Life in New York City

people love the lifestyle, but hate the cost of living
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Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD, and has not had an interview yet...

At 24, I don't want to be anywhere else; but the lifestyle (notwithstanding long hours in the office, which applies no matter what city you're in) still leaves a lot to be desired.

New York is exciting, certainly, but it is crazy expensive, loud, dirty, and it's tough to escape on weekends if you don't have a car.

It has literally (in my opinion, anyway) the best and worst of everything. Nevertheless, it is still at the center of everything and deserves commensurate respect. But I couldn't possibly live here forever.

Go work somewhere like Toronto, make out like bandits for a couple years, save up money, and when you come to New York as an associate, buy a condo. Rent is insane in Manhattan.

I worked there my last two summers and it was great but sometimes the people aren't so great, most of them are a bunch of lames trying to be something they're not.

This is VERY true. Manhattan is replete with these types of insecure strivers. I wouldn't expect most of the deluded mouthbreathers on here to realize this, though.

Hater stay on their job in this thread.

NYC is the GOAT, and more work just means you gotta go harder when you go out (no homo).

Seriously though, yeah it's pricey, but you'll be making big bucks. You don't need to go to Bed every weekend or any one of those clubs and buy bottles...anyone would go broke doing that shit.

"To Know Me Is To Love Me"-Jebus Price

Seriously sometimes the level of doucheness at those clubs is unreal, yet somehow you always get suckered into going...

As an analyst, though, how much money do you really spend? If bankers work as much as they say they do it seems like you would go out 1 night a week tops. If housing is $2500/month that's $30000/year, add $10000 or so for food and stuff, what else do you spend money on? It seems like one would be able to save an insane amount of money if you don't have a girlfriend/family yet...

It easily adds up. B/c of my wonderful work schedule, I am spending $700 to fly somewhere not special for X-mas... but if I had a "normal" job it'd cost $350 b/c of the increase flexiblity. I swear I've wasted ten of thousands of dollars on "last-minute" shit b/c of this job.

12/23 LGA - Milwaukee one-way, $485. Milwaukee's not even home for me, either. Some other convenience fees: dry cleaning pick up/drop off (free @ Alpian's w/ $200 monthly minimum), lunch/dinner delivery ($10-$15 min order), maid service ($50-$75 mo.), laundry (~$8/pound), shoe shine ($5 for the guy who comes to our office), I-hardly-go-out-and-I'm-over-this-line-so-let's-just-get-a-bottle ($300+), and the biggest killer: cabs.

However, work picks up a lot. I usually bang through $600-$1,000/month excluding travel and travel-related charges. Tonight, for example: Shun Lee Palace delivery for 3, $147.11. Absurd, excessive, and possibly indefensible. But it makes me feel slightly less worse sitting in the office missing all these holiday parties.

Having said all that, provided you are in your 20s to early 30s, I deem the price of admission in this city fully worth it.

It is the only place where you can leave the office at 1am and still go out and party.

why would you go on a one way there? What are all the travel expenses from?

Can't you have a house in Staten Island and just drive to work? I've never been to New York, but in all honesty I don't think I'd even want to visit the place. I prefer Chicago since it has a better skyline and is spread out more.

BudLight,
What planet are you from? Parking in NYC in midtown is like $35-40 per day. A "house" in anywhere near Manhattan is like $600k-$1mm for a crapper. So, between paying your mortgage and parking, that's 100% of your analyst salary and you haven't eaten yet.

its really not the greatest idea to take a car into NYC, because of the lack of parking, lots of traffic.

+ do you really want to be driving after having worked for 48 hours straight?

As far as getting a house, sure it might sound good on paper, but you'll most likely not be able to afford one, and the things you can afford will make for an impossible commute
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Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD, and has not had an interview yet...

I like NYC to visit, not so much to live.

Honestly, it is thee city to live in for you kids in the prime of your "yout"... borrowing Joe Pesci's famous Joizey dialect from the movie 'My Cousin Vinny' :-)

I'm waaay to old for NYC now. If I'm there on business for more than 3 days I honestly start to feel like I'm out of my element.

I've had recruiters call me about potential opportunities in NYC and unless the salary is an obscene amount of money, not worth it for me anymore. At this point my preference would be to either stay in Chicago or else go to LA, San Francisco, London anywhere but NYC.

Luke77, you're missing a lot of numbers here. 40k a year is more than the salary we take home (I bring home 36 after taxes and benefits, or 3k/month). 2500/month for rent is absurd; nobody pays that by themselves as an analyst. My studio costs 2500 a month, yes, but my share of that is 1500, which is pretty normal for an analyst.

So: $3000 bring-home minus $1500 rent minus $600 minimum debt payment minus $300 dry cleaning and other home-related bills (internet, electricity, personal cell phone, basic staples like deodorant and shampoo) minus $300 for basic food (and $10 a day doesn't go very far in New York) minus $100 cabs (or one round-trip to somewhere north of Houston Street per week) minus $100 work staples (stockings that run every few days; expensive makeup to last through 18-hour days) minus $100 in health care (prescription meds, gym membership, occasional doctor visit), and that's it.

That doesn't allow for the following:

Suits, shirts, shoes, clothes of any kind
Winter clothes, coats, scarves
Haircuts, shoeshines
Insurance for my Vespa (admittedly, having it is a luxury)
Meals in restaurants
The specialty coffees that everybody seems to drink
Boozin' it up
Movies, games, entertainment
Travel of any kind
Gifts

So how am I going to save an insane amount of money? I can't even afford clothes or haircuts. I can't afford to fly "home", wherever that is. I can't go to the movies or buy a video game. In many ways, I live like a lower-end non-unionized blue-collar worker, wondering how many meals I need to skip if I want to buy a winter coat.

I think you failed to take taxes into account. Or something.

I think he was factoring in the bonus ...

Great, but we don't get a bonus until the end of the first year. Even then, one needs to realize that it's cut in half by taxes. And if I want any of the clothing and meals described above, it goes on credit cards which get paid off by the bonus.

Sure, you can save. Ten grand, twenty grand, maybe even thirty if you're really into self-denial. And that's not an insane amount, given the fact that we work so hard.

Agreed, I know so many analysts who borrow money from their parents just to pay the rent because the cost of living is so outrageous in NYC.

True. And if I had parents, I probably wouldn't have that $600 debt payment every month either. The lucky ones have been helped through school by their parents in some form or fashion, and thus don't have anywhere near the amount of debt I do. They're even luckier if their parents can continue to help during that first year in NYC.

so "wall street" it's not even funny.

"I gotta live in manhattan to be a player. There's no nobility in poverty anymore, dad"

How about an analyst has to live in Manhattan in order to save those precious moments of sleep that would otherwise be wasted on extra travel time to and from work.

Agreed, Bateman. Clearly, thatguy doesn't work in Manhattan until 4 AM.

Additionally, the money saved by living in Jersey City or anywhere else just isn't that staggering. It's cheaper, sure, but Jersey City is still more expensive than most American cities simply due to its proximity to the city and the huge number of people who live there and commute in.

Bateman, I have a feeling the non-bankers are just going to bitch about anybody who doesn't live in outer Newark and spent an hour and twenty to two hours each way.

I think a lot of non-bankers believe that analysts are a bunch of status-obsessed rich kids. However, most of the analysts I know are humble, hardworking, and have their heads on completely straight. Hell, half of them aren't even from the US. You think they really care about the so-called status of living in Manhattan? Being cool is the last thing on your mind when you haven't slept in days or showered since yesterday. You reach a point where you just say, "Fuck you, world. I'm going to survive first and worry about your bullshit later."

do you really own a vespa?

OK, fair enough. I've never lived in New York, so admittedly I don't know how much it truly costs to live in the city. But looking at your budget, I get:

-$1500 rent
-$0 debt (no, my parents didn't pay for my school, I chose not to attend an ivy to take a full ride at a less prestigious school)
-$300 dry cleaning/miscellaneous
-$800 month food (I plan on eating out less often so I tacked on $500 to your food costs)
-$100 health care (I didn't include $100 for work staples because I'm a guy and all I can figure I'll be spending money on for that is dry cleaning, which is included above)

That adds up to $2700/month or $32,400/year.

Then add in:

$3000 for assorted clothes (this seems like an insane amount to me, I already have most of my clothes but I figure that most people will spend alot on clothes)

$500 for haircuts/shoeshines (this year I probably spent $100 for the whole year at supercuts)

That's like 35,900 for the year. I didn't include restaurant meals, booze, gifts, travel, but I'll get back to that.

The bank I'm thinking about working for offers 60+10, and bonuses for first-years last year were apparently $80K. I know that it's entirely possible that bonuses will fall next year, but lets look at a hypothetical analyst this year. That is $150K all in. If we assume 35% tax rate (is this correct? Federal tax rate is 28% at this level and I think NY is pretty high, like 5-6%, but you used 32.5% on your take home, so maybe it's lower) that leaves me with a take home of $97,500. Subtract basic expenses of 35,900 and you are left with $61,600. Now the remaining expenses (restaurant meals, booze, gifts, travel) seem to be mostly dependent on your lifestyle, but even if you blow $10,000 on this stuff it leaves you with over $50K - and I didn't even factor in things like tax breaks due to 401K, IRA, etc. Assuming that you get decent raises in years 2 and 3 if you stay on, it seems that this potential only gets bigger as you stay on.

I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm legitimately interested in whether some of the assumptions I'm making are doable. I know that at least here in college, all of my friends live way above their means and spend their money on the stupidest stuff (like $5 starbucks every day, etc.) It seems to me that if you make a budget before coming to the city that it's possible to save a shitload of money, even if there are some instances due to work or whatever where you have to blow money on something you didn't budget for. I have friends working in the city this year making $35K, so why shouldn't it be possible for an analyst to live on twice that and save the rest?

Don't forget, having a trust fund and a generous family helps a lot :D I love this city!

yea its a great safety net when you have a trust fund..

First off, I didn't use 32.5% for my taxes. I make 60, I bring home 36. That means 40% for my taxes.

Oh, I also didn't go to an Ivy, and I got the closest thing to a "full ride" my school offered, which still didn't pay for my car, my health insurance, any travel, any fun, gifts, clothes, or all the many other things that parents often cover. There are tons of hidden costs involved in going to school. I know kids who say they've never accepted a dime from their parents, when the parents are actually covering huge portions of the kid's lifestyle. It's all in what you want to define as help, and some people's definitions are more liberal than others.

Forget the signing bonus. You will more than blow that away through moving and getting into an apartment, let alone purchasing furnishings. My cost of moving to NYC was a little over $8k, while the post-tax from my bonus was only $6k.

Also, note that I'm not talking about the bonus. It's easy to think about analyst compensation as one number. Hell, that's what I did up until I got here. But now I'm stuck with $3500 in monthly expenses when I only make $3000, and let me tell you, that way of looking at it is seriously flawed.

Also, you may or may not want to just naturally assume that you'll be in the top bonus bucket. You can't always control these things, and the competition is very stiff.

Get your first-year bonus and the complaining will stop.

Nah. The first year bonus will put me at zero. No big savings, no serious debt. Then I'll be on the same standing as the kids with supportive families.

Ha-ha. It's a start. After doing this for two years, I kind of feel like I'm on equal footing although my real estate portfolio is sorely lacking (*sarcasm*).

Is this for real?? Holy shit.

Also, it seems that the biggest and most detailed breakdown we got was from Ms Ind. however it looks like she's got tons of debt. What's the breakdown if you have no debt. is it rosier? I can't imagine having the highest paying entry level job anyone can have and not be able to support myself.

If the debt isn't sinking Ms. Ind, it must be her spending habits.

I was one of the fortunate ones (graduating with no debt)... In that case, the basic rule of thumb is live off your salary and save your bonus.

Expect ~$1500 in rent (to get a decent place in Manhattan, with roommates), and don't get too crazy with table service at the usual D-bag bars and you should be quite alright for everything else (living expenses, occasional dinners with friends, etc.).

And contribute to your 401k....

What do you guys think a decent night life costs in NYC?

$200 on drinking in a night alone. Add another $100 if you want to go to a decent dinner. Dating? Double it. This is for one night. Figure 3 or 4 times a month, and you are at $10k a year, easily. You still haven't bought groceries, or some new non-irons at Brooks, or that barbour jacket you've been thinking about.

Also, MisInd doesn't have "tons of debt." She said she pays about $600 a month in debt. Even if $400 of that is student loans, that is probably only $50k in student loans. My undergrad was almost that much for one year. What about the guy that went 4 years on loans? They are the ones in real trouble.

Whoa... $200/nt. on drinks? I don't believe that.

$200 is very steep, yes. Not unheard of though, if you're buying rounds for friends (old and new).

Expect to drop at least $200, though, if you DO do bottle service somewhere. Generally not my style at all, but sometimes you can get roped into it depending on the group you're with.

Nice dinner for 2 and drinks afterwards should normally run a couple hundred-plus, all-in.

But if you can do that only once every few weeks, and all your dinners during the week are paid for by the firm, it's not unreasonable to feel a tad more celebratory when you do make it out on the weekend.

Incredible. That sucks.

The perils of being a guy...not that I'd prefer the alternative (apologies, ladies).

Understood :-)

Perhaps you fellas oughta stop trying to one-up each other? e.g. "I'll get this round"

$10,000 on drinks and dinners for one year. That's someone who can't manage money in the slightest. an absolute joke if someone is dropping that much.........

Agreed.

But it's only partly that--the other part being the duty of sharing the burden amongst friends.

Anyway, with guys, the rounds of beers, cabs, food, etc. all comes out in the wash. Not worth whimpering about who got the last round.

Well, $10,000 per year implies you're doing this every weekend...which isn't the case.

It's easy to do that a year. If you include late night munchies and drinks at $10 a pop, you're there. I live in LA and it's a little harder to do that, but definitely can occur.

the comment was originally in response to Ronald R who seems to think you are gonna drop $600 a night on a date. and on 3 to 4 dates a month (in a perfect world), you are dropping $1800 to $2400 a month! Basically, I'm saying this guy has no idea what he's talking about or he's just a huge sugar daddy.

I mean he's out dropping $200 and $100 on drinks and dinner in one night. What a fool

I spent $300/weekend on average in NYC and i was a lowly intern, I can imagine how you big ballers might spend a lot more.

But then I always had a couple of fine looking Parson/ FIT broads by my side and you know those chicks know how to party.

For those of us who don't indulge in crazy spending habits, we should be able to save a fair amount. I don't go out to bars, rarely drink, hardly eat out, and spend about $100 a month on entertainment. Considering I will be living in the south and making very near street level, I can't imagine that I won't be able to save up a significant portion of my pay.

it's pretty tough to save any on an analyst salary. By the time you take out taxes, it's pretty pathetic. I saved almost all of my bonus, but after tax I put about 35 in a mutual fund. After slaving away for a year, that seems like nothing. out of my regular salary, I put 7% in my 401k and 300 a month into a fund, but that's it. I guess it will be better when/if I get promoted to associate and if I stay in teh same apartment or have similar type of rent. But I"m going to try to get an associate position down south and then my rent money will go towards a mortgage/building equity and I will feel much better about my finances.