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My husband and I are considering moving to NYC in the summer. He's american and I am Italian, he got offered a place with the New York teaching fellows, and he'll be making roughly 41,000/usd a year. We have a 2 yr old daughter. I will be out of work and minding the kid full time. The other source of income will be a mere 500-550 usd a month we will be getting from renting our italian apartment.
Although we are very excited for the opportunity, we are concerned about the finances.
Will it be feasible to move and live in New York City on such a low income?
My husband and I are considering moving to NYC in the summer. He's american and I am Italian, he got offered a place with the New York teaching fellows, and he'll be making roughly 41,000/usd a year. We have a 2 yr old daughter. I will be out of work and minding the kid full time. The other source of income will be a mere 500-550 usd a month we will be getting from renting our italian apartment.
Although we are very excited for the opportunity, we are concerned about the finances.
Will it be feasible to move and live in New York City on such a low income?
Any word of wisdom will be much appreciated.
Thanks a mil!
find a source for more income, your income level is a shade over the poverty level and you will have a very tough time of it
Many thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Finding another source of income would be ideal but that would mean sending my daughter to childcare, and everything I would be making would go into travelling and childcare expenses.
Sorry I forgot to mention that we are going to get full healthcare coverage.
Would that change anything?
Many thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Finding another source of income would be ideal but that would mean sending my daughter to childcare, and everything I would be making would go into travelling and childcare expenses.
Sorry I forgot to mention that we are going to get full healthcare coverage.
Would that change anything?
Thanks again
Paola
not really, the health care will be a help but the numbers still are bad, it's doable but there won't be too much left after paying for basic necessities to enjoy yourselves, after taxes you'll have around $34k to spend on basics.
between rent for a place to live and utilities you'll be spending about a minimum of $15k a year.
that will get you a small apartment in a not too glamorous part of the city.
Then you need to eat, that will probably cost at least $5k per year. Then there's costs like transportation and clothing and other things that eat money up.
what are you going to do for furniture? appliances?
I would start looking at www.craiglist.org for NYC and scan the ads for apartments, used furniture and appliances and you'll see what your potential expenses will be.
Yes this is possible to do, but will be very difficult unless you somehow start working.
Does your husband have any family members in the area? If so you should drop the kid off with your relatives so that you work and pull in some extra income.
Just by way of some balance, I moved out of my parents house on an income of $45K, paid $750 for a shared apartment in Chelsea and managed to live ok. I was putting 6% away toward retirement to get my company match but still had money to go out for fun on occasion. I didn't feel deprived at all.
Of course, that was just me, I was sharing utilities and I wasn't supporting a family on it. If I had been, I imagine things would have been very tight. But your extra income from renting the italian apartment should help a bit. I would plan on being very frugal, cutting coupons to save on groceries, buying in bulk when possible, making your husband's lunch every day, doing mostly cheap or free events for fun. Luckily, there is quite a bit to do in NYC for free.
Thanks. We've been reading a lot of these threads and it's heartening to get a personal response of our own for the first time.
...
We aren't scared off yet. We are considering living car-less. I think you were assuming the same. Hopefully living with public transport will be as normal in NYC as it has been here. Will it make the numbers any friendlier?
Mead- Unfortunately, we don't know anyone in the city area who could mind our little one during the days. Our nearest relatives are on the other side of NJ. We've had a little idea though: aside from a background check, what would it take for me to work in the office of a daycare. I have experience in accounts, international business and credit management. Maybe something for another thread... but what do you think?
Anyway, as we won't know where my husband will be working (it could be BK, the Bronx...) can you give us any tell-tale signs of a good or bad area for apt. hunting in either area?
Would getting a short-term lease be smart to start until we know or inevitably just a waste of money on an income this size (41K)?
I assumed you wouldn't have a car :-) Hardly anyone has a car in the city, it's too expensive to keep and park and not really necessary given the readily available public transportation system.
My husband and I are considering moving to NYC in the summer. He's american and I am Italian, he got offered a place with the New York teaching fellows, and he'll be making roughly 41,000/usd a year. We have a 2 yr old daughter. I will be out of work and minding the kid full time. The other source of income will be a mere 500-550 usd a month we will be getting from renting our italian apartment.
Although we are very excited for the opportunity, we are concerned about the finances.
Will it be feasible to move and live in New York City on such a low income?
Any word of wisdom will be much appreciated.
Thanks a mil!
Your husband couldnt find a teaching job in a more affordable locale?
I think everyone was assuming you would not have a car.
If possible, I think the best situation would be to find a year-long sublet (or even a several-month sublet) to start -- one that is furnished with furniture and cookware, etc. (I know that 'furnished' means different things in Europe and the USA so please make sure you understand the difference). Here 'unfurnished' means there is NOTHING in the apartment besides the major appliances like refrigerator and stove; I think in Europe it means there is furniture but no linens - someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
If you get an unfurnished (empty) apartment your start-up costs will be really high. Even if you buy used furniture, it is expensive to transport things in this city. And gone are the days of finding free furniture on the streets as this generally means you will end up with bedbugs . . .
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