It's no secret that Manhattan is an expensive place to live, but as I am getting settled in for my summer stay it's shocking to me how many people can survive in this city, financially speaking.
Everything is more expensive here. Rent, groceries, entertainment and even Starbucks coffee cost more.
To buy a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, you can expect to pay anywhere from $600,000 up into the millions. To rent the same apartment it will cost $1,500 to $3,000 or more a month.
The argument can be made that Manhattanites make up for high rent costs with the money they save not having a car payment or auto insurance. It all depends how they get around the city, though.
Some choose to walk. Some take cabs. And some take the subway or bus. Cabs are obviously the most expensive. One needs $15 to buy a 10-minute ride. The subway and bus system, while cheaper, can add up quickly. It costs $2 per ride. So unless you purchase a $24 unlimited weekly card you will spend at least $4 a day.
Those that have cars pay, on average, $100 more per month for insurance, 50 cents more for a gallon of gas, and about $25 a day for parking.
Last week I went to one of the local markets for a few groceries. There aren't any 100,000-square-foot stores like in Arizona, just small overpriced markets. I then went to Kmart to get some household items. I thought I would save some money that way, but looking at the prices, I may as well have been shopping at William Sonoma.
Fifteen items and one round-trip subway ride later, I returned to my apartment $55 poorer.
I began to wonder how many New York University students actually stay in New York after they graduate. My roommate, who just graduated from NYU and is now entering graduate school, wants to make this her home, but knows she wouldn't be able to afford it on a teacher's salary.
NYU conducts a survey each year to see how many students stay in the city after graduation. They also calculate the mean salaries. The most recent data collected was from 2004 which had a graduating class of nearly 1,600 students. Of the 60 percent that responded, 75 percent stayed in New York City to work. The mean salary was $45,300.
That's a decent sum of money for someone just coming out of college. In Arizona you could live comfortably off that salary, but in New York I think you would find yourself shacked up in a studio apartment with at least one roommate.
But aside from the cost of living, New York is a fascinating place to be. There is so much culture, history and great food here that there is never a dull moment. It truly is "the city that never sleeps." The high cost is obviously worth it to most of the people here or it wouldn't be so heavily populated.
Reach the writer at beth.cochran@asu.edu.
