Does anyone live in NYC? DP and I are about to move

[AllThatGlitters111]

Hi,

My DP and I (not married) are moving to NYC in December. He’s been offered a fabulous opportunity.

I will be leaving my job in the U.K. to join him - I know finding a job to sponsor me will be hard but going to try and if there is no luck after a few months then we will consider marriage (literally just for the piece of paper).

In the meantime, we will be relying on his salary to support the both of us. He will be earning $10,000 a month after tax roughly.

It sounds like a ridiculous question, but does this sound like enough to live on? Rents are insanely high there as well as just the general cost of everything.

I have been looking at areas such as Dumbo in Brooklyn, Williamsburg etc. I think Manhattan will be out of the question!

if anyone has any experience living in NYC or lives there now then I would be really grateful for any advise!

Thank you :)

Sorry that was meant to say Thompkins Sq Bagels. Damn MN typos!

Amazing, thank you for all of that @madeleine85 !

can I also ask about holiday in NYC - is it really true you get 5 days!? DP gets 25. It would be horrible if I only got 5…I think I would struggle with that (unless I had a flexible job I could wfh/travel with).

what are peoples average holiday allowance and do companies let you buy more!?

I get two weeks plus a couple more BHs, DH gets 4 weeks as he has been with his company a long time.
A bigger issue is that people aren't particularly expected to use their holiday and there can be an expectation you will still work a bit when on holiday.

That's down to the company. There's no legally mandated minimum in the US you might get no time, or you might get loads so the company decides. They might decide that you get a bank of paid time off that is both your holiday and sick time, that's pretty common. There's often a company culture of "you have this time, but taking it is frowned upon." They might also say "you get 15 days, but that also includes bank holidays."

Some companies treat their employees better than others!

It varies by company to be perfectly honest. I have never worked anywhere with less than 15-20 days leave as standard. It sounds bad, but right now I know I have a daycount allowance, but it isn't monitored, and I have no idea how many i've taken vs not. I have a great company/boss though. Most places now actually do "unlimited" because otherwise when you quit, if you have saved up days they have to pay you for what you haven't used, so most try to limit that. Americans in general tend to not really take much in the way of holiday, so unlimited works better for the companies there. I have a few friends in sales type roles who get 10 days in NYC, but that is by and large really unusual. I've never heard of people getting less than 10 though. Now as well, people tend to also get "personal days" which are really holiday days as well, and others offer distinct mental health days too. The good news is that NYC is very employee friendly with regards to employment law, and a lot of places are trying to coax employees to come back to NYC so are offering a good amount in the way of benefits etc. The flip side of most NYC places getting at least 20 days leave is that employment is "at will" so basically if they don't like you, they can fire at any point for any reason really, but it is very unusual that ever happens. The US market is feels a bit weird after being in the UK, but it really is totally fine, especially if you work for people you like who understand you may need to work from the UK for a week here or there etc. I've never had an issue with regards to that, but it might just be luck!

NYC companies (especially arts type industries) also tend to do something called summer fridays, where everyone that works there get half days from the end of May through the end of August, a full Friday off a month or something like that. So 15-20 days leave (likely), 13 days public holidays, 3 days personal days for mental health, and the chance of summer Fridays. Depending on where you are it can actually be pretty generous (surprisingly)!

There are also a lot of public holidays in NYC. Between 12-15, depending on which calendar you’re on (schools, financial markets etc). That’s a lot of long weekends.

This is one of the cultural differences between the U.K. and the US. People just don’t take 3 weeks off at a stretch here, even to get married! At first, I found it stifling, never getting a chance to relax into a holiday. But like anything, you get used to it. It’s easy enough to do short trips internally, there are a few times a year where one or two days off work equals a 4-5 day break. August is generally the quietest month in the city for locals. If they travel, that’s when they’re most likely to do it. You are child free, which gives you loads more freedom and ability to lower travel costs.

Lived in Williamsburg from age 29 to 35. Best years of my life! No question you have to do it. I've just returned from a visit there and miss it so much.

I worked in fashion and the pay in NYC is much higher than UK and they love UK fashion graduates

I will be leaving my job in the U.K. to join him - I know finding a job to sponsor me will be hard but going to try and if there is no luck after a few months then we will consider marriage (literally just for the piece of paper).

Frankly I think this is the bigger piece to sort out. You might need to marry in the UK and apply at the same time before a move for both of you becomes possible.

If you come in on the standard 90-day visa waiver then you can look for work, but you can't apply to change status from inside the US you have to return to the UK to get your visa. Nor, if you should find work, can an employer apply for a visa on your behalf. Same is true if you & your partner marry you can't get an L2 from inside the US.

The following categories of aliens are ineligible to apply for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident alien under section 245 of the Act...:
(7)Any alien admitted as a visitor under the visa waiver provisions of 8 CFR 212.1(e) or (q), other than an immediate relative as defined in section 201(b) of the Act;

No idea why the new site decides to randomly add strike text to every post I make, but here we are...

@AllThatGlitters111 I get 27 days per year, and I can roll them over. Then I get sick days and bank holidays on top of that. I'm in non-profit, so that's generous, but banker DH has never had less than 15 days + bank holidays etc. I think he has 20 now.

And summer Fridays are an amazing perk :)

40 years ago, I got three weeks paid holiday a year, plus public holidays, and my company had a summer 4 day week, so we had either a Friday or a Monday off from end May to early September. If you were more senior, or had done more years of service, your holiday entitlement increased.

I live in the US. Went here when young and childless because of DH's career (although he wasn't earning big money - more training opportunities).

If you can get a visa that allows you to work by marrying do it. All those years ago I had a green card so could work. I made friends with neighbours etc before I worked but my actual life here didn't start until I started working.

Don't go if you can't work.

Check out the health insurance carefully. If he is with a big company it should be good. Ours is excellent and always has been but we also contribute per month so check it out carefully.

He is on a good salary. You won't be living on 5th avenue but you'll be like a lot of other young couples in new york - not the finance people but the other people all having a good time.

If he's on $260, he'll be on around $180k/year after taxes. That's more like $15k/month.

I imagine that some of that will be taken up by benefits and pension savings. But you're then really talking $10k/month minimum, on his salary alone, after taxes, health care, and pension (I assume he'll get a nice match from his employer). Which is great!

You're actually going to be more in the range, then, of being allowed up to $6,500/month for housing. If you end up making even a nominal amount of money, like $40,000 (you'll almost certainly make much more), then you could probably actually afford renting at or near that level. Whether you want to or not is another story, but it's possible.

In which case you have gorgeous apartments to choose from, without being at all financially profligate. The places you want to live, you're probably looking at $4-6 per sq. foot, if that helps.

@Nancydrawn its $190k, the rest is bonus. OP hasn’t said if it is discretionary

Don't bother shipping your bed, and leave small, inexpensive electrical items at home too (eg. toaster). Bring your fancy new coffee machine.

Beds are different sizes in the US.

You'll be able to buy an electric kettle easily anywhere from Walmart to Crate and Barrel and everywhere in between.

Contrary to popular belief in the UK, Americans use electric kettles, if they ever make tea. If they're exclusively devoted to coffee they use a machine so no kettle required.

Thanks again everyone for all your helpful advice!

can I ask where any expats living there now actually live? Manhattan, Brooklyn etc?

I lived there too long ago to be helpful on this. Ed Koch was still Mayor when I left! My friends who are still in the city are upper West Side, but many are retired and live in the Hudson Valley. Brooklyn and Queens are huge enough to be cities in their own right in most countries. I liked living in Jersey City which is as close as Brooklyn but my view across to the World Trade Centre was redesigned on 9/11.

@AllThatGlitters111 I live in Manhattan now, right by (but not right on) the Highline, but I used to live in LIC when I first moved here. You'll find expats and immigrants everywhere. LIC is very international because of the proximity to the UN and the consulates nearby.

Also, unless you have really, really, REALLY nice furniture, like Eames chair levels of nice, leave it at home and re-buy here. Containers are taking forever atm and I don't think it's really worth the cost.

I have an electric kettle. It works fine, it's not weird.

I lived there for 15 years. DC was born in NYC. I would live in Brooklyn - that’s where we lived the entire time. The brownstone areas are beautiful, easy commute to manhattan, walkable, safe, have a fairly arty/bohemian vibe and some excellent bars, restaurants and schools. Specifically: Carrol Gardens, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Forte Greene, Clinton Hill.

Williamsburg is OK but can’t hold a candle to the above in terms of architecture and proximity to the park.

Manhattan still has its magic in some places, but has become hugely sanitised as a result of gentrification and the spread of corporate chains. The ‘creative soul’ of NY does not live there any more.

I would also avoid more bland car-oriented suburban commuter areas in NJ and Westchester. You are moving to New York! It’s great to live in!

Feel free to ask me anything.

And to answer your question re. expats. In terms of British and other European ‘professionals’: all over Manhattan (although fewer above 125th street), in the areas of Brooklyn I mentioned (lots of Brits and French in Carol Gardens, for instance, but not so many it doesn’t feel like you are in an ‘authentic’ part of NY. I’m sure there are some in Queen (eg Astoria or Long Island City), but I think you can find more interesting/nicer neighbourhoods on your budget.