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Does it make sense to live in EAST VILLAGE?
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Date: July 28th, 2012 11:34 PM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line 1 bedrooms are like 2400. Starting at a V5 in Midtown East. Owe 230k... 26 year old single male who likes to go out drinking. Non native to NYC. East Village looks like the cheapest area where there is also some stuff to do at night, given that I wont be able to afford a nicer neighborhood until I'm a midlevel with <100k debt unless I get roomates--which I don't really want. What to do NYC mastermen? Commute looks a little tougher than other neighborhoods but i figure some of that may be offset by lonely - yet efficient ! - car rides home after long hours pouring over prospectuses. Could really use some help.
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Date: July 28th, 2012 11:59 PM Author: Pearl Pungent Sound Barrier 1BRs in the EV for $2400 will likely be tiny, although perhaps you don't care.
I'd consider some Brooklyn/Queens neighborhoods if you're looking for that price range with stuff to do at night.
Where are you commuting to? |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:06 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line Midtown East firm. Don't want to say which one. Don't care if it's small. Just want a place that's my own where There are some bars to go out to. Plan on upgrading to something in the 3k range when I get 3 years of experience so I know I'll be able to get another job if needed, and ill be able to continue servicing debt. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202665) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:09 AM Author: Chrome Razzle-dazzle Gaping Principal's Office There are bars to go out to everywhere in MFH (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202692) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:16 AM Author: flesh center Any reccomendations where to live given my situation? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202764) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:18 AM Author: Chrome Razzle-dazzle Gaping Principal's Office I would just live in midtown (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202784) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 8:12 AM Author: domesticated becky Good luck with that plan. I started out $150k in debt and rent about $2300 in fall 2009. Three years later I'm still $75k in debt, and I'm not a big spender.
Assuming you max out your 401k after about 3 years your takehome will be about $8k/month. If you've hustled you'll MAYBE be down to $150k in debt with a monthly minimum payment between 2k and 2.5k depending on your interest rates.
$8k minus $3k for rent minus $2.5k for minimums on loans equals $2.5k left over every month for life + savings. That's not bad in terms of QOL, but it won't let you save a lot or throw a lot extra at your loans every month.
BIGLAW only sounds like great money before you get there. The reality is that inflation, frozen salaries, shitty bonuses and exploding student loan burdens with high interest rates make this a much, much less good job than it was 10 years ago. Still better than the alternatives, but you're not going to be balling debt-free as a 4th year.
With $230k in loans, the best you can hope for is 5 years of a comfortable but not extravagant lifestyle that will allow you to leave the job you will by then HATE with maybe $100k in student loans, $100k in a 401k and $20k or so in cash. This will allow you to move to another job that you hate slightly less where you will make enough to cover the $2k/month you'll still be paying on your loans while hopefully not downgrading your lifestyle too much.
This is a shitty profession. |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 8:22 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line Agreed. Im trying to be responsible and i don't have expensive tastes at all. But at the same time I didn't bust ass in college to get in CCN and LS to get in V5 only to save an extra 10k a year by living with three roomates in Bushwick. I just want to have a decent life in my late 20s. Good news is that a lot of guys at my firm have great options coming out of our corporate department after 4-5 years. But, yeah, sky high COA is gonna leave me saddled with debt for a very long time. Feelsbadman.jpg (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204544) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 8:54 AM Author: domesticated becky Contrary to a lot of the advice you will receive on this site, I don't personally think the 3 roommates in Bushwick is even the smart approach. The people who think they'll pay off their loans in 4-5 years by "living like they're still in school" are the ones who burn out after 18 months because literally the ONLY thing that doesn't suck about this job is the paycheck, and if you don't EVER let yourself enjoy that, you'll question your reason for even being alive.
I give myself a $4k vacation budget every year, every year have been some place cool like Thailand or Argentina. I live alone in an apt in Manhattan that costs me ~$2500/month. I try to avoid eating out at places that cost more than Chipotle unless I'm on a date or the firm is paying. I don't have cable because I'm never home to watch it anyway, and Netflix/Hulu are cheaper.
I'm hoping to make it another 2 years. This job really sucks. |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:19 AM Author: Glittery candlestick maker do you love gay sex? if so, then yes (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202804) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:20 AM Author: white site fanboi wrong village bro (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202818) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:26 AM Author: bat-shit-crazy talented area signed a lease less than a year ago for under $2000 for a 1BR. So I think you could get something pretty decent for $2400 down here. Anything 1st and over is a really easy walk to the 4-5-6 line. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202870) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:28 AM Author: flesh center Good to hear man. Do you like it? Decent area to meet women? Hows the commute? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21202888) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 1:17 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21203355) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:25 AM Author: bat-shit-crazy talented area Sorry I abandoned thread last night. Really like the area, especially for a midtown commute. Good bar scene and mix of restaurants, both by type and price. Not as sure about finding women as I have a long-term gf I live with. As I mentioned in the other comment, my commute is awesome, but the further west you are (i.e., towards 4th), the better. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204924) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:07 AM Author: stimulating masturbator indirect expression ROFL - don't count on finding a deal like this unless you are going to live on Ave D or in public housing. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204858) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:20 AM Author: bat-shit-crazy talented area I feel like I've seen you express this before (I can't really keep track of pumos), but I live neither on Ave D nor public housing. I'm in the numbers, very close to the subway, in an apartment that was renovated just before I moved in. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204903) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 8:24 AM Author: Lime insecure mother menage just live at the YMCA and pay off your debt in 2 years (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204546) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 9:27 AM Author: domesticated becky His TOTAL takehome pay for the first two years he'll be working will be only ~175k. Even with living expenses of literally 0, it'd take him 3 yeas to pay off that kind of debt.
People who say shit like this clearly do not work in BIGLAW (and probably never will). |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 9:20 AM Author: frisky rusted space faggotry Why not just live with a roommate or two? Save a lot of dough (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204591) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 10:40 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line If I get 2 roomates in EV, my portion of rent would be 1650. They are 2mid 20s finance guys. That may be a smart move for a few years until I'm at least <150k debt than get own 1bedroom for 2500? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204773) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:00 AM Author: bistre theatre sneaky criminal You'll be perfectly fine in the east village.
Two helpful questions...
What type of bro are you? The more bro like you are the more you should consider Murray Hill, it's insanely cheap and convenient for you and plenty of nightlife if you like that type of nightlife.
If you're a little more off the beaten path than east village is a better neighborhood for you (though you'll obviously be perfectly fine in either neighborhood).
How much do you care about living in a nice place and how do you feel about roommates?
If you're going to spend 2-2.5k on a 1br, it'll be perfectly livable, but not particularly nice. If you spend 2-2.5k on a 3br it'll be REALLY god damn nice. I personally did the latter because I had good friends in NY, but I probably would have found some roommates even if I didn't because he QOL is so much better with roommates.
As for midtown east, you'll be fine everywhere from 100s to LES to get there in under 20 minutes on the subway (queens is also really quick to midtown east and has great value), just try not to be east of 1st or maybe A depending on how much you care about a long walk to the subway.
Feel free to ask whatever I know the area very well. |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:20 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line Hmm I'll check out Murray Hill. This map makes it seem like there is a 2:1 F:M ratio but I could be reading the map wrong-
http://guestofaguest.com/new-york/nyc/every-woman-in-manhattan-is-single-and-its-their-fault
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:10 AM Author: Odious sable heaven legal warrant lol. this kind of budgeting is exactly why you got yourself in $220k in debt for a $160k shit job. LOL. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204875) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:18 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line No....greedy law professors at CCN who command wha they want, desire to work at a stable V5 vs some volitile NLJ250 shop, coupled with a housing bubble that made me reticent to gamble on 70k from MVP made me 220k in debt brothers.
Posts like this really arent that helpful. Yes LS was a WAY better deal 10 or even 5 years ago but I didn't make any egregious budgeting error here mang. |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:19 AM Author: coral comical trailer park dog poop No egregious budgeting error except living in an overpriced pad (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2007807&forum_id=2#21204899) |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 11:23 AM Author: Magical Well-lubricated Locale Personal Credit Line Haha no egregious budgeting error YET. Just saying that the debt wasnt a result of some crazy spending on my part. Hell i graduated with no debt from a T20 UG exclusively by working and scholarships. It's just a different era of student loan pwnage. See: grad plus interest rates and repeal of subsidized loans for grad students.
I'm just an SA, that's why I'm figuring out where to live/ what I can realistically afford without being miserable. |
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Date: July 29th, 2012 12:09 PM Author: domesticated becky I'm a third year, nearly fourth year with reasonable spending habits, so I feel qualified to comment.
Assuming you want to max out your 401k (which I STRONGLY recommend that you do because of the tax savings), as a fist year your takehome pay will be about 7k per month. As a second year, about 7.5k. Third year 8k. Bonuses will be negligible after taxes (~$4k, ~$6k, ~$9k), so don't count on them. The minimum on your loans will be $2600-$2900 depending on your interest rates, so let's call it $3k just to be safe. This means that after paying the minimum on your loans, you will have left over:
1st year: 4k/month 2nd year: 4.5k 3rd year: 5k
After that it's really just figuring out what your priorities are. You can def afford a 2.5k 1 bedroom for just yourself. Just realize that if you do that, you will likely not be able to pay any extra on your loans until probably your third year or so, at which point you will still owe ~$200k and will likely not have very much in savings.
I'm not telling you not to do it. Only you can decide what your priorities are. If you have parents who are willing to help out if something goes wrong, cash savings may not be as important to you as to some other people. If you KNOW (not think, but KNOW based on actual relevant concrete experience, like having worked 80 hours a week in a bank for 2 years before law school and having dealt with it okay) that you'll be able to make it 5 years at the firm, then you can probably spend more than other people who have no idea whether they'll last longer than 18 months.
Do what you want, just keep your eye on long-term goals. If you can put an extra $1000 towards your loans during the first couple of years by having a roommate or two, you'll enter your third year $170k in debt instead of $200k, your monthly payment will be lower by about $400/month.
Lowering your monthly payments by paying off high interest loans first is KEY because your remaining monthly payment will largely dictate when you can actually afford to leave BIGLAW.
Another thing to consider if you really don't want to have roommates and don't have much furniture is living in a studio on the UES for your first year for <$2000. Your ability to amp up your lifestyle in your 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. years at the firm will correlate DIRECTLY to your ability to save in your early years. The raises are only about $500/month after taxes. Figure on rent going up by $150/month or so every year, and it's easy to see that most of the amped up lifestyle will come from reduced student loan obligations achieved by paying more than the minimums in the early years. |