LA or NYC, which city would I make more money? (Irvine: best city, apartment)

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by jm1982

I agree with the idea that you shouldn't just base where you live solely on how much money you can make.
Of course if you were in the financial/stock market field then NYC seems to be the place to be...just like L.A would be the place to be in the entertainment industry...although there are other markets that are doing that.
Perhaps a better example would be like the SF Bay Area for the tech industry.

Housing in NYC is going to be more expensive per square ft, probably older, less amenities too.
Other things will end up costing more too.
One advantage to NYC though would be that you can get by without a car. Cars are a big expense. Even if you have a used car. Once you add up insurance, gas , maintenance, etc.

LA has finance/stock market too. Smaller than NYC, but if you really like LA and want to work in finance you can do it.

Conversely while LA has Hollywood, NY has the second biggest entertainment sector in the country. So you can live in NYC and work in the entertainment business if that is what you really like.

So a person should focus more on what city they want to live in and what conditions they want to live in.

There is a lot of new housing in NYC with lots of amenities and it is going to be very expensive. Older housing in NYC is a lot cheaper, especially if it is upper Manhattan or the non hipster parts of the outer boroughs.

Neither city is that expensive. Huge parts of the city have lots of immigrants and are reasonably priced. Now of course if you insist on living in the whitest, richest areas is where you will run into huge affordability issues. But to me that is a person's own stupidity, not LA or NYC.

[owl6969]

Originally Posted by PDR2015

Without even checking, I would say LA is better for an accountant. NYC living is not sustainable for most professionals less they work in finance (banking and trading), law, tech, mgmt level... Do you have your CPA?

don't think nyc has a whole plethora of tech jobs

then again its a huge city

[jm1982]

Yes I agree. It doesn't really matter how big an industry is or how many people work in that industry...if you can actually find a position in that industry.

People (usually) just need one job.

I agree with you, the media often talks about the most expensive parts of town in all cities.

You often here people saying Miami is expensive..but I've been and worked there and I know for a fact one can buy a place for a reasonable price. Sure the brand new luxury highrises that are sold to rich South Americans,etc are super expensive and over $1000sq ft ...but not too far away you can buy a home under $150k.

I honestly don't know much about the NYC area..but there seem to be reasonable places in neighboring New Jersey.
I think if I wanted to take advantage of an NYC job I'd be looking to live in those areas to buy in ..instead of renting in a cool part of Manhattan.
Everyone is different though.
In L.A I moved to an area where a lot of people wouldn't consider and bought a place.
15 year mortgage on a 1700sq ft house is now less than what i'd pay renting a 1bedroom.
No it's not a hip area..but I can be in several hip areas in under 15 mins or so.
Or in the case of NoHo Arts District..about 10 minutes.

There are other advantages too like not having to pay for parking all the time or dealing with insane street traffic.
There's also pretty much zero snobby people in this area as they are mostly working class people or immigrants just living life and getting by.
So while I often wish the area was nicer and cleaner , there are negatives that come with that too if you think about it.
Not everything is just good or bad.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by owl6969

don't think nyc has a whole plethora of tech jobs

then again its a huge city

Looks like their tech industry is growing.
New York City’s Tech Boom Continues | TechCrunch

Also as I mentioned in my other post...you just need one job usually.

[owl6969]

Originally Posted by jm1982

I honestly don't know much about the NYC area..but there seem to be reasonable places in neighboring New Jersey.

I believe you're right nj is a lot cheaper depending of course. Wouldn't want to live there.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by owl6969

I believe you're right nj is a lot cheaper depending of course. Wouldn't want to live there.

I had heard about this area being pretty hot now. It's not that far from Manhttan..but properties are a fraction of the cost.
Prices seem to be cheaper than most of L.A

Union City,NJ .
Union City NJ Real Estate - 302 Homes For Sale | Zillow

Some of the places have really nice views of NYC like this one for example

380 Mountain Rd APT 2012, Union City, NJ 07087 is For Sale | Zillow
It would be hard to find a 2/2 1300 sq ft condo in L.A for that price.
I'm sure the same place in Manhattan would be at least 3X as much.

[Fiona8484]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Looks like their tech industry is growing.
New York City’s Tech Boom Continues | TechCrunch

Also as I mentioned in my other post...you just need one job usually.

Agreed, NYC does have quite the tech scene and it is the biggest city in the US of A. When we were looking to leave the Bay, MANY tech opportunities were there (unfortunately that wasn't our cup of tea).

[socal88]

Both cities are expensive but it depends on what part of each city you live in. If you live in Manhattan, the COL is very high to the point where making 100K/year isn't a big deal. Even Brooklyn is getting pretty expensive. In terms of space, a 2K/month apartment in LA will have more sq. ft. than a 2K/month apartment in most parts of NYC. I think your dollar may stretch a little farther in LA but it depends on what particular neighborhoods within each city you look at.

It also depends on what you value and your lifestyle preferences. If you want to be in a hustle bustle metropolis where you take a lot of public transit and have a lot of amenities in close range, NYC might be for you. While LA has some of NYC's big city qualities, it is a bit more laid back and a more spread out area with geographic diversity.

Money shouldn't be the sole driving factor. While money is an important factor, you need to see what city suits you and whether you could see yourself enjoying living there. You don't want to be in a position where you might be making a little more money in one place over another, but dread living there.

[John_marts]

Originally Posted by jm1982

I had heard about this area being pretty hot now. It's not that far from Manhttan..but properties are a fraction of the cost.
Prices seem to be cheaper than most of L.A

Union City,NJ .
Union City NJ Real Estate - 302 Homes For Sale | Zillow

Some of the places have really nice views of NYC like this one for example

380 Mountain Rd APT 2012, Union City, NJ 07087 is For Sale | Zillow
It would be hard to find a 2/2 1300 sq ft condo in L.A for that price.
I'm sure the same place in Manhattan would be at least 3X as much.

Union city isnt particularly nice at all. Keep in mind the rougher looking areas on the east coast are much uglier than the rough areas in LA. A nice area across from NYC is Hoboken and the rent in Hoboken has sky rocketed, more expensive than LA, and still nowhere near as nice compared to the nice parts of LA.

[brrabbit]

I personally would never live in NYC (and NJ), Boston (anywhere in MA), Washington DC and Nevada. LA is acceptble in my books.
But my decisions aren't based on salary on cost of living or average salary or job availability, just personal preferences.