbers is because I wanted to provide as much info as possible. Beside...I have enough money to repay in student loans for the education I have that any salary always feels like a joke anyway
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