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Fox, how do you think about my situation: so I just moved from Chicago to NYC and I am hit by the tax rates and high rents in Manhattan. I make about 100K and work is based in Midtown; I though if I spend like $1700 and another ~$250 for private parking in Manhattan UES or UWS I will be able to find a suitable studio or 1BR for 1 person but that wasn't the case at all; viewing apartments in that price range, I found old / less than ~450sqf apartments; incomparable with Chicago! (E.g. kitchen is so small you wouldn’t have any passion to cook!) Also checked Astoria (old?) and Newport (did not like mixture of ppl); I think I should at least invest $2000 for rent in Manhattan but that wouldn't give me much savings at all! I am just thinking maybe spending about ~2200 PM for housing in Manhattan is not a good idea for a single person, does it really worth that much?!!! Am I gonna get that much fun from living in Manhattan?!
First, ditch the car. If you need a car, you can rent one (even by the hour with Zip car). Parking is a MINIMUM of $400/month in Manhattan and wait until you get your car insured. Insurance is incredibly expensive in NYC.
$2000 isn't all that much for Manhattan. Only you can decide what you want to spend.
Many apts. in Manhattan have small rooms. So your findings don't sound surprising.
If you want to find an apt. with larger rooms for less money than Manhattan, you might try looking in Queens in areas such as Rego Park or Forest Hills.
You'll get nothing but rolled eyes if you even infer that rents or apt sizes should be comparable between Manhattan and Chicago. I hope you got a raise moving from Chicago to New York. If you were making 100K in Chicago, too, sorry to say but you got screwed, buddy.
Definitely ditch the car. You won't need one day to day in the city and it will just be a hassle and unnecessary financial burden. As mentioned above- Zip Car will do just fine for anything you may need a car for within the city. As far as 2000... yes that is what you will be looking at. Check out the upper east side. You can get some decent deals there- pretty big spaces (for Manhattan) for one person for slightly under 2k. Only you can decide if NYC is worth it, but don't give up on it before you give it a chance!
Yes. for some people it's Manhattan or bust, and they will be frugal in other areas to pay the rent, others prefer to have more cushion and move to boroughs or NJ.
Astoria is very popular and charming. I wouldn't like Newport, either, I'm not a big Jersey City fan. Hoboken is much cuter if you're considering NJ. Astoria and Hoboken are equidistant from Manhattan, ie, right across the river with quick subway transport.
You might want to look further north in Manhattan, like Inwood or Washington Heights if you're in Manhattan or bust mode but want to save some money.
BtW, yeah I got a pay raise from 85K to 100K but considering tax rates between Chicago 3% flat and NYC ~ 7.5% and rent in Manhattan, it's not only like I haven't got a pay raise but more like having a pay cut! I am trying to negotiate at least $110K with the company, wish me luck! Living in LA and Chicago, I can not even believe selling my car! I love driving! Donno how affordable zipcars are but if I keep the car in NYC, I know I will end up paying around $700 for insurance and parking etc. per month! Oh boy! What a nightmare.
Well, you won't like driving around New York unless you like to go out for middle of the night spins.
Your situation is only a nightmare if you choose to make it one.An individual can live quite comfortably, even in Manhattan, on $100,000/yr.
Sorry,but you should have figured some of this out before deciding to move to NY.It is a place that is suitable only for people who REALLY WANT to live here.
If you have to keep the car you will probably have to live outside of Manhattan.
> considering tax rates between Chicago 3% flat and NYC ~ 7.5%
NYC marginal tax rate is over 10% at income of $100,000 given 6.85% State, 3.65% New York City.
You could argue it is effectively 7% if you count the $7500 deduction, spread the tax over the whole of your income, and assume you deduct your state taxes against federal income, but if you use the same methodology on Illinois, the tax rate is 2% (deduct 3% IL taxes from your federal return).
Well, although I will work in Midtown (client's work site), my company is based in NJ so salary comes from NJ. I have found a very large studio (700sqd!) in a brand new high-rise in Newport NJ right next to the Newport mall and Pavonia path station for around $1700 with $180 monthly parking. Although I do prefer to live in NYC, but think this might be a better deal than living in Queens, when you have a car. I know about toll charges in Holland tunnel but...???! As I mentioned before, I am not a big fan of NJ and Newport due to the mixture of ppl but this might help on tax and my expenses. Do you think if it worth to pay this rent etc. for this area or you fox think Queens or UES are still better choices and I shouldn’t spent much money in NJ?! Thanks for your comments though...
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