Immigrant experience: how much money is needed for a month of living in New York

New York has the glory of one of the most expensive cities in the world, and even the state is famous for extremely high taxes. Therefore, many are interested in whether it is possible to live comfortably in this metropolis on a salary, especially an immigrant one, which, let's face it, in most cases is inferior to what the Americans get for work. Channel AuthorImmigrant alphabet”On the Yandex.Zen portal shared a detailed list of its expenses in order to paint a picture of the cost of living in the capital of the world.

Next - from the first person.

In New York, very expensive housing. For a studio in a luxury building (a new house with a pool and a gym) I pay $ 1 per month (along with electricity). And this is the biggest expense item. You can find an apartment cheaper. But then there, most likely, there will be no washing machine and the house will be old.

In general, finding good housing in New York is quite difficult. Especially new immigrants. Most often, they rent apartments in private houses, they do not check their credit history, which is not yet available, but this entails the fact that, most likely, the owner will also live in the same house. Personally, I am more used to living in a separate apartment in a large house. Living in the new building is not only more comfortable, but even more profitable: you can get a discount on paying taxes (this year, $ 100 was deducted - a trifle, but nice).

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The second item of expense is the car. The car involves three payments per month: $ 265 for the car itself, $ 140 for insurance and $ 150 for parking.

Many people avoid it, but it’s safer to live this way - medical insurance - $ 333 per month. Medical services in the United States without insurance are dangerous and expensive. Calling an ambulance without insurance, broken leg, etc. can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars (although hospitals provide free insurance).

Television and internet. In the house where I live, there is free wi-fi on the ground floor, but it's more convenient when the Internet is in the apartment. For the TV + Internet + home phone package - $ 170 per month.

Mobile connection. My pain. I just can't get used to the fact that it is so expensive - $ 90 per month. But this is unlimited Internet, calls and messages. In large families, you can save money by having one account and several lines (numbers). So the payment can be in the region of $ 20-40 per month for one number.

Petrol. This is a nice bonus - I ride for $ 50 a month, sometimes even less. I have a short drive to work, and the gas costs are lower than public transportation ($ 2,75 per trip). In addition, gasoline also becomes cheaper here from time to time.

Food. A weekly purchase usually costs about $ 80- $ 100, that is, about $ 320-400 per month. With food, it is difficult to calculate something in between. In any country, eating is more expensive, eating cheaper. And everyone already chooses for themselves. Personally, I'm not embarrassed by the $ 2 bread. Although in the US, many people fundamentally buy food labeled “organic,” i.e. eggs from chicken, which grew in real conditions, without antibiotics; fruits and vegetables without additives, etc. On average, this food costs twice as much.

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Household chemicals - around $ 70 per month.

Clothing, shoes, cosmetics it’s hard to imagine regular spending, but it's about $ 150-200 a month.

A plus - cafes, restaurants, pizza - rarely, $ 100 per month maximum.

Other unplanned expenses: another $ 200-500 - how lucky you are.

On average, it turns out about $ 3500 per month.

Such spending allows you not only to live from paycheck to paycheck, but also to save most of your earnings for the future (including taxes). For comparison, in Volgograd I managed to set aside no more than 10% (if I was lucky), in Moscow - about 20% of my earnings. Therefore, even taking into account taxes, it is more profitable to live here.

I understand that many people spend much more - everyone has different expenses. This is my example. So, this is also possible.