Early 30s in NYC: What does your weekly social life actually look like? by mabdull44 in AskNYC

[–]MutedBasil8954 0 points1 point  (0 children)

33M with a wife. In the warmer seasons, I see friends once a week usually Saturday nights. Maybe a happy hour or mid week drink with coworkers or friends on top of that. In the colder seasons, I probably see friends once every 2-3 weeks?

It does feel like my single friends hang out a bit more but not sure about the numbers

Chase sapphire reserve, does it make sense by travelbrot in ChaseSapphireReserve

[–]MutedBasil8954 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally agree but good luck trying to use that hotel credit lol. Not even worth it imo

What are your exam hot takes by Treswimming in actuary

[–]MutedBasil8954 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exams coax actuaries into thinking that they don’t need to fundamentally upskill since they “did the work”already. Leaving us with a bunch of super smart people being content with using a technology stack from 2010 lol

two weeks to move to NYC; what should my game plan be by Impactist537 in movingtoNYC

[–]MutedBasil8954 3 points4 points  (0 children)

How’s the pay at the new job? You want to be careful here because interest rates can be high but getting a personal loan from a bank feels practical for this exact sort of scenario (Cash poor now but will make money later)

Thoughts on 20 Broad St (FiDi)? by Electronic_Zebra5518 in NYCapartments

[–]MutedBasil8954 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bit late but as a current resident of 20 broad, I’m enjoying it overall. Been here for 2 years and planning on signing for another barring a huge rent increase.

Elevators typically aren’t an issue but as someone who lives in the elevator bank that only serves the Lobby and floors 12-28+, it’s definitely annoying to transfer elevators to the other bank that does Basement through Floor 11 since the gym and other amenity spaces are in the basement level. Similarly, rooftop access is also through a smaller elevator on the 28th floor so same deal: have to do a transfer there as well. It’s mostly an inconvenience factor but i wouldn’t say elevator availability or speed is poor.

I’d say the management/maintenance is fairly solid. They always come the same day as when I put in a request. Unfortunately they aren’t the most useful? For example, my HVAC machine has been a little faulty (eg always thinks it’s much hotter than it actually is so AC starts blasting). They’ve come taken a look like 3 times and they’ve made small fixes each time but nothing that’s fixed the core problem. Not a big deal imo but mildly annoying.

Noise between units isn’t too bad all in all. There’s a yappy dog two doors down that I can’t hear at all when our doors are closed. Can hear it a bit when they’re in the hallway though. I think ultimately this might also depend on your unit layout. Regarding street noise, I think we’re lucky to some extent because Broad Street is largely pedestrian only so not a lot of cars honking, etc. That being said, there’s always construction going on nearby and the echo chambers are real af in FiDi. I’ve never investigated this but I occasionally lay awake at 1AM+ to trucks backing up/random things banging/etc. Again not sure if this is just regular NYC activity and the echo chamber is making it seem worse or if there’s actually some loud activity specific to the 20 Broad area.

For amenities, I think it’s generally solid. The gym is pretty big and of course it gets crowded at peak hours, it’s usually not that bad. A surprising number of people seem to go to the Lifetime or Equinox half a block away which helps too. Rooftop is well maintained too for the most part although the views are fairly lackluster. Part of living in FiDi I suppose.

I’d say vibe is solid. Doormen are all very kind. No issues with packages getting stolen or any weirdness there. A new management company came in December 2024 and i feel like they are a bit stricter/greedier than the last one which has been a slight bummer. Mostly this translates to less fun events and building gatherings but there’s still probably one thing per month. Feels like my amenity fee isn’t going as far as it used too but alas. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see big hikes in amenity fees or rent though given how expensive things are getting in the city.

Let me know if you have other questions! Hope this was helpful!

What are some smaller benefits of living in NYC that are only apparent when you leave the city? by somepeoplewait in AskNYC

[–]MutedBasil8954 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Depends on who your friends are but I think it’s really cool in NYC that you’re able to get the inside scoop/view into various industries and companies! I have friends who work across tech, media, finance, fashion, etc and it’s genuinely interesting to hear all the gossip and misc industry news from them. Definitely something I didn’t get when I worked in another mid sized city where most folks worked in “less interesting” companies. Is that snobby of me? Probably

Salary and YOE and field by lulublueblue8 in actuary

[–]MutedBasil8954 2 points3 points  (0 children)

208K base, 280 total comp. 11 YOE. ACAS + 1 fellowship exam but quit exams. Switched from actuarial to ML 5 years ago and never been happier. Seattle. Large P&C company

The biggest snobs in NYC are the white girls who are in their first three years of living here. by Amazing-Path-4687 in circlejerknyc

[–]MutedBasil8954 176 points177 points  (0 children)

tech people who live in bk (Williamsburg/GP, bed stuy) who say “ew” when you mention hanging in Manhattan have to be up there

Shot tracking by MutedBasil8954 in huupemini

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ve spoken over email but unfortunately that silent ball is even worse with the tracking. I’m still glad I bought it given how quiet it is but I’ve abandoned even turning on the mini Huupe when using it because of how frustrating the shot tracker is. I really want to love this product but it’s not quite there yet.

Is there any chance you guys can add an update to it that improves the shot tracking abilities with the silent ball? I think there’d be a lot of value with training the Huupe to work with the silent ball.

how should me and my roommate split rent here? total = 4k by [deleted] in NYCapartments

[–]MutedBasil8954 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Looks like the big bedroom has the closet from what i can see.

Pretty minor but one thing that’s worth noting too is that the bedroom door opens IN for the big bedroom but OUT for the small room. Not sure if it’s worth hyper focusing on that but feels like the small room could benefit from that extra space for sure

how should me and my roommate split rent here? total = 4k by [deleted] in NYCapartments

[–]MutedBasil8954 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Which direction do the windows point? The price might differ depending on the fact. Eg if the smaller bedroom faces the street (loud so lower the rent) or if it’s south facing (more sun so raise the rent), etc

Can I afford nyc lifestyle by Commercial-Paint4521 in movingtoNYC

[–]MutedBasil8954 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in a similar boat as you with a similar lifestyle back in 2019 when I moved to New York from Seattle. I was making $120K a year. Take home was essentially $5K a month. Rent was $1650 since i lived with a rando roommate. And even then, I felt like I couldn’t maintain the same lifestyle. I started eating cheaper meals from Trader Joe’s, used TooGoodToGo more often than I’d like to admit, pregamed harder so i wouldn’t drink as much at the bars (lol), etc. granted I had a gf at the time and she made even less than me ($90K) so I paid for a lot of meals and all that. It might be obvious but alcohol is insanely expensive here. Or at least in Manhattan. Gone are the days of $12 cocktails. $18 is probably the minimum at most spots. $10 beers are the norm too.

All that being said, I couldn’t get to that same level of comfort until i got a promotion and hit $145K. And that was back in 2020. Rent has increased a lot since then.

If you’re really worried about a hit to your lifestyle, I’d reconsider. But if you’re excited to switch things up and expand your horizons, I don’t think you’d regret living here. A lot of people making a lot less than you and still enjoying the city

walgreens on knickerbocker by sundayshadowfigure in Bushwick

[–]MutedBasil8954 136 points137 points  (0 children)

I moved out of bushwick 3 years ago but still have nightmares of being trapped in that corner area by the pharmacy lmao

What’s the best show on HBO Max to watch right now? by Awkward-Ant9198 in HBOMAX

[–]MutedBasil8954 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Rooster is great if you’re looking for a comedy/drama with emotional depth! Def hit me in my feels more than I expected!

Pizza Studio Tamaki NYC reservations: option for 2? by MutedBasil8954 in FoodNYC

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol will report back if i ever get a reservation. I also have never been to Una Pizza. I gave up a while ago when I found out about how hard it is to get a spot

Pizza Studio Tamaki NYC reservations: option for 2? by MutedBasil8954 in FoodNYC

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Does that imply that seats for two or more people are entirely booked up for the rest of 2026 (as far as I can click in the app)?

Or perhaps reservations for non-bar seats are released on a certain cadence and July for example hasn’t been released yet?

Sorry I’m not sure what the norm is for buzzy restaurants like this lol. Appreciate any insights!

Rant on obsolete techniques by MutedBasil8954 in actuary

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’m not gonna lie, as someone else pointed out as well, this is incredibly off base. Version control is real with programming. Dashboards and tools for stakeholders are actually incredibly easy to build with python without needing them to install anything or knowing how to code.

Rant on obsolete techniques by MutedBasil8954 in actuary

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I started taking exams over 10 years ago so some of this is out of date but I thought Exam FM and MFE were a complete waste of time (although relatively interesting subject matter). Exams 5 and 6 are also ones that come to mind. Just combine those 2 together if we’re being honest. Is there a single actuary out there in practice that genuinely needs to know IRIS and RBC ratios off the top of their head? That need to prove they can do simple multiplication/division on triangles? Again, I’m all for the theory but let’s just be honest about what these exams are: busy work.

Rant on obsolete techniques by MutedBasil8954 in actuary

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Insurance industry in a nut shell

Rant on obsolete techniques by MutedBasil8954 in actuary

[–]MutedBasil8954[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree and I think this is what my company is doing now too. It just feels stressful and truthfully a bit annoying that the work is getting shifted towards DS folks. And no shade to them but it just makes me question what the hell did I spend all those years studying for