NYC to 200k Forum

[Anonymous User]

human feces are a part of sf for everyone

A summer bonus would help ease the pain though...

[Anonymous User]

This thread has lost its touch.

[Anonymous User]

This thread has lost its touch.

Biglaw has lost its touch... with Cravath's associate comp scale. Burn & back on track.

[Anonymous User]

Law firms that haven't matched yet have lost their touch

[Anonymous User]

Do you all think of yourselves as being in the middle or upper-middle class?

I’d say we are middle class; I don’t feel upper middle class. I live in Los Angeles county and I’m a 4th year at a firm paying market (235k base, not the new market). I’ve paid off my loans but we don’t live lavishly since we’re basically on a single income with 2 kids. That said, I do recognize that this is an extraordinarily expensive place to live relative to other parts of the country and we make it work. So, I’d say middle class is fair.

[Anonymous User]

Do you all think of yourselves as being in the middle or upper-middle class?

I’d say we are middle class; I don’t feel upper middle class. I live in Los Angeles county and I’m a 4th year at a firm paying market (235k base, not the new market). I’ve paid off my loans but we don’t live lavishly since we’re basically on a single income with 2 kids. That said, I do recognize that this is an extraordinarily expensive place to live relative to other parts of the country and we make it work. So, I’d say middle class is fair.

https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Cali ... old-Income

Yeah, this thread is out of touch. Tell any average Joe on the street you make >$200k in your 20s and they will be baffled.

Rinse and repeat for NYC/SF/DC/etc.

[Anonymous User]

Earning $235,000 (not including bonus) would put you in the top 2% of Americans reporting individual income in 2014.

http://graphics.wsj.com/what-percent/

We are all easily upper middle class. Upper middle class isn't that great though and most of us don't expect to keep making this much income our entire lives

[Anonymous User]

$235k income is well within the top 5% of household incomes in LA County. Forget upper middle class (let alone middle class).

[hoos89]

Do you all think of yourselves as being in the middle or upper-middle class?

I’d say we are middle class; I don’t feel upper middle class. I live in Los Angeles county and I’m a 4th year at a firm paying market (235k base, not the new market). I’ve paid off my loans but we don’t live lavishly since we’re basically on a single income with 2 kids. That said, I do recognize that this is an extraordinarily expensive place to live relative to other parts of the country and we make it work. So, I’d say middle class is fair.

If this is not a troll, then you are laughably out of touch with reality.

[Anonymous User]

who is more out of touch with reality than lawyers

[Anonymous User]

who is more out of touch with reality than upper-middle class lawyers

FTFY

[Anonymous User]

It all really depends. A single associate making 235k is easily upper middle class.

However, a family of 5? That’s middle class.

My parents always told me that you need roughly 100k per person in your household to live comfortably. So, for a family of 5, to live the comfortable lifestyle I grew up with, my dad had to earn ~500k. This was in the early 90s. My dad made more than that and we still lived a very middle class life (nothing lavish).

I also grew up in an expensive CT town, so it probably differs from someone living in Toledo or something.

[JusticeJackson]

It’s easy to lose touch because we spend all our time with clients and partners that are way wealthier than we are. I had a bunch of super rich clients, and I would always think to myself “man, I should go start a business like this client and I’ll be loaded in no time.” Of course I didn’t see the thousands of other people that failed in business because those people couldn’t afford our rates.

[Cobretti]

Do you all think of yourselves as being in the middle or upper-middle class?

I’d say we are middle class; I don’t feel upper middle class. I live in Los Angeles county and I’m a 4th year at a firm paying market (235k base, not the new market). I’ve paid off my loans but we don’t live lavishly since we’re basically on a single income with 2 kids. That said, I do recognize that this is an extraordinarily expensive place to live relative to other parts of the country and we make it work. So, I’d say middle class is fair.

If this is not a troll, then you are laughably out of touch with reality.

[Anonymous User]

The term "upper middle class" is a way for people who are rich to avoid admitting they are rich/wealthy. If you are in the top 5% of incomes, you are rich.

"But I have two kids and lots of bills and high cost of living!" you say. That just makes you cash poor (or bad with money). If you're still bringing in over $200k, you're rich. You're still arguably pretty rich at $150k. If you're $120k or below, then we can start quibbling over middle class versus upper middle class.

Re the post about five kids, you're rich and you don't know how to use contraception and tough shit for you.

[Anonymous User]

It all really depends. A single associate making 235k is easily upper middle class.

However, a family of 5? That’s middle class.

My parents always told me that you need roughly 100k per person in your household to live comfortably. So, for a family of 5, to live the comfortable lifestyle I grew up with, my dad had to earn ~500k. This was in the early 90s. My dad made more than that and we still lived a very middle class life (nothing lavish).

I also grew up in an expensive CT town, so it probably differs from someone living in Toledo or something.

This has to be a troll.

[Anonymous User]

Re the post about five kids, you're rich and you don't know how to use contraception and tough shit for you.

I wouldn't shit on him for having kids, but it's right that thinking a kids take $100k/year each is crazy.

[Anonymous User]

The term "upper middle class" is a way for people who are rich to avoid admitting they are rich/wealthy. If you are in the top 5% of incomes, you are rich.

"But I have two kids and lots of bills and high cost of living!" you say. That just makes you cash poor (or bad with money). If you're still bringing in over $200k, you're rich. You're still arguably pretty rich at $150k. If you're $120k or below, then we can start quibbling over middle class versus upper middle class.

Re the post about five kids, you're rich and you don't know how to use contraception and tough shit for you.

thank you.

[Anonymous User]

It all really depends. A single associate making 235k is easily upper middle class.

However, a family of 5? That’s middle class.

My parents always told me that you need roughly 100k per person in your household to live comfortably. So, for a family of 5, to live the comfortable lifestyle I grew up with, my dad had to earn ~500k. This was in the early 90s. My dad made more than that and we still lived a very middle class life (nothing lavish).

I also grew up in an expensive CT town, so it probably differs from someone living in Toledo or something.

This has to be a troll.

Have you been to places like Darien, Ridgefield, Greenwich?

[Anonymous User]

It all really depends. A single associate making 235k is easily upper middle class.

However, a family of 5? That’s middle class.

My parents always told me that you need roughly 100k per person in your household to live comfortably. So, for a family of 5, to live the comfortable lifestyle I grew up with, my dad had to earn ~500k. This was in the early 90s. My dad made more than that and we still lived a very middle class life (nothing lavish).

I also grew up in an expensive CT town, so it probably differs from someone living in Toledo or something.

This has to be a troll.

Nah I think there's just a bunch of people who refuse to recognize how fortunate they are. I'm not an income inequality nut job, but to say that you're making six figures and you don't "feel rich" misses the point. If you can afford most of the necessities of life all while saving money and thinking about helping your kids with college you're well into the upper middle class if not upper class. For most Americans these things are not forgone conclusions.

There was some thread on here a while ago with someone saying a junior partner salary in NYC doesn't make you rich. They then went on to explain that living in NYC includes having a $1 mil+ apartment, a car, sending kids to private school, etc. If you're definition of rich includes a BMW in NYC or a yacht or something like that you're out of touch.

[Anonymous User]

It all really depends. A single associate making 235k is easily upper middle class.

However, a family of 5? That’s middle class.

My parents always told me that you need roughly 100k per person in your household to live comfortably. So, for a family of 5, to live the comfortable lifestyle I grew up with, my dad had to earn ~500k. This was in the early 90s. My dad made more than that and we still lived a very middle class life (nothing lavish).

I also grew up in an expensive CT town, so it probably differs from someone living in Toledo or something.

This has to be a troll.

Have you been to places like Darien, Ridgefield, Greenwich?

no, but I'm assuming living in those places means you are rich, not middle class

[Anonymous User]

Easy to lose touch, especially since I desperately want to give the job up for something else, which most people I know would think is insane.

I’m comfortably upper middle class (NYC, 6th year). Live pretty lavishly and still save 5K/month, have enough in the bank that I could like 5 years without having to work a day (if I lived like a monk, but still), take really luxurious vacations to expensive places that I can pay off in a month or two, and have enough that there are big emergency expenses I can pay off without worrying at all about money, but nowhere near close enough to have enough money saved for a down payment on a decent house/apt and if I lost the biglaw job I’d have to slash expenses pretty quickly.

The term "upper middle class" is a way for people who are rich to avoid admitting they are rich/wealthy. If you are in the top 5% of incomes, you are rich.

"But I have two kids and lots of bills and high cost of living!" you say. That just makes you cash poor (or bad with money). If you're still bringing in over $200k, you're rich. You're still arguably pretty rich at $150k. If you're $120k or below, then we can start quibbling over middle class versus upper middle class.

Re the post about five kids, you're rich and you don't know how to use contraception and tough shit for you.

I’m not sure salary is the only barometer here. Stuff like debt, personal assets, family assets, etc. need to factor into the equation, plus variability of income. For most of us biglaw is a temp job- like being a salesman who has had a couple of good years. Salary does not equate to wealth.

[Anonymous User]

Right now (mid-afternoon) is primetime for firms to send out matching memos, right? Can we draw any conclusions if zero firms match today?

[Cobretti]

I hate Old Money, JFC

[Clearly]

There's no answer to this question. Both sides are out of touch in one way or another. Depends how you define wealth. In my mind wealth is discretionary income, how much after taxes, CoL, loans and other obligations is left over to buy new things and experiences. Looking at income in a vacuum is dumb. 230k with a housewife, two kids, maxed out student loan debt, and a requirement to be within commuting distance of SF/NYC isn't poor by any means, but it's not rich either. You can't just look at 230 and assume that's fuck you money.