May 28, 2003
Cost-of-Living: NYC vs. Siberia
For the past few weeks I have been trying to decide what I want to do this summer. After some thinking I pared it down to two options. The first is to stay in NYC and continue to freelance and look for a full-time job. The second is to sell a bunch of stuff, put stuff in storage, buy tickets to Siberia and go live there for three months. To help me decide, I built a cost matrix that displays side-by-side how much it would cost me for both options.
| New York City | Krasnoyarsk, Siberia | |
|---|---|---|
| Plane Tickets/Airport Transfer | N/A | $1100 |
| Plane Ticket to CA | $300 | $1200 |
| Rent | ($850/mo) $2550 | ($150/mo) $450 |
| Sec. Deposit | $850 | $75 |
| Living Exenses (Food) | $500 | (for 2 ppl) $500 |
| Public Transportation | (Subway/Cabs) $150 | (Buses) $75 |
| Utilities | ($100/mo) $300 | ($30/mo) $90 |
| Internet Access | (Broadband) $150 | (250 hours dial-up) $200 |
| Cell Phone | ($60/mo) $180 | ($20/mo) $60 |
| Entertainment | $300 | $150 |
| Credit Cards Interest | ($200/mo) $600 | ($200/mo) $600 |
| NYC's $-fly-out-of-wallet Fee | $450 | N/A |
| Mini-storage | N/A | ($60/mo) $180 |
| Total | $6330 | $4680 |
Some things to keep in mind:
- I have a strong job lead in California that I may need to interview for sometime in July. Add an extra $1200 in plane tickets cost for that.
- Being in Siberia for three months does not make me available for job interviews.
- Freelance work in NYC is harder to acquire if I am overseas since I wouldn't be able to meet for interviews with new potential clients.
- Living in Siberia would give me the time and peace and quiet to focus on my personal web projects, away from the distractions of NYC. Some of these projects have potentially strong income possibilites in the future.
The NYC "$-fly-out-of-wallet fee" refers to a saying that most New Yorkers tell their visiting friends and relatives, "When you get here be ready to watch $20 bills fly out of your wallet" and "In NYC, everything costs $20."
At this point I am leaning towards staying in NYC for the summer since it seems like the more repsonsible thing to do even though it costs me more financially.
Posted by Cameron Barrett at May 28, 2003 02:42 AMOf course, you also need to do another matrix: income possibilities. Then you can do a net comparison. That might have an effect on your decision.
I completely understand the dilemma: on the one hand (Siberia), you have cultural investment, experience banking, and mental relaxation. On the other hand (US working world), you have Starbucks, the Lone Star, $$$, and professional advancement.
Tough choice.
Posted by: Joe at May 28, 2003 10:26 AM
As the queen of indecision, I've done quite a few of those matrices. Tough choice indeed. What has always worked for me is to follow my heart and my gut. Perhaps you could do another cost-of-living matrix - what brings you the most happiness? The most laughter? The best experience?
Posted by: Kathy at May 28, 2003 11:42 AM
Here's two more: is Siberia more for isolation (ie to do those web projects) or for the cultural reasons? If the former, then perhaps you could go to, say, the Adirondacks, VT, NH, ME, and get the same isolation, yet be close enough to job interviews to make new work more feasible.
The other thing is you can only go back to Siberia if you keep posting to the weblog at least once a week. Some of us can just hop to the other side of the globe and could use some vicarious living. Deal?
PS- Can you really picture yourself in Cali, anyhow?
Posted by: ~bc at May 29, 2003 12:01 AM
Tough problem. You also need to evaluate the VALUE of each of your options .. so that you can rank them (the options).
I use "Reider's Rule" for such situations (http://www.docnotes.net/2002/11/09.html#000798)
... sooo ..
Priority = Value / Work (cost)
where Value is a number from 1 to 100
NYC: P = Value /6330
Sib: P = Value /4680
You can include the job opportunities in your figure for V ... or whatever you think belongs there .. the one with the higher P is the winner.
Posted by: Jacob at May 29, 2003 01:04 AM
I'm not sure that you make a choice between staying in New York or moving to Siberia on the basis of money. If it were a case for money, you probably can find a lower cost place to stay in the US that will reduce your expense.
Posted by: Mike at May 29, 2003 01:08 PM
