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mikevago t1_j3o7xv6 wrote

Reply to comment by BlizzardArms in [OC] Every $ I spent in 2022 as a 26M living in Washington, DC by Coloncologne

And, again, not directed at OP at all because to his credit he didn't do this, but any time you hear "this person saved $10,000 a year, why can't you?" it's inevitably a 26 year old who earns six figures and has no dependents. Like, I'm 47, have seen my income steadily increase for my entire adult life, and only just got to the point where this kid is. So — surprise! — I wasn't able to save any money while struggling to pay rent and raising two kids on credit card debt.

And let's be clear, I had it easy! Middle-class upbringing, in a town with great public schools, graduated from a state university without a dime of debt, no serious medical issues, no real family drama — but I live in NYC, it's expensive, and I don't work in finance or tech, so it's hard to get by.

Which is all to say that being in the financial position OP is in is exceptional, and we need to remind ourselves of that sometimes.

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I_lick_windowz t1_j3ovfq6 wrote

Simply out of curiosity, why did you stay in NYC if it’s so expensive? I have friends that live in NYC and say it’s way too expensive and don’t earn enough because they don’t work in a super high paying profession, and I’m always confused why they don’t just leave.

If I was living in a city that had me struggling on credit card debt, I would probably seek work elsewhere. That’s why I’m genuinely curious (not an attack on your choices, I understand there can be external factors like family, visas, etc. that restrict mobility).

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mikevago t1_j3oygpz wrote

> why did you stay in NYC if it’s so expensive?

This is where the jobs are. In my field (publishing) and in general. And that means a couple things:

A) If I had stayed in my hometown after college, I would have been a waiter instead of a newspaper designer, which was the first rung on the ladder.

B) If I moved to my hometown now, it'd be very tough to find a job in my field, and even if I could demand any job in town, it'd pay half what I make now.

And then there's just the fact that my life is here. My friends, my kids' friends, relationships I have going back 25 years. And, there's just a lot more happening here than where I'm from (which is, realistically, the easiest place for me to move). And I don't just mean nightlife and whatnot. I mean the possibilities are endless in a big city and feel very limited in a small one. If I lose my job, I know a few dozen people at maybe a dozen other publishers I could call. A friend from high school who stayed around there lost his job and there simply weren't any others. And he has an MBA!

It's a problem for the whole country. There are places with lots of high-paying jobs that are too expensive to live, and places that are cheap to live and don't have good jobs. And maybe you can luck into a situation that avoids that trend, but overall that's the trend.

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I_lick_windowz t1_j3p88sm wrote

Thanks for the thoughtful answer. Agreed that NYC has so much to offer. It’s unfortunate that it’s so unlivable for so many jobs - meanwhile multimillion dollar apartments go empty because some billionaire wanted an investment vehicle…

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mikevago t1_j3p8k0x wrote

Agreed. The city would be so much better if they banned investment properties and actually used our housing stock for housing. Or if they just killed all the billionaires; either works for me.

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77Gumption77 t1_j3s9tgv wrote

> It's a problem for the whole country. There are places with lots of high-paying jobs that are too expensive to live, and places that are cheap to live and don't have good jobs. And maybe you can luck into a situation that avoids that trend, but overall that's the trend.

There is, of course, absolutely no problem with the choice you made. But you have to understand that you did just that- you made a choice. And your perspective is one endemic to those living in NYC- there aren't the kinds of jobs I want elsewhere, therefore there aren't jobs elsewhere. You chose to have a career in a very particular field: publishing. This is not a high-paying field. You made a choice to earn less for a job you preferred.

There are literally 100,000s of unfilled jobs that pay more than publishing all over the country. With comparable experience, you could have earned more tiling floors or doing roofing. You could have been a sheet-metal worker, plumber, electrician, cop, welder... the list is long.

Personally, I cannot understand the appeal of living in NYC (as someone from Cleveland, having visited friends there many times). It's a fine place to visit. But have an acre of property on a street with a community center (with an indoor pool!), good public schools, and the rest... for less than the cost of a 1BD Brooklyn apartment. Really- my mortgage is around 3K/month. I don't understand it, but, then again, you probably don't understand why I'd want live in Cleveland, either XD. To each his own.

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mikevago t1_j3sjdf6 wrote

Obviously, everyone has their own priorities (and I absolutely understand wanting to live in Cleveland). And I'm in Jersey City, which is a little cheaper than NYC proper, and we have a few of the best public schools in the state. (and we have public pools here too, and an indoor ice skating rink!) And not to brag, but my mortage is less than yours (I happened to buy when interest rates were at their absolute lowest!).

But you can't really tell a children's book designer "you could have been an electrician!" any more than you can tell an electician "you could have been a children's book designer." I'm really not cut out for that kind of work at all. I gravitated to this career because it was what I was good at and enjoyed. (And I was lucky to be able to do that, and everyone should be just as lucky).

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