How well could i live in manhattan making a $200,000/yr salary? (New York: apartments, HOA fees)

[xEricax]

If I wanted to raise a family (2 kids) in manhattan, how well could I live making $200,000 yearly (not including husband's salary)? How much would I have to make to afford a $2 million home?

[coolwaves]

How much do you make now?

[john_starks]

you'll live well - just don't expect what you see on bravo

i'm assuming UES or UWS

[asianktn]

200k is comfortable IMO for New York, definitely not Bravo lifestyle. Questions like "How much would I have to make to afford a $2 million home?" are kind of vague. What kind of home are we talking about? How much do you spend proportionally for other expenses/upkeep that go into a house or lifestyle like that? HOA fees? Schools in the area? Instead of looking at the cost of the home, why not make a tally of how much your living expenses are first, and then see what you can put down for a home.

[mikester007]

This is so relative. The more you have saved up, the less you have to make. Case in point: if you have an inheritance of $2 million, you don't have to make anything!

[jcoltrane]

What others are alluding to is that there are a LOT of vagaries which go into what one can afford; and you have provided very little.

How well do you *want* to live?

Is $2M the purchase price, or the mortgage amount?

Let's presume a mortgage price. So that is 10x your annual income.

With the cost of 2 kids, and the lifestyle that goes with such an apartment in NYC, private schools, housekeeper, etc

You could not afford it!

$500K to $1M w/b a more reasonable mortgage amount. Though, Manhattan w/b less affordable with 2 kids. The boroughs or suburbs w/b a better option to live a SOLID middle class life.

Then again it is all how one utilizes their income. A big downpayment, say $500K can alter things.

All said, $200K is marginal for an average below 96th Street lifestyle. That is, for what passes as Manhattan middle class. The cost of the kids will just kill ya!

[Kefir King]

Alas,

You will starve to death after you finish your last package of Maruchan Ramen.

[BrownstoneNY]

$200k is not close to enough for a $2M home. $2M will be monthly payments (mortgage, common charges/maintenance) of ~$12k a month, or $144k a year. To afford that after taxes and still have a lifestyle commensurate with a $2M home, you'll need around $400k/year before taxes. $200k/year will not even be $144k/year after taxes.

[hutais]

Too be honest $2M does not buy anything over the top on the UWS or UES. I live on the UWS (rent) and some of the newer apartments on Broadway are starting at $1.6M for a 2 bedroom apartment only!

[Guyanese]

i'd call 200k in manhattan poor