NYC Postdocs forum: topic
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Housing in NYC
Natalie Cox
Friday, 28 March 2008 17:16 UTC
So I joke that it takes a cocktail and five minutes for anyone in the NYC area to discuss housing. Or I should say that lack of affordable housing. It’s not an urban legend that people marry for a great apartment and some not so great…
A recent article in the New York Sun, Shortage of Housing Threatens City Institutions highlights the needs, the threats and gravity of the situation.
As an administrator who works with postdoctoral researchers this crisis is more than real. I am interested to hear thoughts, comments, creative solutions, etc… And would like to know if we should create a bulleting board of sorts to post roommate opportunities, open leases, sublets, whatever as a stop gap and resource to the researchers who have to balance that narrow take-home pay with long hours and all other factors that make up the life of an academic or industry scientist/engineer.
Updated 28 March 2008 17:19 UTC
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Replies
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A step towards the solution of the housing problem.
I guess it has to be pointed out to Columbians who CAN direct more money towards housing but are not doing so, that the quality of researchers comming to columbia will be lost. Columbia will not be as competitive anymore, providing about 42,000$/y sallary (minus about 10,000$/y for taxes, health and dental insurance) and taking 18,000$/y (+ electricity) on a one bedroom (if you are lucky to have Columbia housing). You say it’s not 18,000 ? Well then you expect a person 30 years old to have roommates or live in a studio and still pay 15,000$/year. The situation is much worse if you don’t get housing.
Simply put, Columbia is absolutely loosing the competitve edge it has because of the disparity between pay and housing prices and this needs to be brought up. Perhaps a poll for ‘fresh’ PhDs can be conducted, asking how important housing is for them.
Did the thought cross anybody’s mind that postdocs should also be able to SAVE some money (without hesitating too much about cooking a dinner for frieds)? -
Good idea- it’s hard to find housing even with University help (stories about post-docs being turned away by Uni housing offices because they were only trying to move to NYC from Chicago (i.e. not from far enough away). It’s one of the hardest things about moving here.
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I think a bulletin board is a great idea. I work at Sloan Kettering and they have a 3 year time limit for post doc housing. Show me a post doc that finishes in 3 years, and I’ll show you an affordable apartment in Manhattan!
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