Offered a job in NYC. What to do?
 

I've been in Manhattan for the past couple of weeks working as an engineering consultant on the buildout of CBS Radio's new studios downtown. WCBS, WXRK, WWFS, WINS, and WFAN.

Apparently the director of engineering here thought that I was still working for Harris, which is the prime contractor on the technical portion of the job. I was with Harris for about 10 years, but quit last August as part of my one-third-life crisis and aborted law-school thing, and I'm now freelancing. This morning he found out I was "available", and offered me a job.

There are portions of this that are tempting. You can't really get more name recognition in the industry than CBS NY and Harris Pacific. I've already done the latter, and adding the former to my resume would be interesting. Thing is, while I've done a lot of work here over the years, it's always been in Manhattan, and I know exactly jack shit about the rest of the area- particularly in terms of housing and commute.

I asked for a ballpark salary range, and he said they're thinking somewhere in the 80s, which seems low to me. I honestly don't know what their actual range will wind up being, or what's realistic in this neck of the woods. Having lived in Hicktown FL (3/2/2 < $90k), rural southern Ohio (3/2/2 = $140 - $160k), and Carlsbad CA (3/2/2 >$800k) has left me with a completely scrambled concept of things like cost of living.

I know a lot of you guys live and work in the area. I'd like your thoughts.

From personal observation and experience, you cant survive by yourself on anything less then 60k a year and that's if you dont live in the city. 60K will be hard, its borderline. If you want to live comfortably youre looking for at least 80 - 100.

NY is really not as expensive as you think.

You wont be living a lavish life style in NYC with 80K. That said if you were willing to commute an hr or so you could easily live comfortable in one of the surrounding boro's. I dont know if you ever been outside of Manhattan but the other boro's are no worse than anywhere else. They all have their good and bad places like everywhere else in the world. You could easily find 1 bedroom apt's for less than 1K a month. I dont know what cost of living is like where you are in FL but here in south FL is real comparable. In fact I pay more in property taxes than my father in the BX does, yet he pays state tax.

Id say go for it. There's plenty of members on here who still live up there and im sure would be willing to show you around.
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Yeah, that sounds low to me. BUT think of this as a stepping stone. Two years at this job and then step up to something else.

I'm free this Saturday.

Edit: As of now.

:sad2:

I don't have much to add, but as m2cupcar said, this might be a good stepping stone. You never know where this could go.

I don't live in NYC, but I live in the DC area and its always Cost of Living vs Quality of Living that you need to factor when accepting a job. I would take 10-20k cuts to have a high quality of living (read.. 8.5 hour days including commute). If your willing to commute an hour each way, I'm sure you can live comfortably on 80k. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a small commute on 80k would most likely = low free budget/quality of life in Manhattan. Gotta figure out how much you value your personal time and lifestyle :)

You cannot live in Manhattan on 80K unless you have 5 room-mates. Trust me. I know people that pay 1250 - 1400 for a "ROOM". They brag about it too.

However, 80k will get you into a nice 2 bedroom apartment that you will rent in a brownstone house in Brooklyn. The commute to midtown is 1 hour on any train line or express bus.

The other option is Hoboken, NJ(there are other places in NJ too). An up and coming neighborhood that offers similar living opportunities as the NY suburbs and is also 1 hour from the city on any train or bus.

joe, will they pay for you to finish school on top of that 80k?

80k is peanuts for manhattan. double that if you dont want to live near these folks:

http://www.lyonpuppets.com/tonycast.jpg

There is state income tax in NY and city income tax in NYC and also higher sales taxes on everything you buy there.

You can rent a 3/2/2 in Tampa for $1k a month. In NYC it's a 1Br. Apt. So you can have a two car garage for the same price in FL!

It is 78*F today in central Florida. It is 43*F in NYC, with a low of 25*F.

There is a reason or two that there are a lot of New Yorkers in Florida. Most of the ones I encounter aren't retired either.

Is your trade going to force you into a union to work in NYC? A lot of the radio engineering talent in NYC is union. If so, there goes more $$$ for nothing.

Oh, yeah. You can own and carry a gun in FL without trouble.

If I were you wouldn't go for less than 150k, because of the cost of living differences and the other negatives.

And I hear that Jersey is beautiful. Especially this time of year.:bowrofl:

I would not want to deal with the NYC area at all. 80k doesn't go nearly as far as the 90k down here in FL does. The commute into the city will suck, of course you lived in SoCAL so that is something you are used to. However, no driving the Miata in the winter, snow, ice and ice storms.

I liken this to my brother who moved to Greenbay WI to take a job. Yeah the pay is good, but there is nothing to do there. It is covered under snow from Late Sept/early Oct to April or so.

Even though NYC has a shit load more to offer as far as entertainment and culture and you will have 4 seasons up there, but to me the trade offs would not be worth it.

And forget driving to work in ten minutes. And forget driving to work at all.
And forget driving to the store. And forget wide open roads ten minutes from the house. And forget keeping a radio in your convertible, hahaha. And forget being able to work on your car in your driveway. And forget having a driveway.

I dunno. I moved around all of my life and I had a choice and I chose here. Port Charlotte is a little bit smaller town, but that's not the worst thing in the world. There's some serious benefits to not being overpopulated. For instance, I don't like people, hehe. You aren't very far from the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg area and there is plenty of good stuff going on here.

BTW, How would you like to join me on a pit crew for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in a couple of weeks? I am working on the hookup.

I wouldn't go for 80K. I enjoy open spaces, and driving cars too much.



Some people love the city. I like visiting.


I wouldn't move there unless it was for >250K with a good benefits and vacation package.

I live in a fairly small town. It's not much, but we do have a nuclear reactor and a medium sized airport. The population is about 5000 and everybody is really friendly. Your neighbors all know your name. They actually pay me to live in this town, and even cover all my travel expenses to some sweet places around the world. The whole town gets to go... it's pretty cool.

That's great, if you like being surrounded by seamen. :giggle: ;)

Isn't it kinda noisy living that close to the runway? You are what, 50 yards or less from it anywhere in town?

Have you ever been to NY. My father lives in the Bronx and within 10 minutes he's on roads that most people in FL wouldn't know how to drive on. Not to mention he drives everywhere he wants to go up there. As for commuting to the city, yeah I wouldnt even thinking about driving there but everywhere else, its no different then like here in south Fl.



Love you sig btw :giggle:
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No good bars in Nimitz town.

I've lived in greater NY pretty much my whole life. Without knowing what your expectations are, I would say $80-90K could be a real stretch. If you want to live in the 5 boroughs, secure parking can cost as much as an apartment does in the rest of the country, which usually means either driving something you don't care about or no car at all.

If you want to live in any of the popular suburbs within 90 minutes commute of downtown, you're probably looking at Carlsbad-level pricing again. Downtown studios might mean your commute from the burbs is the bus or train to midtown and subway downtown, unless PATH service to the old WTC station has been restored. I did it for 2 years and it wasn't swell. If PATH is back up, the commute from North Jersey isn't bad since you can go right from Newark or Hoboken direct to Liberty Street/Wall Street area.

I don't know about the City, but in Fairfield County the rents are going down faster than the price of houses. But you're still looking at about $1500+ per month to get started.

I live here by choice. It's true that winter bites the big one, but there's just so much going on and so much to do that it seems like a good trade.

Sorry guys, but I gotta dis-agree with a lot of your comments about why not to live in NY.

The only two I can possibly agree with is the expensive rent and homes. Every other reason screams "I am still a little kid so I need room to play and I dont like to be inconvenienced".

A few more reasons that I would say no to NY.

Yankees
Mets
Knicks
Jets
Giants

Congrats to you for wearing bigboy pants.

:jerkit:

Cost of living: Compare prices in two cities - CNNMoney.com

I know these cost of living calulators aren't all that accurate, but it at least gives you some measure of things.

$80,000 in NYC manhattan is the equivalent of $35,575 in Fort Myers, FL which is the closest city I could find to you according to that calculator.

I have many friends (and two sister-in-laws) that live/work in NYC and it certainly is not cheap. But if it's a career stepping stone, it might be worth it.

Be prepared though to deal with the fact that most native New York City residents see the world like this:
http://bignewsreport.files.wordpress...steinberg1.jpg

Needs more traffic congestion to be realistic.

Joe what happened to law school, if you don't mind me asking? I thought you were pretty gun ho about getting accepted.

My guess is he found out that you have to work 80 hour weeks doing corporate law in order to pay back the loan in anything under 20 years or to make enough money that would have justified the law school commitment. Or maybe that he can command\make more now then out of law school working the same amount of hours.

How about some facts from a poor boy who was born and raised in NYC and the surrounding suburbs. Currently I make 43k a year and my GF makes 39k. We live in a smallish UPW apartment which costs us 2100 per month. We don't live extravagantly at all but we don't starve or lack for entertainment either. Everything is easily accessible and we're close to some of the best food (lots of good bars too) and entertainment anywhere.

I grew up in Westchester county which is the suburb directly north of NYC. I just moved 3 weeks ago from an apartment there that cost me 1300 per month for over 700 square feet. I could get from there to midtown Manhattan within 30-40 minutes by car if there is minimal to moderate traffic and less than 40 minutes by the metro north train which runs through most towns in Westchester county. As far as driving for pleasure there are fun roads within 30 minutes of the city. ALL the roads in the metro area are fucking terrible condition wise though. Westchester has the highest property tax in the nation I believe so I wouldn't buy a house there if I were you. It is pretty idyllic in some ways but also filled with housewives with Lexus SUVs...

I hear Queens is pretty nice. It seems like it's getting harder to get anything in Brooklyn for a decent price that's not a straight up ghetto.

I don't plan on staying in NYC forever because it is expensive compared to the rest of the country but it is a great great city. I've traveled a lot in my life and it's still probably my favorite place. It has a lot to offer. It is extremely diverse. I don't think that cartoon represents new york. It probably represents the upper west and east side but there are many many people here that were not born here and people from all different financial and political persuasions. I say it's worth it to stay here for a little while just to experience it but don't plan on settling down here, I don't.

joe -

i think the pay isn't so much as an issue as it may be where you would be happiest.

10 years is a long time, NYC is the top market for many industries. Aim high on the salary. comparing your other salaries, i wouldn't take any less than $125k.

if you live a little further south in jersey and don't mind an hour drive you can get a nice house with a 2car garage and own it and still have some extra

My family is from NY. I used to go there for 1 month per year to visit them. Each time I went, I'd promise myself I'd never go back.

NYC is an ok place to visit in extreme moderation. The hayden planetarium and american museum of natural history are absolutely amazing.

NYC is a horrible place to live. Crowded. Dirty. Loud. Rude. Quality of life is low. Residences are small and expensive. Taxes are insane. Prices on basic necessities are rediculous. Government is brutal. People are disgustingly socialist-minded.
Odds are you won't be able to have a car, let alone drive it.

Last time I was up there, we went to a typical NYC delicatesin for lunch. I paid. $75 for 3 sandwiches, 2 diet cokes, 1 water, and 1 potato salad. At another place we had breakfast, I thanked the waitress for refilling my coffee. She was so astounded that she was thanked, she kind of stared at me blankly with her mouth partially opened.

Living outside the city isn't too much better, it's a bit less expensive, but you then also have a really shitty commute.

No matter where you go, you're always going to be in the flight path of 3 major international airports. Then you might also get the privelage of living near a commuter railroad.

$80K wouldn't be near enough to persuade me to live there.

joe,

it all depends on how far you want to commute and if you plan on staying long enough top buy a property.

$80k will be pretty tough to survive on if you looking for a short commute and/or looking to buy. you could probably live comfortably in a rental over in north jersey and take the train in. BTW, there is some great driving up here (yes, jersey has mountain roads).

like i mentioned in another thread: the economy hasn't been significantly effected up here and homes are still outrageously priced.

but the punani is exquisite!

and I have never had such tender gnudi

No...This is such a caricature of nyc and new yorkers its not even funny. I think NYC is a horrible place to visit but a nice place to live. There are (unfortunately) plenty of Republicans here. I have a car, park it, and drive it daily. If you payed $75 for that you got taken. I've never heard of something like that.

people say similar stuff about DC. I had a garage a mile from the capitol. other than being far from my job, it was a great place to live.

Fuck I'm glad I'm Canadian and live where I do. :)

Joe, I just moved BACK to NY from Miami, FL.
I'll give you my opinion, which will differ from the majority here. Reason being it seems most people are going off of heresey and not actuality.
Let's clear a couple things up...

MANHATTAN--it's a place to work, it's a place to go for entertainment, otherwise you want to get in/out as fast as possible. Dont bother wasting a ton of money tryin to live there to shorten your commute.
Everyone commutes to the city via MASS TRANSIT. May be different where you are, but in Miami, there was no such thing. Here you have trains, subways, ferry, bus's, and express bus's. Not ONE of each, but many many many different one's at different times, going to all sorts of places. You can drive to the city, but its pointless. The roads are shit, traffic can get rough, and the worst is parking. FUCK living in the city.

OUTSIDE Manhattan--it's a whole different animal. Some areas are more city like, some are straight suburbs. Cost of housing is a fraction of what it is in Manhattan, you have everything you want (hardware stores, restaurants, movies, porn shops, pancake house, shops, malls, etc etc etc)
Alot of good rentals out there too. You can get yourself a basement apartment which will prob be a good 700+ sq ft for about 1k, maybe less depending on your taste. This would mean your own entrance, and most likely use of driveway, backyard, etc... (yes those thigns DO exist).

Price of real estate--yes its expensive. Again no use in fighting it, they do have a great tax abatement, and insurance here is dogshit compared to what I was paying in Miami.

Taxes are a bitch, no 2 ways about it. Fed, state, city, local (this is as of 2000--haven't worked since my return) all come out of income. Tolls are fairly expensive too.
Otherwise its the same old shit. Ben says he paid $75 for a couple sandwiches, I say either a gross exaggeration or alltogether BS.

Economy/housing market---it's just not really bad here. some people are hurting, but its the exception rather than the rule. Home prices have dropped, but no where near as dramatic.

Weather, I been here since early December. It's snowed like 4-5x's, but about 2" each time. Which is crap. Streets are clear immediately, etc.



You've probably done it already, but start checking craigslist for places. STart comparing things like supermarkets, and whatnot.

Anythign I can do to help let me know.

That's actually pretty close to spot on. I had dinner two nights ago with an old friend from high school who is now working for Sidley Austin, and doing pretty much exactly that.

I've been curious about this- you're paying how much, and parking where? (and this is the Miata, yes?)



This is just something that was dropped on me yesterday. Obviously, for $80k I'm not moving to New York. I can make that doing freelance work living in FL, where my cost of living (quite literally) is nearly zero.

And I'm not starry-eyed about the big city. I've seen pretty much everything. I've built radio stations in LA, DC, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Seattle, DFW, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Birmingham, New Orleans, Phoenix, etc... This is my fourth NYC build.

I enjoy the San Diego lifestyle. warm climate, nice roads. Of course, there's a reason I left, well, two reasons. Too expensive, and the company I worked for out there seems like it's circling the bowl.

I don't particularly enjoy the snow and cold, but then I survived 5 years in Cincinnati.


Quality of life issues:

1: Must have a private garage. This eliminates everything on Manhattan, as well as all multi-story apartment building. I don't need a big house, but I do need some space to work. Well, I'll add a proviso here. If I could afford something decent on the island, with maybe a spare bedroom to tinker in, I'd probably give up the car. It's time to sell this one and move on anyway.

2: Commuting. Ugh. Every place I've ever lived, I've managed to avoid horrid commutes. I've always factored that into my choice of residence. No freeway travel, usually no more than 10-15 minutes on good roads. Obviously that wouldn't be the case here. 90 minute commutes are out. 60 minute commutes would be pushing it. I can deal with mass transit if it's efficient (and Penn Station anyway, seems to run pretty well), though when the weather's nice, I'd probably buy a 250 to ride in on.

3: The burbs. Truth be told, I'm pretty comfortable living in nice, quiet suburban neighborhoods with boring tract homes populated by families with 2.5 children and a dog named "spot." Being able to purchase crack without walking more than 2 or 3 blocks would not qualify as an amenity in my book. I do not need to be entertained by the neighborhood spray-can art expo either.

So, are these goals entirely incompatible? What number would I need to talk them up to in order to live comfortably under this regime? 100? 120? 150?

I park on the street. If my car had not been hit while parked in the burbs and had the bumper fucked up I'd probably cringe every time I walked away from parking it. It hasn't been hit yet somehow. Paying for a spot is out of my cashflow range. I may sell my car once I no longer work in the burbs because you don't need one in the city. I'm doing a reverse commute right now, which is great because I never have traffic. Sounds like the burbs would be good for you. Like I said and tvalenziano said mass transit is very good. You can live outside the city and have a train in your town that will get you there in twenty minutes or more depending on how far out you live.
On the other hand if you can make the same money and live in Florida or elsewhere for next to nothing I wouldn't move here unless you really loved NYC.

I love to visit NYC from time to time to skate and shit, but I doubt I could ever handle living there. Too many people all over all the time for my liking. :td:

Vash-

And that's the question- where specifically should I be looking that will put me in a decent place with a garage and yet still get me into to town quickly? Could be a regular house, a townhome / apartment (with garage, mind you), etc.

Well, I consider my current situation transitory. I hate the living dogshit out of Florida, and I need to leave. I'd also like to settle back into something resembling a normal job, because while I'm doing quite well now when I am working, work is somewhat sporadic at best.

My plan has been to attend the NAB convention in April, and hit up a couple of former competitors. Ex-Harris (and more specifically, ex-PR&E) people are somewhat valuable from a bragging rights standpoint. Axia even touts in it's print ads about "Mike Dosch and his team of ex-PR&E renegades". Problem is that Axia is in Cleveland, and Cleveland can eat a dick for all I care. Wheatstone is in Newbern NC, which wouldn't be too bad, although their president is kind of an ass.


The weird thing, being a country boy at heart, is that it doesn't bother me one bit. I've never lived here full-time, but I've done month-long stretches in the city for work before. However I've always stayed in a hotel on the island, so the commute has been nothing more than one or two subway rides at the most.

The subway system I've got down pretty good. What I know virtually nothing about is the inter-city trains: PATH, all the shit that goes to Penn Station, etc. I've used PABT to get into Jersey exactly once, and I don't really consider that a viable commute option.

(On the plus side, I am told that WTC station is back up.)

Oh, yeah and you get to deal with the polite New Yorkers.
And you can date girls who sound like Fran Drescher.
And find a nice place to live in Brooklyn. Like this duplex currently listed at $429,000. It is a 3/1.5/1, 1130 Sq. ft. and the taxes are $2,400http://links.mlslirealtor.com/mlspho...17/2116617.jpg
or maybe you can stay in this one in Port Charlotte for the same money.
It is a 3062 Sq. Ft. 4/2.5/ 3 car garage, with a screen enclosed pool with waterfall, a jacuzzi spa, a dock on the waterfront that opens into the Gulf of Mexico, 12 and 14 foot ceilings, master bedroom with 6 sliding glass doors that pocket to open up to the lanai, master bath with walk-in Roman-style tiled shower, Italian porcelain tile floors, etc. Did I mention the 3 car garage?
http://bensonteam.com/images/listing...8medium%29.jpg

http://bensonteam.com/images/listing...8medium%29.jpg

http://bensonteam.com/images/listing...8medium%29.jpg

http://bensonteam.com/images/listing...8medium%29.jpg

http://bensonteam.com/images/listing...8medium%29.jpg

Yeah, I'm convinced. Quality of life is more important than just breathing to me.

Ok, I know living in Charlotte County is cheap. I grew up there. And now I need to get the hell out again before it drives me batshit crazy. There's a reason that it costs next to nothing to live here- there are no jobs! At least not in my line of work.

So, can we all please drop the "Stay in Florida" business. I hate it, the roads suck, the weather is horrible, there are too many damn bugs, and I'll take ten thousand Fran Dreschers over the bluehair crew.

And yes, I know what New York is like. I'm here right now, and I've spent lots of time working in the city. What I don't know is what the surrounding areas are like, what commuting into and out of the city on a daily basis is like, etc. It's one thing to fly into LGA, take the M60 to Astoria & 31st, transfer to the N/W, and then spend the next month commuting back and forth between a hotel at B'way & 49th (that someone else is paying for) and a jobsite at Hudson & Houston via the 1 train. It's something entirely else to live on the outside, work on the inside, and make the commute every single day.

What I'm really hoping for is someone who will give me a reasonable assessment as to where (if at all) one can find reasonably affordable accommodations (< $2,000 / mo, or < $400,000 or so) that permit a decent commute (I'm not commuting an hour each way to get to work and back, just ain't happening) and otherwise meets the criteria laid out above?

Seriously.


(incidentally, $2,400 /yr in tax is nothing. In Carlsbad, you'd pay >$10k in tax for that house.)

I lived in NYC for 18 years and go back every year to visit family.

NYC:
-is expensive as hell
-has ridiculously high taxes. I don't think 80k is quite high enough, but a lot of people end up paying AMT which is a whole extra hassle on top of federal income tax.
-is a horrible place for car enthusiasts. They really try and fuck you in the ass at every opportunity, both in terms of money and in terms of enforcement of petty road rules. There's also no place to park, ever. My parents pay about 400 a month to rent a garage spot.
-hope you don't own any guns, because you're going to have to leave them behind when you go to NYC. We're at least another supreme court decision away from 2nd amendment incorporation in the 2nd circuit.
-everything costs more because of all the taxes raising the cost of doing business plus the cost of commercial leases.

Seriously, fuck NYC, it's an expensive shithole.

And I currently live in FL. I've also lived around DC and spent a few years in norcal.

And the last place on my list of "places to move" is NYC. That place is just buried in bad government.

Obviously there are some strong opinions here...

In the town where I work (Bronxville) I know someone that pays close to 50k in property taxes....

Joe, I don't know the burroughs all that well but I think Staten Island has some pretty suburban areas. As far as the county I'm from you can look at the MTA's website for travel times via the metro north railroad. MTA Metro-North On this map anything within the red area is less than an hour by train. The cities circled in blue are shitholes, the other two circled towns are uber expensive. But the property taxes in the county as a whole are very high. You could probably find a nice place to rent on the sound or the hudson easily in your budget. I'm partial to the hudson towns because that's where I'm from but they are also quieter and quaint...er.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wuclan/mnr-1.jpg

Also, my GF's brother lives in Hoboken and he's able to get to work in midtown within 20-30 minutes via the PATH train. It's cheaper than Manhatten but I don't know how cheap. Craigslist can give you an idea.

When I worked in the city, I was all the way downtown (2WTC). Commuting from Westchester, CT or LI means a 20-min minimum subway ride from Penn Station or GCT, so if you add that to your drive to the station and your train ride, possibilities for a 1-hour commute get pretty limited.

My brother worked downtown as well. He lived in Westfield, NJ took the train to Newark, and then the PATH train direct to the WTC station - it was almost exactly 65 min door-to-door. The trick was that Westfield was directly on the right train line.
There are(or at least were) several lines in north Jersey that would work, and plenty of towns closer than Westfield. I have a bunch of friends and co-workers in NJ and can ask next week about rentals in commute-friendly areas.

Let the experience-free Jersey bashing begin!

Joe I live in Staten Island, and as previous said thats about all there is for suburbs near the city. Other option would be Long Island, but even more expensive and further away.

Staten Island = approx 30-60minute commute depending on how you choose to get to the city and where in the city you're going to be, and finally where on Staten Island you are. I'm pretty much a stone throw from Jersey (South Shore/Tottenville), so it'd take me bout 60mintues via Express Bus. That said there's plenty of neighborhoods which are closer to Verrazano, and would get you into the city in bout 20min, then add on depending on where in the city you're going. For reference, Downtown NYC is closest part to Staten Island. IOW if you're going to be working Uptown, it'll take alot longer than if you were going Downtown.
You can simply take and Express Bus, which will take you straight into the city, or take the train to the ferry which will get you to downtown and go from there (bus/sub).

As far as comparing to Florida, its got its cookie cutter neighborhoods, but much less of it. And there's really no associations to speak of. There are plenty of TH's, and SEMI's (think FL duplex but a little nicer). I'd estimate aroundf $1700/ $1800ish for a townhouse/semi w/ a garage. Maybe can find something lower, and obviously higher. Range I'd say is roughly $1700-$2000 give or take.
It so happens my father knows alot of builders/owners/etc having been in construction doign foundations for 30yrs here. If you decide to, I can ask him and see if he knows of anything. He always knows someone renting, buying, building, etc...

You got everything you need here as far as stores, restaurants, things to do, shopping, etc etc... Some nice twisty roads, but unfortunately potholes or traffic ruin them for the most part (googe Amboy Rd for example). And whatever you don't have here, you can easily find in Jersey. Most people I know venture into Manhattan for work or entertainment, thats bout it.

I believe the local site is silive.com , can find some rental postings and whatnot. Or as I mentioned earlier CL has plenty too.
I personally would steer away from buying right now, for a townhouse like you're looking for you'd be close to $350+k.

As for your salary question, you mentioned you won't move for 80k, and IMO a single guy thats has normal taste can live pretty comfortably with that. I am referring to renting though, if you plan to purchase, it'll be tight.

Finally, I don't know how long your in town for (I know u posted somewhere), but if you'd like to see for yourself drop me an email/pm or whatever. There's not an awful lot to see, so a couple hours would be enough to drive around to pretty much every part, make some notes, check out neighborhoods, main areas, etc...

After this weekend I'll know a bit more about my future schedule and I'd be happy to drive you around westchester as well if you're curious.

just had to

:giggle:

That is of course what I was implying.:giggle:

FUCK THAT! 2100/month will BUY a HUGE house here in florida.

Yeah I could never live up there. Wow. That's some crazy shit.

I've been in NYC less than a year, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Lots of good advice so far. Summary - you will not get far with 80k here unless you commute from outside the city.

Check carefully, you might get taxed TWICE on your income - I believe if you live in CT and work in NY, you end up paying income tax in both states. I don't know about NJ.

The Path station at WTC is definitely open, I use it to get to Jersey City all the time. Jersey city is... not pretty. But you might be able to find cheap housing there. Not exactly close to fun roads though. PATH is a viable option, depending on which line you live on, to get to various parts of Manhattan. Just remember that an hour commute in the morning on public transit is far different from an hour commute in your car in traffic - you can read the paper, catch up on work/email, etc. It's not a lost hour spent listening do blathering morning-show DJs.

Keep in mind that even with cheap housing, your income will not go as far. Dunno who's picking up your meal tabs, but look at the receipt and think of how much that'll cost you if you lived here.

My advice - follow the lead. Work with the guy and go through the process. If it's a job you'll love and the only holdup is the money, do your research and come back to him with an argument for why you should be paid what you want. No harm in exploring the possibility.


ps - just to make people cringe even worse - I pay nearly $2k for a studio downtown. 535sq feet. And every New Yorker who sees it says what a steal it is. Not luxury.

Again. Its cheap because its hard for people to find a job there to afford the housing, so its cheap, also its one way to attract people. Their are a lot of job opportunities in the city vs Charlotte so living here will be more expensive, because everyone wants to live here and living comfortably makes space a premium.

These arguments of live here its cheaper are the ridiculous. Its cheaper because no one lives there, or wants to live there, and theres nothing to do there. If that place had anything to offer then people wouldnt be flocking to the cities seeking employment and everyone would be buying houses overlooking the ocean for 400k.

Compare the average salary of a person living in Port Charlotte to the average salary of someone living in the city and then we will talk again. You cant have your cake and eat it too, in either place you will be faced with the same question, can I afford this place. Unless you are making 200+ working in the City and living in Port Charlotte then thats the only way its gonna happen.

Sorry to disappoint you but anything under 400k will require a 1 hour commute, maybe 45 min. Its just that simple, and everyone who lives outside the city deals with it.

Heres the funny bit. My sister lives in Jersey about 50 miles away from the city, her commute is an hour. I live in Brooklyn, 11 miles from the city and my commute also takes an hour.

a lot of you guys who keep saying "2000 will buy a house here in X" must not get the distinction between living in the exurbs and living in a city.

it's not that simple or there wouldn't be huge population concentrations around metropolitan/urban areas.

a lot of people would rather rent a small apartment in NYC for 2000 a month than buy a house in some random place where two freeways meet.

So tired of everyone saying how NY is so expensive and xxx is so cheap...and how you can get xxxx sqft house, blah blah blah...

I quoted Joe cuz as the OP he's even requested everyone drop the arguement.

I was born here, I moved back here. But NYC is not the best place in the world, there is no such thing. It always comes down to pro vs cons, and what the individual prefers. YOU may think xxx is great, doesnt mean I feel the same. "you'll have yours, I'll have mine, and together we'll be fine"


Joe, decide on how much money you'd be happy with, and so long as its 80k or more we'll find you a place that fits your criteria...again tho, I'd get comfortable with the idea of renting not buying for now.



ps--sixshooter, I assume if I pulled up to your house it'd look just like that one you posted right?

that.

this company wants you, they've seen your work. see how far they are willing to go to make this happen. shoot high in the salary, have your minimum set.

Thanks everyone for the helpful banter.

I had today off, so I took the 1 train down to the south ferry terminal and rode the ferry to Staten Island and back. The ferry trip along took ~25 minutes dock-to-dock, so you add driving to the ferry station (or to a park-n-ride, and then the bus) plus waiting in the terminal, plus the uptown 1 to Houston St., and we're well over an hour.

And I'm getting the feeling that it's going to be pretty much the same story everywhere off the island. Substitute PATH / LIRR for the ferry, and we're at pretty much the same roadblock.

I finally did some looking around on Craigslist. Maybe I'm a luddite (or just slow to adopt new trends) but I'd never thought to look there. Surprisingly, I'm seeing a lot of 1br and studio apts in midtown and upper-west, and even a few in SoHo, the financial district, etc., around $2k (and no broker fee). Having come from north San Diego county of late, this actually does not seem blasphemously high to me.


Interesting dilemma. Sell the car, live on Manhattan, and have a short, tolerable commute. Live on Staten Island, keep the car (and have a garage), but deal with the commute.

Realistically speaking, what are the best ways into the city, assuming one needs to get to Hudson & Houston?


Heh. We don't even have one freeway in Port Charlotte, much less two. You've gotta drive a ways out of town to reach I-75.

Yes there is. It's San Deigo.

I'm following a loose lead there right now. I have a friend who works for SAIC, and wants to send along my resume. I wouldn't mind getting out of broadcasting and into govt' / military. Radio is dead, and TV isn't far behind. But there will always be war.


Yeah, I went there this afternoon. It's kinda strange being a nice, new, clean train station. Even thought I've done several jobs in town since, this was the first time I'd been back to the site since Sep 9, '01 when I was installing an STL receiver on the 110th floor of 1WTC.

The irony here is staggering, given that it's my job to keep said blathering DJs on the air. :D

Joe, the center of the world is LA. Everyone knows that. =)