Another Reason We're Glad We Left Manhattan
According to Forbes, $500,000 a year after tax is required to support an “affluent lifestyle” for a family of four in Manhattan. On the checklist of requirements: 2 cars, 2 private school tuitions, primary home cost of $3.9 million, second home cost of $1.9 million, and three vacations a year. Not everyone agrees that half…
According to Forbes, $500,000 a year after tax is required to support an “affluent lifestyle” for a family of four in Manhattan. On the checklist of requirements: 2 cars, 2 private school tuitions, primary home cost of $3.9 million, second home cost of $1.9 million, and three vacations a year. Not everyone agrees that half a million dollars after tax is enough to qualify for affluence. “I think $500,000 will give you a comfortable lifestyle, not an affluent one,” said Dolly Lenz, a top real-estate broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman. “To live affluently, not extravagantly, you’d have to make at least $2.5 million a year.”
But how about Brooklyn? What does a family of four who is just buying a house now–say for $1.5 million–need to be comfortable (not affluent)? On a $1.2 million mortgage, call it $70K or so after tax for mortgage, taxes, insurance alone. Public versus private school decision is probably the next biggest factor–chalk up $30K for the latter if so inclined. So we’re up to $100K before you eat your first meal or make a lease payment on your car (we seem to get by with one car just fine). Granted a lot of people find ways to defray these costs considerably, most obviously by renting out a portion of their house as we plan to do or sending their kids to public school if they’re in a decent district. But still, it’s a little scary how fast the number can creep up and how quickly one can become a prisoner of one’s own mortgage, isn’t it?
Getting By On 500G [NY Post]
Trust me, people who send their children to 20k/yr grade schools do not dream of SUNY. And that’s the truth.
Cash Machine here. I never asked for anyone’s sympathy. I was specifically responding to a thread that seemed to suggest that even if you own a brownstone, you can still qualify for FA at private schools. It might be true, we used public grade and high schools. It is surely not true at the university level.
To answer all your questions: I make 85k. No, kids did not qualify for any kind of financial aid (sorry big bubba, you’re wrong). True, I could have sold my house to pay for their tuition and I might still (I’m only 6 years through). My house would hardly stagger the imagination of anyone on this site. No, so far no SUNY graduates but still 1 to go so there’s still hope. Now, I’m done with this site. Thanks.
Don’t forget, SUNY GRAD and Anonymous, that we Brownstoners are a snooty bunch. We only like Brownstones in Brooklyn; tasteful design; original moldings and details; vintage bathtubs; and consulting with our tax attorneys and accountants to wrangle the best deal from our former SROs, current tenants, and zoning boards.
The rest of you Home Depot DIY’ers can go elsewhere.
I went to SUNY undergrad…. proudly. I was lucky enough to have my parents pay the tuition because it was “affordable.” I am doing well for myself, while my friends with fancy law degrees are over 125K in school loan debt, and had trouble getting jobs right out of law school.
“Does anyone” want their children to go to SUNY? Oh, heavens no, Muffy!
Anyway, no we don’t make fun of them for that. We make fun of them for complaining that (1) they want their kids to go to expensive universities, (2) they have an income “under $100K”[how much under, I wonder?], (3) they own a house whose worth would stagger the imaginations of most Americans and (4) our cruel society actually expects that they or their children pay for their pricey education.
I had blue-collar parents and went to a state university without financial aid. Cry me a river.
Clarification: When I say I qual’d for financial aid, most of that “aid” was in the form of student loans and included a considerable amount that was to be contributed by my parents. This of course did not account for the fact that the parent contribution calc would leave my single-parent mom (who never made more than $30K in her career and never even owned a home until she was 60yrs old) just about destitute and in debt up to her eyeballs. Somehow, she put three kids thru college under this scenario. I guess those bureaucrats who come up with these formulas don’t really understand the real cost of poverty. But, you know, if you want something badly enough, you find a way.
Anyhow, I suspect Cash Machines kids did in fact qualify for financial aid – just not the free and clear scholarship kind.
Everyone makes choices. They could have attended less expensive institutions, Cash Machine could have cashed out the equity in their building and moved to a less expensive nabe, etc.
B-stoner is right – we each have our issues – I wasn’t intending to belittle anyone. Just wondering what kind of sympathy Cash Machine was expecting. I suppose it’s a bit of a hot button – for all the reasons explained above.
Well, I don’t want my children to go to SUNY either… Does anyone? Do we make fun of people for that?
I think Cash Machine’s point is a good one, considering someone posted earlier that some brownstone owners qualify for financial aid for grade school
There is no question that it’s harder for 1st time home buyers now, than it has been in a long time. But, I remember having the very same sentiments back in the late-80’s boom. At some point, after the recession, there was a window of opportunity where incomes sort of caught up and growth in housing prices had stagnated (I speak from personal observation, not statistics). That was the time to buy if you had the down payment. Today’s housing boom has been further driven further by low int rates and looser credit standards.
But, another window will open some time in the future, whether it’s due to increased income, and/or stagnant prices. So, keep saving aggressively, maintain high credit scores, and be patient.