Yeah, that's pretty dumb. Unless you've been there a long time and have a locked in mortgage on your place when it was worth a whole hell of a lot less, $120,000 is NOT a tone of money to be living in NYC. Can you survive on that and not feel "poor?" Sure. But, it's not a lot of money for NYC. It just isn't.
This sounds like you are one of those guys who is from CT or NJ, went to some good school for business or econ, got one of the silliest and worthless corporate jobs ever like "management consultant". You moved to NYC for a few years, rented a pre-furnished apartment, and thought some Irish pub near Times Square was great. Then you left the city and are now a self-proclaimed NYC expert, but your wild days are behind you. Any neighborhood that's not lower Manhattan, not near Central Park, or not along the water in Brooklyn or Queens is "bad," right?
Yeah, that's pretty dumb. Unless you've been there a long time and have a locked in mortgage on your place when it was worth a whole hell of a lot less, $120,000 is NOT a tone of money to be living in NYC. Can you survive on that and not feel "poor?" Sure. But, it's not a lot of money for NYC. It just isn't.
This sounds like you are one of those guys who is from CT or NJ, went to some good school for business or econ, got one of the silliest and worthless corporate jobs ever like "management consultant". You moved to NYC for a few years, rented a pre-furnished apartment, and thought some Irish pub near Times Square was great. Then you left the city and are now a self-proclaimed NYC expert, but your wild days are behind you. Any neighborhood that's not lower Manhattan, not near Central Park, or not along the water in Brooklyn or Queens is "bad," right?
Dude, if you want to live in NYC on $120,000 a year, then go ahead. Knock yourself out.
I've spent over 40 years living in NYC, the last 20 married with kids. My wife and I never netted more than 90,000 until very recently. You're correct, if you can't live comfortably on $120,000 (and invest) something is wrong.
1) Do you live in the city?
2) Do you live in a house or an apartment?
3) Is your place rent controlled?
4) If you live in a place that you are buying, when did you purchase it, what was it worth then and what is it worth now?
I'll let you know how valuable your experience is once you answer those questions.
I own a 2 bedroom co-op in a decent area of Queens. I purchased it in 2005 for 220,000 and it is now worth 360,000. Its worth to me now is meaningless as I don't plan to sell it and plan to live here with my wife for as long as possible. We've paid off the mortgage and live comfortably. My wife was a stay home mother until our youngest kid got to middle school so for a long time we were living on 1 salary. NY is more than Manhattan and our commute to midtown (we enjoy the theatre or concert once in a while) is only 30 minutes, less taking the LIRR or an ecpress bus. Contrast this with my yuppy brother and his wife who live in lower Manhattan- they'll only live in Manhattan- make over 300,000 yet worry about the cost of raising a family as they pay over 6,500 a month and enjoy 200 dollar dinners.
This kind of money is chump change in most metro areas. Don’t be flashy unless you’re unattractive or boring. The flex is confidence with some humor but your posts suggests neither so you may need to drop some cash.
Anonymously belittling others on a message board exudes confidence.
This sounds like you are one of those guys who is from CT or NJ, went to some good school for business or econ, got one of the silliest and worthless corporate jobs ever like "management consultant". You moved to NYC for a few years, rented a pre-furnished apartment, and thought some Irish pub near Times Square was great. Then you left the city and are now a self-proclaimed NYC expert, but your wild days are behind you. Any neighborhood that's not lower Manhattan, not near Central Park, or not along the water in Brooklyn or Queens is "bad," right?
Dude, if you want to live in NYC on $120,000 a year, then go ahead. Knock yourself out.
I did. For about 9 years. All it requires is two things:
1) Not believing Manhattan or the Brooklyn waterfront area (and Park Slope) is where you have to be. It's a big city with tons of great neighborhoods.
2) Being a little city-savvy, which most transplants aren't. You don't get a great apartment deal from Zillow. You get it from a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a guy. You don't get great deals on produce at Whole Foods. You get equally delicious produce from a wacky Italian market with sawdust on the floors at a quarter of the cost (all the real ones know what I'm talking about). Etc.
Somehow this thread morphed into whether or not $120k/year is decent in MANHATTAN (population 1.63 million) or not. As if that's relevant at all to the thread as a whole or the rest of the US.
My son go watch Fresh&Fit on YouTube. You are asking the wrong crowd here. However I realize not everyone grew up with a father in the house like I did so these questions might need answering. Like I said........................Watch Fresh&Fit on YouTube and they will help you out tremendously. Matter of fact send them an e-mail and they can answer this question for you directly. Godspeed my friend
My son go watch Fresh&Fit on YouTube. You are asking the wrong crowd here. However I realize not everyone grew up with a father in the house like I did so these questions might need answering. Like I said........................Watch Fresh&Fit on YouTube and they will help you out tremendously. Matter of fact send them an e-mail and they can answer this question for you directly. Godspeed my friend
Fresh and Fit aren’t experienced with women. They speak as if they read their knowledge from a book.
Is 120k "rich" in a lot of cities? Of course not. But let's not pretend it's "almost unlivable" anywhere.
OP, the answer is no, do not advertise. Anyone who is remotely close to your social class is going to be pretty adept at figuring out where you stand based on age, education, location, and job. Anyone who can't figure that out (perhaps because you don't advertise your wealth with flashy cars, etc.), is someone who is so far from your social class that you are probably wasting your time dating them anyway.
The only exception I can think of is you and the person you're dating both have prestigious but non-lucrative job (e.g., Assistant US Attorney), and you happen to have family money. Under such circumstances, it might make sense to make clear at some point that you can provide a private practice lifestyle despite working in government.
Let’s look at living in Manhattan on 120k. Say you max out your 401k and that’s the only money you save every month. So you’re at 97.5k annually after 401k. Your take home after federal, state, FICA, and local taxes is about $5300 per month (deducted another $100 per month for health insurance premium). The average one bedroom is a bit over $4000, but say you’re okay with slumming it a bit and can get one for $3500. That leaves $1800/month for all your food, transportation, clothes, phone and utilities, health expenditures, and any travel or leisure activities. I would say that’s a pretty meager existence for an adult living in NYC.
I make $160k, live in Manhattan, max out my 401k and pretty much do whatever I want and never worry about money. You are not "slumming it" for $3500 a month, which is what I pay to live in a large 1 bedroom on the upper west side. There are plenty of perfectly nice apartments in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood for under $2k a month.
You can do fine with a disposable income of about $2k a month. Don't eat out every single meal. Don't drink too many $25 cocktails. Don't buy designer clothes. People these days just have super inflated expectations of what constitutes a "normal lifestyle".
This sounds like you are one of those guys who is from CT or NJ, went to some good school for business or econ, got one of the silliest and worthless corporate jobs ever like "management consultant". You moved to NYC for a few years, rented a pre-furnished apartment, and thought some Irish pub near Times Square was great. Then you left the city and are now a self-proclaimed NYC expert, but your wild days are behind you. Any neighborhood that's not lower Manhattan, not near Central Park, or not along the water in Brooklyn or Queens is "bad," right?
Dude, if you want to live in NYC on $120,000 a year, then go ahead. Knock yourself out.
You are absolutely insufferable. I see why you are one of Letsrun's most reviled posters.
as this is a manhatten thread now, why would you even live there or in any other big city? only concrete and glass around you, have to search nature with a magnifying glass. Always too many people, tourists and dog_s_hit. pis_ everywhere. you would have to pay me really a lot to move there.
4) If you live in a place that you are buying, when did you purchase it, what was it worth then and what is it worth now?
I'll let you know how valuable your experience is once you answer those questions.
I own a 2 bedroom co-op in a decent area of Queens. I purchased it in 2005 for 220,000 and it is now worth 360,000. Its worth to me now is meaningless as I don't plan to sell it and plan to live here with my wife for as long as possible. We've paid off the mortgage and live comfortably. My wife was a stay home mother until our youngest kid got to middle school so for a long time we were living on 1 salary. NY is more than Manhattan and our commute to midtown (we enjoy the theatre or concert once in a while) is only 30 minutes, less taking the LIRR or an ecpress bus. Contrast this with my yuppy brother and his wife who live in lower Manhattan- they'll only live in Manhattan- make over 300,000 yet worry about the cost of raising a family as they pay over 6,500 a month and enjoy 200 dollar dinners.
The city is more than Manhattan.
Ok, so you bought your house 18 years ago. Got it.
Dude, if you want to live in NYC on $120,000 a year, then go ahead. Knock yourself out.
I did. For about 9 years. All it requires is two things:
1) Not believing Manhattan or the Brooklyn waterfront area (and Park Slope) is where you have to be. It's a big city with tons of great neighborhoods.
2) Being a little city-savvy, which most transplants aren't. You don't get a great apartment deal from Zillow. You get it from a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a guy. You don't get great deals on produce at Whole Foods. You get equally delicious produce from a wacky Italian market with sawdust on the floors at a quarter of the cost (all the real ones know what I'm talking about). Etc.
Yeah, ok, for 9 years. 9 years WHEN? Not 9 years beginning today.
Again, you people who say it's easy to live in NYC on $120,000 are doing so based on times past and a mortgage that was gotten nearly 2 decades ago. Good for you. I'll say it again...yes, TODAY EVEN, you can live in NYC on $120,000. Not something I would want to do though as that is NOT a lot of income to be living there (I'm assuming moving there TODAY and either getting an apartment or buying a house TODAY with TODAY'S prices).
I own a 2 bedroom co-op in a decent area of Queens. I purchased it in 2005 for 220,000 and it is now worth 360,000. Its worth to me now is meaningless as I don't plan to sell it and plan to live here with my wife for as long as possible. We've paid off the mortgage and live comfortably. My wife was a stay home mother until our youngest kid got to middle school so for a long time we were living on 1 salary. NY is more than Manhattan and our commute to midtown (we enjoy the theatre or concert once in a while) is only 30 minutes, less taking the LIRR or an ecpress bus. Contrast this with my yuppy brother and his wife who live in lower Manhattan- they'll only live in Manhattan- make over 300,000 yet worry about the cost of raising a family as they pay over 6,500 a month and enjoy 200 dollar dinners.
The city is more than Manhattan.
Ok, so you bought your house 18 years ago. Got it.
Conveniently neglect the part where it has appreciated only from $220 to $360. Even if he were to buy it today, he'd still be able to afford it.
Dude, if you want to live in NYC on $120,000 a year, then go ahead. Knock yourself out.
You are absolutely insufferable. I see why you are one of Letsrun's most reviled posters.
Not sure how that is insufferable. Am I not allowed to say I'd rather not live in NYC on just $120,000? I'd rather have much more disposable income than I could have living in NYC on $120,000...again, not 9+ years ago or not having gotten a mortgage nearly 2 DECADES ago.
I did. For about 9 years. All it requires is two things:
1) Not believing Manhattan or the Brooklyn waterfront area (and Park Slope) is where you have to be. It's a big city with tons of great neighborhoods.
2) Being a little city-savvy, which most transplants aren't. You don't get a great apartment deal from Zillow. You get it from a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a guy. You don't get great deals on produce at Whole Foods. You get equally delicious produce from a wacky Italian market with sawdust on the floors at a quarter of the cost (all the real ones know what I'm talking about). Etc.
Yeah, ok, for 9 years. 9 years WHEN? Not 9 years beginning today.
Again, you people who say it's easy to live in NYC on $120,000 are doing so based on times past and a mortgage that was gotten nearly 2 decades ago. Good for you. I'll say it again...yes, TODAY EVEN, you can live in NYC on $120,000. Not something I would want to do though as that is NOT a lot of income to be living there (I'm assuming moving there TODAY and either getting an apartment or buying a house TODAY with TODAY'S prices).
I live VERY comfortably on not much more than this and max out my retirement accounts. That is today, in 2023. If I had a pay cut to $120,000 I could easily afford another apartment in Manhattan and might have to contribute a little less to my retirement account. Stop acting like you know everything about everything. I live here, you don't.
Ok, so you bought your house 18 years ago. Got it.
Conveniently neglect the part where it has appreciated only from $220 to $360. Even if he were to buy it today, he'd still be able to afford it.
Irrelevant. His mortgage was based on 220k. Doesn't matter what the house is worth today. If you want to go with him buying the house today, WITH TODAY'S INTEREST RATES AND THE INCREASED COST OF IT, then I say he would have a VERY hard time making it on his just over $90,000 a year income.
$360,000 mortgage at the national average of 6.57% would be $3,069 monthly, and that's if he has an excellent credit score. So, that's $36,828 annually he would have to pay on that house with all taxes and fees included. That is 41% of a 90,000 salary...not 41% of take home pay, 41% of salary. Gotta have your income pared down by SS and income taxes. Gotta have money to spend on things like food and transportation and insurance and clothes and lights and heat and water. Can you do 15% toward retirement on that? I say no. Can you have ANY entertainment on that, especially if you decide to put ANY money into retirement? I say no.
So again, not something I would want to do on $90,000 or even $120,000. We made $120,000 a year in Ohio when my mortgage was based on a 4% loan on a house that was below $200,000 at the time (now paid off and worth more than $300,000). Yes, I have always invested a lot, but we weren't rolling in it even here in Ohio at that time. To each his own. Not for me.
Yeah, ok, for 9 years. 9 years WHEN? Not 9 years beginning today.
Again, you people who say it's easy to live in NYC on $120,000 are doing so based on times past and a mortgage that was gotten nearly 2 decades ago. Good for you. I'll say it again...yes, TODAY EVEN, you can live in NYC on $120,000. Not something I would want to do though as that is NOT a lot of income to be living there (I'm assuming moving there TODAY and either getting an apartment or buying a house TODAY with TODAY'S prices).
I live VERY comfortably on not much more than this and max out my retirement accounts. That is today, in 2023. If I had a pay cut to $120,000 I could easily afford another apartment in Manhattan and might have to contribute a little less to my retirement account. Stop acting like you know everything about everything. I live here, you don't.
The average rent for an apartment in Manhattan is $4,614 a month. If YOU want to spend that much on an apartment in Manhattan on $120,000 salary, then more power to you. I am not acting like I know anything. I have given my OPINION that I personally would not want to live in NYC on $120,000 a year. You are having trouble with comprehension, brother.
I usually don't flex or brag. There's people (idiots and losers) who actually can and do think the opposite of reality regarding me and others until reality hits them smack in the face because they're not good at figuring things out. But if they want to think the opposite from reality, they can go right ahead. But the thing about this demographic that acts as if their excrement does not stink is that they're average at best and oftentimes a complete loser that's obsessed with winners. So sometimes I do in fact flex, because I'm making a point to stick it to these losers who disrespected me (who also never admit they're wrong). Damn right I'm gonna shine up on a hater/doubter every chance that I get. Then they'll say, "oh he's arrogant." Well guess what pal, you're the exact reason I'm arrogant! Know your role and shut your mouth, you Jabronis.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
I usually don't flex or brag. There's people (idiots and losers) who actually can and do think the opposite of reality regarding me and others until reality hits them smack in the face because they're not good at figuring things out. But if they want to think the opposite from reality, they can go right ahead. But the thing about this demographic that acts as if their excrement does not stink is that they're average at best and oftentimes a complete loser that's obsessed with winners. So sometimes I do in fact flex, because I'm making a point to stick it to these losers who disrespected me (who also never admit they're wrong). Damn right I'm gonna shine up on a hater/doubter every chance that I get. Then they'll say, "oh he's arrogant." Well guess what pal, you're the exact reason I'm arrogant! Know your role and shut your mouth, you Jabronis.
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