
Ask HN: Compensation/cost of living NYC? - petervandijck
A friend got a job offer in NYC (moving there from out of the country).<p>In NYC, as of now, what is your take on:<p>- typical junior-mid engineer salary<p>- typical take home salary monthly on that (net)<p>- typical rent for a studio in a reasonable neighborhood<p>(I understand it will vary wildly, but good to get a sense)<p>Thanks!
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lnanek2
My first job in NYC as a junior engineer a decade ago was 110k plus equity.

I rented a single long hallway-like room basement studio in Chelsea for
2k/month. Good neighborhood if you are a gay man or like art galleries.
Recently got the elevated railway turned park going through it as an added
benefit.

My girlfriend had a nicer basement studio in the East Village for $2.5k/month.
Nice for the younger NYU crowd that likes to go out to bars and clubs like
Webster Hall.

Basements are the worst. Your view is bad, your lighting is bad, you smell the
garbage all night on garbage days, piled up on the street, and you have bug
attacks like ants and termites all summer - that's why they are cheap.

A friend with a studio above ground near City Hall Park in a doorman building
with a pool in the basement is paying $5k/month. I know someone paying $8k for
a really nice 1 bedroom on a high floor with glass walls in the theatre
district.

We were all on the subway in Manhattan, though. The really poor people have to
bus over from NJ, or live an hour subway ride away like north of central park
like Washington Heights. Those people are just suffering with a long, poor
commute to save money, though.

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kafkaesq
Short answer:

\- rent is a bit higher than other high-profile cities, but significantly less
(by a third, some say) than SF

\- other costs vary widely, but depend on how "sweet" you want your lifestyle
to be (just like anywhere else).

But surprisingly, in terms of food, drink, and cultural offerings, on a day-
to-day basis you can actually live in NYC quite cheaply (if you know where to
go and what to look for).

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tmaly
your going to need at least 100k to live in the city in a decent studio.

