Why do people sacrifice quality of life to live in NY? (New York: middle-class, rent)
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I’m a single male in my late 20’s and have lived here in Manhattan for several years. I am extremely fortunate to have a job in law that lets me enjoy the city and (almost) all it has to offer. However, even at this income level, I feel like I am sacrificing my quality of life to be here.
I grew up in a suburb right outside a large city in Texas, in a household where neither parent made even a quarter of what I do now. But my parents and two younger sisters live a great life there now: new 3000sqft house, paid-off luxury cars, top public high schools, nice steak dinners any night they get lazy, etc. Their mortgage? $1800. That’s cheaper than most shoebox studios in Manhattan. And although I really like and am thankful for the great 1-bedroom I live in now, the rent I pay is about the same as the mortgage would be on this gorgeous 7-bedroom mansion I’ve had my eye on near my hometown (as an investment).
Now these are obviously extreme examples to prove a point. But I’ve always wondered why people who are making, say under 70k, don’t want to move out and drastically improve their quality of life. Sure, there are more opportunities here, but even taking a huge pay-cut elsewhere (e.g. moving to LA for a career in fashion) would get you a much better life with still incredible prospects. What especially confuse me are families here who push strollers onto screeching and crowded subways. Why not move elsewhere and be able to put those kids in the back of a comfy SUV and have them grow up with a yard to play in?
I understand that it’s not fair to compare a city in Texas to the capital of the world. But what good is it to live here if you can’t afford to enjoy what it offers? Almost anything NY has that other major cities don’t costs a fortune to experience. I'll be the first to admit that Per Se dinners, Broadway shows, partying at Le Bain can be amazing. But how often can you really enjoy that on a 70k salary? I think it’d be more frustrating than inspiring to live in a city with so much to offer but so little I could afford to experience.
What are your thoughts? Does my rambling make any sense or have I gone crazy?
Last edited by GoForBroke; 10-18-2012 at 10:14 PM..
I’m a single male in my late 20’s and have lived here in Manhattan for several years. I am extremely fortunate to have a job in law that lets me enjoy the city and (almost) all it has to offer. However, even at this income level, I feel like I am sacrificing my quality of life to be here.
I grew up in a suburb right outside a large city in Texas, in a household where neither parent made even a quarter of what I do now. But my parents and two younger sisters live a great life there now: new 3000sqft house, paid-off luxury cars, top public high schools, nice steak dinners any night they get lazy, etc. Their mortgage? $1800. That’s cheaper than most shoebox studios in Manhattan. And although I really like and am thankful for the great 1-bedroom I live in now, the rent I pay is about the same as the mortgage would be on this gorgeous 7-bedroom mansion I’ve had my eye on near my hometown (as an investment).
Now these are obviously extreme examples to prove a point. But I’ve always wondered why people who are making, say under 70k, don’t want to move out and drastically improve their quality of life. Sure, there are more opportunities here, but even taking a huge pay-cut elsewhere (e.g. moving to LA for a career in fashion) would get you a much better life with still incredible prospects. What especially confuse me are families here who push strollers onto screeching and crowded subways. Why not move elsewhere and be able to put those kids in the back of a comfy SUV and have them grow up with a yard to play in?
I understand that it’s not fair to compare a city in Texas to the capital of the world. But what good is it to live here if you can’t afford to enjoy what it offers? Almost anything NY has that other major cities don’t costs a fortune to experience. I'll be the first to admit that Per Se dinners, Broadway shows, clubs in Meatpacking are amazing. But how many can you comfortably enjoy a year with a 70k salary? I think it’d be more frustrating than inspiring to live in a city with so much to offer but so little I could afford to experience.
What are your thoughts? Does my rambling make any sense or have I gone crazy?
It makes perfect sense but tell that to your fellow Gen Yer counterpart from Tabernacle Iowa he or she will think differently and will pay top dollar to fit their lives in a shoe box. Your kind of people hate the suburbs for what it is and prefer cities like NY, DC, Seattle, Boston and Austin. Think is that when your kind of people mature and become wiser some question if they should stay in a city like ny to raise kids while some suggest its off to the suburbs for better housing stock and superior public schools.
Last edited by Bronxguyanese; 10-18-2012 at 10:37 PM..
If I were single with no kids and making 70k I would have no trouble at all enjoying living in New York City and I wouldn't have to sacrifice a single solitary iota of "quality of life" to do it.
I'm not trying to be rude, but if everything you've said above is true and you're concerned about your quality of life, then you're really doing it wrong.
I’m a single male in my late 20’s and have lived here in Manhattan for several years. I am extremely fortunate to have a job in law that lets me enjoy the city and (almost) all it has to offer. However, even at this income level, I feel like I am sacrificing my quality of life to be here.
I grew up in a suburb right outside a large city in Texas, in a household where neither parent made even a quarter of what I do now. But my parents and two younger sisters live a great life there now: new 3000sqft house, paid-off luxury cars, top public high schools, nice steak dinners any night they get lazy, etc. Their mortgage? $1800. That’s cheaper than most shoebox studios in Manhattan. And although I really like and am thankful for the great 1-bedroom I live in now, the rent I pay is about the same as the mortgage would be on this gorgeous 7-bedroom mansion I’ve had my eye on near my hometown (as an investment).
Now these are obviously extreme examples to prove a point. But I’ve always wondered why people who are making, say under 70k, don’t want to move out and drastically improve their quality of life. Sure, there are more opportunities here, but even taking a huge pay-cut elsewhere (e.g. moving to LA for a career in fashion) would get you a much better life with still incredible prospects. What especially confuse me are families here who push strollers onto screeching and crowded subways. Why not move elsewhere and be able to put those kids in the back of a comfy SUV and have them grow up with a yard to play in?
I understand that it’s not fair to compare a city in Texas to the capital of the world. But what good is it to live here if you can’t afford to enjoy what it offers? Almost anything NY has that other major cities don’t costs a fortune to experience. I'll be the first to admit that Per Se dinners, Broadway shows, clubs in Meatpacking are amazing. But how many can you comfortably enjoy a year with a 70k salary? I think it’d be more frustrating than inspiring to live in a city with so much to offer but so little I could afford to experience.
What are your thoughts? Does my rambling make any sense or have I gone crazy?
Because everyone has different criteria for what they consider their "quality of life" and it may not be the same as yours. I am probably a good example.There is no way on earth that I would consider it an improvement in my quality of life to move to someplace like Texas,live in a McMansion and drive an SUV.I'd have to slit my wrist first.
Moving to Rome might increase my quality of life but Texas ? I don't think so.
Because everyone has different criteria for what they consider their "quality of life" and it may not be the same as yours. I am probably a good example.There is no way on earth that I would consider it an improvement in my quality of life to move to someplace like Texas,live in a McMansion and drive an SUV.I'd have to slit my wrist first.
Completely agreed. I'm just surprised that there are this many people (as evidenced by the constant inflow into NY) who think that the low-middle income NY lifestyle is more ideal. Equally surprising is how quickly that mindset is spreading.
I've also never seen having a yard for your kids and instant freedom of transportation as things that would induce people to slit their wrists.
And again, I gave anecdotes and examples to share my point. I'm not in any shape or form suggesting anybody move to Texas. Feel free to replace my hometown in Texas with almost any major city in the U.S.
70k was clearly arbitrary. What about 50k? 35k? The number isn't really the point.
The point is you could do so much better elsewhere. Comparing what you sacrifice by leaving NY vs. the major boost in your quality of life.
I think the number is quite important actually, because if you're making 70k then the world will be your oyster pretty much anyplace in the USA.
As for the rest of those figures they'll be less elsewhere. If you're making 50k as a retail store manager in New York City, you'd probably be making 30k doing the same job at where you're from in Texas.
But I think I see what you're getting at and my answer would be that for a lot of people just being in New York brings a lot of quality of life itself. You can enjoy some great parks, take long walks and retrace the steps of some of the most important people and events in the history of the world...there's a lot to do that doesn't necessarily require you to be spending money in hip restaurants or clubs.
Just like anyplace else in the world, if you live within your means and learn how to make your own fun you'll have a great "quality of life". To me that's not necessarily something you can measure in dollars and cents...I'd rather be living a middle-class life in New York than live a high-class life elsewhere because I love New York, it's the place I want to be. That in and of itself answers any doubts I have about my quality of life.
Completely agreed. I'm just surprised that there are this many people (as evidenced by the constant inflow into NY) who think that the low-middle income NY lifestyle is more ideal. Equally surprising is how quickly that mindset is spreading.
I've also never seen having a yard for your kids and instant freedom of transportation as things that would induce people to slit their wrists.
If you are surprised it means you don't understand and if you don't understand why do you bother to stay ?
I wouldn't stay if I felt as though my quality of life were diminished.
The reason why there is a constant and growing inflow into NYC is because there are millions of people who grew up in the kind of environment you are wanting and they were bored to death.It's similar to what happened in the mid 20th century but in reverse and for different reasons.
Topics like this are so subjective, its almost not even worth trying to analyze it. What constitutes quality of life varies greatly from person A to B.
Person A may not be able to survive without the museums of NYC, and the ability to look out their window and see a skyline.
Person B may be completely uninterested in a skyline, and instead wants to look out on a vista of rolling fields of corn, just past their well manicured lawn.
Neither is right or wrong, but each side will seemingly argue to the death that their views are "better". It's weird. It's like arguing that tacos taste better than pizza. Uhhh, okay.
Anyway, not saying the OP is doing any of this, it just brought it all to mind for me.
I think the number is quite important actually, because if you're making 70k then the world will be your oyster pretty much anyplace in the USA.
As for the rest of those figures they'll be less elsewhere. If you're making 50k as a retail store manager in New York City, you'd probably be making 30k doing the same job at where you're from in Texas.
But I think I see what you're getting at and my answer would be that for a lot of people just being in New York brings a lot of quality of life itself. You can enjoy some great parks, take long walks and retrace the steps of some of the most important people and events in the history of the world...there's a lot to do that doesn't necessarily require you to be spending money in hip restaurants or clubs.
Just like anyplace else in the world, if you live within your means and learn how to make your own fun you'll have a great "quality of life". To me that's not necessarily something you can measure in dollars and cents...I'd rather be living a middle-class life in New York than live a high-class life elsewhere because I love New York, it's the place I want to be. That in and of itself answers any doubts I have about my quality of life.
Thanks for the post -- helps add perspective. I guess I just don't really appreciate a lot of things that many NYers do (e.g. retracing steps of important people).
But I would argue that, depending on your criteria, there are much better parks in other cities/states (Cali come to mind).
And I'm definitely not saying that my quality of life here sucks. It'd be a huge joke if I did -- I'm just comparing it to the life I/any other person could be living in other major cities in the U.S. And the difference is staggering, IMO
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