family of four trying to live in NYC on 400k

ck3237 wrote:

My brother lives on a net income of 800 a month in a suburb of St. Louis. It s possible.

By definition, anyone with $800 net income is getting by just fine anywhere.

Yeah, I think the answer is that a family of four cannot afford to live in NYC on $400K.

Not Manhattan anyway.

asians are awesome wrote:

Basically it's impossible. Before you scream TROLL remember that

-daycare in this city costs as much as your mortgage and probably more

-a 2 bedroom in a nice area is going to run $4000 minimum, probably more

-the effective tax rate on "high" income couples is near 50% (take home is $18,000 per month)

-student loans

-private school after day care (public schools are a nightmare unless your kids go to Stuyvesant, etc)

Add it all up and that 18k take home pay turns into 2k in a flash.

Ok, I'll bite.

I am not sure what your definition of "impossible" is, as there are millions of families in New York that live comfortably on much less than 400K.

- daycare is expensive, but from the age of 3 the city provides free preschool to all kids.

- If you want to live in Manhattan, yes, 4K would hardly get you a 2-bedroom, but there are plenty of nice areas within 30 minutes commute that are much cheaper.

- The overall tax rate is close to 50%, but if this is problem for you, it can be lowered a lot commuting from NJ.

- Many public schools in NYC provide excellent education, often better than private schools. There is really no reason to spend $$$ on private schools if you live in NYC.

To some of the other posters; New York is dirty, crowded and noisy, but crime rate is extremely low and the air quality is actually fairly decent. Some like it, some hate it, to each his own.

John Utah wrote:

asians are awesome wrote:

Third World? Crime? NYC is one of the safest cities in America, and if you just look at Manhattan you won't find another big city with as low of a violent crime rate.

Not even going to engage you on the other points. Go back to Kansas and fry some baloney.

Dude, it sounds like you’ve never been to NYC.

Have you? Almost all of those points apply to any other city to some extent and they are not nearly as extreme in NYC as that person thinks they are.

asians are awesome wrote:

Basically it's impossible. Before you scream TROLL remember that

-daycare in this city costs as much as your mortgage and probably more

-a 2 bedroom in a nice area is going to run $4000 minimum, probably more

-the effective tax rate on "high" income couples is near 50% (take home is $18,000 per month)

-student loans

-private school after day care (public schools are a nightmare unless your kids go to Stuyvesant, etc)

Add it all up and that 18k take home pay turns into 2k in a flash.

It doesn't sound impossible at all. It sounds like you're doing quite well, all things considered.

I'm a little confused on why you need day care if you're paying for a good, private school. Our private school takes kids from 6:30am-6:30pm. It costs a lot, but we don't have to worry about day care anymore.

Since you're still paying student loans, I assume you're under 37. Yeah, sometimes you have to make sacrifices when you're under 37.

BTW, the median income for Manhattan is $67k. So, I'd say $400k is not impossible.

You've got city hands OP. You've been counting money all your life.

If you can't live anywhere in the world with a 400k yearly then you got no one to blame but yourself for making bad choices and poor money management. Fact.

TROLL!

You could easily live in Manhattan with a family of 4 with 400k. It's obvious you know nothing about the city.

I've lived in NYC for 7 years now and I know plenty of families getting by on much less than 400K. That said, I know private school, daycare, etc adds up. Have you thought about just hiring a nanny/housekeeper full time? That'd save on day care and after school care. I know people who have a full time nanny for less than 40k a year.

I'm at the age where I'm planning to have kids soon, and I don't think I can afford it here. Despite making about 150K a year, I can't even dream of saving enough money down to buy a place or to send my imaginary kids to daycare or private school. This has become a place for young single people who want to work really hard and get ahead in their careers, or really rich older people. Middle class families are becoming a thing of the past, at least in Manhattan and closer parts of queens and brooklyn. I love the music/art scene, like minded people, restaurants, bars, parks, cosmopolitan vibe, etc, but I definitely pay for it. I'll probably move upstate soon, which isn't so bad. The outdoors stuff there is great, and in a lot of places you're under an hour from grand central.

Move to Westchester, put your kids in public school, make sure you are within walking distance of public transportation. Rent for nice 2/3brm 2 bath is doable for $2.5K. Decent daycare for two pre-school kids might be $25000 a year, pricey but it won't break the bank if you're really good for $18000 per month after tax, and it only lasts at that level until they're in school .

Finally, learn how to save. Max out your IRA/401k, but you need after tax saving also. You ought to be putting aside $100K a year. You'll be back in the Big Apple in no time.

Living there with kids wrote:

[quote]asians are awesome wrote:

To some of the other posters; New York is dirty, crowded and noisy, but crime rate is extremely low and the air quality is actually fairly decent. Some like it, some hate it, to each his own.

Its more like 10% like NYC, and 90% remember the day they moved out as and never had to work there as being among the best days of their lives.

UsedToBeKnowItAll wrote:

BTW, the median income for Manhattan is $67k. So, I'd say $400k is not impossible.

Working in Manhattan or actually living in Manhattan?

You don't make enough to live in Manhattan under your current expectations. Either change your priorities or move further out and commute. You would have to be making double to have everything you currently desire. What good is it to live in Manhattan when you can't afford to take advantage of all the things people live there for. You make great money, stop being a poser and reevaluate your life.

I love these threads.

I insist on living a certain way in a certain place and am going to scream about how impossible it is to afford while refusing to make any compromises to my lifestyle or be accountable for any choice I've made to put me where I am today.

I find it funny how some people can live paycheck to paycheck on such high salaries while people who make a fraction have way more than they need and are perfectly content. Some people will never be able to make enough.

I hate these threads.

They are just the same tired, canned troll prompts with the same, tired drone responses.

No creativity.

So you are bitching that AFTER paying your bills you have 2k extra a month..... cry me a f'ing river

Did we address the question of why anyone would want to live in NH at all/for any standard of living? I don't think one necessarily needs to,live in Manhattan (but may, depending on career arc/industry), but I don't see any combination of variables that ends one up living in NH unless a victim of human trafficking

Dave F In Ramsey wrote:

Everyone in NYC I know goes home tired at night just like the rest of us and crashes on the couch. I dont buy the culture thing at all - are you going to the opera every night? Also - I prefer humble NH hicks to loud mouth losers from new jersey or long island who carpet NYC. White trash rednecks are evenly distributed throughout America, they just come in different forms.

I love how these liberals, who are so offended about EVERYTHING, have no problem slinging racist terms towards white people. When did leftists decide it was fine to trash white people, yet they bring out the pitchforks if someone said "black trash n*****s?" How is this acceptable?

This post will certainly be deleted (and I'll get another 3 day ban), but who cares?