Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by krschultz | Hacker News Reader

Full thread

krschultz

Alternate data point:

I make 90k a year.

+$5,000 net income (after taxes, healthcare, and 6% contribution to my 401k)

-$1,400 for rent (pertty high)

- $400 for food

- $120 for car insurance

- $200 for gas

- $200 for internet, TV, and cell phone

- $200 for electricity

That leaves me with $2500 a month that is discretionary. That's $30,000 a year. I save $2000 a month.I play with the remaining $500.

Give me an extra $10k and get me to the $100k number and it would be pure discretionary for me.

I live in CT, so it isn't that cheap. There are certainly places in this country with lower rent. And moving to NYC probably would only up my rent to $2,000 which wouldn't really change the numbers becasue I'd dump the car insurance and gas. (No car payments because I paid cash for my car 2 years ago).

View on HN

And as an added data point: living in silicon valley isn't much more expensive either. You can rent an apartment for 1400 [1]. State income taxes are a bit higher, but you'll also spend a lot less on gas :). Otherwise it's pretty similar (unless you want to live in the swanky parts of PA)

[1] http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa/pen?query=&srchTy...

You might save more money in NYC, even. 1,400 will also get you a 2 bedroom an hour commute from Manhattan (Ozone Park, Forest Hills), or a one bedroom with a 30 minute commute to Manhattan (Astoria, certain parts of Brooklyn).

Where's the best place to find a place to rent in NYC? And how would I tell if it's a relatively safe neighbourhood?

Craigslist, as the answer to both questions.

You can tell the safe/desirable neighborhoods by getting a good neighborhood map (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Manhattan_neighborhoods) and paying attention to which neighborhoods CL ads lie about being in (for instance, in Brooklyn, it's common to see ads for apartments that are physically in Gowanus saying they're in Park Slope or Carroll Gardens instead).

Thanks! Are there any neighbourhoods that I really want to avoid?

Yes. YMMV as to which those are, though. Safety-wise, just do a little research before heading somewhere, especially at night (to get you started, in Brooklyn, don't go to East New York, Brownsville, and large parts of BedStuy).

I've gotten my last couple places on craigslist and been happy. Look for apts that are truly 'by-owner.' Plenty of them do exist.

Astoria is relatively cheap (as noted above) and safe; other nearby neighborhoods in Queens can be even cheaper, if not quite as safe (Sunnyside, Long Island City), and if you are commuting to midtown (or in my case, not commuting at all) you're looking at <30m.

IMO, Brooklyn apts tend not to have the same value, taking safety and commute time into consideration, but plenty of people would argue with me on that point.

I live in Ozone Park and like it a lot. Rent is $1150 for a one bedroom.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com