Hahaha. I’ve never made that much in my life. Neither of my kids have made nearly that much, in the NYC metro area, and it wouldn’t occur to me in a million years to supplement them with an allowance.
$50K a year is not a high income!
"As for safety, how many places where people are moving for work do you really have to worry about safety? Just Chicago? Maybe DC? "
??? Any major or even minor city will have good and bad areas.
You’re right… it’s only about the median family income. How ever will a single person survive? 8-|
Yes there is a Yale Club in NYC. But it’s not an apartment house.
mcat2–I didn’t say it was high…I just don’t understand how a single person with no kids, anywhere in the country, would need an income like that supplemented.
In Manhattan the median household (which would include singles, not just families) is 66K. In the US as a whole the median household income is 52K, which again, includes singles, not just families.
But even in the “bad” areas are they really unsafe? If someone lives in San Francisco do they really have to worry about getting robbed if they’re in the wrong part of San Francisco?
Well, take home on 50k is probably a wee over 3k/mo. The tale was a 2k rent. Plus presumably the etceteras.
There are some mighty unsafe areas in San Francisco where my kid was advised NOT to go after sundown.
Back to the topic.
I’m hoping both of my kids will one day earn $50,000 a year.
One lives in Phoenix and pays about 25% of his income on rent and utilities.
The other will be attending professional school, and her housing is twice the cost of the other kid’s just because of the geographic area.
“$50K a year is not a high income!”
It’s pretty darn good for a single 21 yr. old fresh out of college. Personally, I think it’s crazy for this girl to be spending $2000/month on a studio in Boston - but it’s not my kid, so.
We just talked to friends whose son will be attending dental school in SF and has to live near the campus. He’ll be paying $3000/month for a studio! They’ll be helping him.
Actually, $2000 in Boston (not one of the college neighborhoods) is relatively cheap. In South Boston, one-bedrooms are going for $3400/month, so you can imagine what a two-bedroom would be going for, and how two people would split that - almost $2000/a piece; so some people might prefer to live alone and pay $2000 for that luxury, and others might prefer to have a roommate - then they can split some other costs, such as cable, internet, heat, A/C, etc. D actually has a good friend who just moved down the street from her, who is paying way more than $2000/month for a studio.
My son will be in Boston and as I posted earlier his rent for the sublet will be $850/month including utilities. It’s a 3 bedroom in Allston. He needs to be on that side of the city as he will be working in a 'burb and easy access to 90 is very important.
I’m sure one can find lots of $2000/3000/4000+ apartments in Boston but he won’t be living in those areas until he is making way more then is is now. He will also definitely have one, if not more, roommates.
Post #52, I think I used to live in one of those apartment in Allston. It was near a bagel place. But it was so dinky that I found another place in Brookline, I think it was on Beacon street, probably rent control. I paid a little bit more but I offered to pay for 2 rooms because my 2 other roommates were not earning much. Public transportation was so convenient. I was an engineer on a very good salary but Boston was expensive and I didn’t think I want to spent all my money living alone.
My kid lived in Allston his last two years in college…2005-2007. His apartment was adjacent to the Boston University campus. It was also a three bedroom…and at that time, he paid $800 a month for the smallest of the bedrooms in the apartment. It was ok, but certainly not a lively place…really student housing.
My DD will be paying $900 for a beautiful apartment…all to herself.
Different real estate markets.
I know both of my kids will be happy to hit $50,000 a year incomes…because neither is there…yet.
And obviously, someone working in Boston doesn’t have to be living in Boston. The rents in Manhattan are high, so most non-rich young folk live in Brooklyn, or even Queens, or across the Hudson in Jersey (Hoboken, Jersey City, etc, or even farther out, a 25-minute train ride to the city, in places like Montclair.) No one has to pay the high rents; that’s a choice.
I’m spending less than half of that $2K on a studio in Boston (well, Cambridge). I’m an introvert, and to me, it is a luxury worth paying for. So, I’m in a decent area, not right next to the T, and not everything in the apartment in perfect/ideal condition. I’m paying what I’m paying but I don’t have a doorman or laundry or beautiful hardwood floors. That said, it’s perfect for me. I got really lucky with the deal I have and I wouldn’t be able to afford to live by myself in most places. I’m making under $50K and I’m sure I’d be able to live in a nicer apartment/save a lot more if I wasn’t right in the Boston area. I’m spending about a third of my take home pay on rent.
@DrGoogle, I have no idea where in Allston it is as I’ve never been there. He has been in the apartment before, briefly two NYE ago, so I assume it meets his requirements. It’s a 3 bedroom but two of the guys must share a room. He is only there until the end of August. He will be looking for a permanent apt. over the summer. His company supplies him with an agent and pays the finders fee, too, so I’m sure he’ll find something where he wants to be and for the rent he wants to pay. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to pay over $1000/month.
From a landlord perspective, our guidelines say that rent should not exceed 30% of gross income. If it would be higher than that, we examine the situation very closely. We will not let rent exceed 40% of gross income.
Our apartments are in eastern/central MA but not in super-expensive areas like Boston. If they were, these guidelines would probably restrict the tenant pool too much and we would have to adjust.
Re: Take home on 50k is probably a wee over 3k/mo."
To clarify, The tale of 50K/year (actually likely slightly less, $49,844 on average to be exact) is the gross income before tax. (I am aware of this because the source of income is funded by the federal government so it is public information - everyone in that kind of program nation-wide would receive roughly the same amount per year. Maybe a slightly more in a high COL area but not by much.)
Re: “not my girl”.
Not mine, either. The family could have been paying much more (think: roughly comparable to the full pay at a private college every year) in the past decade or even longer. I would guess $500 supplement per month from now on could be a big break in financial burden for the family. Every family is different.