How much does it cost to live in New York City?

[bcterps]

There is a possibility that I might be moving to New York City, considering housing costs and a generally expensive cost of living, how much would one need to make to live comfortably in NYC?

By comfortable I mean, 1 bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood, I guess having a car is out of the question. Any feedback would be great. My guess would be that a reasonable salary would be at least $50,000 a year.

--Ben

 

[Doggiedog]

Umm. $50K is on the very low end of cutting it unless you can find a place real cheap. You'd probably have to settle for the outer boroughs or NJ at that level.

 

[nycdude]

I live in Forest Hills, NY in the borough of Queens. 1 bedroom goes for like $1100/mth and up. Damn pricey but the neighborhood is quiet and parking on the street is no problem. We got a good deal 5 years ago renting but the landloard wants to sell the coop we live in now.

Other parts that are comparable is Bayside. Great neighborhood but again expensive.

Forget about Manhattan. Even if you get an awesome deal, you'll still be living in a shoebox.

Parts of Brooklyn like Parkslope is comparable.

LMK if you need anything else.

 

[Doggiedog]

Let me price it out for you.

$50K = Say $35K take home.

1Bdrm in good area costs $1500 x12 = $18K

You're already at $17K.

Allowance for 52 weeks = $17K/52 = $325/week.

That is real tight.

Try Queens. I used to live there in a nice 1 bdrm with a roommate. The living room had a door so it was basically his room. The rent was $750/mo so it was very inexpensive when split in two. I kept a car in a garage for the weekends to offset living in Queens and still ended up less than a nice 1 bdrm in NYC.

 

[bcterps]

Yeah, I actually wasnt planning on living in Manhattan, it would be just too expensive. I think that I could budget $1000/month for rent and be comfortable. Of course I would hope to be making more than $50k, but I'm tryin to figure out what the minimum salary I feel I would need in order to accept the offer.

--Ben

 

[Harrald]

Brooklyn is the hot place to live right now. It's also becoming pretty expensive. Where in Mann. are you expecting to get a job? Downtown, Midtown or somewhere else? That would help decide where to start looking. Also what is the longest you are willing to commute? I live 30 miles aways and it takes me about and 1.25 hours to get to work in the morning and about 45 mins coming home.

I work in midtown though and live in Northern NJ.

Good luck and let me know what I can do to help.

 

I have friends that live right in the village.
Right west of china town.
He pays 1200/month for a 1 bedroom 1 combined living.kitchen room.
Not much included. Water.
Then Food. Food is very expensive.
Clothes and such are a steal of a deal.
But living is rough.
I used to live down on long island.

 

[bcterps]

Most likely I'll be working in midtown, and I dont really want to commute more than an hour to work. I guess I'm spoiled since I live 1 mile from work right now and have a 4 minute commute hehe.

--Ben

 

[d0ofy]

It doesn't really cost that much to live in this city. Just look at all the poor looking people on the subway. The average salary here is way lower than $50K. As long as you don't live south of 110th Street, rent shouldn't be that bad for a 1BR apt. I live in Sunnyside, Queens and I'm paying $550 for a 1BR with utilities and laundry included. I can get to midtown in less than half an hour. I have friends that live in the East Village that can't get to midtown that fast. The big bargains can be found with people trying to mortgage a house and renting out the basement.
The developing areas now are Sunnyside, Astoria, and especially Williamsburg. You're going to want a place that's near a train. Buses suck.
Hope this helps.

 

[NakaNaka]

Forest Hills is a nice quiet place. Not expensive and you can hop on the E or the F and get to midtown in a good 35-40 mins during Rush Hour.
Went to my friends place in queens (she lives like 10 mins from forest hills) but thats cause it took me time on the 6 train. COming home from her place to 51st street and Lex took 20 mins and its 5 mins from there to midtown.

But Rush Hour it is more

Brooklyn is good too. Can get a nice place right outside the city (like literally 5 mins) and for a little bit cheaper Park Slope is very nice. Thats only about 30/35 mins from midtown as well.

I currently live in Manhattan but am probably heading to Queens because it is way to expensive in the city.

Good luck.

 

[NakaNaka]

Also, it is a truly amazing city to live in. If you get bored in this city you have some serious problems. After living here my whole life I can always think of something exciting to do. Forget the torist stuff, there are great restaurants, clubs and bars (even though I'm not old enough yet but many friends who do) and just great things to do. I don't know where you live but you will get used to the train quickly. It's like my life right now. Take it to and from school, to meet up with my friends, if they live 10 mins or 45 mins away)

 

[Pretender]

1 BR apts. are cheap, depending on where you want to be.

So far, the people posting have mostly been naming prices like you'd see in Manhattan. $1000-$1500 for a 1 BR apt. In reality, in any of the 4 boroughs you can get a 1 bedroom for well under $800 (probably $600 or so, I'm not exactly sure). Hell, before I moved, I was in a 2 bedroom for about $850/mo.

Also, don't worry about exactly where you live, as long as it's in the city, chances are you'll be able to get the subway and get to work in under an hour. New Jersey sucks, as well as long island, in terms of commuting.

 

[Doggiedog]

Actually, I live in Jersey now and my commute is a snap. I have an express bus that stops right in front of my building and it takes me 40 mins to get into Manhattan during rush hour. If I drive, its 25 mins. Taking the ferry also takes less than 30 mins. The commute home is even faster. I get home regularly in 25 mins. Driving into Manhattan during non-rush hour can take as little as 5 mins. Physically, my building is very close to Manhattan though. I am directly across the Hudson at around 100th street.

 

[John]

You might want to consider a roommate if 50K a year is your budget. Otherwise you will be working to pay bills.....not good.

 

[psteng19]

parking is a bitch in NY. always gotta pay those meters. and if u in residential area, good luck on even finding a spot. and those bastard private parking lots charge like $8 - $15 an hour. accidentally parking in a no parking zone will cost u $55, as will double parking. gas is expensive too, and there's a ton of tolls. traffic sucks too. and people jaywalk all the time... makes me wanna run them over.

other than that, NY is the place to be

 

[Mday]

yeah, $50k would be nice, IF YOU DID NOT LIVE IN MANHATTAN!

 

[Spoooon]

Heh, I can't believe how expensive it is. My 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath is 450 month. That includes water and gas. I'm glad I don't live in NY.

 

[Linh]

I live in Manhattan, right next to Bellevue. 1 bedroom NYU dorm ~$1500/month.

 

[emonkey]

My friend moved to NY the same time I moved to LA (From Chicago). I dont know if this helps but here goes...

In chicago we made roughly $30k/yr to live pretty hep
In NY she needed $56k/yr to live the same lifestyle
In LA I needed $38k/yr to live the same lifestyle

Anyway, my friend pays 1300/mo for a 1 bedroom at 3rd and 6th. Yow!

 

[Mday]

Linh, you do not go to NYU.

i asked if anyone here went to NYU a long time ago... you didn't respond, so you don't go to NYU

 

[NakaNaka]

Just move to queens or brooklyn and youll be close + you will be living in NYC. Ya parking sucks but you don't really need a car.

 

[nycdude]

Those that said they could get a 1 bedroom cheap, I gotta look them up because nowhere in Queens can you find a 1 bedroom anywhere for less than $800 anymore. Maybe 5 years ago. Even if you are lucky, those are usually in a less desirable neighborhood.

IMHO

 

How safe is living in queens?
Or areas outside that you are all suggesting?

 

[NakaNaka]

ok Forest Hills is a really nice place to live and is pretty safe.
It's a nice family area but at the same time has plenty of like young things. Not like some old geezer place.
Like austin street is a great place to shop

But then if you want just hop on the E and the F boom 30 mins midtown.

 

[buck]

It cost me $40 to get robbed in NYC, well it was my buddy but I had to lend him some after.