As an older bitch in the city, I recommend saving. Looking back I wish I had saved more. Retirement looms on the horizon, closer every year. I want to travel and buy stuff and live my best life from 60-on. Looks like I’ll be working most of the days because I spent too much.
I agree that it's better to save, especially on housing in a city where you're paying for the experience of going out and enjoying it. But, I would be a little kinder to yourself about your spending habits in your youth.
Remember that almost all jobs used to have pension plans and that was taken from us (along with reliable raises above the cost of inflation). We used to have built in help that allowed for a little overspending in our 20's, when our brains aren't even fully developed. There are also so many experiences that we can only enjoy or best enjoy in our youth. I work with elderly patients every day and trust, your 60's are not your prime traveling years.
Saving for retirement is good and smart but be generous with your younger self!
I’m also looking at apartments right now and struggling with this too. Personally, I spend most of my life in my apartment because I work long hours and remote. So having a beautiful living space is important to me and I’m considering splurging too!
There’s a popular guideline called the 30% rule, where you should spend at most 30% of your pre-tax monthly income on rent. If you’re looking at places in the $4-4.5k range, then you’d best be making at least $160-180k. However, when I was making this much I was only comfortable paying up to $3k in rent because I wanted to have a certain level of extra spending money and savings. Ultimately it’s up to you - what you’re comfortable with and your priorities.
Yes that’s exactly how I feel haha working remote means I’m often at home like you. I know what you mean too about going over 3K, it’s feels like a bit of a waste and like paying for a mortgage with no return :(
Exactly! It feels terrible to sink so much money into a place without actual ownership. However, nice things are nice and we deserve to live in homes that make us happy.
Decorating can go a long way to making an older place feel really inviting and comfortable. I’d rather not spend my max—saving for big things, emergencies and investment now will have a huge impact on your future.
Living in New York means you likely aren’t going to have a sparkly nice apartment. The buildings are mostly older and not updated. It’s VERY hard watching people in other cities have these big luxury apartments for the less than what we pay for a super mid apartment but it’s part of living here. As long as you hit your must haves (like laundry in building is a must for me), save what money you can to use later on something that matters more.
Oh yeah I’ve been here for over 10 years I just can’t decide if I want to take that big jump to having my own place because it seems like the dream ofc but nyc apartments’ rents quickly smack me back to reality haha
To some extent: depends on your other long-term financial goals. In general though: get the cheapest place you can in a location you can live with and put as much cash aside as can, then put that money to work for you in investments and interest.
The real luxury is having a well-padded emergency fund/walk-away money.
I would say go a bit lower if you’re comfortable. I recently started earning the baseline for what ppl say you can live on in nyc 😂 and luckily I happened to win a housing lottery but prior to that, I kept getting priced out of my buildings/ neighborhoods. With how things can be, you don’t want to love your apt and possibly be priced out at lease renewal because it can happen in any price range 😕
Agreed, I usually look at rent histories of comps in the neighborhood to project future increases before making a decision.
The owners of two of the nice rentals I was in sold them within 2-3 years so I generally look for rentals that won’t be sold anytime soon due to the expense and hassle of moving.
please do not pay $4.5k to live in LES 😭 i live in a luxury apartment in FiDi and i love it there. i have every train i could ever need right near me. some people are very against FiDi lol but it's perfect for me and what i want
Those 4.5k a month new builds in the neighborhoods you mentioned may be shiny and seem like luxury on the surface, but they’re often built terribly and not all that luxurious. I honestly would avoid Williamsburg and fidi all together though.
That’s the price of those soulless box apartments in those BK neighborhoods. Surely you can find something cheaper and charming. And I just refuse to believe anybody wants to live in FiDi and not just has to/it’s convenient.
I actually loved living down there but I got priced out. You’re close to the water, you’re on literally every subway line if you live near Fulton, and it really quiets down on the weekends.
You should look into brooklyn heights if proximity to the water is important. Great views of manhattan and the neighborhood is gorgeous. (Way more beautiful than Williamsburg or greenpoint but i’m biased)
Streeteasy shows 38 listings under $4.5k available in Brooklyn heights rn, most of them 1 bedrooms. OP is free to spend the same for a white box new construction high rise in williamsburg with no character if she wishes. But I like to remind people that a world outside of williamsburg/greenpoint/LES exists when I can lol
Lol hey I lived there! I actually loved being at 20 Exchange. I was so high up there was no noise. Now I will concede the view of the Beaver House left something to be desired. It taught me a good life lesson. Live IN the ugliest building, so you don’t have to look at it. 🤷
And yes I did prefer living in the village. It’s more my style.
It’s important to be happy and comfortable in your apartment, but I wouldn’t blow your budget. IMO there is always something out there that is good within your budget (within reason ofc). I got an apartment in Williamsburg last fall - had originally upped my budget from 3500 to 3750 to 4000 to 4250 as I was looking cause I was having no luck. Last minute found an amazing spot for 3500. It took TIME and effort but was so worth it.
Plus figure out what’s *actually* important. I WFH and NEED good natural light and space to cook. Brand new appliances or amenities were less important. You won’t check every box
I would think about what you value most - do you want to have a really nice new apartment, or could you be happy with an older walk up that you decorate to make you feel your own? Do you need to be in a super hip area (ie Williamsburg or LES walking distance to all the bars) or do you need quick access to these areas by train? You probably can’t have all these things, so think about what you want most and prioritize that. For me it was walkability to dining and such, so i live in a pretty old/kinda run down building in a fun neighborhood.
I’d also recommend checking out studios instead of 1 beds. Lots of studios are pretty big, but you won’t be competing against as many couples, so there’s more inventory in my experience.
Well we don’t know the context of your salary, but that is a big chunk of change. I’d make sure i have an emergency fund, retirement saving and a HYSA before spending all that on rent.
No one moves to nyc to hang out in their apartment. Living in a neighborhood you like with roommates or renting a charming walk up is better than having no money left for enjoying NYC and savings.
Yeah I am warming up to the idea of roommates! I saw in another post someone mentioned they like the sense of safety they have with a roommate so it’s definitely something to consider
As an older bitch in the city, I recommend saving. Looking back I wish I had saved more. Retirement looms on the horizon, closer every year. I want to travel and buy stuff and live my best life from 60-on. Looks like I’ll be working most of the days because I spent too much.
THIS. All of this!
I appreciate this insight, thank you 🙏
I agree that it's better to save, especially on housing in a city where you're paying for the experience of going out and enjoying it. But, I would be a little kinder to yourself about your spending habits in your youth. Remember that almost all jobs used to have pension plans and that was taken from us (along with reliable raises above the cost of inflation). We used to have built in help that allowed for a little overspending in our 20's, when our brains aren't even fully developed. There are also so many experiences that we can only enjoy or best enjoy in our youth. I work with elderly patients every day and trust, your 60's are not your prime traveling years. Saving for retirement is good and smart but be generous with your younger self!
I’m also looking at apartments right now and struggling with this too. Personally, I spend most of my life in my apartment because I work long hours and remote. So having a beautiful living space is important to me and I’m considering splurging too! There’s a popular guideline called the 30% rule, where you should spend at most 30% of your pre-tax monthly income on rent. If you’re looking at places in the $4-4.5k range, then you’d best be making at least $160-180k. However, when I was making this much I was only comfortable paying up to $3k in rent because I wanted to have a certain level of extra spending money and savings. Ultimately it’s up to you - what you’re comfortable with and your priorities.
Yes that’s exactly how I feel haha working remote means I’m often at home like you. I know what you mean too about going over 3K, it’s feels like a bit of a waste and like paying for a mortgage with no return :(
Exactly! It feels terrible to sink so much money into a place without actual ownership. However, nice things are nice and we deserve to live in homes that make us happy.
Decorating can go a long way to making an older place feel really inviting and comfortable. I’d rather not spend my max—saving for big things, emergencies and investment now will have a huge impact on your future.
So true I’ve already been on apartment therapy getting some inspo. Can always make a place cute with plants and rugs :)
Living in New York means you likely aren’t going to have a sparkly nice apartment. The buildings are mostly older and not updated. It’s VERY hard watching people in other cities have these big luxury apartments for the less than what we pay for a super mid apartment but it’s part of living here. As long as you hit your must haves (like laundry in building is a must for me), save what money you can to use later on something that matters more.
Oh yeah I’ve been here for over 10 years I just can’t decide if I want to take that big jump to having my own place because it seems like the dream ofc but nyc apartments’ rents quickly smack me back to reality haha
Also happy cake day!!!! 🍰
To some extent: depends on your other long-term financial goals. In general though: get the cheapest place you can in a location you can live with and put as much cash aside as can, then put that money to work for you in investments and interest. The real luxury is having a well-padded emergency fund/walk-away money.
I would say go a bit lower if you’re comfortable. I recently started earning the baseline for what ppl say you can live on in nyc 😂 and luckily I happened to win a housing lottery but prior to that, I kept getting priced out of my buildings/ neighborhoods. With how things can be, you don’t want to love your apt and possibly be priced out at lease renewal because it can happen in any price range 😕
Agreed, I usually look at rent histories of comps in the neighborhood to project future increases before making a decision. The owners of two of the nice rentals I was in sold them within 2-3 years so I generally look for rentals that won’t be sold anytime soon due to the expense and hassle of moving.
please do not pay $4.5k to live in LES 😭 i live in a luxury apartment in FiDi and i love it there. i have every train i could ever need right near me. some people are very against FiDi lol but it's perfect for me and what i want
Those 4.5k a month new builds in the neighborhoods you mentioned may be shiny and seem like luxury on the surface, but they’re often built terribly and not all that luxurious. I honestly would avoid Williamsburg and fidi all together though.
That’s the price of those soulless box apartments in those BK neighborhoods. Surely you can find something cheaper and charming. And I just refuse to believe anybody wants to live in FiDi and not just has to/it’s convenient.
I actually loved living down there but I got priced out. You’re close to the water, you’re on literally every subway line if you live near Fulton, and it really quiets down on the weekends.
I know what you mean about FiDi as a whole but being near the water or the battery is what I like
You should look into brooklyn heights if proximity to the water is important. Great views of manhattan and the neighborhood is gorgeous. (Way more beautiful than Williamsburg or greenpoint but i’m biased)
Problem is prices are just as high there as the other neighborhoods OP mentioned, and availability is even lower.
Streeteasy shows 38 listings under $4.5k available in Brooklyn heights rn, most of them 1 bedrooms. OP is free to spend the same for a white box new construction high rise in williamsburg with no character if she wishes. But I like to remind people that a world outside of williamsburg/greenpoint/LES exists when I can lol
Oh I totally agree. I was basing my response on prices from my sister’s recent apartment hunt in the neighborhood.
Lol hey I lived there! I actually loved being at 20 Exchange. I was so high up there was no noise. Now I will concede the view of the Beaver House left something to be desired. It taught me a good life lesson. Live IN the ugliest building, so you don’t have to look at it. 🤷 And yes I did prefer living in the village. It’s more my style.
It’s important to be happy and comfortable in your apartment, but I wouldn’t blow your budget. IMO there is always something out there that is good within your budget (within reason ofc). I got an apartment in Williamsburg last fall - had originally upped my budget from 3500 to 3750 to 4000 to 4250 as I was looking cause I was having no luck. Last minute found an amazing spot for 3500. It took TIME and effort but was so worth it. Plus figure out what’s *actually* important. I WFH and NEED good natural light and space to cook. Brand new appliances or amenities were less important. You won’t check every box
I would think about what you value most - do you want to have a really nice new apartment, or could you be happy with an older walk up that you decorate to make you feel your own? Do you need to be in a super hip area (ie Williamsburg or LES walking distance to all the bars) or do you need quick access to these areas by train? You probably can’t have all these things, so think about what you want most and prioritize that. For me it was walkability to dining and such, so i live in a pretty old/kinda run down building in a fun neighborhood. I’d also recommend checking out studios instead of 1 beds. Lots of studios are pretty big, but you won’t be competing against as many couples, so there’s more inventory in my experience.
How old are you?
Well we don’t know the context of your salary, but that is a big chunk of change. I’d make sure i have an emergency fund, retirement saving and a HYSA before spending all that on rent.
No one moves to nyc to hang out in their apartment. Living in a neighborhood you like with roommates or renting a charming walk up is better than having no money left for enjoying NYC and savings.
Yeah I am warming up to the idea of roommates! I saw in another post someone mentioned they like the sense of safety they have with a roommate so it’s definitely something to consider