Crazy Amounts New Yorkers spend to live

[LaosLover]

https://www.curbed.com/article/cost-of-living-nyc-calculator.html

 

People are spending $1,500 a month on yoga and five thousand a month on restaurants. What's the craziest, most useless spend in your home country?

[bkk6060]

Well sure, same in California. 

How about day spas for dogs and cats where they get massages.

[LaosLover]

In that article, they say that basic vet check ups for a single cat costs $1,500 a year.

 

 

[Jingthing]

Surprising so many can afford just the rent there.

[save the frogs]

26 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

People are spending $1,500 a month on yoga and five thousand a month on restaurants.

these numbers are meaningless as some people are multi-millionaires.

i know someone who rented a vacation home in florida for 16K per month for the winter. 

some people have so much money they don't know how to spend it. 

if you're rich, just the interest in the bank is bringing in 50K per year. 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

54 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

People are spending $1,500 a month on yoga and five thousand a month on restaurants.

Spending any money on yoga is obviously wasted.

But 5k per month in restaurants sounds good - if you can afford it.

[LaosLover]

I had $140 rent in in NYC in 1974 and split it 3 ways. I'd be adding an extra zero now and living in a windowless room in The Bronx.

 

That article made me think of all the glorious unencumbered old guys who sweat not a bit about sailing camp for their kids ($7K per), or paying a grand a month minimum for private school.

 

Even the dug-in family men here, prob don't spend $500 per kid per month all in. Then there's all the hands-out stuff from schools, charities, family, friends, weddings etc. Just gone here.

 

It's so good to be off the lifestyle treadmill and live in cheap-land. We eat out every meal and go to a 5* at least once a week. I am going to put our total foodbill at about $12-1500 a month (including daily very wasteful Starbucks delivery, $10 a day).

 

At $5K a month in New York (presumably for 2 people), that's $165 a day. Hard to get out for less than $80 in a nice cafe for lunch.

 

[Celsius]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

some people have so much money they don't know how to spend it. 

if you're rich, just the interest in the bank is bringing in 50K per year. 

 

per month or per year? Because I am not rich and interest I get is $25,000 per year.... on about 500,000 deposited on a one year term.

 

1 million in NY is poor.

[save the frogs]

18 minutes ago, Celsius said:

per month or per year? Because I am not rich and interest I get is $25,000 per year.... on about 500,000 deposited on a one year term.

you're richer than a lot of folks. 

wasnt there a mass exodus from new york after covid?

people working online moving to lower rent areas? 

[bendejo]

I grew up in slum areas in NYC.  A 2 bedroom railroad apartment was $50/month 1950s/60s.  When the rent went up $2/month it was a big deal.  Mel Brooks grew up in one of those neighborhoods 25 years previous and says rent was $30. 

We had relatives who moved up in the world and moved to Long Island, back then a house was $25k.  Hardly ever saw them again.

I recently heard from a cousin, a young woman attending a famous New England college.  She was excited that after she graduates she'll be moving to one of the old slum neighborhoods, slightly renovated; from a little online perusing the rents there are around $2k for a place the size of a bathroom stall.

One of those neighborhoods has a big movie studio now, in a building that used to be a bread factory.  It shows up a bit in movies and TV shows.

 

 

[Jingthing]

I've moved to many places in the US in my life including some well known desirable areas but New York City was the one place that I started to move to that I quickly aborted. If you can make it there you can make it anywhere is the myth.. Well the sacrifices needed to make it there just weren't worth it to me

 

[DudleySquat]

Taxes

[bluejets]

Wife of a friend of mine spent $900 last week in Aus on haircut for her and the granddaughter.

Mine is $20.....not much hair left but still.................

Just plain ridiculous, no sense ...........

Meanwhile house insurance goes up 65% two years in a row.

Everyday groceries up almost 50% on most staples.

Reserve bank trying to put a hold on inflation while the banks and others keep offering incentives for people to spend money they don't have....crazy stuff

They REALLY need to get rid of this government here.

[rwill]

I remember in high school thinking to myself, "Boy if I get a job making $5/hour I'll be set for life."  ????????????

[spidermike007]

I had a new wine cooler fixed yesterday here. It cost 800 baht in the US, you can't get a tech to come out for less than $300 now, and if requires any real work, $600 and up. Since when do blue collar guys get to charge what psychiatrists charge? 

 

A friend of mine is looking for an apartment to move to in LA, and really small, simple places are 70,000 baht per month. Nice two bedrooms are closer to 100,000 baht. Decent homes start at 125,000 baht per month. The cost of nearly everything has gone up dramatically. Runaway inflation? Likely 22% at the moment. 

 

Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht!

 

I had a motorbike seat recently redone on a scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275.

 

I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $500 and up.

 

I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $500 and up.

 

An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? $75.

 

When I travel here I stay in nice four star hotels in Bangkok. Usually 1800-2000 baht. In the US? $130 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room.

 

I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 150-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip.

 

I visit the emergency room here to visit a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-2000.

 

An anecdote on this subject. A good friend of mine got in a bad motorcycle accident some time ago. He almost lost his leg. He got his first of 11 operations at Bangkok Hospital Samui. It costs him over a million baht. They wanted to do a second procedure. They quoted him 1,400,000 baht. He decided to transfer to Bangkok. He was quoted 460,000 baht for the same procedure, at a top private hospital there. The surgeon told him that he worked at a public hospital too, and could do the same operation there, for alot less money. He told him he would get him a quote. In the interim, my friend called a good friend of his, in San Diego, who is an orthopedic surgeon. Since my friend is a retired chiropractor, he knew all the terminology, and explained what he needed, and asked for the best price. His friend called him back the next day, and quoted him $960,000, with cash discounts! The local surgeon here got back to him, and told him he could do it for 46,000 baht. He transferred, and they did all the rest of his procedures. So, 1,400,000 at Bangkok Hospital, 460,000 at Vejthani Hospital, and 46,000 at the public hospital, with an excellent surgeon. VS. 31,000,000 baht in the US. Again, no complaints from this peanut gallery.

 

Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $800 an hour now for a decent looking gal, with alot of attitude, and a whole list of rules. 

 

Who needs that nonsense? Any of it. 

 

[spidermike007]

It is not just New York. Nearly any major city in the US now is out of control. Inflation is rampant. Not sure how most are surviving. 

[LaosLover]

My OP intent was to highlight all of the stupid stuff back home that we don't have to do: going out for expensive drinking nights, getting emeshed in family $$$ obligations, worrying about your fashion sense, etc.

 

Thailand is not only cheaper, it's simpler. And simpler feeds into the cheapness. A lot of Nyers in that article are dropping a $1000-2,000 on therapy every month. Not many therapy-goers on the site.

[peter zwart]

8 hours ago, LaosLover said:

It's so good to be off the lifestyle treadmill and live in cheap-land.

can not agree more, Now that I'm not in it anymore (rat race), you find out how completely unimportant many things are and were that you worked so hard for in your home country. Back to basic and love it.

[Freddy42OZ]

15 hours ago, LaosLover said:

People are spending $1,500 a month on yoga and five thousand a month on restaurants. What's the craziest, most useless spend in your home country?

If you have money then why not spend it and enjoy life?  Who are you to decide what is crazy or useless?

[SmokeandIce]

19 hours ago, bluejets said:

Wife of a friend of mine spent $900 last week in Aus on haircut for her and the granddaughter.

Mine is $20.....not much hair left but still.................

Just plain ridiculous, no sense ...........

Meanwhile house insurance goes up 65% two years in a row.

Everyday groceries up almost 50% on most staples.

Reserve bank trying to put a hold on inflation while the banks and others keep offering incentives for people to spend money they don't have....crazy stuff

They REALLY need to get rid of this government here.

What government do you endorse ?

[kingstonkid]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It is not just New York. Nearly any major city in the US now is out of control. Inflation is rampant. Not sure how most are surviving. 

I think we do a disservice to the U.S. when we talk about how high the cost of living is.

 

Reading about the GTA in Ontario. The costs that were /are increasing in Hongcouver and Montreal I can say that Canada is no different.  There is a reason other than the ladies and the sunshine that I am not living in Canada.

 

I visited Aus and can say that looking at the prices for hotels and what you get as well as the cost of things that again living in Sydney would not be my choice.

 

I am sure London and other big cities are the same.  

 

 

[Hanaguma]

How about $3,500 a night to stay in a Star Wars themed hotel at Disney World?

 

https://insidethemagic.net/2023/04/disney-star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-completely-overhauled-ab1/

 

 

[KhunLA]

OP is obviously referring to the high end of the 'haves' and not the majority of citizens.

 

You can live inexpensively in any country, even the USA, by simply avoiding the metro areas in the USA, or populated coastal areas.

 

My friends use to think my dining out budget was ridiculous, surpassing some of their yearly incomes.   But then wondered why I never bought new cars, or why I lived in the neighborhoods I did.   Spend here, budget there ... priorities.

[spidermike007]

44 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

I think we do a disservice to the U.S. when we talk about how high the cost of living is.

 

Reading about the GTA in Ontario. The costs that were /are increasing in Hongcouver and Montreal I can say that Canada is no different.  There is a reason other than the ladies and the sunshine that I am not living in Canada.

 

I visited Aus and can say that looking at the prices for hotels and what you get as well as the cost of things that again living in Sydney would not be my choice.

 

I am sure London and other big cities are the same.  

 

 

I go back to the US often. I am astonished at how high the prices are, on so many things. Anything labor related is stupid expensive. A simple lunch for two is $30 to $70 at a casual spot. Inflation is out of control there. 

 

I don't care if I am doing a disservice by speaking truth. 

[billd766]

9 hours ago, bluejets said:

Wife of a friend of mine spent $900 last week in Aus on haircut for her and the granddaughter.

Mine is $20.....not much hair left but still.................

Just plain ridiculous, no sense ...........

Meanwhile house insurance goes up 65% two years in a row.

Everyday groceries up almost 50% on most staples.

Reserve bank trying to put a hold on inflation while the banks and others keep offering incentives for people to spend money they don't have....crazy stuff

They REALLY need to get rid of this government here.

I got my haircut and a shave at my local barbers shop in the big village and ir cost 100 baht. A bit like you with not much hair left.

 

A haircut only is 80 baht.

[newnative]

   It's interesting that there seems to be an endless fascination--sometimes accompanied by affirmation or disapproval--on what other people spend their money on.  I admit I'm guilty, too--I recently clicked on a Yahoo article to see the house that Beyonce and her husband have just spent $200 million on, apparently the most expensive house sale in California history.  I wasn't impressed when I looked at the photos but, as dear old Dad used to say, 'if you like it, I'm crazy about it'.   If you can afford it, spend on whatever makes you happy, and to heck with what anyone else thinks about it.   

[whereyougo]

4 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

If you have money then why not spend it and enjoy life?  Who are you to decide what is crazy or useless?

What did you expect? most people on here think that paying over 100 baht for a Thai meal is outrageous and unacceptable

[Walker88]

Closer to home, a night at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok will run you from 19500 baht to 430000 baht, depending on the room. The 430000 baht/night suite is fully booked until mid next month.

 

Enjoy your money. You can't take it with you, and kids generally don't deserve it.

[LaosLover]

3 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

I think we do a disservice to the U.S. when we talk about how high the cost of living is.

 

 I can say that Canada is no different.  There is a reason other than the ladies and the sunshine that I am not living in Canada.

 

In the comment section, A guy who just moved to Ottawa says it costs the same to live in a "frozen turd".

 

Fatuous 'who's to say?'-posturing aside, there are a lot truly crazy prices that are only in New York. I used to tip my doormen a grand at Christmas. It's now $50-$100 to have your door walked. They get a week's dog walking fee at Christmas too. You tip a lot of people in New York.

 

Take a look at a very average sandwich for $29. I've eaten there, but only a $5 cookie.

 

https://www.grubstreet.com/2023/04/29-dollar-ham-and-cheese-sandwich-nyc.html

[LaosLover]

7 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Closer to home, a night at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok

Within its category, The Mandarin is a steal. Would cost 4 times more, at least, in the west.