What do you do with your BIG LAW salary? Forum

[AllTheLawz]

Ehh, on the off-chance you are getting at budgeting, Major expenses are:

Car (lease+insurance) - $7200/yr
Student Loans (5-year repayment) - $35k/yr
Apartment (I don't live in NY/SF) - ~$21k/yr
Retirement (small b/c firm makes larger contribution) - $5k

throw in the other normal expenses and I'm left with ~20k/yr to save. Key to this, however, is that firm completely handles 100% of health insurance and makes a retirement contribution on my behalf. Not sure how common that is.

Very few firms significantly subsidize your health insurance and almost none match your 401k. Also, LOL @ food and other expenses at less than 1000/month.

I think this identifies a key takeaway that more law students should pay attention to. I've come to realize that benefits at law firms vary significantly and for some reason they really don't advertise it. When it came to the end of 3L year some people were getting 10k living stipends plus direct billing of moving and bar expenses while others were just getting like a 20k loan to handle everything themselves. That alone is a 20k difference in comp that isn't pointed out. Add in the differences in 401k matching policies, health insurance subsidization policies, technology stipends, cafeteria policies, etc. and you really find out that the 160k salary across the board isn't really all the same.

[09042014]

$1,500 for a 430 square foot studio 15 miles from Manhattan.

What. I've only ever rented apartments in Syracuse and St. Louis, both of which have low COL. Is $1,500 for a 430 sq. ft studio a good deal near NYC..? Is it significantly more expensive as you approach Manhattan?

Newflash. Manhattan is expensive. San Fransisco is expensive. Washington DC is expensive. Those cities are awesome. Syracuse and St. Louis are cheap. Those cities are dumps.

TBF DC is not awesome.

Ran here to blank bump this.

[gk101]

$1,500 for a 430 square foot studio 15 miles from Manhattan.

What. I've only ever rented apartments in Syracuse and St. Louis, both of which have low COL. Is $1,500 for a 430 sq. ft studio a good deal near NYC..? Is it significantly more expensive as you approach Manhattan?

Newflash. Manhattan is expensive. San Fransisco is expensive. Washington DC is expensive. Those cities are awesome. Syracuse and St. Louis are cheap. Those cities are dumps.

DC is nothing like Manhattan or SF. Except for the expensive part. You get all the awful parts of living in a big city with very few positives. As much as I disliked living in St. Louis, I would rather live there than DC

[rayiner]

$1,500 for a 430 square foot studio 15 miles from Manhattan.

What. I've only ever rented apartments in Syracuse and St. Louis, both of which have low COL. Is $1,500 for a 430 sq. ft studio a good deal near NYC..? Is it significantly more expensive as you approach Manhattan?

Newflash. Manhattan is expensive. San Fransisco is expensive. Washington DC is expensive. Those cities are awesome. Syracuse and St. Louis are cheap. Those cities are dumps.

DC is nothing like Manhattan or SF. Except for the expensive part. You get all the awful parts of living in a big city with very few positives. As much as I disliked living in St. Louis, I would rather live there than DC

My wife and I were just talking about this yesterday. D.C. is kinda like Cleveland, with a less impressive skyline. It would be fine if COL were like Cleveland, it's just hard not to feel ripped off given how expensive it is.

[gk101]

DC is nothing like Manhattan or SF. Except for the expensive part. You get all the awful parts of living in a big city with very few positives. As much as I disliked living in St. Louis, I would rather live there than DC

My wife and I were just talking about this yesterday. D.C. is kinda like Cleveland, with a less impressive skyline. It would be fine if COL were like Cleveland, it's just hard not to feel ripped off given how expensive it is.

was about to defend DC over Cleveland but then I remembered that I live in fucking Arlington and pay more in rent than I would for a larger apartment in Chicago with a lake view.

[FSK]

I really like DC, but as much as my current rent.

[Abbie Doobie]

$1,500 for a 430 square foot studio 15 miles from Manhattan.

What. I've only ever rented apartments in Syracuse and St. Louis, both of which have low COL. Is $1,500 for a 430 sq. ft studio a good deal near NYC..? Is it significantly more expensive as you approach Manhattan?

Newflash. Manhattan is expensive. San Fransisco is expensive. Washington DC is expensive. Those cities are awesome. Syracuse and St. Louis are cheap. Those cities are dumps.

DC is nothing like Manhattan or SF. Except for the expensive part. You get all the awful parts of living in a big city with very few positives. As much as I disliked living in St. Louis, I would rather live there than DC

What are the positives of living in a big city? Because I can't come up with anything off the top of my head

[ymmv]

What are the positives of living in a big city? Because I can't come up with anything off the top of my head

There have been at least fifty threads about this. Most of us just like it better. Life is more interesting/exciting/occasionally horrifying and there are a thousand times more things to do/see. Living in a walkable/bikable city is fantastic - none of the hell that is sitting in traffic for hours a day. We like having a billion restaurant/bar choices rather than the SOS of the suburbs. We enjoy the architecture and history. We love the variety of the music/arts scene(s). Block parties and festivals are a blast. There's always something new to try.
Maybe we even feel a part of something larger, enjoy the energy and pace, etc.

There are an infinite number of reasons, but at the end of the day you're either a country or a city person or a bit of both, and you probably won't know until you've spent some time in each.

A few weirdos claim to be suburb persons, but I'm convinced they're all chat bots.

[rayiner]

What are the positives of living in a big city? Because I can't come up with anything off the top of my head

1) No driving;

2) Shows, restaurants, lounges, bars;

3) Shopping;

4) Crowds.

My wife and I are city people, and our favorite way to spend a weekend is to head to Philly, have lunch somewhere with outdoor seating, stroll the baby around the crowds and people-watch, spend a couple of hours in an art gallery or museum or a street festival, walk along some residential neighborhoods and guess house prices, walk along a shopping district and window-shop, let the baby run around a bit in a park and people-watch or listen to a musician playing, have some coffee at a place with outdoor seating, and do this all without ever getting in a car.

We hate the suburbs, because you end up spending a ton of time at home, and when you go places, you have to drive to each individual destination. A typical weekend for us visiting my parents in D.C. involves: waking up, having breakfast, lounging on the couch watching HGTV, getting in the car to drive 20 minutes to some chain restaurant for lunch, maybe driving another 10 minutes to a mall, walking around an enclosed mall for a couple of hours surrounded by a totally homogenous crowd, driving back home, watching some more TV, getting back in the car to grab some coffee in the afternoon and drop my wife off to get her nails done, then driving to dinner at some other chain restaurant, then driving back home. We spend literally a couple of hours on a typical weekend day in the car, and several hours just vegging on the couch watching TV. Some people are homebodies and really like this, but we find it miserable.

And note, it's not just "not the city." My wife's family lives out in Oregon, and that's very different. You're not in the city, but even little rural towns are often really charming and you've got natural beauty and outdoor activities you can walk to. The suburbs have none of that. It's just roads and subdivisions and people who live in little enclaves and never see each other.

[DrSpaceman]

A few weirdos claim to be suburb persons, but I'm convinced they're all chat bots.

Hah, this.

[FSK]

What are the positives of living in a big city? Because I can't come up with anything off the top of my head

1) No driving;

2) Shows, restaurants, lounges, bars;

3) Shopping;

4) Crowds.

My wife and I are city people, and our favorite way to spend a weekend is to head to Philly, have lunch somewhere with outdoor seating, stroll the baby around the crowds and people-watch, spend a couple of hours in an art gallery or museum or a street festival, walk along some residential neighborhoods and guess house prices, walk along a shopping district and window-shop, let the baby run around a bit in a park and people-watch or listen to a musician playing, have some coffee at a place with outdoor seating, and do this all without ever getting in a car.

We hate the suburbs, because you end up spending a ton of time at home, and when you go places, you have to drive to each individual destination. A typical weekend for us visiting my parents in D.C. involves: waking up, having breakfast, lounging on the couch watching HGTV, getting in the car to drive 20 minutes to some chain restaurant for lunch, maybe driving another 10 minutes to a mall, walking around an enclosed mall for a couple of hours surrounded by a totally homogenous crowd, driving back home, watching some more TV, getting back in the car to grab some coffee in the afternoon and drop my wife off to get her nails done, then driving to dinner at some other chain restaurant, then driving back home. We spend literally a couple of hours on a typical weekend day in the car, and several hours just vegging on the couch watching TV. Some people are homebodies and really like this, but we find it miserable.

And note, it's not just "not the city." My wife's family lives out in Oregon, and that's very different. You're not in the city, but even little rural towns are often really charming and you've got natural beauty and outdoor activities you can walk to. The suburbs have none of that. It's just roads and subdivisions and people who live in little enclaves and never see each other.

Grew up in the 'burbs, moved to DC. This describes my experience well; I'm much happier now. Finding a new restaurant I like, or a park I haven't been to, or a coffee shop, or a museum, or whatever, makes my life so much more interesting.

[Abbie Doobie]

I don't think anyone here is advocating for suburbs, so I don't know where that came from.

[ymmv]

I don't think anyone here is advocating for suburbs, so I don't know where that came from.

Because suburban hell is more or less the default option for people don't live in a city or a small town/country. See American Dream, The.

[rayiner]

I don't think anyone here is advocating for suburbs, so I don't know where that came from.

Are you referring to living in a small city as the alternative? See my point about driving.

[dixiecupdrinking]

I don't think anyone here is advocating for suburbs, so I don't know where that came from.

Are you referring to living in a small city as the alternative? See my point about driving.

also, jobs.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Some suburbs are really lovely towns. But that's usually despite being suburbs, not because.

[First Offense]

$1,500 for a 430 square foot studio 15 miles from Manhattan.

What. I've only ever rented apartments in Syracuse and St. Louis, both of which have low COL. Is $1,500 for a 430 sq. ft studio a good deal near NYC..? Is it significantly more expensive as you approach Manhattan?

Newflash. Manhattan is expensive. San Fransisco is expensive. Washington DC is expensive. Those cities are awesome. Syracuse and St. Louis are cheap. Those cities are dumps.

TBF DC is not awesome.

Yeah... this is true.

[84651846190]

The only reason to live in a city is convenience. If living in a city isn't convenient for where you work or otherwise spend most of your time, you're an idiot for living in a city. LOL @ all you stupid morons who live in SF and commute to SV for work, just LOL.

[09042014]

TBF, only a handful of US cities aren't just large suburbs of itself.

NYC, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, ?

[ymmv]

TBF, only a handful of US cities aren't just large suburbs of itself.

NYC, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, ?

I mean TBF what other large US cities would you want to live in anyway. LA is not a real city (just multiple smaller ones connected by dysfunctional highway networks), Atlanta is a godforsaken hell hole with an even less functional highway system, and Detroit is Detroit.

[DELG]

TBF, only a handful of US cities aren't just large suburbs of itself.

NYC, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, ?

Portland and Seattle are legit.

[09042014]

TBF, only a handful of US cities aren't just large suburbs of itself.

NYC, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, ?

Portland and Seattle are legit.

We are talking about cities, not hippie communes.

[DELG]

Careful rinkrat will shank you w a sharpened kayak paddle

[rad lulz]

TBF, only a handful of US cities aren't just large suburbs of itself.

NYC, Chicago, SF, Boston, Philly, ?

I mean TBF what other large US cities would you want to live in anyway. LA is not a real city (just multiple smaller ones connected by dysfunctional highway networks), Atlanta is a godforsaken hell hole with an even less functional highway system, and Detroit is Detroit.

Atl is barely a city

It's just a bunch of different enclaves people don't venture out of except for like once a month for the novelty

[rayiner]

The only reason to live in a city is convenience. If living in a city isn't convenient for where you work or otherwise spend most of your time, you're an idiot for living in a city. LOL @ all you stupid morons who live in SF and commute to SV for work, just LOL.

Sure but if you live in SV, then you spend all weekend living in SV.