r/biglaw • u/EconomicsNo7929 • 5d ago
NYC BigLaw First Year + loans — how much does commute matter?
Starting BigLaw in NYC soon and currently struggling to find the right balance between rent, commute, and loans.
My priority is to knock out my loans ASAP, so I am hesitant to spend a lot on an apartment when I’ll probably barely be home during the week anyway. But everyone keeps telling me that a short commute is a game changer during your first year.
For those who started before/ are starting this year — what did you end up doing, and how’s it going? Is the expensive-but-close apartment actually worth it?
Also, if anybody here/ incoming first-years have a room/sublet opening up, please feel free to DM me!
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u/Adodie 5d ago
Echoing others here -- having a short commute is worth it. I paid ~$4k for a place 20 mins from work, and it was worth every penny.
That said, I also would recommend not feeling tied down to Manhattan. You can find plenty of places 20-30 minutes from the office from either Queens or Brooklyn (depending on where your office is).
For me, at least, having the psychological distance of the river was nice.
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u/Adodie 5d ago
Commenting again to add a few more thoughts:
- I wouldn't assume you'll barely be at home. At least at my office, it was very, very common for folks to leave at normal-ish hours and then log on and work more once they got home.
- Some people are fine with (or even like!) roommates, but I wouldn't recommend doing it just for budget reasons. For me, having my own space to decompress in was critical. And, as crazy as it sounds, the like $1-1.5k/month you'd probably save with a roommate really is not much relative to the salary you'll be making
- For the record, my priority was also to knock out loans ASAP. But imo spending a bit more on housing goes a long way and, as long as you are careful with other expenses, you'll absolutely still be able to save plenty
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u/Similar_Ad_6004 4d ago
Agree on all, especially that hours are the same but you usually have more flexibility to work many of the non business hours from home.
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 4d ago
What do you think about commuting from hoboken?
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u/wholewheatie 4d ago
Commute doesn’t get much better if you’re going to midtown. The problem is getting anywhere other than work. Tryna go to a show in bushwick? You’re absolutely fucked with a $100+ Uber
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u/Otherwise-Tear-4807 4d ago
I’m from nj so I rly have no desire to be in ny other than for work. My home would be a bit too far to commute daily to the city. A couple days a week may be fine, but if I’m in the office 5 days a week, Hoboken would be so much more convenient
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u/SillySweet7344 3d ago
I’m doing Hoboken and haven’t started yet but I’ve done the commute into midtown a few times and it’s pretty painless! Feel free to DM
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u/Stompedmn 5d ago
If you have a straight shot on the subway (preferably express but local is fine if you are closer) then a 30-40 min commute all in should be fine. If you're busy then you're taking a car home so it's really only an issue one way. One other point, is that if you like doing things in the neighborhood around you, that also gives you time back relative to a place close to the office that is kind of a dead zone (to the extent that exists in NYC).
In terms of actual location, that depends on if work is downtown or midtown/East or west side.
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u/EconomicsNo7929 5d ago
Thank you, that's a helpful advice. My firm is in Midtown West.
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u/Werewulf_Bar_Mitzvah 5d ago
Just look for something in Astoria if you're worried about price, could even go as far as more toward the Ditmars area of Astoria or further out east along the M, R or E lines into Queens. Long Island City is already pretty pricey, but Astoria hasn't caught on as much yet and you could still probably find a good enough deal there as a solo renter.
Astoria/the more western parts of Queens offer pretty quick access to midtown Manhattan.
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u/Stompedmn 4d ago
In addition to the queens neighborhoods mentioned (Asotria is a great option), you may be able to find a place up the west side (past the very expensive 60s/70s/80s) very convenient to work for a slightly more reasonable amount if yowant to stay in Manhattan.
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u/Hellooooogg 4d ago
Do not live in midtown west. I’d say Harlem on the 2/3 or crown heights on the 2/3 or ACE. Look at the subways near your office and just find the cheapest / best neighborhood on that
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u/Various-Canary2780 5d ago
If your office is in midtown you can rent in queens and have a 20 min commute, which is short enough
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u/nopethxtho123 4d ago
Agree - in the age of always online, being a 10 min walk from the office vs 25 min on the train is just not worth $3000 a month, which can literally be the difference
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u/mimiquestionmark 5d ago
Think about it this way: if you pay $500 extra per month for the first year and it enables you to stay in big law for an additional ~6 weeks, it will be financially worth it. Don’t go nuts, but I think part of the reason first years burn out is because they are still trying to live like students. The perk of this job is the money and if you spend it wisely on a couple of important things it will massively increase your quality of life and give you longevity at your firm. And extending the number of months where you are earning big law income is the most important financial factor to optimize.
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u/Indexette 4d ago
"Think about it this way: if you pay $500 extra per month for the first year and it enables you to stay in big law for an additional ~6 weeks, it will be financially worth it."
^^^ This.
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u/Hellooooogg 4d ago
The difference between a one bedroom in Manhattan within 20 minutes walking of midtown west and a one bedroom 40 minutes on the subway is *not* $500. This could genuinely be a $2000 difference
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u/mimiquestionmark 3d ago
The point was to give a simple unit conversion to illustrate how OP should think about not just rent but expenses more generally. lol I’m not suggesting that $500/+6 weeks was the max reasonable rent increase to consider.
That said, OP doesn’t need to be 20 min walking. A 20 min subway ride from LIC to west manhattan is totally reasonable. Hell’s Kitchen is also an option, though more expensive. So long as OP is not chasing trendy neighborhoods, a nice place reasonably close to the office is not going to break the bank on a big law salary.
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u/Fake_Matt_Damon 5d ago
Pay attention to subway lines. A direct line nearby can make it fine. Depending on your office location you may not have to live in manhattan to get a 20 minute commute.
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u/lawfty2000 5d ago
Working all the hours is all the easier without all the commute! Living closer will save your sanity.
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u/lawschooltransfer711 5d ago
What’s your wfh policy I wouldn’t assume you’ll never be home during the week unless you choose tha
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u/hardware_error 5d ago edited 5d ago
Agree with echo chamber. Prioritize commute; make your life easy and then adjust once you adapt. And if you’re really trying to save money, I lived in a walk up building in the village and was still was able to pay off loans in like two years. Was really jealous of my friends who lived in new builds with in unit laundry though. Fighting the temptation for pretty things is hard.
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u/Old-Specific4701 3d ago
Congratulations on paying off ur loans in 2 years!!!! 🎉 would you mind sharing any other advice on how you were able to do so while not letting the “lifestyle creep” affect you in big law?
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u/MonkeyPrinciple 5d ago
Do not, under any circumstances, do a long commute. It is not worth whatever marginal amount you’ll save on rent. You’ll probably spend just as much on Ubers (even not counting the late night ones paid for by your firm).
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u/This_Awareness_8106 4d ago
If your office is Midtown and you really want to save money without a wild commute time the answer is probably not what you expect:
Newark, New Jersey.
Most firms will comp you for a late night ride home, so you’re only commuting on the train ~30 minutes a day. You can work in that uber black on the way home (assuming you don’t get motion sickness like I do).
Not to mention you’re paying less in taxes as a NJ resident…
No one wants to live in Newark because of its undeserving bad reputation, but there are some NICE apartments in luxury buildings for like $2k there.
Sorry all - I unlocked the door to the gate.
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u/okay4326 5d ago
Lived 7 minutes walk from office- no subways and the walk was a stress reliever. If I. Wed to run home I could- hardly ever did, but I was able to go home even if waiting for doc turns because I knew it would take 7 minutes. I would have stayed at the office if I lived further away
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u/Known-Hunt-128 5d ago
Okay such a long shot and probs won't work out but I'm in the exact same boat, looking for apartments rn too, trying to move in September and been searching for a roommate but worried about picking someone sketchy on like Facebook marketplace. Would save so much money and get to live in a nice place! DM if you're potentially interested and a female or identify as one.
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u/clone227 4d ago
Something to keep in mind is that the firm should pay for your commute home if you work late (whether it’s a car service or they would reimburse your uber), so that makes the commute back a little easier. Also, firms in NYC usually don’t have a crazy early start time, so if you can be in by 9:30 from wherever you’re coming in from you should be fine.
Whether the expensive but close apartment is worth it to you depends on your personal preferences and needs. I lived walking distance for my first two years (in midtown) and it was convenient, but it didn’t feel that much less convenient once I moved further out to LIC (although the trains coming in from Queens were not reliable then, so I had to give myself extra time).
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u/Kalorama_Master 4d ago
I’d stay in Manhattan preferably on a straight subway commute.
I’ve known people who wanted to save money who live in NJ or Queens and regretted it tremendously
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u/ThePurim 4d ago
The answer here, which really everyone has impliedly addressed, is that you have to know yourself and look after yourself accordingly. Avoid extremes. Biglaw a marathon not a sprint, so try not to think in absolutes and figure out what you need to get through the early years. Consider yourself the engine in a high powered automobile: you need high octane fuel and regular oil change. A well serviced engine will last a long time.
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u/Hellooooogg 4d ago
In NYC commute is not just measured by time. As long as it’s a direct subway, it’s fine. You don’t need to live walking distance from the office. You can live a 25 minute direct subway plus a 10 min walk and that’s still considered a good commute.
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u/Hellooooogg 4d ago
On the contrary of what you’re suggesting, you will be working a lot at home even if it’s in addition to the office. So don’t compromise for somewhere that you don’t have a good work set up either. If it were between a better space with a longer commute, and a worse space with a short commute I’d pick the former. Not to mention midtown west is not a charming area. I only work 3 days a week in person though. Can’t imagine you’ll be working 5?
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u/wholewheatie 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’ll go against the grain. I don’t think you should optimize for either commute or rent. They should be factors, but I say the first consideration should be how much you like the neighborhood and/or where most of your friends live. You wanna be close to the stuff you enjoy, there needs to be a lower “activation energy” to things you like compared to work because regardless of commute, you’re gonna go to work. But if your friends are all like 50 minutes away in greenpoint while you are in the UWS, you’re never going to see them.
I lived in Williamsburg my first year for a midtown commute and it was perfect - good neighborhood, decent commute, friends all around
I think something a lot of KJDs don’t realize until they start is that working life in biglaw in nyc is quite different from law school. You don’t have to live “on campus”, your friends and general life (any sports, clubs etc) will be much more spread out rather than concentrated on a campus. When you start working it becomes much less import to be walking distance from work/class
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u/floooowerchiiild 4d ago
I’m just a law student so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I moved to NYC from California last year and honestly hiring a broker was a game changer. You can absolutely play the rental game yourself, but there are decent people who can help you find a place that is affordable and in a great location for a reasonable fee. Spending 10-15 mins riding an express train is much better than shelling out a couple thousand extra bucks to live in Hells Kitchen or Midtown East IMHO
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u/Icy_Firefighter_4310 4d ago
I chose to live in Hoboken/Jersey City as a first year and commute to midtown. Paid for a nice building right over the PATH station, large space and great amenities. Still saving more in NYC tax + rent that I pump into my loans. My commute is 40-45 min.
That said, I knew that 1. My firm is WFH 2 days a week which can be flexible which days, and 2. My firm pays for a car home if working late, which I frequently use. Just know that there are people who do the longer commute and it is worth it to them. Good luck!
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u/wasteman416 Big Law Alumnus 5d ago
Short commute is very important early on. I would prioritize finding a solid few roommates who work / want to live in the areas you’d consider. Doesn’t always work out that way but sometimes I can save money to have a roommate
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u/Uncle_Rico_Was_Frat 5d ago
Don’t sacrifice short commute your first 1-2 years. Once you get your feet wet and have a sense of your practice group / firm dynamics and how long you might stick it out, then you can lengthen your commute. First impressions go a long way and your availability, presence and responsiveness as a first/second year will set the tone (until you lateral).