And every freshly minted 22 year old engineer in midland makes around that or more.
^Oh no. In Midland, a Petroleum Engineer who graduated from college yesterday is worth at least $100k.
And you guys also have to remember a few things. 1.) I’ve had a lot of job instability in the past few years (through no fault of my own–one company moved, another all but shut down, etc.); 2.) I expect to see some pretty significant raises in the future, simply due to the nature of my profession; 3.) I don’t live in a high cost-of-living area, and 4.) I got a later start than most of my colleagues.
So all of this is to say…I don’t think I’m nearly as underpaid as you guys seem to think I am. Sure, I’m 34. But I didn’t really start a “career” until I was 31. Before that, I did a lot of “jobs” (Marines, retail finance, call center crap) and finished my education, but I’m actually a Johnny-come-lately to the accounting/finance party.
I pay $2000 per month for a 3,064 square foot house on a 1/3 acre lot. It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a two-car garage, an office, two living areas, and a newly renovated kitchen. I can also go out with the wife to the best Japanese steakhouse in town and eat like royalty on $80.
Can somebody here opine on the NYC lifestyle? I’m sure you can’t get the same standard of living there on the same coin.
That sounds like a pretty average COL area. Not really “low”.
I would say that the 500k hole in the wall in new york provides the same standard of living as a 500k mansion in midland for each resident, by definition. Why else would they both be paying 500k if one provided much more than the other?
Supply and demand? NYC residents enjoy higher incomes (due to a more established economy) while land/homes are severely limited.
$2000/month in midtown NYC will get you a 20 x 13 feet studio apartment, with a small bathroom and a super small 4x5 kitchen
With rents like that might as well just live in the office.
^Exactly.
I think my office at work is bigger than that. I know my master bedroom is.
What kind of meal can you get for $40 per person?
By living in new york, the residents are saying all the benefits of the city, income, family, whatever, make up for the lack of space. Their standard of living is enhanced by things, in their mind, that midland can’t provide. 500K is getting each resident the same utility or they would move, ignoring switching costs of course.
People will pay you more to work in an expensive location. You will get paid half as much to work in Texas because companies know you don’t need as much there to have an ok standard of living.
Actually, when it comes to food, there is amazing food for really affordable prices. I’m pretty satisfied with a lunch box in Chinatown for $4.
Where do you live in Texas?
^ Yeah, food is pretty much a commodity around NYC. I have no trouble eating delicious dishes for under $10. Now Numi’s tastes on the other hand…
It’s not a matter of “we’ll pay you less because…” it’s what the market will bear. Physicians command far lower salaries in nyc than rural america because that labor pool finds nyc very desirable. The cost of a home and food can be overridden by other factors. It is what the market says it is, not some calculation made by HR. Don’t fall for their bullshit attempt to frame.
There are definitely diminishing returns to food, since as prices increase, you start paying for luxury location, snooty waiters, and the fact that you got a spot at Darcia. However, if you are trying to get with some HCB, it’s probably worth paying up for the ambiance…
I meant it was the market wage, which is also affected by cost of living…
Yours seems to be more a philosophical argument than an economic one. If, for the same income-adjusted price, I can choose between a 3000 square foot well-built home on a nice lot in a nice neighborhood along with two cars in a nice metropolitan area with a good climate vs. a shitpot and the subway, I and other rational people choose the former. Eventually people who moved to New York in their early 20’s figure this out and leave.
Don’t follow. Many people choose the shitpot and the subway for life for the same cost as your utopia. It is providing them a commensurate standard of living. The utility is indeed the same.
We are not all idential rational economic men or women, we all have our wants and desires. Some ultra high net worth people, who could live anywhere, live in NYC, some live out on a ranch in the middle of nowhere in Texas.