Help Me Understand Cost of Living Forum

[Anonymous User]

I don't understand how this budget is much different for non-NYC folks, then.

Add $800 for a car payment/insurance/gas (but keep the Ubers because you shouldn't drive drunk), decrease laundry (but you still need dry cleaning) and decrease everything else a bit for cost of living. Same result.

You'd pay $800 less for rent for the same apartment, easy, so that alone offsets the additional cost of a car. Thus, the lower cost of pretty much everything else (food, entertainment, etc.) is straight cash in your pocket. Plus you don't have to pay a city tax. For example, DC first years pocket an extra $5k alone on lower taxes.

Sure, for the "same apartment", but I didn't pay more than $3k/month in rent until I was an 8th year. And I lived in fine apartments in cool neighborhoods.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here? Whether or not you spent $3k or $4k is irrelevant to what the cost of the same apartment would be elsewhere, which is the point I was responding to. Nobody is saying you can't get an apartment for $3k in Manhattan (though that is obviously harder to do now then when you were a 1st year more than 8 years ago). Find me an apartment in NYC and I'll show you that you can get the same apartment for $800 less elsewhere.

[thisismytlsuername]

I don't understand how this budget is much different for non-NYC folks, then.

Add $800 for a car payment/insurance/gas (but keep the Ubers because you shouldn't drive drunk), decrease laundry (but you still need dry cleaning) and decrease everything else a bit for cost of living. Same result.

You'd pay $800 less for rent for the same apartment, easy, so that alone offsets the additional cost of a car. Thus, the lower cost of pretty much everything else (food, entertainment, etc.) is straight cash in your pocket. Plus you don't have to pay a city tax. For example, DC first years pocket an extra $5k alone on lower taxes.

Sure, for the "same apartment", but I didn't pay more than $3k/month in rent until I was an 8th year. And I lived in fine apartments in cool neighborhoods.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here? Whether or not you spent $3k or $4k is irrelevant to what the cost of the same apartment would be elsewhere, which is the point I was responding to. Nobody is saying you can't get an apartment for $3k in Manhattan (though that is obviously harder to do now then when you were a 1st year more than 8 years ago). Find me an apartment in NYC and I'll show you that you can get the same apartment for $800 less elsewhere.

Ok, find me a $200 1br/1ba with parking in Houston: https://streeteasy.com/building/10-kimb ... island/32a

[nixy]

Dude come on.

[Anonymous User]

Sure, for the "same apartment", but I didn't pay more than $3k/month in rent until I was an 8th year. And I lived in fine apartments in cool neighborhoods.

I am living in Houston in a brand-new, 600+ square foot studio apartment with gym, in-unit laundry, pool, free parking, etc. for $1,800 a month.

I was paying much more in NYC for an apartment that was worse in every single way.

[Anonymous User]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

[Anonymous User]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

Sir, have you ate out in NYC recently? This is normal for NYC. Not sure the last time I saw a $10 glass of wine outside a Happy Hour which I can’t attend because of work.

[thisismytlsuername]

Sure, for the "same apartment", but I didn't pay more than $3k/month in rent until I was an 8th year. And I lived in fine apartments in cool neighborhoods.

I am living in Houston in a brand-new, 600+ square foot studio apartment with gym, in-unit laundry, pool, free parking, etc. for $1,800 a month.

I was paying much more in NYC for an apartment that was worse in every single way.

Sounds like you're bad at finding apartments, not sure why that's my fault.

[Anonymous User]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

LOL $20-25 for an entre. Have you even been to NYC (or any other major city for that matter)? Anyway, I don't even know where to start with you.

First, nobody is saying it's necessary to spend $6k on dining in NYC. Stop fighting a straw man. You can't tell us with a straight face though that biglaw types don't regularly go out for $125 meals, especially if they're dating.

Second, no shit you can clean your own apartment. You can also make your own clothes or But do you even know any biglaw associates, though? Most that I know even in a non-NYC market have a cleaning service. Do you really want to store a hoover and mop in your 500sqft apartment?

Third, we're not talking about the "average American" here. Do your average Americans work in NYC and make $230k+?

You clearly missed the assignment. Nobody disagrees that you can live in NYC without following that budget. But you're wrong if you're trying argue that stuff on that budget isn't something you commonly see biglaw associates (especially in NYC) spending money on. The point is that although spending $100k/yr sounds farfetched, it's not actually that hard or outrageous to reach that level doing standard NYC biglaw associate stuff. Nobody cares what you think is "necessary."

[nixy]

Yeah, there's no such thing as the average American, anyway - if you have 10 people, 5 of whom spend $200 on each meal out, and 5 of whom spend $10 on each meal out, the average cost is $105 but no one's actually spending that.

Anyway, I think it's worth recognizing that the poster who who came up with these expenses originally, in response the OP, wasn't answering the question, "How much do you need to spend in NYC?"; they were answering the question, "Why, when I tell people what I'll be making, do they say that 'that is only like $100,000 here' or 'you'll just be middle class'?" And the answer to that is that people spend amounts comparable to what was listed, even when they don't literally *have* to. You absolutely don't have to spend that much, but I'm convinced that it's human nature, for most people to live up to their income, at least to some extent, especially when surrounded by opportunities to do so (I've lived non-NYC places where you'd have to actively work hard to spend $125 on a meal, and it would probably require a lot of drinking; that makes it a lot easier to spend less on eating out than if you can swing a cat and hit like four great restaurants).

Again, none of this is saying that anyone *has* to spend that amount of money, and plenty of people don't; plenty of people define themselves by their frugality and budgeting, and that's great. But the easier it is spend that money, the more people will do it. Some of it absolutely isn't specific to NYC, but applies to other major metros with generally high COL, but I feel like NYC (and SF probably) put all the high COL stuff together. For instance, googling suggests that NY is the 3rd most expensive state to live in, and that includes cheap places like Albany and the northern part of the state, not just NYC. It's number 3 or 4 for grocery costs, depending on the list (the top 2 are Alaska and Hawaii, for context). So it's not like people are just making up the idea that COL in NYC is high. Quibbling with whether you need to spend $400/mo on groceries or not is kind of missing the point.

(I don't agree with the idea that $300k makes you just middle-class, but that's way more subjective debate.)

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

It’s true that collectively few people will do all these things. The same person who spends $125 a week on one meal may not also buy coffee everyday, use a dry cleaner, buy breakfast, have a cleaning service, and still end up blowing $100 a week on groceries.

But in some sense it was conservative because there we no big ticket purchases in there. No weddings, gambling, $500 hair treatment, escorts, jewelry, night clubs, true designer clothing, vacations, etc.

[Anonymous User]

I don't understand how this budget is much different for non-NYC folks, then.

Add $800 for a car payment/insurance/gas (but keep the Ubers because you shouldn't drive drunk), decrease laundry (but you still need dry cleaning) and decrease everything else a bit for cost of living. Same result.

You'd pay $800 less for rent for the same apartment, easy, so that alone offsets the additional cost of a car. Thus, the lower cost of pretty much everything else (food, entertainment, etc.) is straight cash in your pocket. Plus you don't have to pay a city tax. For example, DC first years pocket an extra $5k alone on lower taxes.

Well, also $800/month for a car is one of those “yeah many people do spend that much but it’s totally not necessary” expenses like all the NYC stuff we’re talking about. My monthly car payment is $0 because I bought a sensible used car for cash, and car insurance for me and my spouse combined is only like $83/month.

Let’s just make sure we’re comparing apples-to-apples and not putting a super duper frugal New Yorker against someone living extravagantly in Texas (or vice versa).

Also, the cash savings on taxes alone for Texas is ~$24k per year for first years.

[Anonymous User]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

It’s true that collectively few people will do all these things. The same person who spends $125 a week on one meal may not also buy coffee everyday, use a dry cleaner, buy breakfast, have a cleaning service, and still end up blowing $100 a week on groceries.

But in some sense it was conservative because there we no big ticket purchases in there. No weddings, gambling, $500 hair treatment, escorts, jewelry, night clubs, true designer clothing, vacations, etc.

Yeah you can't forget the escort line item - are big law associates really hiring escorts? That is both surprising and unsurprising to me,

[Chokenhauer]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

It’s true that collectively few people will do all these things. The same person who spends $125 a week on one meal may not also buy coffee everyday, use a dry cleaner, buy breakfast, have a cleaning service, and still end up blowing $100 a week on groceries.

But in some sense it was conservative because there we no big ticket purchases in there. No weddings, gambling, $500 hair treatment, escorts, jewelry, night clubs, true designer clothing, vacations, etc.

Yeah you can't forget the escort line item - are big law associates really hiring escorts? That is both surprising and unsurprising to me,

Can’t wait to hear about how NYC has “elite” escorts and how in Houston you can get eighteen “world class” escorts to mow your McMansion lawn

[Anonymous User]

If you want to live the NYC lifestyle, the monthly spending to get to $100k ($8333/mo, assuming we're not including savings, taxes, insurance, etc.) isn't that outlandish. I don't mean to say you should spend all this - I don't even come close. But lots of my NYC biglaw friends do and then wonder why they aren't saving as much:
- $500 fancy meals with friends 1x/week (double if you pay for an SO)
- $400 groceries
- $400 cleaning service
- $300 therapy
- $300 shopping for yourself (clothes, electronics, Amazon)
- $300 dry cleaning/laundry
- $200 Ubers
- $150 good coffee/breakfast for workdays

These are all outlandish as far as normal spending goes. I mean, anyone can buy a Birkin and then claim that spending a lot of money is easy. A plurality of Americans brew coffee at home; $150 for "good coffee/breakfast" is ridiculous. $400 for groceries is also ridiculous, as is paying $125 once a week for one meal.

No, none of those figures are ridiculous in NYC. $125 for a meal once a week is normal for a professional. Anyone who thinks those numbers are high is poor here.

It’s not that they’re high ; it’s that they’re unnecessary. $125 for a restaurant? Entree for $20-25 plus glass of wine for $12-20 is not $125.

I have no idea how someone gets to $400 on groceries unless they are buying pounds of morel mushrooms or filet mignon.

Cleaning service is unnecessary; just clean your apartment yourself as needed. Takes around 20-30 minutes a week.

etc.

The question is not whether spending that much is difficult. It’s not. Spending money is very easy—just look at credit card debt rates. The question is whether it reflects a normal experience. It’s not, as far as Americans or even New Yorkers go. The average American spends around $2700 a year eating out. The “sample” budget provides for $6000.

It’s true that collectively few people will do all these things. The same person who spends $125 a week on one meal may not also buy coffee everyday, use a dry cleaner, buy breakfast, have a cleaning service, and still end up blowing $100 a week on groceries.

But in some sense it was conservative because there we no big ticket purchases in there. No weddings, gambling, $500 hair treatment, escorts, jewelry, night clubs, true designer clothing, vacations, etc.

Yeah you can't forget the escort line item - are big law associates really hiring escorts? That is both surprising and unsurprising to me,

Can’t wait to hear about how NYC has “elite” escorts and how in Houston you can get eighteen “world class” escorts to mow your McMansion lawn

The benefit of Houston escorts is that you get to enjoy them after watching a world series game in your city.

[Anonymous User]

Sir, have you ate out in NYC recently?

Yes.

This is normal for NYC. Not sure the last time I saw a $10 glass of wine outside a Happy Hour which I can’t attend because of work.

My post referred to $12-20 glasses of wine.

[Anonymous User]

I am living in Houston in a brand-new, 600+ square foot studio apartment with gym, in-unit laundry, pool, free parking, etc. for $1,800 a month.

I was paying much more in NYC for an apartment that was worse in every single way.

Sounds like you're bad at finding apartments

Perhaps. Link to a listing of a comparable apartment in Manhattan for a comparable price. You had no problem linking to listings upthread.

[Anonymous User]

LOL $20-25 for an entre. Have you even been to NYC (or any other major city for that matter)?

Yes. I have only ever lived in cities my entire life, including NYC. You can easily get entrees for $25 in NYC, not even including chains/fast food places.

Also, it's weird to play the sophistication card when you cannot even spell "entree," setting aside the accentuation issue.

First, nobody is saying it's necessary to spend $6k on dining in NYC. Stop fighting a straw man.

I never said that anyone said it was necessary.

You can't tell us with a straight face though that biglaw types don't regularly go out for $125 meals, especially if they're dating.

Whether they do is immaterial to my point.

Second, no shit you can clean your own apartment. You can also make your own clothes or But do you even know any biglaw associates, though?

Yes. None make their own clothes. Most clean their own apartments.

Most that I know even in a non-NYC market have a cleaning service. Do you really want to store a hoover and mop in your 500sqft apartment?

Yes. I do. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes a week to keep my apartment clean.

Third, we're not talking about the "average American" here. Do your average Americans work in NYC and make $230k+?

The answer is immaterial to my point.

But you're wrong if you're trying argue that stuff on that budget isn't something you commonly see biglaw associates (especially in NYC) spending money on.

I'm not arguing that.

The point is that although spending $100k/yr sounds farfetched, it's not actually that hard or outrageous to reach that level doing standard NYC biglaw associate stuff.

I agree.

[thisismytlsuername]

I am living in Houston in a brand-new, 600+ square foot studio apartment with gym, in-unit laundry, pool, free parking, etc. for $1,800 a month.

I was paying much more in NYC for an apartment that was worse in every single way.

Sounds like you're bad at finding apartments

Perhaps. Link to a listing of a comparable apartment in Manhattan for a comparable price. You had no problem linking to listings upthread.

I need more details. How far is your commute walking? How far is it on public transport? How far of a walk are you from a grocery store? From a real gym, not an apartment gym (I need power racks)? How far of a walk from bars/restaurants/theaters/concert venues?

[Anonymous User]

LOL $20-25 for an entre. Have you even been to NYC (or any other major city for that matter)?

Yes. I have only ever lived in cities my entire life, including NYC. You can easily get entrees for $25 in NYC, not even including chains/fast food places.

Also, it's weird to play the sophistication card when you cannot even spell "entree," setting aside the accentuation issue.

First, nobody is saying it's necessary to spend $6k on dining in NYC. Stop fighting a straw man.

I never said that anyone said it was necessary.

You can't tell us with a straight face though that biglaw types don't regularly go out for $125 meals, especially if they're dating.

Whether they do is immaterial to my point.

Second, no shit you can clean your own apartment. You can also make your own clothes or But do you even know any biglaw associates, though?

Yes. None make their own clothes. Most clean their own apartments.

Most that I know even in a non-NYC market have a cleaning service. Do you really want to store a hoover and mop in your 500sqft apartment?

Yes. I do. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes a week to keep my apartment clean.

Third, we're not talking about the "average American" here. Do your average Americans work in NYC and make $230k+?

The answer is immaterial to my point.

But you're wrong if you're trying argue that stuff on that budget isn't something you commonly see biglaw associates (especially in NYC) spending money on.

I'm not arguing that.

The point is that although spending $100k/yr sounds farfetched, it's not actually that hard or outrageous to reach that level doing standard NYC biglaw associate stuff.

I agree.

Then what was your point? It was clearly lost on me.

If your point was just to change the topic to ways to save $ in NYC or what's necessary then nobody cares what you think because that's not what we were talking about. What the "average American" spends is also irrelevant to our conversation about biglaw associates in NYC. We're talking about how spending $100k/yr in NYC on $235k+ is unremarkable. It sounds like you agree. So if you want to have another conversation go start another thread.

[nixy]

I am living in Houston in a brand-new, 600+ square foot studio apartment with gym, in-unit laundry, pool, free parking, etc. for $1,800 a month.

I was paying much more in NYC for an apartment that was worse in every single way.

Sounds like you're bad at finding apartments

Perhaps. Link to a listing of a comparable apartment in Manhattan for a comparable price. You had no problem linking to listings upthread.

I need more details. How far is your commute walking? How far is it on public transport? How far of a walk are you from a grocery store? From a real gym, not an apartment gym (I need power racks)? How far of a walk from bars/restaurants/theaters/concert venues?

If you make this is about walking/public transport you're moving the goal posts. Comparable = convenient for work/shopping/etc, not literally "accessible on foot/public transport."

[Anonymous User]

I need more details. How far is your commute walking?

You are moving the goalposts, but I'll indulge.

5 mins; I live blocks from my downtown office.

How far is it on public transport?

idk

How far of a walk are you from a grocery store?

I get groceries delivered, but when I go to the grocery store, 5 min drive. Walking to groceries is typically not an option because I usually buy in bulk. At any rate, I can get to the grocery store faster by car here than I could by walking in NYC; I have the additional advantage here that the grocery store has everything I need, unlike the grocery stores/bodegas near my NYC apartment.

From a real gym, not an apartment gym (I need power racks)?

The gym has numerous power racks plus Pelotons etc. in addition to "standard" gym equipment like weight machines and cardio machines and free weights and free fitness and yoga classes in addition to numerous personal trainers you can hire. Plus full pool and deck.

How far of a walk from bars/restaurants/theaters/concert venues?

0 blocks for bars/food. Symphony is 2 blocks; ballet and opera are 2 blocks in another direction. Major downtown concert venue is 3 blocks.

Square footage is 600-700, in-unit washer and dryer, dishwasher, A/C. Building is less than 3 years old.

[thisismytlsuername]

I can't find a building in Houston that all of those things are true for (unless maybe you don't know the difference between a smith machine and a power rack? lol), so unfortunately you're calling your credibility into question here.

[nixy]

I can't find a building in Houston that all of those things are true for (unless maybe you don't know the difference between a smith machine and a power rack? lol), so unfortunately you're calling your credibility into question here.

Just take the L.

[swiftyredalbum]

Isn't cost of living what you make it?
Isn't there a vast array of living conditions and standards based on how we've lived in the past?

[Anonymous User]

Extra TX data point:

• Houston biglaw.

• I don't use a car to commute. The lightrail costs a little over a dollar and it's a fifteen minute commute.

• Walkable to several bars/all other lightrail connections (admittedly not a lot, but it makes downtown/midtown/museum district/Herman park walkable).

• Gym, pool, king bedroom with two walk in closets, extra study, dog walk/washing areas, laundry/dishwasher, "valet trash" pick up, parking, etc.

• No power racks in the apartment gym so I shell out $10/mo. and walk to a gym with power racks. SO just uses the apartment gym. There's also a nice gym in the office building but I don't personally want to work out at work.

• Nice view of the pool/palm trees from the outdoor patio imo.

• My share of rent is $1300/mo. (SO pays $700).

I sort of can't believe this apartment comparison point is even an argument. Personally, I actually want to live in NY after a few years but it's night and day what my NY classmate friends get for comparable prices.