How do you afford it?!

[Pottebaum]

After looking around at NYC real estate websites, I am completely shocked at how expensive the city is to live in! How do you guys do it?

Room-mates? Frugal living? Good jobs?

[BPC]

1. The pay scale is higher here.

2. The apartments are tiny.

To let you know how this plays out with me personally, I am a reasonably well paid professional, I make far more than professionals doing comparable work in other cities, and yet I live in a place the size of the former college dorm rooms of my counterparts in other cities.

[Pottebaum]

If you don't mind me asking, which neighborhood do you live in? Is it pretty affordable?

[Gulcrapek]

Check his name ;)

[Pottebaum]

Ahhhhh!

[ASchwarz]

New York isn't really that expensive. Outside of Manhattan and Brownstone Brooklyn, most of the City is affordable. You can get a nice (but small) apartment in an elevator building in Bay Ridge or Bensonhurst for like $800-$900. These are great neighborhoods with convenient subway access, tons of amenities and are extremely safe.

[RedFerrari360f1]

I do well for myself and am able to do just fine but I am always suprised to see how teachers and police ect get by. I have friends in Cleveland that make 80-200k and live like kings. In NY no doubt that would be a great range to be in but certainly nothing to splurge (depends on deff i suppose). It all comes down to personal expectations of life and how you want to live. 80k isnt going to get you that stunning apartment and S430 it could in other places, but who here would trade that for living else where??

[Deimos]

If you're careful with spending your money, Manhattan is an affordable place. Granted somewhere around $60,000 is really the bottom line for having any quality of life if you don't have any roomates. Yes you will have a tiny appartment, but with parks everywhere, and the city as your living room, people who choose to live here make conscious decisions about what really defines quality of life.

And yes, the house I lived in my senior year at college cost about the same to live in per month (for the 4 of us combined) as my studio apartment (for just myself)