[slily]

I cannot understand how someone can make that much money and be so irresponsible with it. Even in NYC with high income taxes, on a $250k salary you'd have to be spending well over $5000 on rent for it to constitute 50% of your take-home pay. And spend at least that much on top of that on other unnecessary luxuries every month to be "living paycheck to paycheck". That's beyond disconnected, and implying it's normal in HCOL areas... Maybe normal in circles of trust fund kids. Reading HN comments makes me feel like I'm poor when I'm making 6 figures, or 2-3x the median household income.

[mancerayder]

In NYC the median rent is like 4200. MetroCard, gas, electric, internet take you to 4600, that's before you've eaten anything. Cocktails cost 15 bucks, beers 9, appetizers 20 dollars and entrees 30-40. Coffee costs 6-7 plus tip, taxis anywhere cost a fortune now and Ubers as well. 250k with fed, state, city tax, 401k and health deductions leave you with 5500-5600 every two weeks.(edited)

But god forbid you do anything in life but eat and pay rent. Most people buy clothes, furniture and go on vacation.

I'm sorry you feel poor. There's recent Bloomberg article titled, why 300k feels like 100k, outlining the insane cost of living of cities like NY and SF.

No need for 'trust fund kid' attacks, which by the way are based on incorrect information. Do you live in NYC?

[slily]

The median rent for 1 bedroom in NYC is $3600: https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/new-york-ny

I lived there until last year, paid $1600 for rent in an unattractive area, coffee around the block cost maybe $2.50 but I mostly brewed my own, and I ate out for maybe $30-40 per meal on average, when I ate out. I did plenty with less than half of that money and saved about half of my take-home during that period.

I didn't mean to label you specifically as a "trust fund kid", but I truly cannot believe that anyone who doesn't come from money (and thus hasn't developed a sense of financial responsibility as a child) would be capable of wasting that much money, even in NYC. In what world is it normal to spend hundreds of dollars a week eating out every single day?

[mancerayder]

Not everyone is willing to ride the subway for 45 minutes to an hr to get back and forth to work .. The median rent was for Manhattan, fair enough, but near-Manhattan Brooklyn neighborhoods like Downtown BK and Greenpoint are the same price.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/13/homes/manhattan-rentals-march...

Also your lifestyle depends on your age and relationship status. A 25 yr-old who eats out once a week and lives in Bushwick or the Bronx is a different category than a middle aged person who's in a relationship and works long hours.

[red-iron-pine]

Why the hell are you tipping for coffee?