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you'd be surprised at how small that number really is, all those high priced restaurants aren't empty, all those high priced boutiques seem to pay their rent, that small number is much larger than you think, just because you're not part of that crowd doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
the fact remains that it's not nearly as ubiquitous as jason_els suggested, such that the o.p. doesn't need to freak out and drop over 10k just to find a business job.
It is insane to suggest that a person can't raise kids here for less than 300,000 a year. Not all of Manhattan is Midtown or below. A colleague from work has two kids 8 and 12, and lives in Inwood, which is technically still Manhattan. He and his wife probably combined make about 110,000.
We should take a poll on this site. How often do the people on this forum pay $22 for a Martini.
"I'd travel there and go get a haircut from a hip salon, manicure, makeup consultation, a good facial, and drop some absolutely obscene money "
Yes, this is the paragraph I have trouble with. Why should someone go and spend absolutely obscene money, just to see how they like NY? It doesn't make sense. I have friends who attended top business schools (Columbia and the like) who subsequently got jobs -- very high-paying jobs--in Manhattan. In the time I spent with them in the city, I never had the sense they were "dropping absolutely obscene money" on the things described.
In fact, one of my friends who got her MBA at Columbia and lives and works in Manhattan does her fair share of supporting her immigrant parents and I think her income probably does not go towards trivial and obscene things. She has an amazing employment history too, so I don't really think not having an obscenely expensive handbag from the right store has hurt her. Granted, she does dress well, just not trendily or obscenely well.
Also, in all the time I have been involved in student services (and been around career advising) at elite graduate schools, I have NEVER heard someone recommend to a woman that she go buy an obscenely expensive handbag so that she can impress the interviewer with her response when (IF) they happen to ask her where she got it.
We left NYC two years ago because we couldn't afford to live there. My husband was making $300K a year but that was not enough to support a family of three comfortably. We lived in a one-bedroom apt. on the Upper East Side (rent was $2700/month) and could not afford to move to a two-bedroom since we would have to pay anywhere from $4000 to $6000 a month to rent or 1.5 to 2 million to buy.
Everything in Manhattan seems to cost more than everywhere else (except manicures, those are quite reasonable). If you have a car, plan on spending $300 to $500 a month to park it, depending on the garage. It is not necessary to have a car if you live in Manhattan however, which is one of the things I love about the city.
I've been gone two years but my husband travels to NYC frequently on business. He says things are more expensive than when we left. He went out for drinks with clients last week and the martinis were $22.
We have a plan to move back to Manhattan in about four years when we are financially able to do so. It is expensive to live there but since leaving I have come to the conclusion that it is worth every penny. Once you fall in love with the city it really is hard to live anywhere else. So don't give up on your dream of living in Manhattan. Just put yourself in an adequate financial position before you make the move.
I bring in about $60k, my roommate would be making about $50K - impossible to make it on those combined wages in Manhattan?
I bring in about $60k, my roommate would be making about $50K - impossible to make it on those combined wages in Manhattan?
you and your roomie do not live a lifestyle that a traditional family would live and consequently you don't have the same expenses they would have, you know, mom, dad, 2.3 kids etc., sure rent and utilities are about the same but for a family to live a decent lifestyle in manhattan on $110k a year is hard.
Sure you could live or what I call just getting by living in some decrepit building way uptown or on the lower east side and going out would be a sit down at the chicken place around the corner and recreation would be going to free events in the park but to many people that isn't living well.
I left NY to have a family because I realized that middle class in manhattan doesn't work out too well, Outside of manhattan and nyc with that same
110k a year a family can have a decent sized home, afford to go out in style once in awhile and still have a few bucks left over for some fun.
My guess is that in order to live what I think a good lifestyle in Manhattan would require at least 250k a year.
If it takes 250K a year to live a "good life" in Manhattan, what would it take to live a similar life in North Carolina or Iowa? 125K? I can tell you from experience that most people in those places aren't making near that kind of money. Perhaps Kort677's standards are so far beyond the norm, that he or she isn't really a reliable source.
I'm not saying that you can replicate exactly the life you have in Pittsburgh in NYC for that money. Not close, but that is part of living in NYC. If it is your dream, then you won't mind some minor cut backs.
If it takes 250K a year to live a "good life" in Manhattan, what would it take to live a similar life in North Carolina or Iowa? 125K? I can tell you from experience that most people in those places aren't making near that kind of money. Perhaps Kort677's standards are so far beyond the norm, that he or she isn't really a reliable source.
I'm not saying that you can replicate exactly the life you have in Pittsburgh in NYC for that money. Not close, but that is part of living in NYC. If it is your dream, then you won't mind some minor cut backs.
you could live nicely in most places outside of NYC for half of what it would cost in NYC.
if you moved to Iowa or other mid west towns it could be done for under
100k, in places like that a huge home can be bought for less than 200k, and things like utilities and insurance are less costly, but you give up a lot in the way lifestyle.
In NC your home costs are lower than the NYC region but everything else costs about the same, to live a comfortable life over 100k would be needed.
Like I said in my original message, you don't need 250k to live in manhattan, you can live in an old building way uptown or on the LES and if you don't go out too often, depend on freebies for entertainment, go car less it can be done for less, and if you want to live in a 1500 sq ft shack in a sketchy small town in NC you can do that on 50k a year.
but we've been discussing a "normal" middle class lifestyle, nice homes, going out for a dinner and a show once in awhile, having a car, maybe a vacation and for that lifestyle in manhattan you cannot do it on 100k a year, between rent, taxes transport, basic food and utilities, expenses you cannot avoid you won't have 1 cent left over from that 100k for any of life's niceties.
you'd be surprised at how small that number really is, all those high priced restaurants aren't empty, all those high priced boutiques seem to pay their rent, that small number is much larger than you think,
I Have a question why do all of these high priced boutiques, restaurants, and night clubs which charge $22 dollars for a martini go out of business every 9 months and the spot is left empty for another 9 months until something else fills the Spot? Something is not kosher babi!!! I think Most residents max out on tourist visas and credit cards then all of a sudden they disappear and never return!
I Have a question why do all of these high priced boutiques, restaurants, and night clubs which charge $22 dollars for a martini go out of business every 9 months and the spot is left empty for another 9 months until something else fills the Spot? Something is not kosher babi!!! I think Most residents max out on tourist visas and credit cards then all of a sudden they disappear and never return!
One has nothing to do with the other, business at all price points come and go for many varied reasons.
have you ever been to Tiffany's, saks, bloomies, barney's, check out madison ave in the 60's and 70's, those stores have been catering to the big money crowd for many years.
I know it's a very foreign concept to many people but there are a lot of people who have a lot of money, more than me and more than you and just because you don't live in that world doesn't mean it isn't there.
..if you want to live in a 1500 sq ft shack in a sketchy small town in NC you can do that on 50k a year..
Actually I know lots of people who live in 4 bedroom brick homes in nice neighborhoods of middle size cities in NC for that or a little more. I had a three bedroom brick with carport on half and acre in a neighborhood with covenants etc in one of the fastest growing cities in NC. We did it for about 55k, with plenty to spare.
"normal" middle class lifestyle, .[/quote]
If a person's goal is to live in Manhattan, you kind of throw out the Normal part. There "ain't nothing" normal about Manhattan. If you want a Pittsburgh lifestyle, then stay there. If however, you want to experience Manhattan, than make the sacrifices and do it.
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