How do you New Yorkers do it?
How do you New Yorkers do it?
rorschach37
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/10
#1How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 11:09amI'd give anything to live in NYC, but I have no idea how it's even possible with as costly as it is. Over $1,000 a month in rent alone? How do you guys do it?
HoldThatThought
Stand-by Joined: 7/15/12
#2How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 11:47am
Probably with small sized roommates, sharing a chest of drawers like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtsOQz2I09g
Rents are really high in all major cities.
#2How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 1:38pm
I don't need a car, which means I don't pay for gas or insurance. That alone saves me probably $1000 a month or so. Even in most other major cities, you really need a car if you want to go anywhere beyond your neighborhood. That's how I look at the costs, anyway.
Also, living alone is definitely possible, but most people I know have roommates and work two jobs so that they can have some extra money after bills.
If you're willing to venture outside Manhattan, rents are considerably more reasonable and you get a lot more space.
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#3How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 1:45pmI sell my body. That's how I make ends meet.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#4How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 1:46pmTheirs and yours, we assume.
#5How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 1:50pm
How do I do it (pay my rent)? Well, I have a job...
Seriously though, New York is hardly the most expensive city in America--cost of living in DC, SF, LA, and Boston are as high, if not higher. As others have said, not having a car certainly helps a lot, and the outer boroughs are great for those who can't afford/don't want to pay Manhattan rent.
#6How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 1:52pm
"Over $1,000 a month in rent alone?"
Where have you heard about an apartment that's anywhere near $1,000?!?
#7How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 1:55pmYou could probably rent a futon in Inwood or somebody's closet in Sheepshead Bay for $1,000/month.
#8How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:19pm
The NY Times had an article last year that said the average rent in Manhattan is $3418 a month. Which is kind of crazy.
New York (or Manhattan, at least) is the most expensive city in the country, at least according to this survey. With the average cost of living in the US at 100, Manhattan is at 223.9 and Brooklyn is at 185.5. Honolulu is #3 at 167. San Francisco is next, then Queens at 154.4.
(I have no idea why they've divided New York into boroughs.)
cost of living in the US
#9How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:21pmProbably because rent isn't identical from borough to borough, or even within different neighborhoods in the same borough.
#10How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:24pm
#11How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:25pmMy roommate and I split a two-bedroom railroad apartment on the UES for under $1900. We took over a lease about three years ago.
#12How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:31pmOver $1,000 for rent for a one bedroom is pretty common for most of the North and West Chicago neighborhoods. Or for a studio if you want something downtown. I pay a lot to live downtown, but I don't own a car and I had to sacrifice space for convenience. It's all about priorities.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#13How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:31pmIt still costs to get around, non-automobile owners, does it not?
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#14How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:34pm
where is this apartment for around $1000 a month and when can I take it?
i'm at around $2000
and i do it by working 2-3 jobs and a strong resilient backbone
#15How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:35pm
It still costs to get around, non-automobile owners, does it not?
A monthly metrocard is $112. I'll take that over gas, a car payment, and insurance.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#16How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:37pm
Transportation cost me about eighty bucks a month when I lived in Chicago, without a car, more if I took the occasional cab.
You must apply for food stamps.
Are a lot of New Yorkers on them? This, with no offense meant to tiny, makes me a little uncomfortable. I mean, I get that the help is there, and I don't want to sound like an Abby/Mikey type judging those who are on public assistance, but my thought we be if you have to incorporate getting on food stamps to get by living in a city like New York, then perhaps living in city like New York isn't in the cards for you.
StockardFan
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/08
#17How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:38pmI lived just outside DC in a crappy apartment in Arlington 11 years ago, and my rent was almost $1000 a month. 11 years ago. I don't even have a clue how much that crappy apartment would be now.
#18How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:40pm
Phyl, I've been through some really lean times in New York, and I've never applied for food stamps--nor do I think I would have even qualified for them, even in my poorest grad-school days. I was a bit taken aback by seeing that suggestion as an imperative.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#19How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 2:48pmI heard of a guy who got a sweetheart deal living in a shelter right in midtown and all he has to do is ring a bell at Christmas time and with all the money he saves he can go to shows and auditions. Or, wait, maybe it was a lady.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#20How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 3:01pmI dated someone who had an EBT card when I lived in Chicago. He was recently out of an MFA program and couldn't find a job, and his parents helped with his rent. He qualified for the program, but I always uncomfortable with it, because it just never seemed quite right to me, but I wasn't the one receiving benefits so it wasn't really my place to worry about it. But I'm not suggesting this is something that's happening on a widespread level; I'm questioning the suggestion that one of the secrets of surviving in NYC is to be on food stamps.
#21How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 3:06pm
To answer the OP's question, I have a roommate in a 2 BR in midtown. I'm frugal, but it works -- I'm not a naturally spendy kind of person anyway. The only thing we're paying TWC for is internet.
I walk to work, and only take the subway maybe once or twice a week. I don't drink much, don't have a lot of pets, and luckily have no medical bills/student loans to pay off. I also get a lot of my food at Jack's World and Trader Joe's. :)
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#22How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 3:13pmTry the maraschino cherry salmon!
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#23How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 3:28pm
You have to have a Costco membership. And maybe buy your meat at Western Beef.
It's ridiculous what Duane Reade is charging these days. I remember when they were a bargain basement store. And someone needs to investigate Gristedes for price gouging.
#24How do you New Yorkers do it?
Posted: 3/5/13 at 3:37pm
Gristedes sucks. Their stores are cramped and often dirty, and they also often lack product.
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