Wow! I didn't think I'd get such a response! And nice to see people come out of the NYC closet
I completely agree that someone should charge as much as they can, the whole free market system. What I was most peeved about was the fact that we were "sold" on the fact that the building was great since they "rarely raise the rent more than 4-5% a year". This is the crap you get to deal with day-to-day, double talk to get you sold, rip you off, and move on to the next [-]victim[/-]customer. I didn't mean that I wanted to sue property owners for jacking up the rent, I wanted to sue these sleazy sweatshop brokers that lie at every turn, and collect 15% of a year's rent to open a door for you and ask you if you want it or not.
That is a great point that it is sorta a balance game. As soon as the balance tips in a direction, I really start to question whether it is worth it. I could *never* do a 2 hour commute for a larger house. I live 15 minutes from my work by express train, and have enough of the train as it is
Unfortunately, I have the perspective of someone who grew up in the suburbs in the south. My friends are all engineers back home, like myself, and though I earn 2-3x as much money as them, they all have the 3000sq ft cookie cutter McMansions, and can't believe "I can survive in only 400sq ft and pay how much
"
Funny story, I just came back from visiting family back in Florida where I grew up. I walked into a Super Wal-mart, and almost fell over at the expanse of it all. It is hard to fathom how cheap land must be down there in comparison. You literally couldn't see end to end.
I guess the problem is I still have the Florida suburban mind-set, but am living the urban life. So, it is some sort of mental context switch to try to join the two concepts. Buying isn't much of an option in NYC. Even if you can afford the mortgage itself, they put $1500 right on top for maintenance. So, paying $2k for a rental unit, or paying $1500 for maintenance +$500 for the actual apartment won't get you much. Maybe a cardboard box without a river view
I originally lived in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn when I first moved to NYC. Then the market heated up significantly and oddly it was the same price as living in Manhattan. Park Slope, and the other nice areas of Brooklyn are similar. I admit I have never been to Queens, but have heard some stuff is cheap out there. I've heard that it has a lot of pollution and the trains suck on weekends. That is mostly hearsay, though I admit, and might be city-elitism
I have been reading that if you are willing to move to Jersey City, they have "luxury" apartments on the waterfront. One place, Liberty Towers, offers a heated indoor pool on a high floor with a view, a gym in the building, washer and dryer in every unit, game room, etc. And the studios are double the size of a comparable unit in the city for the same price. Now, I imagine they aren't giving this away. The area is probably sketchy outside of the indoor oasis, but I'm gonna go check it out this weekend. I don't know enough about Queens to even know where to start. I've also read some lux buildings have gone up in Long Island City, with a similar story. Beautiful building, but be careful leaving the building. This is the cost of doing business in NYC. Pay a significant premium to live in a nice area, or enjoy luxuries nearby with the risk of living across the street from a ghetto. And having a 5'2" wife, that is just an option I want to avoid.
All in all, to be honest, the plan is to work for another year or two here and then move back to the 'burbs down south. I think it is probably similar for many people here. Earn a nice income for a few years, then take that premium of cash and move back south to enjoy the wealth in comparison to your peers, and relax. It is sorta early-retirement from the urban stress as I see it. Instead of a date countdown of when I am retiring, it is more of a date where I can kick back and go back to that slow lifestyle of the south (and working for less pay, but having a nice size savings to reduce the risks), if that makes sense.
And there are a ton of places you *could* live. I think a lot of times it ends up being where you put down roots. It is that balance between enough attractions and a group of friends and family for support. Cellphones, webcams, instant messenger, it doesn't change the landscape. There is just something to be said for face time with friends and family.
Wow, I sorta rambled on for too long, but thanks everyone for the responses!