7 ms·
For those of you who live in New York City, what sort of standard of living do these salaries represent? Would one be comfortably be able to lease a 3 bedroom a
by droithomme 15y ago
For those of you who live in New York City, what sort of standard of living do these salaries represent? Would one be comfortably be able to lease a 3 bedroom apartment within walking distance of work, in a neighborhood with good schools?
- hogu 15y agoI rented a nice 1 bdroom within walking distance from work for 3000$ yea ouch. I now rent a nice but tiny 550 sqft 1bdroom for 1900$ 3 bdroom apts are extremely expensive. however the trains are really good, so "walking distance" isn't that important
- bproper 15y agoYeah - you can get a nice size 2 bedroom in Brooklyn for $2500 a month and be 20 minutes from work by train.
- infinite8s 15y agoWhat parts of brooklyn? And 20 minutes to downtown or midtown?
- kai-zer 15y ago3 bedroom would likely be +5k for what you describe in Manhattan.
- droithomme 15y agoThanks very much, so around $60,000 a year gets one a three bedroom. Salaries around $100,000-$120,000 before taxes, after all taxes taken into account (federal, FICA, state, county, local, sales) about $50k-$60k take home, so it sounds like a 3 bedroom is basically not possible.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- angstrom 15y agoRealistically, no. If you have no debt, don't mind 2 beds instead of 3 and not above taking the MTA to work, you could scrape by.
- moreorless 15y agoI think most folks do not aim to just scrape by.
- rdouble 15y agoThree bedroom apartments only exist in television programs about New York.
- maxstoller 15y agoI used to live in a 3 bedroom apartment in Manhattan. They exist.
- rdouble 15y agoWhich one was it? The one across the street from "Central Perk" or the penthouse on 59th street overlooking all of Central Park?
- sliverstorm 15y agoMuch like how in a certain television program, the Pontiac Fiero has a back seat. You know, where the engine is.
- DavidChouinard 15y agoFrom the ever useful Wolfram Alpha: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+index+New+York+vs+San+Francisco http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+index+Ne... Assuming a 50,000$ salary, here's how much you'd need to earn for the same purchasing power in New York: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moving+to+New+York+salary+%2450%2C000 http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moving+to+New+York+sala...
- myf 15y agotransportation is marked 127.5% of average US cost. I wonder if it's from the price of gas and knowing that people don't really drive to work as much in manhattan.
- thetrendycyborg 15y agoYeah, these results seem a bit off. ~$100 gets you an MTA 30-day pass. That's probably less than gas and maintenance for your average monthly commute elsewhere.
- SatvikBeri 15y agoI rent out one room in a 3 bedroom apartment for $1850, half a mile from work. If you're willing to spend 20-30 minutes on the subway each day you can get much cheaper, though.
- droithomme 15y agoThanks very much for all the replies. So 3 bedrooms basically doesn't even exist, but 1 and 2 is available. No answers on the school issues. Is it uncommon then for developers living in New York City to have children? If you have kids, they all go in a single bedroom it seems and there's no room for a home office since there's no third bedroom. If one is single I can see how it all works, but for those of us with kids I am not so clear. Some have mentioned elsewhere in the discussion that the listed salaries were around $20,000 less than realistic. Even with that, it is still substantially less than I make now, and we have a 4 bedroom with enough land for my wife to grow some vegetables and have a couple fruit trees. I've been contacted from recruiters a few times seeking to attract me to Manhattan. They say it is the new tech mecca. I haven't followed up though or priced property in the area. Looking here though, it sounds like talent would take a significant, perhaps monumental salary and lifestyle hit moving to the area. Just trying to understand how people make it work. Clearly it has a strong draw for many people.
- thetrendycyborg 15y agoMost of the developers I know are twenty-somethings. Some of the older devs have kids, but they usually don't live in Manhattan proper. Long Island City, Astoria, Brooklyn, New Jersey, etc, are much preferred. I know only one dev who lives in Manhattan. Commuting is amazingly nice in this area.
- droithomme 15y agoThank you for the specific details. It sounds like those with children just all live in other cities and states. In places I have lived most of my life states are usually a bit farther apart, so the idea of commuting daily from another state sounds strange, but I did do that for a while when I worked in DC. The commute was far from pleasant though! So regarding commuting, what sort of commute is involved for say the people living in New Jersey who work at a tech firm in New York City. Can it be done in 30 minutes? Is there a train that goes straight from one to the other or does one have to drive to a station first, park, etc. How far a walk is it on average from the nearest subway station exist to a tech firm office. Trying to get an idea how many minutes a day the commute would be. Thanks.
- rayiner 15y agoYour work would likely be in Manhattan, maybe in Brooklyn. A 2 bedroom apartment within walking distance of the business districts in midtown or downtown runs about $4,000 a month. 3 bedrooms are available on the Upper East Side, but at that range prices rise exponentially. The only good public schools in the city are the magnet schools. Obviously $8,000 on an apartment isn't supportable on $100k. The compromise most people make is to commute from New Jersey or Westchester (45 minutes to an hour, depending) on the excellent train network. If you're coming from Westchester, this is a very comfortable commute on relatively new trains with WiFi, etc. Schools in these places are very good, and leasing a 3 bedroom house in that range is very doable.
- keeptrying 15y agoNo the math doesnt work for people with kids. But if your single and want to save for that startup - guess where you should go RIGHT NOW? Also I've seen guys get paid 80% more than whats quoted for NYC.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- itsmicks 15y ago3 bedrooms are definitely rare but there are pockets of them around town. I had a 3.5 - 4 bedroom near Columbia off Central Park & 109th and it was huge and affordable ($3300 I believe and one block from the subway). If you're hunting for one, I'd start up there if having the Park as your front yard floats your boat.
- Woost 15y agoI noticed a bunch of people doing the math on a 100k/year salary for a 3br. Presumably, if you need a 3br it's because you have kids and need to give them each their own room. Is everyone assuming the other partner won't help with anything financially? You can come pretty close to the 4-5k/month number for a 3br if your SO/partner is also making ~100k/year. If you're single with kids, or trying to have 1 stay at home 1 working, it'll be much harder, but it's entirely possible to afford if you have two people who are both working.
- sliverstorm 15y agoThe question they seem to be asking is not "Can I afford it" but rather "How much of a quality-of-life hit will I be taking".
- infinite8s 15y agoIf you both are working and you have young children (pre-school age) you will take another $25k hit for childcare.
- aplusbi 15y agoI lived comfortably in a two bedroom in Brooklyn (with a roommate) near a good elementary school on 42k/year. I had a 30 minute commute.