USD 70k for NYC - good enough?

Hey! I need a bit of career advice from you guys, hoping somebody would help me out.

I work for this really good finance name in India. My company is now sending me to New York, USA to work at client location. This client is a bulge bracket IB and i would be working in their Equity Derivatives trading desk as a trade support analyst. My work profile would include helping out the traders in their day-to-day activities (not in term of trading decisions, but more in terms of whether their portfolios/ asset positions are correct, etc.), working on the risk management systems, liaising with risk reporting & scenarios team checking risk and scenario numbers, and stuff like that.

So for this position, they are offering me USD 70k per annum plus medical benefits. After taxes, i believe this will amount to USD 55k. So my question now - is this a decent amount for this profile? More importantly, is this enough to live, spend and save in NYC or the neighborhoods? I really am looking to save some decent amount when I am up there.

Some background on myself. I am almost 25 now, graduation with majors in finance & accountancy, CFA L2 candidate. Working in this company for 2 years now. Before this, worked in the field of M&A research for a little over 2 years. Not really sure if this background thing is necessary, but thought you guys might need it to decide if the compensation is fair.

Thanks!!

70k might become 55k after federal taxes, but what about state, city, and county taxes?

(I don’t live in NYC, so I know nothing about them. I’m sure others on here could educate us.)

It’ll be a good life experience and I would imagine will open up opportunities both within and outside of India that otherwise would not be available to you. That being said, 70k a year in NYC will not give you much room, if any to save. This is particularly true if you decide to live in Manhattan rather than an outlying borough. For example a 1 bedroom apartment in Williamsburg Brooklyn will cost you 2500 USD a month and for many of the posters on this board that neighbourhood would be considered too edgy/hipster to consider habitable.

I think you will be absolutely astonished at the difference in cost of living between NYC and anywhere else in the world, particularly coming from a developing country.

I think this is the type of opp a guy like you should jump in on with both feet, but if you are planning on coming back to india with a pile of cash saved, well you can pretty much forget about that.

Thanks guys!

Was aware about the fedral taxes, will do a research on the others.

@bodhisattva, i do understand the enormity of this oppurtunity and the push this will give to my career. So will be taking this. On the pay front, guess i will probably blow up must of it but when i do come back home, would at least like to ensure that i dont start from scratch again. :slight_smile:

One more thing, if i decide to stay up in say Newark or Jersey City that should make some difference right?

^ you won’t get the full experience of NYC living in NJ. I was up in NYC last weekend and its an awesome place. I’d happily live there for a couple years while I’m young.

The tax info for NYC and NY state is pretty easy to google and figure out. I’d budget close to 2000 per month for an apartment based on what I know. My friends who make around 70k make it just fine, but they’re not saving money. You also have to realize that you’ll spend tons of money on eating out, not only because its tasty, but because grocery shopping and cooking in your shoebox apartment is a pain.

I’d do it if I were you - I’m your age as well.

$70k sounds not bad for that job, particularly since you don’t have that much work experience. Most 25-year-olds who live in New York City are not involved in a finance business, and make significantly less than $70k. You do not have to live in Manhattan. Many young people are increasingly moving to Hoboken, Long Island City, or other parts of Queens. Many areas outside of Manhattan, such as Brooklyn, have become very trendy and rents in those areas have approached those of Manhattan.

You will probably be able to save at least some of your income. Consider some cost saving measures such as finding roommates to split the cost of a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. Also, as others have mentioned, consider this opportunity for the career progression, rather than for the income that you will earn in the first year.

Congratulations on your offer.

I recently turned 22 and live in NY on 50k a year. Its a tough but the most fun life.

I agree, I’m sure there are many who make way less than 70k. Just find a decent neighborhood outside Manhattan.

Congrats of course.

Newark is a very bad neighbourhood, I don’t know anything about Jersey City.

Congo!!!

I think you can stay in NJ to save up on that rent expense.The bus fare from NJ to NYC was $6-$8 last time when i was in USA around 2 yrs ago.

If you don’t mind,then please can you message me the name of your firm??

if u wanna save dough get 3 roomates to split an apt with

^ Is that socially acceptable once you’re out of college and have a career?

Of course!

The key to living in NYC (at any income level) is how many roommates you live with, what neighborhood, and eating habits. How do new grads doing BS jobs making $40k survive when a finance guy makes 90k and still saves $0??

Rent:

Share a $2k studio with someone, and that’s $1k a month in rent.

Or share a 1 bedroom, and split the living room into a bedroom, pay $1k to $1500 (nicer building)

get your own small/crummy studio $2k

decent studo $2500+

decent 1 bedroom $3000+

Neighborhood:

upper east side cheaper, 1 small bedroom $2k, or studio

soho - $3k for a small hole in the wall

Eating:

stay clear of anything expensive, you’ll live

Or do like CvM, and get someone to sublet you a rent-controlled apartment in Harlem for $1200/month.

The friend I stayed with last summer… the 3 people in their apt were a guy working in Big 4, an IB guy, and an MBA working for a hedge fund for the summer. 3 guys making decent coin splitting $4k in rent.

^ Did you find those conditions held you back when came time to bring a HCB back home?

General rule of thumb if you want your net salary per year, just take out 30% for all taxes…it’s been a surprisingly good estimate over the years for me, so 70k gross turns to 49k net a year. Now having said that, I doubt you will save any money. I know people living in NYC for that (and less) but do not save any money. However, I agree you should take the opportunity…is this 70k base or all in? If there is bonus potential then that would be good. Congrats on your offer, sounds cool.

My first year out of college, I made $42k all in and lived in a decent, no frills studio apartment on the Upper East Side by myself. I still managed to save $10k that year without having to resort to food stamps or shop at the Salvation Army. Anyone who thinks you need $500k/year to live nicely in NYC has obviously never set foot in the city.

I eat none of that fancy food u guys eat. I have 150k in student debts and I have 2 roommates. One guy lives in the living room. My place is filled with black mildew stuff. I only eat chicken and rice after the clubs.