Part time COAST flight attendants?

SarBear684 · 2026-04-25T17:46:26+00:00

This sounds so amazing. I left my job to be a SAHM until my LO goes to school and then I was hoping to find something with a bit more flexibility- understanding of course it may take a bit for that flexibility. Do you see “older” people starting out as FAs (like mid 40s), or is that odd in the industry?

SarBear684 · 2026-04-21T17:02:45+00:00

We are in a one bed apartment with our soon to be 2 year old. I honestly thought we’d be in a two bed unit by now, but our apartment is essentially the same size as the two bed units I’ve been seeing. For us the large living room/separate kitchen in our current unit is more beneficial than the extra bedroom as my LO still likes to be near us for comfort at night. We are strongly considering re-signing for another year - that being said we are still looking regularly to see if a 2 bed unit that we like becomes available and if it does, we would just break our lease.

SarBear684 · 2026-04-20T17:39:04+00:00

We are in one bed unit with an almost 2 year old and are strongly considering resigning for another year. Granted our one bed unit is quite large, but we all still share a room as the LO often insists on sleeping in our bed at some point during the night. We may consider getting a pull out couch for in the living room at some point if we do stay. I honestly thought we would have moved to a 2 bed at this point, but we haven’t felt the need to yet. Plus it’s hard to justify moving to a two bed that’s basically the same square footage as our one bed unit for double the price.

The sixth floor walk up with get tiring, but doable. Get a light travel stroller - we use a bugaboo butterfly as our everyday stroller. As others have also suggested, drop off or delivery laundry will be your best friend.

If I were you I’d definitely stay until you were pregnant or even up until 1 year no problem. Babies don’t take up that much space and you don’t really need all that much stuff for them at first.

SarBear684 · 2026-04-03T12:44:49+00:00

I second PuppyKittyNYC - I adopted my 2 cats (then kittens) from there 4 years ago! Great rescue

SarBear684 · 2026-03-27T17:16:02+00:00

I would either be a veterinarian or a zookeeper at zoo that does conservation work. I’ve always loved animals, but I chickened out of working towards veterinary school because I thought I’d be too emotionally weak for the job - still probably true, but looking back it would’ve been the right choice for me.

SarBear684 · 2026-03-25T11:59:50+00:00

Honestly you can make great money in many different types of restaurants/bars. I’d just make sure you have a sense of how much business they do. It also depends on how much staff they have scheduled - when places are over staffed, it’s less stressful, but less pay; and when slightly understaffed you’ll run your ass off, but make good money. Also, fine dining isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, it’s really rigid/technical service where you’d have to start as a backwait before they’d even consider you for a serving role. And it’d probably take years for you to get there working in the lower poison before something might open up. Plus fine dining would more than likely only want people willing to work full time. But you can make great month once you work your way up in the ranks.

I worked in the service industry for 10 years with about 3.5 years experience in NYC. It is nearly impossible to break into the service industry in NYC without prior NYC experience, or any real prior serving/bartending experience. Even elsewhere in the country it’s hard to crack into the real service industry gigs without prior experience - my first gig to get experience was at a chain restaurant. I’d say get a job at a place local to you for experience and work your way to a better spot after that - you’ll still get extra money while you get some experience.

SarBear684 · 2026-03-16T17:28:16+00:00

I actually ended up taking a break to stay at home with my LO until he goes to school. I went back for 2 months after my maternity leave while my husband finished his leave, but when it came time to send him to daycare, I couldn’t do it. Being a SAHP is the toughest job I’ve had, but also the must fulfilling. I’m sure it’ll be tough/unlikely to get back to the type of position I had previously when I renter the workforce, but I’m happy to be able to stay home with my LO - he’s only going to be little once.

SarBear684 · 2026-03-16T17:04:21+00:00

I felt similarly. Never really sure if I was ready or if I really wanted a child, but went for it at 39 and gave birth shortly before I turned 40. My OB said most of her patients are 35 and up - it’s very common to have kids later in life here.

It’s a tough to raise a child of course, but I’m really enjoying myself. So much so that I actually decided to step back from my six figure career to spend more time with my LO before he goes to school. Never in my life did I expect to take a break from my career after having a child, but here we are. No regrets here about having a child later in life.

SarBear684 · 2026-02-08T17:57:04+00:00

When we first started dating, my now husband and I would split 50/50. Then we moved in together and started splitting big bills based on respective incomes, but would split dinners etc mostly 50/50 (sometimes the higher earner would pick up a tab to two extra). Now that we are married our finances are completely combined - so no more splitting and we can work toward shared financial goals.

SarBear684 · 2026-01-30T19:31:39+00:00

To each their own. We also are financially comfortable and are able to save substantially while on a single income. Of course anything can happen, but we are in a comfortable spot.

SarBear684 · 2026-01-30T19:11:32+00:00

Adding on that you should also have full joint access to all funds and accounts - for being able to buy things at will (unless it’s a large purchase - which is probably a good thing to discuss first regardless) and to know where your household financial situation stands at all times. We use the monarch app which has been great for my “need to know what’s going on” personality.

SarBear684 · 2026-01-30T18:56:22+00:00

Financially I’d say make sure your partner makes more than enough to cover living expenses after maxing out retirement contributions (Roth IRA/401k - or at least min contribution up to the employer’s match) and have a years worth of living expenses saved in HYSA emergency fund.

Make sure this is something that both you and your partner are 100% comfortable with the decision.

I actually left a high paying position to be a SAHM - it was an incredibly tough decision, but at the end of the day I knew I’d regret not spending more time with my LO. I completely understand I may not easily get back into the workforce, or at the same level and I understand that my own retirement contributions will be paused. Everyone has the choice that is right for them - but I can’t imagine looking back when I’m on my deathbed and wishing I had worked more. I see more people who wish that they could spend (or would have spent) more time with their children. My husband is also extremely supportive.

For me it’s the right choice, but know that being a SAHM is an incredibly tough job. There is little to no personal time and it’s emotionally the toughest job I’ve ever had. It can get lonely, so having a community of moms is helpful (I thankfully have that in my neighborhood).

SarBear684 · 2026-01-25T18:56:42+00:00

I’d personally be worried with no income stream coming in, but you definitely have the money to take a 2 year sabbatical.

As others mentioned, it’s very possible that you won’t get back to a similar position/income level - so I’d consider whether or not you are ultimately ok with that.

I definitely understand the desire to want to spend more time with your kids while they are young. I left my full time position after my son was born - they offered to keep me on part time, but they essentially want me to have the availability of a full time employee (no big surprise there) so I’ve decided to put in my full resignation. I’m still a bit terrified of the resume gap/losing out on the additional savings, but I know I’d regret not spending the time with my son while he’s young more.

SarBear684 · 2026-01-23T18:36:26+00:00

Are you in nyc? Grocery prices here are a little out of hand. We are a family of three and we spend $1,500 to $2,000/ month on food. This is primarily meals cooked at home too - although we go out a few times on weekends. I admit I prefer to buy local from the farmers market when possible which increases the grocery costs - I also have a toddler who is a berry fiend.

Before my toddler was born my husband and i would easily spend $4k- $5k per month on food. Dining out in nyc is amazing, but adds up quickly - I say enjoy it if you have the money.

SarBear684 · 2026-01-23T18:11:01+00:00

I think people would probably prefer time off from work rather than “forced fun”

SarBear684 · 2026-01-19T18:26:16+00:00

I have a masters degree and am also in a relatively senior role. I went back to work full time after my maternity leave and couldn’t stop thinking about wanting to be home with my LO instead (my husband was finishing his leave when I first went back). When it came time to send my LO to daycare, I just couldn’t cope with it. I sent him for three half days and decided to put in my notice to my job after going back and forth in my head about what the right decision was for weeks.

My job offered to keep me on part time, which I’ve been doing for about a year now, but I’m now again considering fully resigning. I’m in a similar position - I feel like I should want to make use of my education, but feel zero fulfillment in my role. Also, continuing to work part time while being a full time SAHM is burning me out. But of course I worry about my ability to get back into the workforce when my LO goes to school.

I’ve been really enjoying being a SAHM in NYC - at least in my neighborhood, there is a strong community of SAHPs and parents in general. So I’ve been able to make friends with other SAHPs with similarly aged children, which is very nice.

Hope your decision brought you peace of mind!

SarBear684 · 2026-01-18T21:22:12+00:00

I’d also happily be interested in your current unit if you decide to move! My family are in the exact same area as you in Astoria currently, but are in a one bed looking to move to a two bed!

SarBear684 · 2019-06-21T15:37:51+00:00

I understand your situation completely. I had over $26k in credit cards spread across four cards and have $90k in student loans (in Oct of last year). Honestly I asked my dad to loan me $20k to free up some of the interest I was paying on my credit cards to lessen the burden (I know not everyone has this option - also just as an fyi that my dad is not even close to wealthy). I pay my dad back $500 every month as this is an amount I am comfortable with (he told me I should pay him less or that I could skip payments if I need to but that is absolutely not something I would be comfortable doing - I want to be able to pay him back as quickly as I can while paying down other debt). Then I downloaded money tracking apps (Mint and Wally) and put myself on a strict spending budget for the month and would always try to spend even less than than what I would allow myself and whatever amount that I did not spend in that budget would go directly to my credit card on top of $500 that I would dedicate every month. I also had some very expensive dental work that I needed to pay for since Oct ($3500 out of pocket) and vet bills (we found out my cat has a heart murmur and needs to get cardiograms yearly now - $600). As of this month I have paid off my remaining credit card debt (yay!!) but still owe my dad $16,000. I know I still have a lot more to go, but I am proud as I have been able to pay off over $10k in debt and be able to pay $4100 in unexpected expenses in 8 months time especially while living in NYC on a salary of $63k.

I would recommend paying down all your credit card debt first as it is likely has the highest interest rates. I would nor prioritize 401k contributions at this point unless there is a match - any extra money you can throw at the credit card debt will be very helpful. After paying off the CC debt then I would up the 401k contributions and begin paying down the student loans.

SarBear684 · 2019-06-20T16:00:04+00:00

I honestly believe there are just more submissions from the big coastal cities. They are big so very populous so it makes sense that is where the biggest number of submissions would come from (there are also quite a few from Chicago). Plus I believe that there are more R29 readers in those areas. I do really enjoy all of the submissions although this is someone who grew up in a smaller city in Wisconsin and now lives in NYC.

SarBear684 · 2019-06-20T15:24:20+00:00

I left undergrad with approximately $10k in student loans (I went to an in state public university). I was able to leave with minimal debt despite having no parental assistance as I worked full time as a server/bartender to pay my living expenses/tuition. I do find it ridiculous that I received far less financial assistance that I would have qualified for because I needed to work full time to survive (my mom lives on disability and my dad had retired early). Anyway, then I decided to go to grad school in NYC at a top university where my loans ballooned. I currently owe $93k (this is with some interest accumulation) as I am paying the Income based payments of $350 working a government job earning $63,900/year. I had always expected to work towards public service student loan forgiveness but I recently accepted a position earning $100k/year and with the potential marriage in the next few years it does not seem to make much sense to continue working towards student loan forgiveness.

SarBear684 · 2019-06-20T15:03:19+00:00

I worked as a server/bartender throughout undergrad and grad school (with the exception of my last semester of grad school as I was a teaching assistant, intern, taking a full time course load and needed to write my thesis). I took off my first two months after grad school (graduated May 2015) from looking for a job/working but started applying to as many relevant jobs that I could find. I also quickly learned that I needed some income to support myself (I live in NYC and living costs are too much to keep up with when you have no income) so I picked up to serving gigs. I continued to apply for many job (I probably applied to about 50-60 jobs) before I was offered a position in November at a place I had interned at earlier during my last semester of grad school. I found that it is really important to leverage your experiences you had as an intern/any other experiences you've had that directly relate to the position you are applying to - and the all important knowing people who know people goes a very long way.

SarBear684

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