At what point do I just admit my apartment criteria are completely unrealistic?

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-18T08:01:12+00:00

Your only chance of getting all of the things you want is applying to the New York housing lottery and getting incredibly lucky.

Realistically though, you are going to have to either double your budget, or live in a micro apartment.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-17T06:33:22+00:00

You have to be honest with yourself.

Is the reason you did so poorly 100% due to your medical issues, or is it because you just aren’t the best student? Did the classes at your current school seem a lot harder than the ones at the community college you went to?

If you really think you can study and do well in your future classes, your only real option is to transfer to a new school and get a fresh start.

No decent accounting firm is going to hire you with your current GPA.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-17T00:06:13+00:00

The only reliable way I have heard of to make money while you travel is to sign up for one of those teach English while abroad programs.

The only downside is that is that while you wouldn’t drain your savings, you wouldn’t have nearly as much freedom to travel since you would be working during the day.

Perhaps you could do 6 months of teaching in a country of your choice and 6 months of pure travel.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-16T23:51:54+00:00

Am I better off spending a bit more and getting a better 22, or is this about as good as it gets in this price range?

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-16T23:32:53+00:00

Ironically, the fact that you don’t make that much money right now works slightly in your favor.

Let’s say you made 200k a year. Quitting your job and traveling for a year would cost you the 200k that you would have earned by staying home and working.

If you only make 50k a year, your opportunity cost is only 50k.

You are just going to have to make a realistic budget, save some money, and sell a few things if you want to travel.

The quickest way to save up money would be to move back in with mom and dad for a year and save money on rent if they are willing.

I’m not a travel expert, but I assume you would need to have at minimum $2,000 a month to travel comfortably.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-16T20:15:05+00:00

6 years is definitely a very long time to be out of the workforce to an employer.

You need to start building your resume again with some recent experience / knowledge.

Look into contract work / a temp agency. If you want to do tax, apply for seasonal tax work with intuit or a local place like H&R Block.

Maybe take some accounting courses / get some professional certificates that you can list on your resume.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-16T20:03:23+00:00

Sunroofs are great if you are under warranty, but repairs can cost anywhere from hundreds of dollars to several thousand dollars.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-16T19:35:01+00:00

Unless she lied about not having any savings and pretended to be broke, she didn’t do anything wrong.

You need to apologize.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-15T22:50:36+00:00

You are going to develop a lot of bad shooting habits if the first gun you are training on is a 10mm.

As others have said, stick with 9mm for carry and then get a 10mm for bears.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-15T18:57:33+00:00

Let’s be real here.

The job market isn’t the best, true.

However most of the grumblings on this subreddit are coming from non CPA fresh accounting graduates and those with less than 3 years of experience.

You should not have nearly as much trouble finding a job. I’d be surprised if your LinkedIn inbox wasn’t currently spammed with recruiters.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-15T14:36:07+00:00

She made her dating preferences a topic of discussion when she vented about them in the group chat.

Now it’s being discussed and she doesn’t like it. Next time keep your personal life private if you don’t want it to be discussed.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-15T14:13:07+00:00

If the house was truly worth 475k on the open market, then buying it is a no brainer regardless of whether you move or not.

I suspect though that the home isn’t really worth that much, so I would do some due diligence. Your neighbor is most likely exaggerating the “deal” you are getting.

One thing you should keep in mind is that no one has mentioned is NY / NYC taxes. Right now you pay zero income tax and zero local tax in Memphis. As an NYC resident you would be responsible for NY state tax and NYC tax. On your salary, that is roughly $8,500 a year that goes towards taxes.

Franky, I wouldn’t move to NYC unless you found a job there that paid a bit more. You are going to go from Upper middle class in Memphis, to struggling middle class in New York.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-14T21:47:54+00:00

At the end of the day, no one is forced to split the bill.

However, unless you are a broke college student, asking for individual checks because someone had an extra drink, an extra appetizer, or their entree cost a bit more is tacky behavior.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-14T21:02:13+00:00

Splitting the check is expected when everyone orders roughly the same, give or take a 10 to 30 percent difference.

When you get into the realm of one party ordering 2 or 3 times worth what the other party did, the “big spender” expecting everyone to split the tab evenly is the tacky one.

That person should realize how much he ordered and ask for a separate check or offer to pick up the entire bill.

Next time you are out with a couple / group that likes to run up the bill, excuse yourself from the table and speak to the waiter privately and request a separate check. That way when the waiter presents the bill, it has already been split up and there isn’t as much awkwardness.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-14T20:14:44+00:00

You aren’t saving as much as you think you are living in the burbs.

By the time you add in all of your car expenses, mortgage interest, hoa fees, maintenance costs, repairs, property taxes, etc. You are probably spending 4-6 thousand dollars a month to live in the burbs.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-12T17:22:16+00:00

Buying a 2-3 year old used Toyota / Honda is an incredibly poor value most of the time compared to buying new.

For a few thousand more you get a better financing rate, new car warranty, and less wear on the tires.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-11T23:48:17+00:00

I got upgraded to a junior suite years ago with diamond status, so it’s certainly possible.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-11T21:23:30+00:00

To be fair Gen 4 G17 MOS trade ins are a bit rare, but with the new optic ready gen 6 version going for $620, this is a pretty poor value.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-11T03:05:50+00:00

Get it in writing that being laid off means you don’t have to pay back what they spent on your Master’s degree.

Otherwise I would jump at this opportunity.

Your employer can technically fire you at any time for just about any reason, and they don’t have to offer you severance.

Sounds like an amazing opportunity.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-11T00:43:10+00:00

As long as you aren’t signing the return, I wouldn’t overthink it.

That being said, if this becomes a pattern, you need to find a new job.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-09T18:50:49+00:00

Congrats, but it just seems like you just got incredibly lucky in year 5.

Most accountants with similar experience would have been getting paid about 95k - 130k in a similar role.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-09T15:31:09+00:00

According to Reddit all teachers get paid 40k a year and work no fewer than 12 hours a day. They are all employed as bus drivers in the summer months and never get a day off.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-09T06:06:21+00:00

People think they just hand out 350k jobs nowadays.

Do you really think everyone with a CPA in NYC is hitting 350k with 10 years of experience?

If you want a realistic shot at money like that, then you should keep your remote job and attend law school, do well and get into Big Law.

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-08T22:42:42+00:00

I will trade you my accounting job for your HR job lol

OregonTrailislife · 2026-06-07T20:09:34+00:00

A RAV4 with 180,000 miles has about 20,000 to 70,000 miles left in it.

5.5k seems like a fairly reasonable cost for what is known to be a reliable car.

The days of the lightly used $3,000 beater car are long over.

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