What's it take to live in New York City?

Question

I've been thinking, there's got to be people like dishwashers, cab drivers, pizza delivery drivers, that make less than or somewhere near minimum wage, so how is it they survive? My question I'd like answered is, what does it take to live in New York? "A good job" isn't an acceptable answer.

Answer 1

For years I worked at a record store and made about $10,000 a year. I got my 2 bedroom rent stabilized apartment in Brooklyn in 1997 and the rent was $750. I had 2 roommates (I shared the big bedroom with my friend) so my rent was only $250/month. (I was 19 years old so the crowding didn't bother me much then) That left enough for the phone, electric and gas bills, food and transportation. I was never able to save any money but I got by. For years, I never had less than 3 people living in my apartment. There was always someone who turned the living room into a third bedroom.

I had the same crappy job for years and I never made more than $6.50/hour. I sometimes had to work double or triple shifts when I was short on cash. The only thing that saved me was the fact that I had roommates and my apartment was rent stabilized, meaning the rent could only be raised a certain percentage every 2 years. I've now had the place 10 years and the rent has only gone up $213. I still have a roommate (just one now) and we split the rent - $481 each.

When you don't make any money and you live in NYC, you just can't spend anything on 'extras'. I rarely took cab rides, went to restaurants, movie theaters or shopped at gourmet delis. I always did my own laundry at the laundromat as opposed to using the 'drop off' service that many people use. I don't have a car and I've never had cable TV. I have free wireless internet which is picked up off of someone elses signal. Most of my furniture was found on the street or given to me and I took a LOT of stuff from my mom that she didn't need anymore (pots, pans, etc..) Whenever I need something 'expensive', I usually have to wait for my birthday or X-mas and my mom gives it to me then (like my new vacuum).

If anything, the only thing that suffered was my health since I didn't have any insurance and I was being paid under the table. I didn't qualify for 'welfare' since I had a lease in my name yet no way to 'prove' how I was paying the rent since I didn't have a documented income (long story). I had a few trips to the emergency room where I had to use a fake name because I couldn't pay the $2000 emergency room bills. I didn't see a doctor in over 12 years and I just recently began to see a dentist again after about 9 years. Most of my teeth are rotting from years of not being able to afford dentist bills.

The past year, I've been working from home selling stuff online and I make a lot more money. I recently was able to get health insurance that covers my medications and dentist bills. I probably make about $20-25/hour now and that's way more than enough for me since I was used to living on $10,000/year for so long. It's totally possible to live in NYC and be poor but it's mostly about finding a living situation where the rent is low. That's MUCH harder these days. Like I said, I only pay $963 (total) to live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn but apartments just like mine, in my building are now going for almost $2000/month. The people downstairs from me are only paying $350/month because they've been there for over 30+ years. They're on Welfare. It's a lot harder to 'get in' to NYC these days since rents are so high but many 'poor' people have been here for years so they pay much lower rents.

Answer 2

You have to not mind living in extremely confined spaces and putting up with long commutes if you are not wealthy. People in blue collar jobs earning between 35k-85k per year mostly live in the outer boros where rents are less but they may have as much as an hour subway ride to get to work. You also have to be willing to live in an extremly small apartment often with no closets or washer/drier. Many middle class NY'ers (those earning over 85k) take in one or more roommates to help pay the rent.Most immigrants who drive the cabs, deliver pizzas and wash the dishes live 15 or 20 to an apartment or live in crowded SRO-single room occupancy buildings which are nothing more than a closet size room with a hot plate and a bathroom down the hall for about $150 a week-.

Also you can forget about owning a car. It's a luxury expense that is really not worth the hassle. Above all you have to be ready to put up with all sorts of abuses that most Americans don't even think of, such as but not limited to,living mere inches from noisey/rude/psycho neighbors, spending HOURS to go only a few miles always being late, and being bullied by an abusive police force and city beurcracy.

Answer 3

Most people in New York City start off slowly. I know lots of people who started working at gas stations and then started getting better jobs. The thing is that most of the time, you have to work ur way up. Most people start off with a small job, rent somewhere to live and then start gathering up their money. After a while, you will have a couple of hundreds, and then you go into thousands, and then so forth. But it all depends on the job you have and how many people you are going to be supporting.

Answer 4

They live in Queens and Brooklyn, where it is cheaper, not Manhattan. My cleaning lady rented a room in Brooklyn, later she rented an entire house and rented rooms in the house to other people to pay the rent and turn a small profit.

Answer 5

What everyone said above me sounds right. Along with Ramen Noodles and Tenacity. U can find apartments for cheap if u look hard enough.

Answer 6

well.....u have to not mind taking a lot of bull **** from people and accept thats part of life.....and also you gotta be really tough and have back up......

Answer 7

Cajones my friend. (That would be a very sensitive part of the male anatomy.)

Answer 8

Family, friends, & money.