# Decent salary for living in NY



## Xanadu (Nov 21, 2006)

I've seen a couple of jobs in New York that take my fancy, and I'm considering possibilities of moving over there for a year or two.  

I was wondering about how much I would need to earn in New York to get by with a high standard of living.

How much would I be looking at for rent (in a 1-bed apartment or in a flat/house-share)?


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## editor (Nov 21, 2006)

Have you got a dual-nationality passport/green card then?

If you're looking to live in Manhattan the rents are sky, sky high. And then a bit higher again. And then add a little bit on top.

Things get cheaper once you head out to the 'burbs, but places like Williamsburg have already been priced out of the hands of 'normal' folk.


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## Xanadu (Nov 21, 2006)

editor said:
			
		

> Have you got a dual-nationality passport/green card then?
> 
> If you're looking to live in Manhattan the rents are sky, sky high. And then a bit higher again. And then add a little bit on top.
> 
> Things get cheaper once you head out to the 'burbs, but places like Williamsburg have already been priced out of the hands of 'normal' folk.



Job would be in my current company in their New York office, so they'll sort the green card out.  How much would rent in Manhattan be?


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## editor (Nov 21, 2006)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> How much would rent in Manhattan be?


Yur best bet is to look around a few letting agencies there (or 'realtors' or whatever they're called) but from what I learnt, Manhattan flats are considerably more expensive than their London counterparts (unless you're looking at Chelsea or somewhere).

But it's a big area, so I've no doubt you  may still be able to find appts/flatshares with non-stratospheric charges.

But I'd deffo go to NY if I had the chance. It's an amazing city to work in.


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## skyscraper101 (Nov 21, 2006)

That's really funny. I was thinking of posting a thread about this very subject today. Thinking of relocating within the same company.

In London I've always found flatshares through Loot/Gumtree/MoveFlat etc.. Are there any New York equivelents worth checking for flatsharing?


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## shakespearegirl (Nov 21, 2006)

I have friends in NY and they all pay around $3k for rent monthly in Manhattan for really small 2 bed flat. 1 of them lived in Brooklyn but I think thats got really expensive as well.


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## Dirty Martini (Nov 21, 2006)

skyscraper101 said:
			
		

> In London I've always found flatshares through Loot/Gumtree/MoveFlat etc.. Are there any New York equivelents worth checking for flatsharing?



http://newyork.craigslist.org/


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## Xanadu (Nov 22, 2006)

What sort of percentage income tax would I have?


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## gabi (Nov 22, 2006)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> I've seen a couple of jobs in New York that take my fancy, and I'm considering possibilities of moving over there for a year or two.
> 
> I was wondering about how much I would need to earn in New York to get by with a high standard of living.
> 
> How much would I be looking at for rent (in a 1-bed apartment or in a flat/house-share)?



My job (graphic design) - I was offered a job within my current company in their NY office as creative director, the salary was $140k US. Which I'm told is about standard.

I turned it down as I couldn't face dealing with americans even more than I already have to once the office there wakes up every day. But the guy who took the job seems to live pretty well, not in manhattan tho, brooklyn. Which is way cooler than manhattan anyway imo.


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## cesare (Nov 22, 2006)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> What sort of percentage income tax would I have?



You can work it out roughly here: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/calcs/n_tax/main.asp


Wiki link to taxation in the US Lots of different taxes.


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## Xanadu (Nov 22, 2006)

gabi said:
			
		

> My job (graphic design) - I was offered a job within my current company in their NY office as creative director, the salary was $140k US. Which I'm told is about standard.
> 
> I turned it down as I couldn't face dealing with americans even more than I already have to once the office there wakes up every day. But the guy who took the job seems to live pretty well, not in manhattan tho, brooklyn. Which is way cooler than manhattan anyway imo.



Won't be offered anything near $140k!


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## Dirty Martini (Nov 22, 2006)

Accommodation is expensive, but you don't need 140,000 American to enjoy New York, unless you're the kind of fool who has to eat at name restaurants every night. Drinking is more expensive than London, but pretty much everything else is the same or cheaper.


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## gabi (Nov 22, 2006)

Dirty Martini said:
			
		

> Accommodation is expensive, but you don't need 140,000 American to enjoy New York, unless you're the kind of fool who has to eat at name restaurants every night. Drinking is more expensive than London, but pretty much everything else is the same or cheaper.



Except rent. Manhattan is ludicrous.


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## gabi (Nov 22, 2006)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> Won't be offered anything near $140k!



What industry are you in? $140k sounded absurd to me as well, but apparently thats what designers earn there. We spent ages trying to recruit just a junior-mid weight designer in NY, but nobody would work for the salary. Which was $110k. 

Almost made me tempted to do it, but having travelled back and forth fairly regularly for work, I can safely say London is superior in virtually every way. For me anyway - but a lot of the things people love about NY are the things I hate, and a lot of the things I love about London are the things people hate. 

For example - I don't want random people trying to start a conversation with me when I'm having a quiet drink and reading the paper!!


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## Xanadu (Nov 22, 2006)

gabi said:
			
		

> For example - I don't want random people trying to start a conversation with me when I'm having a quiet drink and reading the paper!!



I like it when that happens!  Especially if the person is an attractive american lady


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## Xanadu (Nov 22, 2006)

Actually looking at the exchange rate, $140k isn't as high as I thought.  My salary would be nothing like that though.

I'm working in IT, but I only graduated a year and a half ago.  I'd love the idea of living in Manhattan...


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## inflatable jesus (Nov 22, 2006)

Prices vary a lot. Check out Craigslist for a rough idea. I get by on 33k sharing an apartment in slumland Brooklyn. If you don't mind sharing an apartment with somebody you don't know then you should be able to find a place for 1.5-2k per month in Manhattan and you would probably pay the same for a small place of your own in Brooklyn or Queens. 

If you think you would have the spare cash for upwards of 2k per month, then you might even find something kind of nice.

If you are absolutely sure that you don't want to apartment share, it's worth bearing in mind that most landlords will want to run a credit check on you and just because you have good credit in the UK doesn't necessarily mean that translates to good credit in the US. 

You might have to get somebody like your employer to co-sign for you on the lease or you might need to pay a lot of cash up front. If you are seriously thinking about it, you may even be able to enlist your employer's help in finding a place. Everyone knows how tough it is to find somewhere to live here so they will sympathise and help you.

 newyork.craigslist.org


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## TeeJay (Nov 22, 2006)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> Actually looking at the exchange rate, $140k isn't as high as I thought.


£73,000 pa? Pretty high isn't it?


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## mamasita (Nov 22, 2006)

in *middle America*, $50k is about the minimum (family income) you need to get by (and that wouldn't be fancy, just OK).  I've never lived in Manhattan, but I'd guess around the $70k mark would be about right there for the same standard of living.  Naturally you can do it a lot cheaper if you don't mind a studenty/flatshare type existence, but it doesn't sound like that's what you're looking for.

Taxes, I found, are more or less exactly the same as the UK, when all's said and done...they just sort of even out even if the individual rates are different.  Don't forget to ask about healthcare and whether your employer will cover that or whether you will need to pay for it.  A good healthcare plan can cost up to about $1,000 per month for a family.

An easy way to figure out what the cost of living is in different parts of the country is to look at cops' salaries (info easily available online).  Add about 30% to the police salary to figure that you will live decently well.


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## DMark (Nov 26, 2006)

Have you ever heard of the expression, "you can never be too thin or too rich?"
Well, you can never be too rich in NYC, but lots of people have a great time just squeaking by on whatever they earn.  
Ten years ago, a friend of mine was paying about $800 a month for a studio apartment on the upper West Side...she later bought the apartment, kept it and moved to a co-op and started to rent out her studio apartment.  
In 2002, she put an ad in the paper to rent the studio out for $1,750...and people were lined up to get it.  They tried to bribe her with gifts to get that little studio apartment for that cheap.
She paid $120,000 for the apartment in about 1999, and sold it for $400,000 last year.
That should give you an idea about rent and real estate in NYC.


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## D (Nov 26, 2006)

I've just moved back to NYC and I'm looking at apartments right now.  The real estate market is absurd here.

I'm looking in Astoria (Queens) for a 1 BR for less than what IJ quoted.  You can expect to spend a minimum of $1600 p/m for a studio in Manhattan unless you want to live in Inwood (way, way, way up on the northernmost tip of the borough - very quiet and leafy, home to the Cloisters [as my friend said the other day, "Inwood is for monks"]), Washington Heights, or Central Harlem (tends to be a lot of lower/middle income apartment complexes in the midst of gentrification/conversion to "luxury" buildings).  There are the occasional bits and pieces on the Lower East Side and in the East Village as well.  And, frankly, there are the occasional surprise vacancies all over the place if you have the time and patience.

Lots of the most beautiful and liveliest parts of Brooklyn are just as expensive as Manhattan.  In addition, there's simply not a lot of vacancies below the 2K mark - those places are already taken.

A lot of apartments are snatched up by brokers and if you rent from a broker you can expect to pay anywhere between 1 month's rent and 15% of the value of the 12-month lease for the privilege.


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## Concrete Meadow (Nov 26, 2006)

Forget about Alphabet City where rent averages $2500-3000 for a 1 bedroom apartment; same for the Upper West Side, West Chelsea, West Village, the Meatpacking district surrounding West 14th Street, Tribeca, Battery Park as well as Chinatown. The upper East Side (around the far,far east 80's) still has some 1BR apartments for $1900-2200 but they are, well, not the most pleasant dwellings for one's soul. 

Forget also about Williamsburg, north, south and central Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook/Dumbo where rent are sometimes even higher than the aforementioned Manhattan nates.   

[now you know where the phrase _Forget About It _comes from, no?]

But if you don't mind a 45 minutes commute to midtown, there Are still good neighbourhoods to explore in south Brooklyn (Kensington, Gravesend, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay), try craigslist's owner-occupied apartment section.

Welcome back to NYC D, good luck


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## Xanadu (Nov 26, 2006)

D said:
			
		

> I've just moved back to NYC and I'm looking at apartments right now.  The real estate market is absurd here.
> 
> I'm looking in Astoria (Queens) for a 1 BR for less than what IJ quoted.  You can expect to spend a minimum of $1600 p/m for a studio in Manhattan unless you want to live in Inwood (way, way, way up on the northernmost tip of the borough - very quiet and leafy, home to the Cloisters [as my friend said the other day, "Inwood is for monks"]), Washington Heights, or Central Harlem (tends to be a lot of lower/middle income apartment complexes in the midst of gentrification/conversion to "luxury" buildings).  There are the occasional bits and pieces on the Lower East Side and in the East Village as well.  And, frankly, there are the occasional surprise vacancies all over the place if you have the time and patience.
> 
> ...



Sounds like I'd need to earn about $4k post tax a month to live decently in manhattan (with an active social life).


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## dada (Nov 26, 2006)

wow, i so lost touch with it.  haven't been back for years.  
i remember a friend of mine got a 5000 sq feet loft in brooklyn for only $700/month!!!!  he's doing music event and stuff at the space too.
even chinatown get this high rent?!!!
yea 'forget about it.  ya know what i'm sayin'?'


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## Xanadu (Apr 9, 2007)

*bump* might actually be doing this sometime in the next year or so.

I really liked it in manhattan, so I'm going to try to get my company to transfer me over.  If it does happen, it'll be within in the next 18 months.

*goes back to craigslist*


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## catrina (Apr 9, 2007)

Manhattan apartments are generally very expensive and very tiny. I think the size is the factor that is more astonishing than the price, if you're used to London housing. Probably comparable to Clerkenwell or Chelsea, I'd say.

Not sure what you mean by a high standard? While New York doesn't seem so expensive when you bring the pound there, if you're making dollars it is in fact incredibly expensive. You also must pay federal, state and city income tax, I believe.

Does your employer offer health insurance? That's a big chunk if not..

Anyone I know who's moved there has either been housed through work, lived in Brooklyn or New Jersey, or lived in unused family apartments.

I've seen one of those unpleasant Upper East Side Manhattan apartments Concrete Meadow speaks of. 10th floor with no lift, shoe box sized rooms with an abysmal bathroom and mini kitchenette. My mate had found it on the cheap by someone who was going to jail and had to let it out quickly, so got a 2 bedroom at the bargain price of $1600 per month, but that was in 1999...


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## Stanley Edwards (Apr 9, 2007)

D said:
			
		

> ...
> 
> I'm looking in Astoria (Queens) for a 1 BR for less than what IJ quoted....



I had a great house in Astoria (just for a couple of months mind). 2 beds and garden for about half the price on a Downtown 1 bed flat. Long train ride, but a great little park with views across the river and generally a nice place to live.

Journal Square (NJ) is much cheaper and just as convenient. Pain to get home after the trains stop.

Best to try and avoid the estate agent fees - 1 months rent!

Personally, if you want to live in Manhattan I'd say share a place. It's good for your social life as well as your pockets.


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## rachamim18 (Apr 12, 2007)

I am a dual Israeli /American from NYC. I mostly lived in the Bronx when I was there, still have a place there actually, but have been gone for 9 months or so. To get a place you described, you should be prepared to pay anything from 750 up to 3000 plus US. For 750 you will get a realitvely clean flat in the South Bronx [not so bad anymore] or certain areas of Queens. If you are willing to live over in Staten Island you might even beat that. 

Xanadu: Income tax is a floating percentage based on your gross income. Percentages generally climb with income. I had a base salrary of 2700 a week US [34.95 per hour plus a 19 dollar and change tax deferred supplemental per hour through my union]. I used to have almost 800 a week deducted but generally got a nice chunk at tax time in my refund check,. There all kinds of ways to be creative through wayso that you only have to pay a minimal tax and still stay on the right side of the system.

Gabi: I do not know many who would start a conversation in those circumstances, not in NYC. Here in Israel you bet [unfortunately].


Here is a good tip for anyone looking for a place there. Simply pick up the ethnic newspapers. The Irish Echo, Jewish Weekly News, Jewish Press, various Spanish language papers [especially them]. These afford the best opportunities by far. 

For the person speaking of Brooklyn. If you are willing to live an hour or more out of Manhattan by subsway, Ft. Hamilton Hts. and Boro Park , and parts of Sunset Park [the new Chinatown in Brooklyn] offer the best dealsw. In ethnic papers you will find a good many 2 and even 3 bedrooms in basements of 3 family brick homes for 800 or less. Also, walk those neighbourhoods because the best flats are unadvertised except for signs in windows. A British accent will work wonders believe it or not...except of course in Woodlawn in the Bronx which is an Irish ghetto.

Aslo, a grand possiblity is Union City over the river in New Jersey. It is less than 10 minutes [barring traffic] by dollar van from mid town Manhattan. You can get a very clean and safe 2 BR flat in a private house for less than 700. Studios can be had for as little as 550, the same in the South Bronx if you are willing [I am from the South Bronx, 144 and Brook, and it is fine].

[Edited for my English spelling]


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## Grandma Death (Apr 12, 2007)

rachamim18 said:
			
		

> I am a dual Israeli /American from NYC. I mostly lived in the Bronx when I was there, still have a place there actually, but have been gone for 9 months or so. To get a place you described, you should be prepared to pay anything from 750 up to 3000 plus US. For 750 you will get a realitvely clean flat in the South Bronx [not so bad anymore] or certain areas of Queens. If you are willing to live over in Staten Island you might even beat that.
> 
> Xanadu: Income tax is a floating percentage based on your gross income. Percentages generally climb with income. I had a base salrary of 2700 a week US [34.95 per hour plus a 19 dollar and change tax deferred supplemental per hour through my union]. I used to have almost 800 a week deducted but generally got a nice chunk at tax time in my refund check,. There all kinds of ways to be creative through wayso that you only have to pay a minimal tax and still stay on the right side of the system.
> 
> ...





Welcome back liar boy-where's your evidence. Im still waiting.


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## Xanadu (Apr 12, 2007)

ffs leave it out!  this isn't the place for that!


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## editor (Apr 12, 2007)

Grandma Death said:
			
		

> Welcome back liar boy-where's your evidence. Im still waiting.


You're out of order GD. This is not the thread for this kind of stuff.


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## rachamim18 (Apr 12, 2007)

Thank you, This derailing of threads by  people is really a pain. I am often at odds to understand people like that.


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## Mr Retro (Apr 15, 2007)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> Job would be in my current company in their New York office, so they'll sort the green card out.  How much would rent in Manhattan be?



Surely they will also help you with finding a place and with rent? This is pretty standard practice if you are re-located. Your company should pay your rent for 6-12 months. If they are not doing this I would be a bit suspect.


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## Xanadu (Apr 15, 2007)

Well, it'd more be me asking for a job in New York.  They're not forcing me to move.  It'd involve a payrise anyway.


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