1.5 hour less commuting v.s. 27K? money every year
moving to NYC, only for work, not interested in "exploring city life". I am trying to find a good place to live. 2.7 yoe, 188K * 1.15 + 340K(0.33, 0.33, 0.22, 0.12) + 65K -- it seems my income would drop every year :P -- I have not taken refresher into account though. atm I think basically Manhattan (option 1) v.s. Jersey City(option 2) would like to know your preference under my circumstance and also want to collect some opinions in case I missed anything for the pros and cons. option1: **30 min commuting time every day.** 16min walk to the office. 9min walk to supermarkets. option2: **1.5-2 hour commuting time every day, 27K more after-tax income** 30min walk + 20min path. 14min walk to supermarkets. and the apartment monthly rent is about 1K more than option2. and I don't need to pay NYC city tax. according to https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes, that's about 15K for first year, 10K for 4th year. so in total I expect 27000 more after-tax income every year. Factors that I am aware of and don't want to be judged on: I don't plan to go outside/indoor places for entertainment. I prefer to focus on career and indoor hobbies for the next few years. Even though we all need some relaxing time, I am not interested in some attractive places mentioned in other posts. My joy, besides work itself and money, comes from Nintendo Switch, Steam, and potentially PS5 in the future. The only reason I'm moving to NYC is that I really like my new opportunity and the team. my boss prefer me to go to office so I can ramp up faster. Otherwise in terms of where to live, I would prefer living in quiet countryside. In general I think 1.5 more commuting hour every day is not unacceptable in terms of time. But not sure how much additional mental energy cost does commuting bring: I am thinking that I can treat the 1 hour walking as doing exercise -- but I heard the climate in NY area is not so lovely. I am also thinking that I can listening to audios to learn sth such as another language. PATH seems pretty frequent so I don't think I need to wait for too long in the station. However I heard it's pretty crowded and sometimes you cannot push yourself into the carriage. that being said, would be happy to know your thoughts.
Time you saved commuting, you could spend playing Nintendo and PS5.
Btw, OP, you listed Nintendo and PS5 - why not XBOX? You work for MSFT too...you would get employee discount
hmm I don't want to be addicted as well. I list them mainly to say that I don't care about those typical funny things that attract a lot of people.
The $27k in TC you’d be foregoing by living in jersey city does not compare to the toll a long commute will have on your mental health. NYC no question.
You’re young and TC can pay for the experience of city life. Suburb when you start a family.
Contrary to popular opinion, you would be better off in Jersey city. NYC is noisy when you live there - ambulances, police sirens, honking consider all that a given even if you live on the upper west side which is considered a “nice” neighborhood to live in. Plus taxes, $#it on the roads, homeless people. What is the point if you’re not going to soak in the culture or eat out or explore the city. Whereas if you choose to live in Jersey city you are gonna come to office every or can also have hybrid. All things considered, In your particular situation, you will be better off in Jersey city.
Commute goes by like a breeze if you have good music on, have a book to read, or have a handled gaming device
haha you got me. yep I care way more about quietness. and I am not going to soak in the culture or eat out or explore the city, as you said. the one in my mind is close to Trader Joe's chelsea, I checked those apartment rating websites and haven't found complaints about noise, so I think it's ok. I might also fly there for a visit to verify. So my comparison is based on the assumption that both has good noise proof quality, otherwise I will not care about either money or commuting time, just choose the quiet one so I won't be waken up at night. human remains on the road...that seems unavoidable anyway, because anyway I need to walk for 16min in chelsea to get to office.
about grove to chelsea. I have no idea why it's 10 min..maybe to the first stop in NYC...but finally I am going to Chelsea :)
27k/yr is almost the sum of my parents' annual income. even if we are making similar salary, we are facing different level of hardness...from other perspectives. some has loan. no one is insane. in terms of money that I can save, that is a number that I cannot easily ignore.
I agree with you on that. but as another posted, the commuting time is not that bad as if it's just wasted...if considering walking as exercise, and listening to audios for language learning on PATH. If I stay at home maybe I will just spend those 1.5 more hours playing games...which is easy pleasure and not too much long term value.
In two years your money saved can buy you a Tesla to self drive you while you dooze off
I don't drive. even if I drive I won't buy Tesla coz I don't like Musk's cruel animal experiments. That attitude, plus how related accidents were handled/"resolved", all of these makes it hard for me to believe that he's taking life in a serious way.
Hi OP, I am late to the post but curious to know about your decision. I am moving to NYC Times square for work in August. Please suggest.
I know you’re ambitious and you got goals, but you’re in nyc, so you should really live in Manhattan and experience the city life - the trashy part but also the fun part. Your TC can afford it and you can’t go back in time if you decide to pause and have fun. That’s what I think anyway
last sentence makes a lot of sense! ...but as I spend a whole paragraph in the post, I don't care the "city life" and that's what I know for sure. for me, the fun part doesn't depend on location :P