Moving from NYC to TX to knock out student loan debt Forum
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Anonymous User
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Moving from NYC to TX to knock out student loan debt
3rd year V100 M&A associate in NYC. I get bombarded by recruiter emails daily telling me the TX market for M&A associates is hot. Lately I've considered trying to move there for a few years to knock out the rest of my student loans and then move back to NY. Between the state taxes and lower CoL I could probably knock the remainder of my student loans out in ~3 years. How feasible is this? Has anyone ever done something like this? I have no ties to TX and don't know anybody in the state. If I could even pull off the first part of this, how feasible is moving back to NY after (wouldn't have to be biglaw at that point)?
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nealric
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Re: Moving from NYC to TX to knock out student loan debt
You can definitely do it. I paid off my student loans after moving from NYC Texas.
That said, I wouldn't assume the cost of living difference is all that dramatic. A lot of those cost of living calculators assume you exactly replicate your lifestyle between cities, which is unlikely. For example, if you live an a 3,000sq ft house in Texas, you probably wouldn't rent a 3,000 sq ft apartment in NYC if you were to move.
If you want to live in the nicer parts of Dallas/Houston near the office, you are probably looking at perhaps $1,000 less per month in rent compared to what you might rent in NYC. That will be partially offset by the need for a car. You will save on taxes if you rent, but property taxes are high if you decide to buy a house. All in, I would not expect to increase your student loan payments by more than $20k a year from what you can do living frugally in NYC. That makes a difference for sure, but if you borrowed full freight it's not the difference between paying off in 3 years or 10.
If you are going to make the move, make it because you want a bit more space, a bit more laid back culture, and especially if you think you might want to start a family. Unless there's an opportunity that offers very unique experience, I don't think it makes sense to move for just 3 years. But if you leave NYC, you may wonder how you put up with it for so long
That said, I wouldn't assume the cost of living difference is all that dramatic. A lot of those cost of living calculators assume you exactly replicate your lifestyle between cities, which is unlikely. For example, if you live an a 3,000sq ft house in Texas, you probably wouldn't rent a 3,000 sq ft apartment in NYC if you were to move.
If you want to live in the nicer parts of Dallas/Houston near the office, you are probably looking at perhaps $1,000 less per month in rent compared to what you might rent in NYC. That will be partially offset by the need for a car. You will save on taxes if you rent, but property taxes are high if you decide to buy a house. All in, I would not expect to increase your student loan payments by more than $20k a year from what you can do living frugally in NYC. That makes a difference for sure, but if you borrowed full freight it's not the difference between paying off in 3 years or 10.
If you are going to make the move, make it because you want a bit more space, a bit more laid back culture, and especially if you think you might want to start a family. Unless there's an opportunity that offers very unique experience, I don't think it makes sense to move for just 3 years. But if you leave NYC, you may wonder how you put up with it for so long
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Anonymous User
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Re: Moving from NYC to TX to knock out student loan debt
I can't speak to NYC as I have never lived there, but as a 5th year in Texas, I was able to pay off about $100k in student loans, pay for a wedding and have enough for a down payment on a nice house near the office by the time I finished my 4th year--also, I'm not on the FIRE plan and I took at least one overseas trip each year during that time. No state income tax, no city income tax and I'm at a biglaw firm with Cravath/Millbank salary and bonuses (our bonuses are actually above the Cravath/Millbank scale for high billers--i.e., over 2150hrs). My rent for a brand new, very nice apartment that was walking distance to the office was $1,850/month. You should easily be able to put upwards of $80k (or more if you want to pinch a bit) toward student loans on a biglaw salary in Texas.
And no Texas ties shouldn't be much of an issue for the big firms. We have several laterals that came simply to "settle" down or whatever.
And no Texas ties shouldn't be much of an issue for the big firms. We have several laterals that came simply to "settle" down or whatever.
