$200k base is maybe $10k a month after tax and retirement contributions.
A 2 bedroom apartment in NYC or another high cost area where these jobs are generally located will cost $4000-$6000
A 2 bedroom apartment in NYC or another high cost area where these jobs are generally located will cost $4000-$6000
In this scenario the person has made the decision that it isn’t really that great of a salary considering cost of living, yet you’re on here getting angry this person is being “entitled”. No decision was made to accept this salary as a good one in this scenario.
I would be jumping with joy to make 200k a year with where I live now. However if I was in offered the same job in the bay area for 200k a year I would not be nearly as happy.
I'm not saying the area is inexpensive. Don't argue with a strawman.
Don't misconstrue what I am pointing out what you're doing. They are not lying about how expensive rent can be there, this is simple to verify.
People want to live where they want to live. Get over it.
Even in Manhattan, there are plenty of 2br available for <$3k. Zillow is bringing up hundreds of results. You're not living large, but you'll have money for savings.
Most people who live in Manhattan don't live there alone, anyway. That luxury apt for $6k is a great place to live with 1-2 roommates.
and you’ve mistaken what I said if you think I’m suggesting it’s “hard” to live on $200k in NYC. the point is more that it’s just a normal salary in a high cost area at this point, and after taxes and retirement savings and regular monthly expenses you’d be lucky to save $30k a year. hard to save for a house or start a family and care for dependents without being close to paycheck to paycheck at that income.
We're also using an extreme, living in Manhattan is a luxury. It is one of the most expensive places to live on the planet. Even using this extreme your argument doesn't hold water. You would do well on $200k paying $3.5k/m in rent. That's high, but shouldn't kill you.
I would argue that using the median or average in an area that has so much luxury housing is also dishonest. I know people paying over $5k for STUDIO APARTMENTS in NYC.
They love the building, I dunno!
JC median 1br is $3k, north bergen nj 2br is $2,400.... but there are plenty of 1 and 2br in JC and NB that are under $2k on the market right now. Thousands of units, actually.
Including kids, or if you have a stay at home spouse or something, you're right. You can't really live in the area on $200k. That is a problem. Your wife needs to work and bring in at least $80k, especially if you have more than 2 kids. But we're kind of moving the goalposts here, aren't we?
Even if you’re somewhat disciplined about spending you are probably spending $40k a year easily in a higher cost metro on normal everyday expenses/personal travel, leaving you with maybe $20k-$30k to tuck away. Difficult to save up for a family or house on $20k/yr to save/invest.