Can actuaries afford to live in upper east side?

[wooHoo]

Lots of actuaries in NYC. Lots of entry level actuaries. Some live on the upper east side. Some live on the upper west side. Some live with their parents in New Jersey or Long Island (don't be that guy).

[actuary89]

Actually 70k is enough

[alberto.o]

Originally Posted by wooHoo

Lots of actuaries in NYC. Lots of entry level actuaries. Some live on the upper east side. Some live on the upper west side. Some live with their parents in New Jersey or Long Island (don't be that guy).

If I had a job in NYC, I'd definitely live alone in New Jersey, if only to avoid the NYS+NYC income tax. If "being that guy" saves me $3k, I'll be more than happy to be that guy.

[psp-fifa-fan]

Originally Posted by Wigmeister General

why would you want to pay 50% of your income to taxes just to live in the Upper East Side?

Yeah I really don't get why everyone wants to work at NYC... Other cities are great too, and could afford a better living style (bigger apartment, nicer cars) for living in other cities.

[joni308]

Originally Posted by alberto.o

If I had a job in NYC, I'd definitely live alone in New Jersey, if only to avoid the NYS+NYC income tax. If "being that guy" saves me $3k, I'll be more than happy to be that guy.

You'll be that guy for 3K? Is that how much not being that guy worth to you?

[alberto.o]

Originally Posted by joni308

You'll be that guy for 3K? Is that how much not being that guy worth to you?

That's $3k (or greater) a year for the next 10 years (assuming I work in NYC for 10 years). When you account for the fact that your compensation will go up (tax is a percentage of your income), NPV, ROI, etc. it comes out to something like $50k. And every dollar that doesn't go to NYS/NYC is a dollar that goes into my pocket.

There's also the fact that your cost of living (mainly rent) is a lot cheaper on the other side of the river. Add in those savings too (probably somewhere in the range of 30-50% of your Manhattan rent for something equivalent).

Now do the math over a 40-50 year career and the savings will be enormous (retire at 65? pfft, like that's going to happen).

[The President]

Come on - if you are planning on becoming a remotely successful actuary, you shouldn't be sitting at a computer at age 20 thinking of all the ways you can minimize your expenses.

Another thought - paying a lot for rent to live in a cool place while taking exams may not be the best idea either though. You may spend much of your time studying, effectively wasting the fact you living in a nice location, or you are tempted to go out too much and not study and never get through exams.

[Baby, ByeBye]

saving money to not live in NYC is the dumbest thing you can do.

[phoebe]

Originally Posted by psp-fifa-fan

Yeah I really don't get why everyone wants to work at NYC... Other cities are great too, and could afford a better living style (bigger apartment, nicer cars) for living in other cities.

If you live in Manhattan, you don't need a car. In fact, you don't want a car, because it's either a royal pain or a major expense to park it. Just rent car if you want one for a weekend or something.

[Sloop John B]

Originally Posted by alberto.o

That's $3k (or greater) a year for the next 10 years (assuming I work in NYC for 10 years). When you account for the fact that your compensation will go up (tax is a percentage of your income), NPV, ROI, etc. it comes out to something like $50k. And every dollar that doesn't go to NYS/NYC is a dollar that goes into my pocket.

There's also the fact that your cost of living (mainly rent) is a lot cheaper on the other side of the river. Add in those savings too (probably somewhere in the range of 30-50% of your Manhattan rent for something equivalent).

Now do the math over a 40-50 year career and the savings will be enormous (retire at 65? pfft, like that's going to happen).

Yeah, but you'd be living in Jersey. Jersey.