[moot11]

I'll be graduating soon with a sociology degree, and will be looking for a job as a market analyst. The starting salary for that position is around 35-40K. So, I was wondering if it would be possible to live in NYC on that income. If you believe it is possible, how would you go about doing it? Most of my friends suggests that I deff. won't be able to live in NYC with only 35-40k, and I'm pretty sure they're right.

Here is the general budget I set up for myself, I would assume a couple of things on this list would shoot up, if I was to live in NYC, as opposed to middle of nowhere. Let me know if I'm way off somewhere.



Ignoring income tax, which will be around 6k? (I should be in the 15% tax bracket)

Monthly Expenses
1000 - rent
300 - groceries
150 - gas (heating)
100 - electricity
70 - internet (I want a really fast internet...)
100 - cell phone
800 - miscellaneous expenses (shopping, dining, accidents, etc.)
300 - health insurance
50 - public transportation pass
80 - water

Total Monthly = $2950
Yearly = $35,400

[I_broke_a_nail!]

Here is the budget I set up for myself, I would assume a couple of things on this list would shoot up, if I was to live in NYC, as opposed to middle of no where. Let me know if I'm way off somewhere.

Monthly Expenses
1000 - rent
300 - groceries
150 - gas (heating)
100 - electricity
70 - internet (I want a really fast internet...)
100 - cell phone
800 - miscellaneous expenses (shopping, dining, accidents, etc.)
300 - health insurance
50 - public transportation pass
80 - water

Total Monthly = $2950
Yearly = $35,400

RENT

If you plan to live in the city (Manhattan) and you plan to live on your own for $1000, that's going to be very difficult, if not, nearly impossible. If your income is that low, I recommend that you think about Brooklyn. There are some rare places in Brooklyn that a pretty dingy that I'm sure you could live in that is close to $1000 (i.e.: in a 2 tenant house, in someone's attic -- my cousin did this before, live in the tenant housing above a grocery store). I don't believe it's like a slum. It's actually pretty decent for one person, IMO. And Brooklyn isn't as terrible as people say it is. If you could live in the Bay Ridge or Bensonhurst area, that's a thumbs up.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

One fare going one way is $2.00 and there's rumors they'll raise it. (FYI- they raise it pretty frequently). So let's just say, you work Monday-Friday and only go to work and go back home: around 22 work days in one month x $4.00 (going home and to work) = $88.00 at the bare minimum. But what if you want to hang out on the weekend? It's really hard to limit yourself to using on two rides per day on a weekend, REALLY hard. Manhattan blocks are pretty long =(.

That's why we have unlimited metrocard, which is $81/month, which is actually cheaper than getting fare by fare.

GROCERIES

Do you plan to bring food from home to work? If not, and you want to purchase a somewhat healthy, filling meal, you need about $10-$15/day for lunch, because the city really isn't cheap. I'm only a college student and I have to spend that much money on food with no time to make any food for the next day.

Taking into account only lunch, 22 work days x $10/day = $220/month min (or x $15/day max =$330) for lunch alone, given the fact if you buy lunch near your work place. Even McDonalds, if you plan to take that meal plan, is about $8-$10 for a meal.

Now this is excluding breakfast, dinner, lunch or any other foods you plan to keep at home.

MISC.
I don't know about energy, water, and gas -- but gas is pricey, especially during the winter. You might want to look into that.
It may help if you find a roommate or something ... it might help you save some lunch money =)



... damn, I never knew NYC could be so expensive T___T

[Raito!]

it is possible to live with that much salary but you won't be happy and prolly not very healthy ....

you should get a roommate =__=;; 2 or 3 and eat less

which can turn this into this

1000 - rent ---> 550 (its not difficult to find a 3bdroom apt for 1600 in some part of nyc)
300 - groceries ---> 100 (cut down to the basic + roommate, water, cereal)
150 - gas (heating) --> (get a roommate and share) $75
100 - electricity --> (get a roommate and share) $50
70 - internet (I want a really fast internet...) --> (get a roommate and share it) $35
100 - cell phone (get a prepaid phone or switch to cheaper service) - $50
800 - miscellaneous expenses (shopping, dining, accidents, etc.) -> (cut down on shopping, spend $7 per lunch and dinner x 30days) = $350
300 - health insurance --> (ignore insurance, be more cautions) $0
50 - public transportation pass ---> (it might cost more like $81 or something for a 30 day unlimited regular transportation pass)
80 - water --> (get a roommate) 40

cost from $2950 to $1500?

[x0ny]

im wit ya OP haha. I think I'll be making aroud 25K though. But I'll probably cooking at home alot or eat at work (restaurant business). Id love to live in the city myself but I think I'll op for brooklyn for now. I've done alot of research and talk to alot of my chefs about how they survive on a small budget living in big cities (NYC,LA,SF)

SHOPPING: Currently im doing alot of shopping to make sure I dont need to shop for most/anything while im living there. I suggest you try the same so that way you can cut down your monthly shoppin bills there haha.

FOOD: I don't know how you are but I myself am a very low maintainance guy and I made a bunch of recipes for food to last me for months. I.E. cook a large batch of pasta, portion them and then freeze them so when youre hungry you just microwave itll cost you 15$ a week or so.

HEAT: I invested in alot of blankets and sleeping bag also so that way I don't have to use much heating. I sleep on the floor at home in a sleeping bag so I'll probly do the same in NYC. Its comfy for me and layering is always warm. If you have to, get a heat fan.

INTERNET: I'm with you I have no plans for this hahahaha I need fast internet

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: I think its 80 ish for a month, to me thats alot so Im bringing my bike and I will bike to work/places when I can. I was in Tokyo and people there bike everywhere or walk haha Walking is great!

WATER: I've thought long and hard about this. Just save and when you can, bring a gallon or some water bottle and get some public water. As ghetto as that sounds.

I know I make it sound like some sort of crazy urban manVSwild business but im seeing the situation as worst as possible here hahaha. I'm 20 and moving out for the first time....I bet new yorkers here think im crazy or some city noob D:

[aF 1]

I'll be graduating soon with a sociology degree, and will be looking for a job as a market analyst. The starting salary for that position is around 35-40K. So, I was wondering if it would be possible to live in NYC on that income. If you believe it is possible, how would you go about doing it? Most of my friends suggests that I deff. won't be able to live in NYC with only 35-40k, and I'm pretty sure they're right.

Here is the general budget I set up for myself, I would assume a couple of things on this list would shoot up, if I was to live in NYC, as opposed to middle of nowhere. Let me know if I'm way off somewhere.



Ignoring income tax, which will be around 6k? (I should be in the 15% tax bracket)

Monthly Expenses
1000 - rent
300 - groceries
150 - gas (heating)
100 - electricity
70 - internet (I want a really fast internet...)
100 - cell phone
800 - miscellaneous expenses (shopping, dining, accidents, etc.)
300 - health insurance
50 - public transportation pass
80 - water

Total Monthly = $2950
Yearly = $35,400

your rent and utilities = 1400
you could cut that down to 1000 or less if you live with a roommate or if you live in the outer boroughs (maybe even harlem)
its a (relatively) good time to rent in nyc right now
if you are willing to make some sacrifices, you can do it
good luck!

[Stiizy]

Haha dude i live in Jersey City and pay 1400 for a 3 br...

My friend lives in the city and pays 1700 for his 1 br place which is like the size of my living room...

40k salary in the city won't cut it..

Try Jersey...

Commuting costs me about 150 a month..

Food bring from home unless you wanna spend like 10 for lunch daily..

Heat bill is like 200 or more a month..

New York is not cheap at all..

[dot1q]

Although it was 10 years ago, I lived in Queens and had my first out of college job starting at 30k. So given inflation 35-40k should be doable today. As everyone else states, you definitely need to save on housing costs (this includes rent, utilities, etc). Also $800 for misc seems to be a lot. You're going to have to make some sacrifices there as well.

"300 - health insurance --> (ignore insurance, be more cautions) $0"
I assume this is your co-pay for company provided insurance. I STRONGLY urge against this suggestion. Cutting health insurance shouldn't even be a consideration.

Lastly, 40k is not in the 15% bracket (I assume you aren't married). 32k will be 15% and 8k will be at 25%. Also, this is just federal tax. You're forgetting about state tax and yes local tax (nyc has a fairly steep local tax). End of the day, it will come out to somewhere in the vicinity of 25% if you live in nyc.

[Temoin la Nuit]

1000 seems pretty low for rent.. I'm in a godforsaken wasteland in Jersey a couple of stations (40 minutes) away from the city, and I pay 850 for a one bedroom studio.

What's the cheapest you can get a studio for in Manhattan, anyways? Always wanted to move in the future, but all the prices I've seen are ridiculously high.

[dot1q]

Manhattan shouldn't even be a consideration. Look at the other boroughs and suburbs only.

[V12Juice]

Good luck with finding a job in today's market...Let alone a job in NYC.

[moot11]

Thanks for the relies and suggestions everyone. I'm going to look into perhaps living in NJ, or maybe Seattle. But NYC has a lot of market analyst firms, so I thought I'd start there. But after reading these replies, I'm begining to feel like it may not be such a good idea!

@V12 Thanks! Job is not the primary issue, if I don't find work in my chosen field, I have a job as a lab technician lined up (I spent 3 years as a premed major), making enough and finding a place to live will still be my primary worry.

[taiji.]

i think you are spending too much (at least from your list) on rent and utilities. here in california, where the living cost is considered very high (probably as high as NYC), i can still get a room for $600-800 including utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet, etc). i guess if you really want your own place with no roommates, your cost estimation is valid. but with the salary you mentioned, i don't think having your own place would be a smart thing to do. i'd suggest waiting until you make more before you move into your own place.

[UoMDeacon]

The estimate of 1k a month for rent isn't too high, not for NYC. A studio in Queens can run around 1k/month. The only way to get below that amount is to get roommates. I'd say 600-800 including utilities is pretty cheap for any major city.

i think you are spending too much (at least from your list) on rent and utilities. here in california, where the living cost is considered very high (probably as high as NYC), i can still get a room for $600-800 including utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet, etc). i guess if you really want your own place with no roommates, your cost estimation is valid. but with the salary you mentioned, i don't think having your own place would be a smart thing to do. i'd suggest waiting until you make more before you move into your own place.

[Shinobu]

300 - groceries ---> 100 (cut down to the basic + roommate, water, cereal)

$100/month for groceries is definitely doable. I've been living that life.

300 - health insurance --> (ignore insurance, be more cautions) $0

No, anything but ignore health insurance. If something happens and the person ends up in the hospital imagine how much the bill will be. =_= Caution can't avoid the unpredictable.

[colloquy]

The rent seems a little low for Manhattan at least. My cousin lives in the Upper West Side with her father where they've been living 20 years in that apartment, and they pay around $1500 due to rent control, and now it's about triple that. (Very close by Central Park too.) Needless to say, the tenants have sued them twice and are trying to get them out - without any success, but they're still trying. Seems to me a little heartless for a single dad that had to raise his child, currently about 60, and my cousin is working two jobs to keep them going... oh well, money is money.

[taiji.]

The estimate of 1k a month for rent isn't too high, not for NYC. A studio in Queens can run around 1k/month. The only way to get below that amount is to get roommates. I'd say 600-800 including utilities is pretty cheap for any major city.

i don't think you read my entire post. the 600-800 including utilities was the cost for getting "a room." i did say that his estimate would be valid if he wanted to live by himself without any roommates.

[ronmexico]

I'll be graduating soon with a sociology degree, and will be looking for a job as a market analyst. The starting salary for that position is around 35-40K. So, I was wondering if it would be possible to live in NYC on that income. If you believe it is possible, how would you go about doing it? Most of my friends suggests that I deff. won't be able to live in NYC with only 35-40k, and I'm pretty sure they're right.

Here is the general budget I set up for myself, I would assume a couple of things on this list would shoot up, if I was to live in NYC, as opposed to middle of nowhere. Let me know if I'm way off somewhere.



Ignoring income tax, which will be around 6k? (I should be in the 15% tax bracket)

Monthly Expenses
1000 - rent
300 - groceries
150 - gas (heating)
100 - electricity
70 - internet (I want a really fast internet...)
100 - cell phone
800 - miscellaneous expenses (shopping, dining, accidents, etc.)
300 - health insurance
50 - public transportation pass
80 - water

Total Monthly = $2950
Yearly = $35,400

Rent: doable with a roommate, easily doable with two roommates. By yourself this would be tough in an outer borough and impossible in Manhattan.

Groceries: as others have mentioned, there's no way you'd need to spend that much.

Gas: this will probably be included in your rent. I don't know if it's standard, but every place I looked at included gas. And I very much doubt it would be this much anyway.

Electricity: almost certainly too high. Admittedly, I don't have a big apartment and I'm not home all that often, but even in the summer my electric bill isn't much over $60.

Internet: cable+internet is something like $90 a month from Time Warner, which will probably be your only option. Internet alone is presumably less.

Cell phone: I can't imagine you'd have to spend this much.

Misc.: frankly, you're living beyond your means if you're spending this much per month. You could undoubtedly cut this by more than half.

Health insurance: presumably, you're going to get health insurance through your employer. I cannot imagine you'd have to pay anywhere near this much.

Public transportation: a monthly metrocard is $81

Water: like gas, you probably won't pay for this, and it probably wouldn't be nearly this much anyway

It's definitely possible to make it work, but you're going to have to be pretty frugal and probably share an apartment.

[moot11]

@ ronmexico and others, thanks again for the replies. Everyone's posts have been very helpful. The misc. is mostly money I wish to put away and save, if at all possible.

Does anyone have recommendations on finding potential roommates? Craig's lists, perhaps? The reason I wanted to live alone is because a lot of my friends who are now grad students have a ton of horror stories of incompatible roommates that have stolen, broken, etc, their stuff, or caused damages during parities, but it seems like finding a roommate will be the only way to go. I really would like to weed out certain types of people to avoid potential future issues. Maybe I can ask for references or something...

[erincait]

@ ronmexico and others, thanks again for the replies. Everyone's posts have been very helpful. The misc. is mostly money I wish to put away and save, if at all possible.

Does anyone have recommendations on finding potential roommates? Craig's lists, perhaps? The reason I wanted to live alone is because a lot of my friends who are now grad students have a ton of horror stories of incompatible roommates that have stolen, broken, etc, their stuff, or caused damages during parities, but it seems like finding a roommate will be the only way to go. I really would like to weed out certain types of people to avoid potential future issues. Maybe I can ask for references or something...

I've had friends who've had varying levels of success with craigslist. Try roomates.com! You get matched up based on a profile system, which I think makes it more likely you'll find someone who is compatible.

[aF 1]

@ ronmexico and others, thanks again for the replies. Everyone's posts have been very helpful. The misc. is mostly money I wish to put away and save, if at all possible.

Does anyone have recommendations on finding potential roommates? Craig's lists, perhaps? The reason I wanted to live alone is because a lot of my friends who are now grad students have a ton of horror stories of incompatible roommates that have stolen, broken, etc, their stuff, or caused damages during parities, but it seems like finding a roommate will be the only way to go. I really would like to weed out certain types of people to avoid potential future issues. Maybe I can ask for references or something...

Be careful with craigslist
There are alot of scams that look like really good deals