What can I afford.... with 130K income ?

[babadi]

Yes, agreed. My comment was directed towards eeo, not the OP -- sorry if I was unclear.

[SaintLaurent]

I'm kind of new to New York but if the original poster wants to own a car without high operating costs and a more child friendly suburban lifestye without paying Manhattan prices why not areas in Long Island, Queens, Staten Island and Brookyln?

Everybody in Staten Island and Long Island has a car, and most people in Queens have a car. Why can't you just find a nice house outside of Manhattan? I'm pretty sure you can find a nice detached house and live a suburban lifestyle yet you are still in NYC. You don't have to limit yourself to Manhattan.
Also there are gorgeous areas in North New Jersey that are very close to Manhattan. Who knows, you might come here and land a high paying job and have the means to buy a gorgeous house in areas like Scarsdale, NY, Saddle River or Alpine, NJ.

[Kirill]

Babadi, I totally agree with you, I think "EEO" had an issue with self-discipline and thus cash control. Anyone can shop and go out and pay with a credit card until they are all maxed out, and then blame financial distress on great shop displays and awesome bars and clubs. In EEO’s defense I can only say that in NYC it is a lot easier to get sucked-in into a lifestyle that one always wanted but yet was able to afford. I live in Toronto, Canada, and even here people can get in a lot of trouble if spend without control. I think regardless of where you are, and how much you make you always need to keep yourself under control. It is a lot easier to save a buck than to make a buck.

I recently visited NYC, and stayed with our friends who helped me with a room for few days. I spent time looking for places, familiarizing myself with the areas and great subway system. Here is my conclusion:

Necessities:

Cost of living excluding rent is lower in NYC than in Toronto by approximately 15-20%. In my notion of cost of living includes necessities such as food shelter, clothing (not designers labels) car insurance, cars, cell phone, etc. Rent really depends on the areas, I saw places in NJ, and 10-15 mins north of Manhattan for under 2K / month. Same in Toronto would go for 1200 /month. Taking into account lower cost of living and higher rent in NYC, full cost of necessities is very comparable to one in Toronto.

Luxuries:
No doubt that it is much easier to spend a lot more in NYC than in Toronto. Stores, clubs, restaurants are very inviting and intriguing, however having said that such a variety of places to visit and things to do make it nearly impossible to compare two large cities.

I am yet to find out what kind of live style New-Yorkers try to maintain, but from what I had seen it seemed to be a much more high-class than one in Toronto. May be it is because NY has more fakes, I mean people that wear Gucci and Hugo Boss suites and work as jr. mail clerks spending most of the time in the dusty mail room.

People of Toronto seem to be a more conservative in their spending. Predominantly all cash goes towards a mortgage on a house that no one really needs, and the rest if any gets put to a Canadian equivalent of 401K.

From what I have seen, read, and heard NYC never looked better. Cost of living is the same as in TO, but the opportunities to enjoy life, build a career, and save for a rainy day are enormous.

I cannot wait to move there.

[CanuckLawyer]

Where would you live in NYC? Manhattan, or Queens? I just looove Manhattan.

[LevityNYC]

Come to Brooklyn! You can get a nice apartment in Bay Ridge or Dyker heights for 1200-1500 a month. Its much nicer around here. Hop on the train every day to Manhattan..

We need more Canadians in Brooklyn! (I am Italian, but Canadians are usually really nice people)

Plus you can come watch the Rangers win the 2008 Stanley Cup!!

[Kirill]

I Toronto Maple Leafs will take in 2008 I will live in NY but my team is TML