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[quote=Anonymous]OP your friends clearly are getting family help, but I always felt like people in biglaw or finance in NYC live larger than people in those same fields in other cities who are making the same money -- at least that's what I was seeing in my associate yrs (which were 5 yrs ago). I think it's a combo of things. The hours are longer. Life is harder -- when you lug your laundry down to the basement and find all 7 washers are taken; or you can't get a cab to save your life bc they're all off for shift change or it's raining (I know uber has changed things); or you find a cab and said cab gets stuck in traffic and runs up your fare $40 higher than expected; or your $2500 month/studio springs a leak bc your building never actually does any maintenance and your landlord shrugs and says he'll get to it when he gets to it and in the meantime you have no place to go bc you live in 1 room.

I think bc of these daily non stop conveniences on top of LONG hours, people who make money are much more of the -- eff it, life is hard, I'm going to enjoy myself -- attitude. So LOTS of money is spent out at restaurants and bars. Lots of last minute vacations whenever work allows -- paying top dollar for last minute flights and 5 star accommodations wherever you're going. There's not just the same sense of planning there as I've seen living in DC, Philly etc. where people are actively saving for down payments, maxing out 401ks, paying down mortgages etc. I think it's in part bc it's an expensive, hard to live place -- people compensate by living large to make themselves happier and if that means 5k/yr goes into the 401k instead of 18k, oh well.

I mean I was surprised as a 5th yr associate, how many of my peers hadn't STARTED a 401k yet. At age 31. And these were not people who came from money and didn't have to consider savings . . . .[/quote]

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