Dear Fiance and I pay $2,800/month for our 1br in Manhattan. We live in a “nicer area”, but honestly chose the apartment because it was the nicest one we found four our budget, but I love the area we ended up in! Very neighborhood like, but with young (we are 25) and fun places nearby and great transportation options. We also have our 6 month old dog living with us.
Our apartment is I think right about 300 sqft. Teeny Tiny! Laundry in basement but it is still kinda expensive and a hassle, so we usually use a wash and fold service which charges by weight. Our kitchen is really just a nook with no counter space, but we do have a full fridge, dishwasher, oven, stove and microwave… some people might find it weird that I called that out, but DFs last apartment had refigerated drawers (no freezer) and no oven- just a 2 burner stovetop…
We do have my car in the city with us because we travel a lot and it is easier to do that with our dog. We generally find parking (alternate side parking, so you have to move it every few days) and if we can’t or don’t feel like it, we will park it in a garage for $20. We probably use that option about 1x/week so its not terrible. Metrocard is around $120/month
Groceries are horribly expensive (we only have a “fancy” grocery store nearby), and we have actually found that it is cheaper to order on Seamless for dinners since we would only be cooking for 2 people. We probably cook 1-2x/week.
I work for an ad agency and also as a travel agent specializing in Disney (I used to work there. Let me tell you how much I miss the cost of living in Orlando!!! haha) and make around $55k/year before taxes (which are crazy high because NY state and there is a NYC tax too). DF works in “finance” which is a super broad term, but sales & trading is I guess more accurate and makes about $150k/year before taxes.
I also still have student loans, but luckily he doesn’t. I have virtually no savings and actually commuted from Central Jersey (2hr commute in each direction!!) for 2.5 years becase I couldn’t afford to move and my commute cost over $1,000/month so it was difficult to save then too.
The plan is to live here until after our wedding (June 2018) and then buy an apartment in North Jersey somewhere.
It is insane! Worth it if you can swing it for a few years though. The experience is great and I do not miss my commute one bit!
ETA: The leasing company actually quoted us the wrong price as the agent was leaving for vacation when she showed us the place and was kinda frazzled. It was actually supposed to be listed at $3k