Getting a safe place to live in NYC and other cities when you don’t know the lay of the land is expensive that first year. In areas like SV and, yes, NYC again, getting an apartment is very expensive. Huge difference in the upfront costs in getting a place in Manhattan and in Dallas, for instance. Also it kids who are relocating, a lot of upfribtvexorbses. Can’t just borrow from home when it’s miles away.
Another big problem is the expectation of higher living these days. When I got my first jobs out of college, there was no step up in my standard of living immediately. I got a job in the same City as my college. I thought having to upgrade my wardrobe and getting a bus pass were big new expenses. It took s while before I stepped into a new lifestyle. I was so used to being a poor student all of those years that the habits continued.
A lot of kids these days are living pretty high on parents’ supplements at college and when those dollars disappear , it can be a nasty jolt. Yeah, root canals are expensive and your dental insurance barely pays for it. That sprained ankle with xrays, and ortho visit goes into the deductible. Happy Hour and going out every day for lunch, Starbucks coffee breaks can add up fast. My sons report that at their offices, no one packs lunch. In my day we all did other than the top dogs. I hear min wage workers discussing what carry out they are group ordering that day when I took a job early this year and, yes, I was the outlier packing food most of the time. The office manager called in a pizza and trimmings every other day, and there was a coffee and pizza fund to throw in your money.
$60k a year is a danger good salary for a new grad, and once the initial relocation bumps are done, it’s time for anyone who is having trouble living on that to focusing on budgeting and close examination of life’s style. Yes, that’s when the true differences between the big trust fund kid, or kid still heavily supported by parents , and the one who has to make it in his own come out. Despite that NYT piece on financial aid kids having it that difficult at college, I think that great divide happens after graduation.