Non T14 schools with good employment prospects? Forum

[dominkay]

The ability to live / save on a given salary in a given city (assuming family obligations / health expenses etc are equal, obviously) is a relatively reproducible and predictable phenomena - unlike financial or corporate economics - which is the origin of your misplaced platitude. If someone can live and save in NYC on a 60K salary, you can do it too within a great degree of accuracy. Sorry, you're wrong.

Health expenses are rising at three times the rate of inflation. Food costs are rising at a similar rate greater than inflation. See that's where you're wrong-CoL fluctuates, sometimes wildly (and almost always up, not down). As someone who's lived in NYC FOR THREE YEARS, it's not possible. I spent $15k a school year (=8 or 9 months) on CoL, not including housing (another $13k and lol at getting reasonable housing in NYC year round at that price), and I didn't have to pay for health insurance, utilities, dry cleaning, work clothes, OR make student loan payments. Or put 10% away in savings. Or save for retirement. Buy a place? No way, even if you could come up with the $100k you need to put 20% down on a STUDIO, just how do you expect to come up with another $750/month for property taxes and HOA?

If you're willing to take a $60k/yr job in NYC, by all means, be my guest. But don't assume it's a livable salary for everyone. I like a little more variety in my life than cat food and cold cereal.

If you spent $13k on housing in 9 months or 8, your rent was either $1450 or $1625. That's pretty high even for NYC. Three years ago, I lived in a gorgeous one bedroom apartment in the East Village (few blocks from Union Square) for $1300/mo, utilities included. Then I moved to Park Slope ($1200, utilities included). I won't disclose my current location, but I'm very happy and my rent is nowhere near $1450, much less $1625. Settle for a studio or get yourself some roommates (or gasp! travel to Brooklyn) and you're looking at somewhere between 2/3 and half of that price.

You lived in New York for THREE YEARS as a COLLEGE STUDENT. It's clear that you know very little about the city. You either lived in an overpriced dorm or were screwed by a real estate agent who could tell that you have more money than sense.