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Topic: Would you move?
| Author | Message |
| internet chick | Posted – 7/7/2006 10:09:10 AM | show profile I live in the Midwest and have been contacted about a job in NYC with a new talk show that's starting in the fall. They are not covering any moving expenses and the salary is in the low $50s. The stability of the job is week to week and benefits don't kick in for about 4 months after employment starts. Do you think this will be worth the move? Can I live in NYC/NJ comfortably for this amount of $? |
| mailbag | Posted – 7/7/2006 11:05:54 AM | show profile | email poster tough question The answer is very dependent upon your lifestyle in my view. As any career instability truly bothers me personally, what you write here raises instant red flags to me. I think it is a shame media companies screw potential new hires with this line of "move yourself and we'll hire you." In the real corporate world, if a company wants you, they pay your relocation. As for living in NYC...when I was eager to arrive in NYC for a job at IBM back in 1996, I was told by friends at IBM that I should NOT consider living in the city without a $100K salary. So, I bought a house in the Hudson Valley instead when they moved me up here. When my salary reached $100K, I sold the house and moved to the city in 2001. Lost that job in '04, make half the amount today, and while I would not even qualify for the same apartment I have had all of this time, the truth is - yes, you can live fine on $50K. I live on the UES in a very good neighborhood with trees, birds, and a secure building of studio apartments. But keep this in mind: I have no cable, no cell phone, no car, and I cook at home daily (I don't eat out.) These choices I'm quite happy with and love being the anti-social worm who doesn't watch tele or own a cell. If you don't have many belongings, maybe you could try sharing a place for a few months, which keeps your rent lower and doesn't tie you to a long lease if the job doesn't work out. The best of luck. :) |
| Bleak Spouse | Posted – 7/7/2006 11:51:02 AM | show profile No. And since when is a company in NY hiring someone from the midwest for a 50k job? Sounds screwy to me. There's plenty of qualified people in NY. |
| harryfred | Posted – 7/7/2006 1:42:04 PM | show profile If you're young and want a career in TV, why not go for it? I don't see why you can't live in NYC on that: It's 3000K a month after taxes. Try to find something cheap with a six month lease to start out. The instability of the job sounds somewhat odd though. (Or are they just saying they might be cancelled at any time until the make it?) Good luck. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 7/7/2006 3:02:08 PM | show profile >It's 3000K a month after taxes> I'd check with a NY-based accountant to make sure as I think it's less and it's not an error you want to make going in. I agree that the instability might be a dealbreaker, depending on your stomach for risk, your appetite for jobsearching, your overhead (student loans, credit card debt payments), your desire to share space with room-mates, etc. Mailbag's story is instructive as not many people want to live so frugally and many end up having to...and how much are you able to contribute from that toward your retirement savings? You can live comfortably on that income here but can you also bring enough savings to support you if you lose your job and don't qualify for unemployment insurance? It's one thing to live frugally and something much more stressful to lose that income altogether. And an insecure job (they're all fairly insecure, but...) makes that a dicey proposition. |
| Marie | Posted – 7/7/2006 4:01:46 PM | show profile I'm not sure I would quit a good job to do this, but if you're not working, you could try it. I work for the cheapest network in the universe, and yet it paid moving expenses for two people recently, who weren't that high up in the food chain--mid level at most. They should help you out, but it sounds as if the job is week to week. So I wouldn't turn my life upside down to do this, but if you're not working, you could look at it as temporary move, and if it doesn't work out, you can always return home. I think you can live on the money if you don't have a lot of debt, and you opt for Brooklyn or Queens instead of Manhattan. You can always claim several dependents on your taxes to have more take home (pay but you must claim the correct amount when you file your taxes, and if you do this, you will owe money). I'd visit, interview at the company and just judge for yourself. |
| Jon24NYC | Posted – 7/7/2006 6:11:05 PM | show profile The stability thing would scare me the most personally, but in the low 50s is certainly enough to live fine in manhattan. that's exactly what i make and i live comfortable on the upper east side (a very nice neighborhood in nyc), go out every weekend, and eat out once in a while. but you have to be willing to live with roommates. living on your own, it will be a stretch. |
| internet chick | Posted – 7/9/2006 4:14:03 PM | show profile Thanks so much for the comments. I'm still pondering if I am going to go out there for a interview. And since they're not paying for moving expenses..I'm assuming that they aren't gonna fly me out there..so it will be at my own expense. Do you think its even worth going out there for the interview? They are trying to find someone to fill the position by the end of this month...so I would have to go out there within the next couple of weeks. I'm so confused as to what to do. I want a new job, but I don't know if moving to NYC (under these particular circumstances) is the answer. |
| mailbag | Posted – 7/9/2006 4:38:19 PM | show profile | email poster Do note the tax benefit Whatever you decide to do, remember to tally all your expenses and keep good records...all personal job hunting expenses are deductible from your taxes. Again, the best of luck to you. I don't envy having to make that decision. |
| tristin | Posted – 7/10/2006 12:47:21 PM | show profile RENT I just think you should check out the harshness that is the housing situation. Craig's List will fill you in..http://newyork.craigslist.org/aap/ Good luck! |
| Marie | Posted – 7/10/2006 12:57:14 PM | show profile If you know people here and have people to stay with, you could schedule your interview for a Friday or Monday (take either as a vacation day from current job), and take a long weekend and fly out here just to check it out. Just look at it as a vacation in New York, during which you happen to have one business appointment, which will of course allow you to write the trip off. |
| Marie | Posted – 7/10/2006 1:00:24 PM | show profile Also, don't assume they wouldn't pay for you to fly out here. They might. Afterall, they called you, right? If they want to interview you and will pay for a flight (you could fly back home the same evening if they don't spring for one night in a hotel). Paying a few thousand for moving expenses is a lot different than a few lousy hundred for a flight. I've always had out-of-town interview expenses paid. |
| chucho | Posted – 7/10/2006 1:08:25 PM | show profile >It's 3000K a month after taxes> I'd check with a NY-based accountant to make sure as I think it's less and it's not an error you want to make going in. << * It is less. I made 45K at a steady staff job in NYC for a year and my take home was about $1,250 a paycheck. I'd say $50K probably put you at about $2,650 a month. An, yes, you can live on $45K nicely, though that is a relative term. I didn't (don't) have any debt, for one thing. That makes a huge difference. A good standard is, if you want to live alone (no car): earn at least $45K and add to that any estimated minimum annual debt payments. Don't make plans based on getting a better-paying job later on down the road. You can live on less with roommates. But, yeah, I have red flags, too, about some media startup in NYC recruiting from out-of-city when the city is filled with talent that will do the job for that price. |
| internet chick | Posted – 7/10/2006 1:08:35 PM | show profile Not going to pursue it! After many days of consideration..I'm gonna pass on this. The cons outweigh the pros with this job opportunity and I feel that if I moved out to NYC (for this particular job), I wouldn't be moving up the career ladder, but taking a step back. The stability with the job scares me and i deserve more $ for the experience that I have. I just don't want to settle for anything. Thanks for all your help and suggestions!! |
| prgirl 1 | Posted – 7/13/2006 5:57:25 PM | show profile | email poster Would you move??????? Without knowing anything about you, I say go for it. I moved to NYC twice without a job lined up and with only a couple of thousand dollars in my pocket. I only knew one person whom Ididn't contact until the housing situation I coordinated with the YMCA didn't work out. If you have never been to NYC, don't believe the media hype, it's just as safe as anywhere else and believe me you will find a job should this one not work out. NYC is about reinventing oneself and you will see that once you get there. Ultimately, this will be a decision you and only you can make as you know how daring, confident and crazy you are. Best of luck to you and I wish I had your problem as I no longer live in the northeast. |
| eye2eye | Posted – 7/14/2006 4:09:32 AM | show profile Since you're not going for it... I'm curious....is this for Megan Mullaly's new show or Rachel Ray? |
| internet chick | Posted – 7/14/2006 3:21:44 PM | show profile In regards to cfoster66's post...I would move to NYC if it was under different circumstances (they were paying to fly me out for an interview, would cover my moving expenses, and more $, etc.). I have a good job with stability and I have no debt (credit cards, student loans). Moving out to NYC would change all of that and this job had no security...at any time I could get the boot and I don't know if I would leave all I have here for a risky situation. Although I am on the job hunt and looking for a new opportunity with more $, I don't know if moving to NYC for this particular job would be the answer to that. I have friends as well who have left to move to NYC/LA with hardly any money to their name and they've been able to flourish. If I had just gotten out of school, this opportunity would be great, but I have 6 years of experience and am looking to move up the career ladder, not fall a few steps back just so I can live and work in NYC. When the right opportunity comes along I will know...just gotta keep the faith! And for eye2eye...it was a job with Rachel Ray's show. |
| edgirl22 | Posted – 7/16/2006 11:57:48 AM | show profile You can do it I moved to NYC from the Chicago area for an entry level editor position with a 25K starting salary. It was tough but hundreds (thousands) have done it before you for even less, including dozens of my friends who moved out there with no job and temped until they landed on. With twice as much in a starting salary, I think you'll start out juuuust fine. :) Good luck! |
| eye2eye | Posted – 7/16/2006 5:34:07 PM | show profile Contacting you off the board Internet Chick....I have something slightly different to offer you. Can I email you off the board? What's your email address? |
| internet chick | Posted – 7/17/2006 12:48:26 PM | show profile | email poster Eye2eye's offer Hopefully you can email me by checking out this post...if you can't..please send me your e-mail address and we'll go from there. |
| newsandfeatures | Posted – 7/17/2006 2:09:37 PM | show profile I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the vast majority of corporations no longer pay for relocating expenses. Many, even large money makers such as Morgan Stanley and IBM don't pay people on W-2s and offer benefits such as health insurance, pension, etc. The W-2s are with third parties and they don't pay benefits. It's all to please Wall Street. That's why you may as well follow your heart and do something "impractical" such as writing! |
