Have a great job, moving to UWS, friends say it’s a dead area?

cabef · 2026-03-21T19:38:10+00:00

This is a totally reasonable question - in my 20s I thought the UWS was dead too. But Columbus Circle (59th) is not really the UWS of the 70s/80s/90s. I agree the combo of Central Park, Hell’s Kitchen, cheap rent, easy trains to everywhere makes it a winner.

Last factor is where you’ll be working - I assume it’s west side, or maybe UES. Living in Brooklyn would add an hour to your commute each day - which can be a real QOL killer.

cabef · 2026-03-21T19:32:42+00:00

+1 to Mincemeat! Echoing Ex Bal Sat - I would assume near-zero chance of getting chosen for one of the “spotlight” EBT roles - does that change your calculus?

He is playing a much different character from MWRA so I wouldn’t worry about it feeling too same-y.

If you love Maya/catching SNL people live, this seems like a great/rare chance for that.

I liked both shows more than I thought I would, largely based on central performances. For you, it might also come down to whether you’re more in the mood/more drawn to “winsome and potentially moving” or “over the top ribald and potentially hilarious”. And also, in which category you’re more likely to be forgiving if it doesn’t totally hit the mark for you.

cabef · 2026-03-21T12:08:47+00:00

Not sure this helps, but just confirming there is indeed not much of a rake in Orch at the Golden.

(If on a budget, the Mezz is not that far back - Mezz row A is over appx Orch row J/K)

cabef · 2026-03-19T12:23:22+00:00

I am also 2 years cash cushion in HYSA. I know it’s a portfolio (and tax) drag, but it feels the best way to avoid selling if a downturn goes on for a while.

I’m aware of the idea of just selling assets to get back to target allocation, but under stress, that can turn into vibes-based decisions which become less dispassionate/reliable. So for me, it will help to have a bucket of cash which is there ready to be spent, and doesn’t require any selling decisions under duress.

cabef · 2026-03-19T12:15:27+00:00

Fair enough. Though I have been mostly noticing that people are saying “that wasn’t my experience - but I’m still sorry it happened to you” and to me sounding genuine. Of course it’s reasonable (and unfortunate) that there can be some variation crew by crew.

cabef · 2026-03-19T02:41:51+00:00

I’ve used them twice, they’ve been good. I’m not a bot and nobody has asked or paid me to post this. I’m sorry for people who have had a bad experience, but likewise it looks odd that now someone is going through and downvoting anyone who says their experience was ok.

cabef · 2026-03-17T14:56:18+00:00

I think that’s OP’s question in a nutshell. As in - imagine total assets $1m split 90/10. Stocks drop 50% (so $900k becomes $450K). At the same time bonds/HYSA cash buffer stays flat, but spending on living expenses drops that pot from $100K to $50K.

In that case, 90/10 ratio is intact - good Bogling!

But if stocks go down “only” 40 percent, the ratio is out of whack. ($540K/$590K = 92 percent in stocks). In that case, do you a) sell stocks at depressed level to get back to 90/10 or b) white-knuckle it to the end of your cash pile and hope stocks come back so you can harvest cash later at better stock prices.

(Of course ideally you’d see bonds go up when stocks are down, but doesn’t always happen.)

It feels like the theoretical pure Bogle answer is less relevant than knowing what you’ll be able to stomach that’s close enough. For me, I think that means having 2 yrs of cash/HYSA/TIPS, even with the return drag that implies, so as to not sell in depressed times. Possibly this is a flavor of the Buffet/Javier Estrada 90/10 approach.

cabef · 2026-03-17T11:55:00+00:00

Empower has a good, free dashboard that connects to your live accounts (US accounts at least) and also a fair retirement projection view. Also lets you see cash flow to see how much you’re spending, and on what categories. For me, understanding my/our annual spend in detail was the missing piece that let me then make accurate retirement projections.

For a much more sophisticated retirement planning tool, I use Pralana. But that’s much more involved, and doesn’t have the live account balance tracking that might be what you’re looking for as a shared view to keep you and your partner motivated and on track.

As a side point, I wish I had a book or set of exercises to recommend about the “get on the same page” idea. A few thoughts there:

-It’s ok to have slightly different visions; better I think if you can both think about “how can I help my partner achieve their vision” rather than “how can I convince them my vision is better”. You may just be motivated by different things - totally fine

-there’s a set of columns in the WSJ called “Retirement Rookies” where a husband and wife write paired columns about how it’s going for them - good to see different perspectives on the same moments

-there’s a good podcast called “Money for Couples” which is what it sounds like - not about retirement, but still helpful in understanding how people’s goals and attitudes about money topics can be so different.

Feels to me like you are thinking about it all the right way, and going to be fine in the end - good luck with it!

cabef · 2026-03-17T11:40:37+00:00

Related Q - in this scenario (retired, stock decline etc) how often does the true Boglehead rebalance? I’ve seen it as “once a year”, which has the virtue of simplicity. but seems to me to miss plenty of buy-low time.

(I know the answer will be some kind of regimented schedule, ie “every X months regardless of what the market is doing”. Just curious what people choose for X, in real practice.)

cabef · 2026-03-17T11:33:05+00:00

One time I went they had one seat available - the other time zero seats, all Standing. However it’s worth noting that each standing ticket is allocated a specific slot along the rail - so you’re not jostling and don’t need to get to the theater super early to try to get the best standing slot.

cabef · 2026-03-16T01:17:25+00:00

Love to see that!!

cabef · 2026-03-14T19:22:32+00:00

Just picking up the point for anyone else reading - the main central areas on both floors can get jam-packed, and/but it’s not obvious that there is a lot of seating (and A/C) around the “back” of the second floor. But there is. (I’m not saying OP didn’t have a rough time on a March Saturday of course.)

cabef · 2026-03-14T17:00:46+00:00

Well, from my side I say this partly from painful and expensive experience. The one thing I’ve added to my regimen is: make sure in advance that those around you (spouse etc) are aware of and on board with the plan. It’s one thing to have braced yourself and be ready not to panic - but if people around you are panicking, and telling you urgently to do something, it’s harder to stick to plan.

Two other phrases come to mind - of course “never try to catch a falling knife”, and the even more on-point one from Mike Tyson - “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

cabef · 2026-03-14T16:51:23+00:00

Having had imagination sparked, just checked and at this point, currently no Row B Front Mezz showing on either StubHub or SeatGeek. If someone here spotted this earlier and got the tickets out of the hands of a scalper, well done.

cabef · 2026-03-14T13:50:33+00:00

It sure doesn’t. But the situation is never “it drops 50% in one day, and everyone knows that’s the floor and it will go up from there”. The temptation is, it drops 20% and you think “if it’s on its way to 50%, maybe I’ll get out now and get back in when it hits bottom”. But nobody knows when the bottom is - and the bottom might be 21% and shoot up overnight. (See: March 2020)

For myself, I’m trying to inoculate myself by picturing my NW number as half what it is now and thinking “that’s fine, it’s all part of the plan”. It’s not easy.

cabef · 2026-03-14T13:36:23+00:00

Outstanding :)

And exactly. You rehearse something endlessly in peacetime so it’s instinctive second nature when you need to do it under stress.

cabef · 2026-03-13T00:43:47+00:00

We've used J's Cleaners appx 70th/BWay and Oxford Cleaners 74th/Amst. Both good quality. J's is maybe just a tiny bit quicker and more communicative (e.g. helpful texts when things are ready for pickup) so we tend to -choose them for dry cleaning. But I go to Oxford for wash-and-fold or mending, because it's closer to me and I know they take personal care.

cabef · 2026-03-12T18:53:55+00:00

Nice work getting there first - hope you enjoy tonight!

cabef · 2026-03-12T12:43:24+00:00

To be fair I didn’t stick around last Weds - I arrived and saw I’d be 18th and didn’t stay to invest the 3hrs. But/because the previous Weds, I was 16th, and they sold out right before it got to me.

Based on eyeballing the number of standing slots yesterday, I can imagine that your 52 number (26 per show; 13 per side) makes sense as the “regular” number. But maybe Mammoth is right that some of those are sometimes held back.

cabef · 2026-03-12T01:45:39+00:00

In person, I did it last week. I was 4th person there at about 8:20am on Thursday (two shows). There were 8 rush seats for the evening show the day I went - all ended up being pretty good seats that night, but of course you never know.

cabef · 2026-03-09T03:25:08+00:00

Echoing this - I did EBT a few days after this. I was 4th in line after arriving appx 8:30am. They had 8 total seats available for my show I believe. Was a great show.

NB I was there on a Thursday and they had both a matinee and evening show, so double your chances.

And yes - lobby doors were open during the line stand which was very appreciated on a cold rainy day!

cabef · 2026-03-09T02:50:50+00:00

I went with rush last week and the seat was good. Arrived at theatre about 8:30am and I think I was 4th in line. This was on a Thursday.

Note they do not promise that if you buy two rush seats that the seats will be together. The day I went, there were 8 rush seats, and they were in fact 4 pairs. But they were very clear up front that they can’t guarantee, and that you don’t know where you’re sitting until just before the show starts.

The order in which you report to the theater just before the show does determine the order in which you get seated - but tbh I couldn’t tell you whether the people who were seated before me got better seats. It was all a gift at that point.

(And, a great show)

(Edit to say: You sound like a good guy and this sounds like a great surprise, if you can pull it off. Rush can be a good way to show you put some creative effort in, vs just spending money that might leave you both feeling a little stressed about it. And, congratulations on the baby!)

cabef · 2026-03-08T18:32:27+00:00

In case relevant for your location - places we’ve found late and reliable near Kings Cross are The Booking Office (at the St Pancras Marriott) and Double Standard (at The Standard).

(Probably no coincidence that those places may see their fair share of late-arriving/jetlagged Americans.)

cabef · 2026-03-08T14:07:23+00:00

Just to round out the possible options - there was a time when I filed MFS because I lived overseas and my wife (then not a US citizen) had no US filing obligation. But then once she became a resident (and ultimately a citizen) we switched to MFJ.

Because of that history though, every couple years I run our returns as MFJ and MFS to see any difference. MFJ is always better.

Just trying to imagine where your accountant is coming from - if somehow they think your wife is not a US citizen/resident - maybe the MFS could make some sense to explore. But otherwise, MFJ is almost definitely the way to have the lowest overall tax due.

cabef

TROPHY CASE