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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does she really want out -- or is she just complaining as everyone in NYC does? I am the PP who moved to DC 4 weeks ago bc I just could no longer deal with a place where a washer/dryer is considered a luxury for which you pay $3500/rent rather than $2500 for a studio (meaning those "little" luxuries that everyone in suburbia are considered true luxury in Manhattan and thus landlords charge about $1000/month more for otherwise crappy apartments).

Having grown up in suburbia -- 10 yrs in an apt without wall to wall carpeting or a thermostat (meaning you have to get up in the night to turn the heat on/off) or a car -- was more than I could take. And yet my friends there think I'm nuts and don't see these "hassles" as a reason to leave the "greatest city on earth."

I think life there is way over rated unless you're making investment banking/hedge fund money you can't make in other cities -- in which case you can afford luxuries.[/quote]

I agree.  NYC is very expensive.  Housing wise comparing market rents, you'll pay 3x as much for similar housing as DC.  Also, bc there are so many people making lots of money in finance which is NYC's main economic engine - being poor (not making investment banking money) is very obvious.  Being poor in NYC sucks more than other places bc it basically means you can't really DO anything - most of the "fun" stuff there is expensive.

The only people I know who do OK on 40K a yr have rent controlled apts that they inherited from their parents:  Think Monica in Friends.[/quote]

+1. The only way I'd consider NYC on 40k -- assuming I had grown up half way decent someplace else (meaning just a car, a washer/dryer etc.) is if I had a rent controlled place or a trust fund or was married to an investment banking MD or the like. There are PLENTY of young people in NYC falling into those two categories, which drives down salaries for all industries besides biglaw and I-banking. There are 35 yr olds willing to work in fashion or non profits or whatever for $30k and are still able to live reasonably well bc of rent control or a trust or a spouse in finance. So employers in those types of industries have no need to drive up salaries -- it's not like they're lacking for candidates so it doesn't matter if they pay a liveable wage or not. If your sister stays in design and stays in NYC, this will be a lifelong problem. I mean she wouldn't always make 40k but even if she jumps up to 60k or 70k in 5 yrs, it'll still be tight -- it's tight on those salaries now and I don't see NYC getting cheaper in the next 5-10 yrs.

You don't say what kind of design work she does, but has she considered a city like Atlanta? Unlike DC it is a city driven by the private sector, not public -- so she may have more opportunities. The creative/arts employment there is growing as it's becoming a hot secondary market for shooting movies and it's always had a music scene. If she's in some kind of design that transitions well to corporate America (i.e. not fashion) maybe in a marketing/PR kind of role -- there are quite a few big employers like Home Depot, Delta, GE. And her COL will be next to nothing. I mean a luxury apartment in Buckhead (just an area of the city where many live) rents for under $2000 for a one bedroom -- we're talking new glass skyscrapers with luxury everything; the kind of place that in Manhattan would easily rent for $4000-5000.[/quote]

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