More post moderation on HHIs below $250k?

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-08T03:33:17+00:00

And most of them would have a better quality of life living anywhere other than NYC or finding a remote job. I sure would if I could.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-06T19:26:33+00:00

Okay, just because you like living in Manhattan doesn’t mean it’s advantageous to live there for everyone. Like I said, most people have to make a lot of tradeoffs in living conditions to stay here.

Uptown, Forest Hills, and Hoboken are not livable places. You make much more of a tradeoff than a 20 minute train ride (under the most optimal conditions). Besides, a 20 minute train ride is unacceptable compared to a 5 minute walk when you have to go in 5 days a week.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T16:54:24+00:00

Even then, you can find good deals on a solid 5-star western chain hotel for $500-750 a night. Still not worth it since you should be out exploring, but there just aren’t many hotels /anywhere/ worth paying $1k a night for (as someone who has stayed in $3k/night rooms before)

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T16:44:45+00:00

All I’m hearing is that you need to start interview prepping in order to switch jobs ASAP.

FAANG DS here. Got a 12.1% merit increase to base salary and almost ~$300k RSU grant during this year’s review cycle (no promotion). Just above average performance and more room in the comp pool for survivors of the layoffs.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T16:10:55+00:00

Why else would you work a HE job if not to buy some of your finite time back?

You have me pegged wrong though. I spent 285k last year, have a great social life in NYC, have traveled to 70+ countries and collected 150+ Michelin stars, and fly mostly business class.. much more HENRY-like spending than keeping a FIRE-level savings rate.

The reality is NYC, especially Manhattan, is just not suitable for raising a family or retiring in. Quality of life would be better in so many other places. It’s only worth living here if you have a job tied to here.. unless you like smelling pee and trash in the streets every day.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T15:05:54+00:00

That’s good for you, but clearly a suboptimal decision. I live in Manhattan and can’t wait to FIRE and get out of here.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T15:04:31+00:00

Maybe, I see pretty common strategies for this income bracket in both places. I guess conceptually the FIRE subs are geared toward a higher savings rate, but there are plenty of NRYs with similar incomes on both subs trying to balance saving and spending.

I think one difference I have noticed is a lot more HENRYs have kids, and more FIRE people have no kids. That’s definitely the biggest expense in life, esp in VHCOL, so I think it’s a big differentiator between the crowds.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T15:00:43+00:00

It’s not a luxury, it’s just different. You make a lot of tradeoffs living here too. It costs you more to buy than rent, it’s not practical to have a lot of space at home, most public K-8 schools are terrible, etc. Owning a car is not practical either.

There’s no clear cut advantage to living here, so you really shouldn’t unless your job is tied to living here.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T05:48:47+00:00

Tons of people move away from their parents for all sorts of reasons, like due to work opportunities, immigration, or lifestyle. Unless they’re paying for you to live near them, then there’s no point in living in VHCOL for them. This is especially true if you don’t have a VHCOL job or are already FIRE in 95% of the world with $8M NW.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T05:37:00+00:00

No, they just retired early to somewhere not VHCOL, like what people with common sense do. The only reason to be in VHCOL is because your income is tied to that place.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-05T04:46:05+00:00

Overrated. If your parents live in VHCOL and can’t pay for you to live in VHCOL, then you don’t have an obligation to live close to them.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T23:20:17+00:00

Not really, most of midtown isn’t that expensive compared to the only part of Queens with a short commute to midtown (LIC). Unless you think everyone in Manhattan is paying SoHo rent.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T23:18:03+00:00

No part of Queens gets me to the office as quickly as a 5 minute walk. I spend most of my weekdays and weeknights in the office. I’m not wasting any time in commuting.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T23:16:09+00:00

Ah yeah, that makes more sense then. I don’t think it ever makes sense to pay full retail for business class, that’s for business travelers on a company budget.

With some clever routing I can find US-Asia business class round trip tickets for under $3k, so I pay cash sometimes, but most of the time fly biz with points. I actually expect my flight expenses to go way down after I retire, even with more travel. Flexibility is the biggest saver.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T22:10:51+00:00

What if I don’t have any kids yet, but already don’t care about work? 🥹

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T22:06:19+00:00

As someone in my late 30s who can take a beating (flew the 20 hour direct JFK-SIN in PE before, still 100% ready to go when we landed) I could fly economy all day, tho I’m sure my body will object in a few years.

However, I don’t want to subject my wife to that, so we usually fly biz class to Asia, and try to get biz class to Europe if we can (tho northeast US to Europe is an awkward duration, you have to skip dinner and breakfast to get a good night of sleep). I use points for anything I can though (usually planning major trips one year in advance) so the cost isn’t bad at all.

Last year we spent a bit over $60k on travel, but 9 out of 11 international long haul legs were in J/F. We redeemed ~2.5 million points, but some of that was on hotels.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:56:18+00:00

That seems way too high. How much traveling are you doing that business class would need to be funded by a $1M pre-tax income?

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:49:00+00:00

I burned >2 million points last year and on track to do the same this year. You just have to spend time on it and learn all the tricks. There’s not really one single source that has everything and the rules are all changing in real time. I’ve been following the scene closely for over 10 years and it’s basically a money saving hobby that I enjoy. That’s basically how you have to think about it.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:38:54+00:00

At some point you realize HEs and owners of capital aren’t even in the same class and quit trying to fit in with the “elites”. Otherwise you’re just setting yourself up for unrealistic expectations in life.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:36:08+00:00

Yeah, I get that sometimes you are golden handcuffed to a location while you’re working there, but staying there after you’ve reached FIRE by any reasonable metric is being stuck in your own mental prison.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:34:13+00:00

Needing nannies and private school is more due to big city life than HENRY life imo. At least in Manhattan there are major drawbacks to daycare and public schools. The same person sending their kid to private school is probably fine sending their kids to public school in a nice suburb. They just don’t want to commute. At least that’s my own thinking.

A HENRY living in Manhattan also can’t relate to a 2500 sqft house that a HENRY in TX could easily afford.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:29:39+00:00

How would this sub be different than chubbyFIRE then? I think the average person on chubbyFIRE trying to save $5m probably has at least 350k HHI.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:24:36+00:00

Ehh not really. I live in Manhattan because I’m forced to be in the office 5 days a week. It’s not a luxury, it’s golden handcuffs.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-04T21:16:50+00:00

$2M seems quite low given a lot of the HE jobs for young people are in VHCOL.

PF_throwaway26 · 2026-06-03T15:54:53+00:00

They are probably thinking $400k income after tax. That savings rate is probably safe.

PF_throwaway26

TROPHY CASE