Income to move to NYC? Single, childless in my 20s
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Anonymous
| I am considering putting in a request to move to one of my company’s NYC offices, which is highly likely to be granted. I have no affiliation with DC despite being on this forum; I live in the mid-Atlantic currently. I would be willing to live with roommate’s and have no debts. Salary would be in the $75-85k range. Would that be enough? I know there is really intense competition for housing. |
Anonymous
Yes. As long as you have the cash to put down first month’s rent, last month’s and a deposit, and you’re flexible about the apartment, car ownership and definition of what counts as “being in New York,” you’ll be fine. If you have to live in a glamorous tower in Manhattan, you’re doomed. If you’re OK with a cool, frowzy neighborhood in the middle of Queens or Brooklyn, or a place out in commuter rail country, you’ll be fine. If you’re OK with ditching the car and having roommates, you might end up reducing your cost of living below what it is now and actually having more fun. |
Anonymous
| With a gross salary of $85k, your net monthly take home is $5k - that’s before factoring in health insurance, metro card, 401k, etc. Then factor in rent and utilities and basic cost of living (food, laundry). Hidden costs like shampoo, conditioner, and laundry detergent are more expensive. Is it doable? Of course it is, and people certainly survive on less. There is also tons to do there that is lower cost and deals to be had. Husband and I lived there in my early 30s at roughly $300k and found it annoying because everything seemed so expensive compared to DC and we couldn’t save as much as we wanted to. |
Anonymous
OP here. I live in a smaller city at the moment but previously lived without a car okay in a major one, so I could handle that. |
Anonymous
|
I'd have a backup exit plan.
I've lived in NYC since graduating college and while it can be exciting, it can also leave you cold. Community will be hard here unless you want to stick with shallow friendships from work. I have a handful of people I could really call friends and two stretch back to grad school, the 3 others are mom friends made through my children's school. If you are religious, you will find community thru your church or temple. Outside of my mommy and school friend circle, here are the categories of working women I would present to you as templates - -the middle aged are usually childless and past child-bearing age. out of the dating pool due to age or married too late to have children. -I see a lot of younger women at my office who are spinsters in the making - working long hours, living here in the city without meaningful connections, and not exactly earning enough to mix in the high income net worth crowd. -the ones with families are usually married to a high earlier or come from family money. or they commute in from NJ, CT or Westchester and are married to a high earner. or they left the city entirely. |
Anonymous
A lot of people in New York want to skip having families. The secret to having a community, dating and having children in New York is to work at it. Go take classes, support worthy causes, go to the house of worship or secularity of your choice, etc. The bad thing is that it’s expensive and you might be very busy, but the good thing, for bright, educated, quirky people is that there are a lot of them around. And it’s important to define “New York” broadly. It’s hard to bring up kids on a budget in lower Manhattan, but it’s not that hard or expensive, relative to the cost of living, in some of the suburbs out on the commuter rail stops. To me, it feels as if dating in some circles in Washington is much more difficult for someone who’s a little quirky, because people tend to be so much more formal and status conscious. If people in Washington have trouble with their social lives, watch an Amy Poehler show, and think, “I wish I could date those people,” the solution is to move to New York and take comedy classes with those people. Then you’ll know them. And the converse is true. People in New York who are fed up with the Oberlin liberal arts airheads might be better with all of the methodical people with protocol advisors in DC. |
Anonymous
| I moved to NYC in my early 20s and have been here since. NYC was an amazing place to spend my 20s. I spent that decade going out almost every single night with friends, hitting up all the restaurants and bars and museums and cool events that come to town. If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. It's expensive, but it's doable when you're young. Get roommates, live in the lower east side, Astoria or Brooklyn, and you'll be fine. Even now, there are deals to be had. You'll have to live in a sixth floor walk-up with four roommates, but that's kind of the fun of it. You'll spend most of your time out of the house anyway. Be warned that dating is competitive in NYC for women. You have a lot of time, most people here don't get married until they're around 30, but it's something to keep in mind if that's something you want. |
Anonymous
| Just do it! It won't be easier in twenty years with three kids! |
Anonymous
| Well, this is interesting. You’re not from DC, you don’t live here, you’re young, you don’t have kids, and you’re seeking advice from on this forum on moving to ANOTHER city? I’ve seen it all. |
Anonymous
🙄 |
Anonymous
| No way. You cannot live in a decent place in Manhattan on that. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Do it. If you don’t do it now you never will. Being young in New York City is incredible. If you wait to move there ‘till you can actually afford it, well, then you’re too old already to get the real feel. |
Anonymous
Who asked about Manhattan??? |
Anonymous
| You will need roommates and possibly sleep in a bunkbed |