June 8, 2006--Living Well On $483,775 A Year
Location, location, location apparently applies as much to living well as to the cost of real estate. Though of course they are to some extent related.
According to a recent report in the NY Times, “living well” is quite expensive even in Wichita (article linked below). There it costs $189,305 per year. For comparison purposes, if you want to live well on $277,343 a year, but don’t want to live in Kansas, you can do so in Chicago. It should be no surprise that it will set you back $483,775 to have the same life style in Manhattan.
This is interesting if you want to know the cost of keeping up with the Justins. But if you have a really inquiring mind you might want to know what you get for your $189,305 or your $483,775. You probably want to know just what constitutes “living well” before you set off to kill yourself in pursuit of that much annual income.
Since this all comes from Forbes Magazine you will probably not be surprised to learn that on the living-well list there is—owning a BMW and a Lexus (they don’t specify which models), private schools for little Justin and Jessica, regular meals at up-scale restaurants (now I understand why Manhattan is so expensive—have you been to Jean George lately?), a vacation home (even in Wichita?), and three vacations a year with stays in places such as the Ritz!
As I add up the numbers I am wondering if 483 grand is enough in New York City. Surely the vacation home has to be north of the Highway in the Hamptons and without water views.
Forbes is a little concerned that its readers will be upset about all of this, feeling frustrated if they make, say, only $300,000 a year in New York. Not to worry—Forbes adds that you “can live for less” by taking a two-week rental rather than buying a second home, sending your kids to public school, and cooking dinner every night. If you do this, “you will need to earn less money.” Excellent insight.
On the other hand, if you want to live well it’s about more than being able to stay at the Ritz. Forbes reminds its readers that they shouldn’t torture themselves about making even more in order to own a private jet or “sprawling estates,” because those who just manage to live well have values that “are more grounded” than the super-rich because they focus on providing a good education for their children, just “a nice house,” a "modest" weekend place, “an occasional trip,” and “a little money in the bank.”
And of course those cars, the Ritz, the up-scale restaurants. . . .
According to a recent report in the NY Times, “living well” is quite expensive even in Wichita (article linked below). There it costs $189,305 per year. For comparison purposes, if you want to live well on $277,343 a year, but don’t want to live in Kansas, you can do so in Chicago. It should be no surprise that it will set you back $483,775 to have the same life style in Manhattan.
This is interesting if you want to know the cost of keeping up with the Justins. But if you have a really inquiring mind you might want to know what you get for your $189,305 or your $483,775. You probably want to know just what constitutes “living well” before you set off to kill yourself in pursuit of that much annual income.
Since this all comes from Forbes Magazine you will probably not be surprised to learn that on the living-well list there is—owning a BMW and a Lexus (they don’t specify which models), private schools for little Justin and Jessica, regular meals at up-scale restaurants (now I understand why Manhattan is so expensive—have you been to Jean George lately?), a vacation home (even in Wichita?), and three vacations a year with stays in places such as the Ritz!
As I add up the numbers I am wondering if 483 grand is enough in New York City. Surely the vacation home has to be north of the Highway in the Hamptons and without water views.
Forbes is a little concerned that its readers will be upset about all of this, feeling frustrated if they make, say, only $300,000 a year in New York. Not to worry—Forbes adds that you “can live for less” by taking a two-week rental rather than buying a second home, sending your kids to public school, and cooking dinner every night. If you do this, “you will need to earn less money.” Excellent insight.
On the other hand, if you want to live well it’s about more than being able to stay at the Ritz. Forbes reminds its readers that they shouldn’t torture themselves about making even more in order to own a private jet or “sprawling estates,” because those who just manage to live well have values that “are more grounded” than the super-rich because they focus on providing a good education for their children, just “a nice house,” a "modest" weekend place, “an occasional trip,” and “a little money in the bank.”
And of course those cars, the Ritz, the up-scale restaurants. . . .
posted by Steven Zwerling at
6:50 AM
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