My girlfriend and I make a combined $235,000 per year...need advice about NYC.

I think she gets the 10k raise, 50k->60k. All of her taxes (fed income, state income, local income, payroll) go up maybe 5-6k, so she's up 4-5k net.

He gets no raise, but will pay maybe 7-10k more in tax.

I'm guessing he also bears the brunt of the increased housing cost in NYC, so the move may reduce his purchasing power by 20-30k after housing, while she may tread water.

I don't care for this language. Do better.

With no real idea what NYC like other than my visits there, it's perfectly fine to reach out to people who do live there to get a honest assessment. Hypothetically, what would a landlord or rental company tell me other than to "rent my space"? I got some good feedback on this thread but as of right now we've been focused on $4K-5K units on the UWS, as she's made it further in the hiring process.

I almost moved to NYC 18 months ago but chose Atlanta instead. I had a friend that lived in Brooklyn for 3 years and I visited often. It’s such a cool place to live.

My suggestion is to focus on her commute. My close friend commuted to Midtown Manhattan from Brooklyn and didn’t have a problem, and it was cheaper than Manhattan of course. Although where he lived in Bushwick had no good running spots. Williamsburg was better but not ideal.

Personally, I would want to live close to one of the parks for running purposes. Central Park or Prospect Park. If the commute isn’t bad from Park Slope area (near Prospect Park), I would move there since that’s a beautiful area. But I’ve never lived there, so my advice might be terrible

I agree with a previous poster on the UWS being much more lively than the UES. Given your partner's work, I'd opt for the UWS.

As previously stated raising a family (not the OP's concern) is not difficult in Manhattan if you're willing to compromise on space. However many young families tend to move out to outer boros then to suburbs for more space and value.

You might not be able to entertain in your great room, barbecue in your yard, or have a 2 car garage but Riverside Park or Central Park are pretty nice backyard parks.

Do it! We moved to WA State (ages ago) just because we had never been out there and wanted to give it a try. It was a pretty good job opportunity. We lasted a year but I was so glad we did it.

Damn sounds like you’re in a good position in life. I got my butt handed to me trying to survive in the big city as a student and entry level worker. Couldn’t hack it, had to get out felt like the city was swallowing me alive. Always said I’d come back when I had better prospects and feel like I actually made it there, for my own sense of peace. So, I can see why your wife would want to give it a proper and fair go again. It’s fun being in a big city, not much value in my comment other than to say I can see the desire to move there.