1st-year Biglaw NYC - how much for rent? Forum

[20141023]

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[5ky]

My takehome is like 8100ish. i think that is pretty standard for nyc

[20141023]

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[Mal Reynolds]

Bar loans, insurance, 401Ks etc.

[20141023]

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[Tiago Splitter]

Bar loans, insurance, 401Ks etc.

What is this? Don't firms usually pay for that shit?

He means salary advances.

[Mal Reynolds]

Bar loans, insurance, 401Ks etc.

What is this? Don't firms usually pay for that shit?

For the actual bar. But how do you afford shit while you're studying for the bar.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Most New Yorkers would absolutely not live here is the thing though. There are reasons that the rents are so low.

Define "most New Yorkers."

[chuckbass]

Most New Yorkers would absolutely not live here is the thing though. There are reasons that the rents are so low.

Define "most New Yorkers."

Idk the million or two that pay to live in the nice parts of MFH?

[5ky]

Bar loans, insurance, 401Ks etc.

I have 401 but not insurance or loans. I honestly dont know where the rest goes. I'd have to check. But I think its 400/month 401, maybe 100 for transit (pretax) and then some automatically withdraw for what i buy at the foodcourt

[5ky]

Most New Yorkers would absolutely not live here is the thing though. There are reasons that the rents are so low.

Define "most New Yorkers."

Idk the million or two that pay to live in the nice parts of MFH?

if you're going to live that far, just live in jersey and save on not having to pay the city tax

[chuckbass]

Most New Yorkers would absolutely not live here is the thing though. There are reasons that the rents are so low.

Define "most New Yorkers."

Idk the million or two that pay to live in the nice parts of MFH?

if you're going to live that far, just live in jersey and save on not having to pay the city tax

~exactly~

[gnomgnomuch]

Currently attend school in the city and seriously considered a bunch of options.

A 1 bedroom/bath you can find the city from anywhere between 2k and 3k, it'll depend on where you choose to buy. (Yes, you can go cheaper, but quality will be a thing)

If you don't have a problem with a commute, i'd actually recommend you look up Brooklyn. Flatbush, Ave U, Ave J, can shave of a couple hundred, though might make things more annoying commuting wise.

Look for train lines that take you right up to your office (or as close as possible), there is nothing more annoying than spending an hour on the N or Q and then transferring to the 2/3/4/5/6 to get to home/work. Plus, those lines, especially the 4/5 can be REALLY unpredictable. When I was interning off the 4/5 lines, 1.5 hour long rides easily became 2.5 hour long rides.

Other things to keep in mind are safety. Some areas are legitimately not safe, others can be a bit off putting, especially at night. Where I live (Brooklyn), anything past 11 PM at night, i'm just taking a cab home. Most places aren't like that, but be careful of buying, do your research.

Feel free to PM if you want any more advice.

[patogordo]

how much does a mugging really cost you though if it saves you $500/mo in rent. or $1000/mo even. i'd probably get raped for 12 grand.

[20141023]

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[Mal Reynolds]

Like pay for school?

[5ky]

Bar loans, insurance, 401Ks etc.

What is this? Don't firms usually pay for that shit?

For the actual bar. But how do you afford shit while you're studying for the bar.

I assume that you would have made $30,000 the preceding summer at the biglaw firm that you're going to after graduation... If all of that money is gone by the time the bar exam rolls around, you've done something wrong.

Or, you could use the $ to pay off law school loans/not take as many loans out (saving the 6.9% interest rate or whatever it is these days) and instead take an interest-free loan from your firm later on.

Which sounds smarter?

[20141023]

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[Anonymous User]

Ah true. I am not doing FedLoans so I keep forgetting about the ridiculous interest they put on that shit. Even so, I'd still probably keep some money to pay for stuff in case something didn't work out. FedLoans aren't that scary thanks to PAYE, and you can't borrow more student loans after graduation in the event that you need to pay for something, so a small savings account doesn't hurt to have.

Umm...PAYE does not necessarily make FedLoans less scary...the tax bomb and accumulated interest may make it more costly in the end. Unless they get rid of the tax bomb (which I know has been talked about), tread carefully with PAYE.

[anonnymouse]

I haven't worked in New York yet so I am just speculating, but I'd be interested to hear if this is a decent estimate of what one will take home (assuming you make exactly $160,000/year with no bonus or anything):

Federal: $26,240 (16.4%)
State: $9,760 (6.1%)
Social Security: $7,040 (4.4%)
City: $5,600 (3.5%)
Medicare: $2,240 (1.4%)
Total Deductions: $50,880 (31.8%)

Based on the above, you would be left with:

Annual Remainder: $109,120
Monthly Take-home: $9,093

Am I missing something (like contributions to a 401k, etc.), or why would someone's monthly take-home be significantly less than $9,000 if they are making biglaw money?

What you're missing is an accurate accounting for Federal income tax. It should be $38,000. That $12k discrepancy gets you down to $97k or $8k/month.

[nsideirish]

Crazy what $2k can get you in Chicago compared to NYC. Heart of downtown, rooftop pool, party area, doorman, gym, newly refurbished, etc, etc.

[Anonymous User]

. . . Your take-home pay will be around $6500/month . . .

Where does $6500 come from? Taxes might be higher in NYC than nearly anywhere else in the US, but one's take-home will not be less than 1/2 of pre-tax.

you want me to post my paycheck?

No way your take home is ~80k

Health insurance ($300/month), 401(k) (could be as much as $1,500/month if you're contributing aggressively), transit benefits ($100+/month), etc. It adds up. Mind you, that's not just NYC. 401(k) is the biggest drag from take-home, and you really should be contributing the max (which is a bit shy of $1,500/month).

Edit: Also, repaying your salary advance, which is pro-rated across your first year. That's -$9000 from your first-year salary right away.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Health insurance ($300/month), 401(k) (could be as much as $1,500/month if you're contributing aggressively), transit benefits ($100+/month), etc. It adds up. Mind you, that's not just NYC. 401(k) is the biggest drag from take-home, and you really should be contributing the max (which is a bit shy of $1,500/month).

Edit: Also, repaying your salary advance, which is pro-rated across your first year. That's -$9000 from your first-year salary right away.

Some firms do stipends instead of advances tho. One of the more underrated benefits.

[dixiecupdrinking]

I haven't worked in New York yet so I am just speculating, but I'd be interested to hear if this is a decent estimate of what one will take home (assuming you make exactly $160,000/year with no bonus or anything):

Federal: $26,240 (16.4%)
State: $9,760 (6.1%)
Social Security: $7,040 (4.4%)
City: $5,600 (3.5%)
Medicare: $2,240 (1.4%)
Total Deductions: $50,880 (31.8%)

Based on the above, you would be left with:

Annual Remainder: $109,120
Monthly Take-home: $9,093

Am I missing something (like contributions to a 401k, etc.), or why would someone's monthly take-home be significantly less than $9,000 if they are making biglaw money?

What you're missing is an accurate accounting for Federal income tax. It should be $38,000. That $12k discrepancy gets you down to $97k or $8k/month.

Yup. This is right.

Nice thing is about this time of year, you hit the SS contribution limit so that boosts your takehome a bit. But, $3500 or so a check is pretty accurate if you're doing 401(k).

[Anonymous User]

Health insurance ($300/month), 401(k) (could be as much as $1,500/month if you're contributing aggressively), transit benefits ($100+/month), etc. It adds up. Mind you, that's not just NYC. 401(k) is the biggest drag from take-home, and you really should be contributing the max (which is a bit shy of $1,500/month).

Edit: Also, repaying your salary advance, which is pro-rated across your first year. That's -$9000 from your first-year salary right away.

Some firms do stipends instead of advances tho. One of the more underrated benefits.

Market standard in NYC is an advance, so you're only talking about a handful of firms that are not based in NYC doing the stipend for their NYC offices. (Kirkland and Sidley are the only ones I'm aware of.) And the difference isn't that big since you're taxed on the stipend but not the advance.