Good salary

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

She probably wasn't deliberately "living above her means." $1600 in DC isn't a luxury condo! Housing in cities is expensive, and like someone said, you might have to pay a lot more just to be within a reasonable commute to your office (especially if you don't have a car), to live in a safe neighborhood, and to have a clean apartment. Even if you have several roommates, your rent in a city like DC, Boston, NYC, or SF is going to be high.

Exactly - plus there's always the parking issue if you have a vehicle, where you're either paying for parking in/around your own building, or you're paying for nearby public parking. At least in Boston, neither of those are cheap!

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

I suspect, and Mel and KSigkid might be able to back me up here, that the entry-level salaries in big cities are a little depressed. Not saying that they're low--they're just not that high, especially if you have a degree of any sort.

That was my experience and the experience of my friends, outside of those who went into finance or investment banking. I always thought my salary was low because I was working for a non-profit (doing public relations), but my friends at PR agencies were making a similar amount. The funny thing is my salary didn't go up until I moved to CT and got my current job!

Having friends in the same circumstances definitely helps - not a lot of pressure to go nuts on Friday and Saturday nights when you know that everyone's money, for the most part, is going to rent.