pejpm1

Hi, I'm moving to NYC in April and my HR department have told me how much they are willing to pay. I am 25 so obviously want to be able to afford to go out at night, I'd like to live in Manhattan (hopefully east village/union sq) and had factored in a rent of between 2 -2.5k per month. My girlfriend who is a USC will be moving with me so she'll be working as well, but she doesnt have a job right now so I cant really take her salary into account as she doesnt have one but she will do. What kind of salary do you need to be earning to live fairly comfortably in Manhattan? I've spoken to a couple of people who have told me that I'll need at least 150k -200k just to be able to live comfortably in a very small 1 bed!! I'll be earning about 90k + bonus of roughly 30-40%....does this sound OK for Manhattan? I thought it seemed pretty good so I pretty much agreed to it straight away, but now I'm really worried!! Dont meen to be obnoxious, I wouldnt normally mention money but I need straight advice!

Thanks

Patrick Hasler

Salary in NYC muct be extreemely high

It's the only place where even a waitress in a cafe can afford a Manhatten apartment ..... according to Friends

YankeeDaz

See http://www.bls.gov/ro2/qcew9310.htm

Considering the average weekly wage is supposed to be $2,821, which basically equates to $135k a year, I think your HR department is shafting you.

$90K seems very low to be living in Manhattan, from my quick research and remember 'bonuses' always have strings attached.

If your girlfriend was earning the same amount then I'd say do it, but if it's just you then I recommend you don't.

HTH
Darren

Cape Blue

Your $90K + 30% bonus will give you a take-home pay of around $6,000 pcm (or about $4,500 pcm plus the bonus when it comes). You are right on the rent - 2-2.5K for a two bed, you may want to try and trim that and aim for a one bed (assume you use craigslist.org manhattan for flats - $1850 for one bed in East Village).

Before the bonus pays out, you will have around $2,000 pcm to live on - not a kings ransom in NYC but I don't think you will go hungry. When your partner gets employment you will be pretty comfortable. With the bonus you have $3,500 pcm - I'm sure you will find a way to work your way through it.

Don't forget to get the company to pay for your health care - otherwise it'll be a couple of hundred per month.

Don't forget that whilst NYC is quite expensive to live, many things in the US are a lot cheaper than the UK.

Good luck - you'll have a great time.

YankeeDaz

Good healthcare will be more than a couple of hundred a month, if you're paying yourself! $1k+ is more likely!

NYC is twice the national average, with cost of living, so the prices will be more on par with the UK.

http://www.stlrcga.org/x436.xml

Darren

Cape Blue

I was assuming a typical 80% employer 20% employee - and suggesting he try and get them to pay for the employee fraction as well.

NYC's high cost of living is predominantly based upon the rent that we have already discussed - Brits fly over from the UK to shop in NYC as the merchandise is still quite a lot cheaper.

penguinsix

I think $1,000 would be a family plan. A person 25 years old could get a cheaper plan by half I'd say, given a slightly higher deductible and copay as they aren't that likely to be in the hospital. Of course it depends in large part on your current health situation.

pejpm1

The bonus is pretty much guaranteed, so i'm not worried about that. It's a transfer, not a new job so I'm used to the bonus, it's a major part of the package.

Thanks for the reply, but even with my limited research the idea that we would need to earn a combined total of 180k to get by is ridiculous.

pejpm1

Health is paid for, so I dont need to worry about that. Lunch is provided too via seamlessweb.com.....$14 per day! We get that in London as well. It's a great perk.

pejpm1

Thanks, thats what I was thinking. After some more research I think we need to reduce the budget to 2k per month and hopefully we'll be ok....I'm moving from London so it's not like I'm not used to paying ludicrous amounts for rent! I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that for the first year we'll have to be careful about what we spend, but get to live in Manhattan.....maybe after that we'll move somewhere cheaper. I went to Hoboken last week and it was great! It reminded me a little bit of Clapham where I live now, it was very chilled and had lots of bars...my kind of place

elfman

Sounds low to me: When we lived in Manhattan (upper west side, West 69th street one block from Central Park) in 2003 we were paying $2,100 per month for a nice fifth floor walk-up studio flat. Anything we found for less was pretty dumpy.

We moved from there to Hoboken and paid the same for a two bed flat with huge living areas plus back garden and deck.

YankeeDaz

You read me wrong. I'm saying if you had $180k income then definately do it (ie more than enough!), not that you need $180k to get by!

It's about quality of life and if you google 'manhattan cost of living' you will find loads of posts from other forums, of people all agreeing manhattan is way too expensive. If it doesn't work out you'll be trying to save money by living in a lower-value area, increasing your commuting distance. You'll also love the Winters.

So what if it doesn't work out, no harm in having an adventure!

Good luck!

Darren

Rete

His main expense will be his rent and utilities and after that all the partying he intends to do at the bars/pubs/clubs, etc. He is not going to Manhattan in pursuit of a career but to party and experience a different way of living. Albeit not that much different I'm sure from the clubs and parties in London.

His main problem is the location he wants ... east village, union square. While I have a friend in an apartment in Union Sqaure she has lived there for 30 odd years and it is a rent stabilized apartment and 1/3 of what the going rate is and she lives well on a much smaller salary. But then she doesn't party but goes to dinner with friends, the theater, musuems, etc. Entirely different lifestyle.

With both of them working, they should not have a problem have sufficient disposal income to pursue their dreams of "fun in the city"

pejpm1

Maybe I've given the wrong impression...I'm not a party animal. For me, essential living consists of being able to go out to eat a couple of times a week, cinema, and a few beers in a nice bar. I'm not a clubber or 'lounge bar' kind of guy. We quite like staying in as well. I think I should be OK as long as she can find a job relatively quickly. Plus I'll be getting this years bonus in pounds before I go so I should have most of my 'set up costs' i.e. TV, furniture, etc etc covered for when I get there. I imagine I'll probably have a similar lifestyle to what I have now. I cant really afford to save much, but we dont struggle.

Is there anything in London that you can equate Manhattan to? In other words, my question was "what is a livable salary in Manhattan?' is that a bit like saying 'whats a livable salary in Zone 1?'...if so, that makes sense. I imagine you need to be earning in excess of £70k to be able to afford zone 1 so I guess Manhattan is comparable to that. Dont get me wrong, I dont want to live beyond my means, but I dont mind paying a bit more for the first year. If I were advising someone who was moving to London I'd tell them to do what they could to live as close to the middle until they were comfortable with the city, then to move somewhere slightly further out that's still a cool area, so thats what we'll probably do. Stay in Manhattan for the first year, and if it's really too much of a struggle we'll head for Brooklyn or somewhere else cheaper. Thanks for the advise guys! This forum is great and I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions!

Jerseygirl

Apart from salary...read the small print of your company's health insurance...co-pays can add up. Will they be providing medication insurance...what will the co-pays be. Try to get your UK holiday allowance transferred...it is likely to be much more generous than the US allowance. Will your company pay for you to return to the UK in the case of an emergency...death or serious illness of mother/father etc. Will there be a job for you in the UK if you decide to return...will they pay your expenses?

If you are on a permanent transfer check out the terms of notice required...it is normal here for companies to have a 'fire at will' policy. That means no notice...no severance pay. If this should happen you would probably have to return to the UK because your visa will tie you to that employer.