@Avram in MD
The average associate salary in a mid sized metro NYC firm such as CTL is about 100K
So, two working associates earning 200K could afford to pay $25,000 yr for housing. In our area a 1BR apt goes for more than that in rental.
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No they didn’t upsize by selling their starter homes, they rent them out. It’s the start of their individual retirement/real estate portfolios.
They have a nice profit sharing plan at work (since none are partners in the firm), they also get a piece of all work/billings they bring in (not unusual in this area).
I don’t know what field you are in, but they were not “just out of grad school,” but had passed the Bar exam and held professional licenses.
Those taking the MA Bar Exam, as I did decades ago, also automatically are Real Estate Brokers and this brings in extra income should they operate in Newton or Cape Cod offices.
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Our home was built in 1803. It was a wreck when Mrs. CTL and I bought it for $62,000 32years ago. Lots of renovation and additions have occurred, much of the labor done by us. When she was younger and healthy, Mrs. CTL could hang and tape sheet rock with the best of them. My father taught me carpentry, and I can draft, use CAD and do basic electrical as well as paint.
We paid for it as we went and could afford it, waiting until we could add each new amenity or space.
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Since Covid, the number of schnorrers coming to minyan is down. Before that we would get a carload or two 3 or 4 mornings each week. They would travel as a team on a planned route.
As I said, catch me in the hall before davening or in the coffee room afterwards, but don’t interrupt my davening to ask for money.
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Hosting does not mean physical participation. Mrs. CTL is confined to our MBR suite for the past year and a half, but she can look out at the gardens and observe and a chasunah. Our eldest daughter pinch hits and manages the affair as well as allows access to gowns, etc.
This coming Sunday, we will host the first non-family chasunah in our gardens since before Covid struck. Mrs. CTL is so looking forward to observing and listening. The officiants are coming from NY, so I will sign the license as a JP