cost of living

[Anonymous]

this is a spin off from the thread about moving to Maine/Vermont.

Someone said that NYC is a great place to live but you need a LOT of money to be able to take advantage of what it has to offer-

Question is, and I know this is purely subjective- what is a LOT of money? I'm going to put out a number that think provides generously in the district- 300k. This way you have enough for a townhome EOTP DC, save fore 529s, retirement and vacations, this is the HHI the I felt like our family of 5 was very comfortable but we also have familial obligations and some student loans . Kids in charters, weeks of summer camp, 1 activity per season, and 1 musical instrument per kid. RE is the big kicker .. so say you go from townhome to a 1800 sq ft coop/condo?

To afford this life- what would be a good household income?

[Anonymous]

Lol, 300K does fine for a rowhouse even WOTP (see glover park).

In Manhattan south of say 110th, I'd want more like 750k, if not even 1M. In good parts of Brooklyn, more like 500k for that lifestyle.

Real estate is primary reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this is a spin off from the thread about moving to Maine/Vermont.

Someone said that NYC is a great place to live but you need a LOT of money to be able to take advantage of what it has to offer-

Question is, and I know this is purely subjective- what is a LOT of money? I'm going to put out a number that think provides generously in the district- 300k. This way you have enough for a townhome EOTP DC, save fore 529s, retirement and vacations, this is the HHI the I felt like our family of 5 was very comfortable but we also have familial obligations and some student loans . Kids in charters, weeks of summer camp, 1 activity per season, and 1 musical instrument per kid. RE is the big kicker .. so say you go from townhome to a 1800 sq ft coop/condo?

To afford this life- what would be a good household income?

That depends enormously on where in NYC you want to live. There’s a huge difference between the Upper East Side and Staten Island, for example.

[Anonymous]

hmm since I said EOTP, not like Bennington say, I guess UWS, Brooklyn or even queens? . Staten Island is more single family homes, my parents friends all lived there or Long Island. Someone where you can send your kids to public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol, 300K does fine for a rowhouse even WOTP (see glover park).

In Manhattan south of say 110th, I'd want more like 750k, if not even 1M. In good parts of Brooklyn, more like 500k for that lifestyle.

Real estate is primary reason.

Can confirm. DH and I made just shy of $1M last year, no kids yet (TTC), own our apartment (UES on Park). We live comfortably, but once we add in a nanny and tuition, I think it will feel a bit tight.

[Anonymous]

DC beltway- 300k

NYC proper - 400k?

[Anonymous]

seems like dc 300k is NYC 1M!

[Anonymous]

with kids, you basically need 2x what you need here

[Anonymous]

I disagree that 1M in NYC = 300K in DC. I think it’s more like 500-600K in NYC = 300K in DC.

You just need to wrap your head around the fact that you will pay more money for a fraction of the space and may never be a homeowner. And you can’t live in the most expensive areas or go to private school. But, having lived in the. DMV, it would be tough to swing private school on 300K in DC anyway. NYC is just a different lifestyle - you have no yard but do have all of NYC at your doorstep. So we don’t spend anything on home repairs or the yard (we call the super!), but we do spend more money on childcare, eating out and entertainment.

I think it’s startling that 2 adults are just feeling comfortable on right under 1 million/year. We have 2 kids, make about 500K and we don’t feel poor at all. That said, we don’t live large, and our kids go to public school (we are in District 2). Not sure why everyone trashes NYC public schools; my neighbor used to live in MoCo and says the UES schools are far more intense than the schools in Maryland. And our early elementary school kids had to get tutored to get them up to speed in public school math when we moved to NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol, 300K does fine for a rowhouse even WOTP (see glover park).

In Manhattan south of say 110th, I'd want more like 750k, if not even 1M. In good parts of Brooklyn, more like 500k for that lifestyle.

Real estate is primary reason.

Can confirm. DH and I made just shy of $1M last year, no kids yet (TTC), own our apartment (UES on Park). We live comfortably, but once we add in a nanny and tuition, I think it will feel a bit tight.

We made the same last year, have two DCs in private school, a small 3-bedroom apartment, and we are barely going to save anything this year. Taxes are half of our income. Private school + nanny + activities and camps for the kids are $200k. Apartment + car + utilities are $150k. So we are left with $150k for food + discretionary spending + saving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree that 1M in NYC = 300K in DC. I think it’s more like 500-600K in NYC = 300K in DC.

You just need to wrap your head around the fact that you will pay more money for a fraction of the space and may never be a homeowner. And you can’t live in the most expensive areas or go to private school. But, having lived in the. DMV, it would be tough to swing private school on 300K in DC anyway. NYC is just a different lifestyle - you have no yard but do have all of NYC at your doorstep. So we don’t spend anything on home repairs or the yard (we call the super!), but we do spend more money on childcare, eating out and entertainment.

I think it’s startling that 2 adults are just feeling comfortable on right under 1 million/year. We have 2 kids, make about 500K and we don’t feel poor at all. That said, we don’t live large, and our kids go to public school (we are in District 2). Not sure why everyone trashes NYC public schools; my neighbor used to live in MoCo and says the UES schools are far more intense than the schools in Maryland. And our early elementary school kids had to get tutored to get them up to speed in public school math when we moved to NYC.

thanks! this is very helpful. I agree, 300k isnt going to get you private in DC either. What about high school? if we moved one of ours would be entering high school, so not already in the system which I think makes. big difference. Where would you recommend we start looking? We have property already so im fine with renting the space we need, there is a certain peace of mind and disposable income that comes from not having to maintain your own home.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that the STYLE of living is different too. If you're in the suburbs you tend to have bigger kitchens and go most places by car. In NYC, kitchens are smaller and you get most places by walking and mass transit. I notice when I'm in the city I eat out a lot more. Takeout more often.