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Wow I had no idea that the NYC ownership is 33% especially since I plan on buying here (just a one or two bedroom condo though). I wouldn't stay in a place that I couldn't buy. But I have seen some decent condos for under 250k. I won't live there forever, but I will be able to rent it out as a vacation property when I am gone hopefully.
And yes, I think a lot of us are fully aware of the fact that people make a lot of money out here and don't always have a lot to show for it...but hey, for some people, that's the way of life. Not me. I'm here because not having a car and renting my second bedroom out to a roommate is helping me come even steven while I get thru college. Living in NYC is something great to do while I am younger. I don't wish to raise kids here or anything like that.
If work here doesn't get better soon, I'm definitely moving...at this point I don't care anymore whether I have a NYC college on my resume (at first I did, because in reality, it does make you stand out). My bf is enrolled at Fordham University but has not been able to go back for the last two semesters because both of us are busy making work a priority....(the programs we are interested in just DON'T fit in work...I'm looking to major in Biology/Nursing and he is looking into Architecture.)
I do know what you mean about buying a house long ago..or having one handed down. What cost 300k 10-12 years ago is now 650k+. It's sad that a 100k salary doesn't even do much for that. I'm not going to say San Diego isn't like this...they are..but in my mind, if I am going to be paying sky high rates on everything...I want some sun, beautiful beaches, happy people, and cleanliness.....It's all personal preference. Someone coming from NYC going to SoCal is going to think it's too "slow" for their taste...and someone coming from SoCal to NYC may think NYC is too "miserable". I can't think of better words. When you get used to either way of living both are HUGE changes.
My father did 20 years in the Navy and applied at a bunch of utility companies..when he was offered a few different positions from about 5 states he ended up picking Erie, PA. (Yes, it's a small & somewhat boring town but he has a nice BIG brand new house and money is no longer an issue for him). He did the math on all of the places offering him different salaries...Arizona, California, NYC, Boston.etc. and he got the most bang for his buck in Erie. NYC was offering him a 100k position but apparently his 65-70k in Erie went WAY further so he decided to take that.
Page 3000, Ive been to Erie, Pa. many times. 70 grand in Erie, would be like making 250 here or more. U couln't even really calculate the difference. I bet he bought a house in Millcreek. San Diego is similiar to here with regards to real estate. People bought ranch homes there in the 1970's for around 70 or so. Now them homes are worth 700 grand or so. It crazy their too. But BEAUTIFUL. And that zoo is AMAZING!
Page 3000, Ive been to Erie, Pa. many times. 70 grand in Erie, would be like making 250 here or more. U couln't even really calculate the difference. I bet he bought a house in Millcreek. San Diego is similiar to here with regards to real estate. People bought ranch homes there in the 1970's for around 70 or so. Now them homes are worth 700 grand or so. It crazy their too. But BEAUTIFUL. And that zoo is AMAZING!
70k in Erie is probably like making 125k+ here. Yes, he actually did buy a house in Millcreek...what a wild guess! While Erie isn't "cultured" or full of "nightlife" I know him and my stepmom aren't complaining.
San Diego is the same thing as NYC. Ridiculously expensive...except San Diego doesn't pay wel until you have a degree. In NYC you at least have a chance before you have a degree, to make $15/hr or more. But yes, it is beautiful, and the weather is fantastic. I really was never grateful for it until I went traveling around the USA and the world @ that.
Page 3000, I wasnt bs'ing when I said that Ive travelled extentisvely and spent yrs on the road. Someone making 70 in Erie , Millcreek is where they'd be living. I know what kinda of $ that 70 a yr, is considered in Erie. I'm sure u did a cost of living comparsion between Erie and here, and that's where u came up with comparision. Believe me though, your old man is in the very top of wage earners in Erie with that salary. We both agree that 125 a yr here, doesnt go really all that far. Im telling u, that 70 in Erie, would go futher and your standard would be way higher than here with a salary of 125 a yr. Them price comparsions aren't completly accurate. Could he buy in the same quality neighborhood, the same quality home, both size and quality, didnt u say it was a new home too? 125 a yr here, buying a nice (not even new) single family home here in a good neighborhood? Comparable to what Millcreek is in Erie. That's why I said u cant really in compare. By the way, Erie Pa., is the cheapest city in the whole Northeast. And NYC is of course the most expensive. And there saying that it's not even a double salary difference. Just trust me when I tell it's more than a double difference. I guessed Millcreek, how many people would have down that? But that's like saying someone who make a million a yr and lives in nyc, lives in Mannhattan. Queens probably wouldn't look as desirable. It's sorta of a giving were he'd be living. U can probaly still get 50 cent drafts in them bars ( local ones, not the tourist ones ) in Erie. Maybe 75 cent now. But u get the idea.
Yeah he is doing very well. He is probably making a little bit more by now. I lived in Erie as well & if you can get a good job there then you are set. And yes, his house is brand new. It's 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a HUGE attic and basement that they are converting into a guestroom...all for about 250-275k I believe. Basically, whatever it cost there, it would definitely cost at least a mill in a neighborhood equally as nice in NYC. People rave about culture..and nightlife..and "glitz", which is all fun & games..but I'm not willing to kill myself for the rest of my life to afford the "culture" somewhere when I could own a huge house somewhere else...its all personal preference. I do decent over here, but like I said..in the end..I need a beach and less pollution.
Page3000, exactly. Now, do you think that someone could afford a home like that on 125 a yr here? No way, period. And nobody has to go to the extreme of smaller towns like Erie. You can live in comfortable is most midsize cities (ones with major sports teams) on salary that are way less than here. There was a famous poet or writer that once said "If you own a rug, you own too much". If that's what someone believes, NYC will defiantely be their kind of town. And if you are with the person u love, anywhere could be ok. Especially if u get to spend more time with that other person instead of working all the time to make ends meet. I have yet to meet someone with a 6 firgure income, who has a 9 to 5 work schedule (no overtime). I'm sure there out there, I just personally never met them.
I'm with the person that I love, out here, and I still refuse to make this my permanent residence lol. He, of course, is a NYC boy and talks about how you can make so much more here....so I have got some convincing to do. It isn't easy talking a NYer out of their city by any means. I'm planning a trip to San Diego soon..I'm going to put in money to make it a memorable vacation and guarantee that he will want to return with me. If not I told him it was nice knowing him. HAHA
page3000, I'm sure in certain fields, u will make more here than u would elsewhere. Even after u factor in the cost of living. I'm sure that a really successful real estate agent in Mannhattan, could do better here than probably anywhere else. The cost of real estate here and the shear volume they would sell, would be hard to beat. That's just one example. But for someone with an average job, like a nurse? How much more would they actually make here? A job like nursing, pays well pretty much all over america. With other places costing way less. In depends on what line of work he's in or going in. Plus, he's got family here. So that makes him leaving even harder. I doubt he'll ever adjust to somewhere like Erie,Pa.. I aint from NYC, and I could never even adjust to Erie. But San Diego, I'm sure he could adjust to that lifestyle. San Diego is way different than NYC. Anything west of Chicago, is a big adjustment if u ask me. Even San Fran, its almost too clean of a city if u ask me. I know that sounds stupid. But believe me, spend some time in one of them BOOM sunbelt cities. Like the big growth areas of Phoenix. It all seems so clean and beautiful at first, which it is. But after a couple months u start to miss the old, dirtier look of the cities back east. I know that sounds stupid. Im sure there are some people that understand what i mean though. Industrial cities have their own kind of charm. That cities like San Fran lack. Like in Florida, a home that's 30 yrs old, looks like crap and outta place. If every thing down there aint brand new, to me, it just doesnt look right or fit in. Where up north, age= character. Homes that are in a housing plan here for 30 plus yrs, the lots are matured and look better than anything new.
Page3000, I wanted to add this too. Last week at was bs'ing to a bartender here in a bar in Flushing. White guy, who was born an raised here in Flushing. I only bring his race up cause most people here are asian. Anyway, he just started bar tending a few weeks ago. He's 42 and has a decent union job at the hospital. Makes 50 a yr there. He told me he took the bar tending gig to help make ends meet. He has no kids by the way. He told me that he stays in NYC, "Cause this is where the $ at". Mabye so, but not for him it aint. 42 aint over the hill by any means, but at what point or how old are u going to be when your SHIP COMES IN? At some point, u have to accept, this is my life, and it probably aint going to change all that dramatic. Meaning, more than likely, he'll never own a penthouse over looking Cental Park. Could happen, not likely though. I always said, that by the time u hit your 30 birthday, unless u are constantly moving up in your career, your life wont ever change all that much. There are exceptions. But, for most people, the first 25 yrs alive, will pretty much dictate how u will live for the last 50 yrs of your life. Study hard and sacrafice= better more affluent life. Dont go to school and hang out on street corners drinking and drugging= tough life and struggle to make ends meet. And i'm not saying that anybody who aint highly educated or making big $, somehow wasted their youth. I'm just generalizing. But if u aint a MOVER and Shaker by 30, chances are, you'll never be.
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