Hi All

Thanks for the great site, it has been very useful when putting together the pieces of our move to NYC.

Our situation is basically as follows
- My partner and I are planning to move to NYC in Feb 2013. My company is transferring me.
- I will be getting a Visa through my company either an E3 (I am an Oz citizen) or whatever the company comes up with and my partner will be applying for a B2 cohabitation.
- We would be looking to move into a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan. From sites like rent hop and street easy it seems the average price in around 2k a month. Is this a good ball park?
- Is the village (east or west) a good (food, safe, atmosphere, easily accessible) place to live? I will be working around 1585 Broadway?

From my rough estimates we would need a salary of around 100k to live well in NYC, taking into account tax, utilities, tv internet. Does this sound reasonable?

Thanks v much!

TM

It's been a decade since my wife and I left NYC, but I'd guess that $2k would be a minimum for rent for a tolerable apartment. I'd also say that $100k will only be enough to survive, not to "live well"; my wife and I had income a little under $100k, but saved 1/3 on our rent by living outside NYC. Even so we were barely keeping our heads above water, meaning we didn't eat out often (and almost never in NYC), we never went to the theater, and we didn't even have cable or satellite TV.

Hi tommcl7 and welcome!

I live in manhattan and can give some perspective -

The Village is one of the most expensive parts in manhattan. East and West have very different feels. the West Village is where all the movie stars live and is very upscale, while retaining a "city" feel. The East Village is where all the youngsters live. It used to be the rough neighborhood, then it became the "hipster" neighborhood, then it became the rich kids neighborhood. It's cheaper than the WV, but can get a bit crowded and noisy - especially at the weekends. I have a friend who lives there keeps getting wound up by the students that sit on his stoop and drink/argue etc... on Friday/Saturday evenings! Most of Manhattan is very safe and the amenities are fantastic - you can get pretty much anything you want any time of the day, seven days a week.

In the nicer parts of manhattan, $2,000 is barely enough to get a studio. I always wanted to live in the West Village, but couldn't afford it, and we have a pretty high household income, almost double the number you mention.

Last time I tried to move there (2008) I couldn't get a one bedroom in the West Village for under $3,000. If you are prepared to walk up five flights of stairs, you can find cheaper - but it is really an expensive place to live.

I ended up in Battery Park City where I got a spacious studio for $2,400. A year later I moved into a 1 bed for a rent of $2,800. These days people tell me the one beds in my area are going for $3,000+

I love the area - it feels a bit suburban, but is 10 mins walk into the heart of the financial district, and numerous subway lines.

Looks like you are working in Times Square. That's easily accessible by a gazillion subway lines. You could look along the 2,3 route (those are express lines) and be able to get to work in 20-30 mins from the upper west side, or downtown in the financial district. Brooklyn too. Upper West Side is very chi-chi, but look further north and you will find prices come down a bit. Try and avoid a major "crosstown" commute. The train lines tend to run north/south (uptown-downtown.) I used to live on 34th street on the east side, and work on 34th Street on the west side. Took me an hour by bus on a bad day. I could walk it in half that time, but the winters get chilly, you know?

Happy to give opinions on any other areas you are interested in...

Is your company helping with rent? One problem I had was getting approved for the lease by the letting agency. The ask you for evidence of income and if it is not 40 x your annual rent, they won't let you have the place. This is more common in large apartment buildings with corporate landlords.
Another place wanted me to pay six months rent to move in because I was on a visa and didn't have a green card.

As to your salary question - it sounds a little low, especially if that is two people living on that one salary. If you are getting help with rent, maybe it's ok. Investigate Brooklyn - the fancy areas include Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights. I'm sure Brooklynites will weigh in.

This is a bit of a brain dump - hope it makes sense!

C

Thanks C -

Thats what I thought, we had some advice from family who had just visited NYC and they recommended the Village. Our second option would be the UWS. I have heard this is a little bit sleepy as opposed to down town?

Ideally we want to be in Manhattan are we dreaming to think we can get by in NYC on this salary? Hopefully company will pay both our medical!

Thanks all for the advice!!

Check out nybits.com, that is one of my favorite sites for apartment searching. It will give you a feel for prices in any given area. Note that doorman buildings are usually more expensive than renting from an individual. Private landlords often post on Craigslist - but watch out for anything that looks too cheap. Scams abound.

UWS is definitely quieter. If you are looking for more action, try the edges of the east village, or lower east side. Not as classy, but more closer to the buzz of the city. Though I wouldn't go too far east into Alphabet City. Look at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village - huge estates on the south-east corner of midtown. More affordable, though a bit of a walk from everything. Pretty middle-class, not like the housing estates I remember as a callow youth in Glasgow!

If you you are comfortable in close quarters, look at studios. Alcove studios have a separate nook for a bed and are pretty common.

Check out the Financial District. There is a lot more rental stock there now. It used to be super-quiet, like the City in London, but now a lot of people live there. It's very convenient for subways as all the lines converge at the bottom of the island.

As to money... well, really you can achieve anything you want if you try. It's hard to generalize out of one person's experience. Here's some data that might help. In 2008 I lived as a single person on 90K and I remember selling stuff on ebay because I was skint all the time. My 4-weekly pay was $5690 after tax, medical was paid by employer, rent was $2435 (for the studio,) Electric $100, Time Warner Cable $150, $500 paying off credit cards/loans, $350pw on food, left me about $300 per week disposable income. Seems not too bad in retrospect, but I might be missing something in there. I remember being tight for money all the time. I had cut my expenses to a minimum: No metrocard (I walked to work) no retirement savings, not much going out.

HTH!

You did mean "monthly", didn't you?

Doh. Thank you.

Hi TM,

You want to confirm that the company will provide medical cover for both of you. Medical bills are ridiculous and you do not want to go without insurance.

As Chrisdc mentioned, you will be able to find a 1 bedroom apartment within your $2k budget, but it may be in a less desirable area, or further from your ideal location. You may find a 1 bedroom apartment in Manhattan for $2k, but it may not be to the standard that you expect.

It's hard to say whether or not you will live "well" on $100k in Manhattan, some people do so on less and some require much more. It all comes down to your standard of living and what you're expecting. You can live cheaply in this city (as many people do), but generally I find the cost of living to be much higher than other comparable cities. Some utilities and bills are quite high, for example cell / mobile phones, TV and internet, etc.

I live in Manhattan, so let me know if you have any specific questions.

I'm a New Yorker and I live on the Upper East side in the East 80's. You can definitely find a one bedroom for $2000 in my neighborhood. Not in a doorman building though. You can also live here for under $100K. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

You will need to check on your health insurance, especially as it relates to your partner. If you are not formally 'married' or have created a legal domestic partnership, then the partner might not be eligible for health insurance benefits from your employer. It varies depending on the provider and the plan you are offered. You're going to have to check with their HR.

As for living "well"--that all depends. $100k in NY does not go as far as it does in many other parts of the country, and some of those who are considered to live "well" in NY often do so on much (much much) larger salaries. You're going to need to pin down the costs for housing and possibly health insurance before you'll have an idea of your disposable income each month and how well you can get by on that.

I totally agree on the health insurance comments. You and your other half can't be without it!

Thank guys. This is really helpful information. Sorry for using the term "live well". We are average Joe's really. No bottling or high end restaurant's unless the situation warrants it. We just want to be able to be part of New York without constantly being broke.

Great advice on the Health care, my company is a large bank who pays for spouses in Singapore, I am hoping the company policy would be the same in all regions. Has anyone had any experience with that specifically?

Awesome to hear about the UES. Happy to live anywhere, what would the daily commute be from, say 80th street on the UWS / UES to Times Square

You guys are awesome!!

Health insurance is specific to a) the company b) the state c) the plan you select and d) your personal situation. It really is hyper-specific to each individual such that you'll really need to talk to the local HR team about the specifics.

Not to delve to personally but are you a legally married couple? Married, or otherwise legally-recognized partners? Just sort of fyi--the use of the word 'partner' in the US is not as common as it is in the UK. It implies domestic partner (either hetero or homosexual) or a business partner. While it also can refer to your spouse, most people don't usually refer to their husband/wife as a 'partner' in formal situations like legal matters.

For insurance policies, you'll basically have a 'spouse' (legally married) or a 'domestic partner' (which has a legal definition and requirements as well, but often implies a partner of the same sex). Whether your insurance covers a 'spouse' or a 'domestic partner' or other is something you'll have to get answered directly from the company, but I believe NYC has requirements that most insurance plans cover spouses and legally-recognized domestic partners.

I have not seen many policies that allow a 'co-habitating partner' with no formal legal connection to you access to your health insurance, though they may exist. In some cases even legal spouses are not offered insurance coverage under a company plan, though I don't think that will be the case in your situation.

It's really going to come down to the specifics of what is on offer.

It depends. 1585 Broadway is about 48th street so you would have to change trains if you live on the East side but it's still an easy commute from either .It would take about 25 minutes from where I live. It also depends on what avenue that you live off of either way as well.

Thanks guys - just got the offer and all looks good.

Can anyone help with the tax situation in NY. Trying to figure out take home pay. Based on a salary of say 75k. I have worked out I would pay 29 cents in the dollar tax. Does that sound correct?

Are the tax's you pay, city, state federal deductible for do they operate independently

Thanks all

T