<p>D has been offered a job in NYC - upper east side and is now negotiating salary. What will she need to earn to live reasonably well; i.e., decent apartment in a walkable location with one or two roommates in a clean, door manned building with enough left over to eat out a few times a week, take a cab, buy an outfit once in a while, etc. We’re not concerned with savings at this point, since she’ll probably work for a few years then head to grad school.</p>
<p>Figure that she is going to be paying minimum of 2k a month for that apartment, unless she finds a fantastic deal, upper east side doorman is not going to be cheap (that is even with roomates). The only deals tend to be someone in a rent stablized or controlled building looking for someone to share an apartment, but it is pretty expensive. There are websites like roommate finder and the like that give an idea of what shares are like, and there are plenty of apartment listings from brokers out on the net to look at. To meet what you are talking about, unless she finds a hidden bargain, you are probably talking the upper decades of 5 figures. The other thing to keep in mind is that NY City and State income taxes are really high for someone with few deductions, and everything else tends to be expensive, too. </p>
<p>Congrats to your D!
I checked out 2 BR rentals in doorman buildings on the upper east side and found this for $4800/month:
<a href=“http://www.corcoran.com/nyc/Listings/Display/3114312”>http://www.corcoran.com/nyc/Listings/Display/3114312</a></p>
<p>So if she had 2 roommates her share would theoretically be $1600 (but usually the people who get the bedrooms pay more and the person in the living room pays less).</p>
<p>I would think she’d have to get at least $65k/year to be able to afford the lifestyle you’re talking about. She’d be taking home roughly 60% of that or $3,250/month. You can eat well, cheaply, in NYC but you have to know where to go.</p>
<p>Good luck to her!</p>
<p>She will not want to live on the upper east side - she can live anywhere in the city and take a train to work. She will want to live in a younger hipper part of town ( further downtown) and will probably end up with a few roommates (this is how young people in the city do it - 3-4 in an apartment).</p>
<p>Also, when calculating the cost of living - don’t forget the NY state and NYC income tax she will have to pay.</p>
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<p>Unless your D is in a field that pays very well, a new graduate is not going to be able to do all the things you described above. Her rent is going to be her biggest expense and if you want her to be able to walk to work, her choices will be limited unless you are able to subsidize her rent so she can have a short commute in a safe neighborhood. Many parents, including myself have done this (for my D) for new grads for the first couple of years because the cost of living is so high.</p>
<p>She may live with a cousin who has been there for a while - her lease on a studio is coming up for renewal, so the timing may work. I figured at least $2K for rent with one roommate…and I agree that a short commute is probably more realistic. What are the city and state taxes, roughly? My H mentioned those. So, if she makes around $50K per year, we’d have to subsidize about $1K per month?</p>
<p>NYS income tax brackets:</p>
<p>For earnings between $0.00 and $8,200, you’ll pay 4.00%
For earnings between $8,200.00 and $11,300, you’ll pay 4.50% plus $328.00
For earnings between $11,300.00 and $13,350, you’ll pay 5.25% plus $467.50
For earnings between $13,350.00 and $20,550, you’ll pay 5.90% plus $575.13
For earnings between $20,550.00 and $77,150, you’ll pay 6.45% plus $999.93
For earnings between $77,150.00 and $205,850, you’ll pay 6.65% plus $4,650.63
For earnings between $205,850.00 and $1,029,250, you’ll pay 6.85% plus $13,209.18
For earnings over $1,029,250.00, you’ll pay 8.82% plus $69,612.08</p>
<p>NYC income tax is another 3% or so (could not find neat chart like above)</p>
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<p>This is spot on. NYC is very expensive. You need to pay your dues in NYC, but for some its worth being short on money in order to be in the city. In fact, until your income rises to seven figures, its hard to really live well in NYC (this is more for a family, but I hope you get the idea).</p>
<p>These numbers are insane. I don’t understand why people would live in NYC. Seems awful. </p>
<p>Anyway, the pictures of that apartment Class posted look extremely nice, maybe she could save some money by living somewhere less nice? That extra bathroom is probably $200/person/month on it’s own. Half the living room/dining room size, that’s probably another few hundred a month. It’s no wonder why that apartment is so expensive.</p>
<p>^good point, V. That listing is nicer than the 2 BR apt I have now!</p>
<p>kiddie – I was going to say the same thing – nobody young wants to live on the UES. But downtown is even pricier. I have a friend whose nephew is paying close to $5k/month for a 2 BR in Murray Hill (hot area for young grads – it’s like a mini-college town).</p>
<p>gourmetmom – definitely encourage her to live with the cousin. And if she likes dining out, tell her to check out s a v o r e d dot com – it’s like groupon for restaurants</p>
<p>The good news is, if your D moves to NYC, she’ll be in the same boat as a lot of other new grads.</p>
<p>I think what these kids do is rent a 2 BR for $5 k and then have 4 kids live in it (like still being in a dorm) - sometimes they will even repurpose the living room as a bedroom to get in two more kids.</p>
<p>She could probably find something more economical in UES in a walk-up building without a doorman. However, as kiddie pointed out, lots of young people socialize downtown and the cab fares home afterwards will be steep…
Have her take a look in the Murray Hill area where a lot of young people live, midway between UES and downtown.</p>
<p>For someone who makes $50K a year, your gift of $1K a month is quite adequate for the lifestyle you described in your post. Not lavish but comfortable.</p>
<p>There are paycheck calculators online if you google for them that will calculate take home pay for specific geographic areas including Manhattan. I found that very useful when talking to my kids about budgeting.</p>
<p>My older son lived in Manhattan as a new grad. I think the absolute minimum is $1200 for a share – and up to $1800 or beyond, again still sharing. He lived on East 11th St (cheap and I hated it) and then also on East 18th and 19th in much nicer digs. Not doorman buildings though. </p>
<p>There’s some noise about the UES being well priced and getting younger … my younger son about to graduate keeps telling me that. YMMV.</p>
<p>And what I think is OK for a big strong athletic young man is way different from what I’d think was OK (as in safe) for a smaller, less athletic young woman. So definitely YMMV.</p>
<p>Your daughter will not want to share an already tiny bedroom with another person. The rooms are notoriously small, even in the supposed luxury buildings. Many 2 bedroom apartments are converted to 3 bedrooms by dividing the living room with walls. Note that new laws are in effect about new conversions, so it is best to find one already finished prior to the new regulations. (Which say the walls cannot reach the ceiling, or some such odd rule.)</p>
<p>Agree with the above posters, assume 1700.- to 2000. per month to cover rent and utilities in Manhattan. A salary of around 66K to 80K needed to qualify for such leases. Some buildings allow guarantors to support the lease; some specify guarantors need to be in the tri-state area.</p>
<p>I would say that an income of about $60 - $70K a year would provide for the lifestyle you are describing. D makes about $35K a year and we are kicking in about $2,100 per month towards her rent each month. (We are her sometimes weekend roommates.) She covers most of her other expenses with her earnings. We still buy a lot of her clothes, pay for her phone and cable at the apartment. We are hoping (praying) for her earnings to go up (a lot) in the next two to three years, once she has paid her dues in the entertainment industry.</p>
<p>^I’m not sure if your math includes taxes. Don’t forget that the $2100 you provide is after-tax. I think someone who earns $60 - $70k would have a lot less disposable income than your D.</p>
<p>Recent grad nephew is living well on his not-so-high pay NYC job. He is living in NJ. With roommates/long commute.</p>
<p>The reason why young people want to live in NYC is that for a young person, there is so much going on, the city if full of young people like themselves and it makes for an interesting time and they are willing to sacrifice to do it. Sure, you can get a really nice house for a lot less than that tiny apartment with 3 roommates, but that house may be in a place where the sidewalks roll up at night , just depends where you are. It used to be that places like Hoboken just across the river offered convenience but was cheaper, but these days it is just as insane, same with places like Astoria or sections of brooklyn. My dad must be turning over in his grave, when 1 br’s down on the lower east side are going for 3500,4k a month, in buildings my dad would say should have been torn down before he was born, it is pretty amazing, both in good and bad ways. </p>
<p>I would encourage her to live with her cousing, at least for a bit, it is a lot easier to find a place when you aren’t under pressure, and sometimes the underground apartment market comes through, a roomate is leaving, someone needs someone…</p>
<p>I would encourage her to look at apartments in Brooklyn. Tons of young people, easy to get to the UES from there by subway, and much more affordable than Manhattan if you look outside of Williamsburg and Greenpoint</p>