Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Calling All New Yorkers

One of my favorite things about blogging is when I get comments that include details about the lives of my readers. "Okay I'm Asking" led to a lot of interesting mini-profiles of readers across the country and around the world in terms of how much they earn and how. But since this is a New York-based blog, I thought it would be interesting to invite some of my local readers to share more of their stories.
New York City can be a tough place to make ends meet: it's expensive, it's a hotbed of low-paying, semi-glamorous jobs in media and entertainment, and you've got all those Wall Streeters who make keeping up with the Joneses a deadly pursuit! I write this blog and tell my own story about how I negotiate this environment, but I'd love to be able to highlight some different perspectives.
So here's the invitation: if you are a reader of this blog who lives in the New York metro area, send me an email! (to openwallet1__replace w/ the usual "at" symbol__yahoo.com) Tell me a little bit about where you live, what you do, how much you make, what you spend money on, and how you feel living in New York has affected your personal finances. I may write back and ask you some follow-up questions to turn it into a mini-interview, or I may just post the stories as they are. (Of course I will not publish your email address or name unless there is an alias you'd like to use.) I will try to post as many responses as I can, as an ongoing series of posts if needed, but I can't promise everyone's story will be published, depending on the volume of submissions and to try to present a diverse selection of viewpoints. I'm hoping some regular blog-less commenters like BronxChica and SandyVoice will step up, as well as many others out there who may just be lurking! Talk to me, neighbors!

5 comments:

Adrienne said...

I for one would love to see the results. I have been thinking (wishing) about moving to NYC for quite a while but never thought I could afford it (even living outside of Manhattan). When I saw how much your take home was in a previous post I was surprised to see it was only a couple hundred more than I take home now (of course I don't pay state income tax). Maybe one day?

Noel Larson said...

I would be interested in know from the NYC crowd: given the extra expense, knowing the bigger houses and/or more $$$ you would have, is it worth it to you?

If it meant that you could earn the same in Fargo, North Dakota would you? Especially all of the budgeteers out there.

Unknown said...

Haha, seriously? Fargo, ND? Versus New York, NY? Frugal living and budgeting are one thing but not everything. I'm pretty sure that I enjoy my life far more being poor in Brooklyn, NY than I would being rich in North Dakota. All the extra money in the world does you no good if you're not enjoying your life. I'm sure that some people enjoy Fargo but I suspect that they're probably not the same kind of people who enjoy New York. There are cheaper alternatives to New York--Philadelphia, for example--that offer at least a similar lifestyle as NYC for a little cheaper. That's the kind of compromise worth making, not the middle of nowhere.

Noel Larson said...

J...That would be a no then... :)

The point I was just making is that every choice we make ultimately effects us. If you were to travel back-forth to Phily/New York it would cost time, etc..

I could live in a much smaller house, eat less well, shop less, all of which would have an impact on my finances. But also my living standard that I enjoy.

So my vote would be for moderation in all things, except moderation :)

Abacaxi Mamao said...

I enjoy your blog when I read it, which is only sometimes. This is reflection on me, not on you, but sometimes reading your blog makes me feel bad that I can't save as much, or as high a percentage, as you. Also, while I don't live above my means (I don't think), I am afraid of budgeting and don't manage to save as much as I probably ought to. But I will send it all to you in an e-mail and you can share it or not. And it's probably all stuff I should face, anyway.

Thanks for asking!