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A New York State parks worker who lives on $37,500 a year in Tompkinsville, Staten Island. A Manhattan family of five who lives on $140,000 in Morningside Heights. A house cleaner who lives on $24,000 in Rockaway, Queens.
“Some people here are really enterprising and really resourceful,” said Eliza Shapiro, a reporter who writes about the affordability crisis in New York City for The New York Times’s Metro desk.
When she put out a call at the end of last year asking New Yorkers to talk about how they navigate living in such an expensive city, she didn’t expect the outpouring of responses — more than 900, featuring a wide variety of incomes, job titles and locations — she has received so far.
In January, the Metro desk began publishing a weekly series, Affording New York, based on those responses.
“I think part of New York is learning how to make it work,” said Ms. Shapiro, a lifelong New Yorker who grew up in Morningside Heights and who is the daughter of two journalists.
In an interview, she talked about what has surprised her while working on the series, how it has made her reflect on her own life and what feedback from readers she has received so far. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
How did you get the idea for the series?
I started reporting on affordability in 2023, around the time that the housing crisis in the city was getting worse, and people were talking about the cost of child care and the cost of groceries, the cost of getting around. Part of the vision for my beat, which was a new one for the Metro desk, was really granular reporting on how people spend their money. We can have big, sweeping articles that convey the seriousness and scope of the affordability crisis, but we also need a peek into how a bunch of different New Yorkers actually live, to show how many people are affected by this cost-of-living crisis and how people are adjusting.
How do you choose the subjects you feature?
I’m looking for people who are willing to provide details about how they live, and are willing to be open about their finances. And I’m looking for people who live in different parts of the city, who have families, who live alone, who have different jobs.
I ask people how much money they make, how much money they save — if they’re able to save — if they have kids, what they spend on child care, what their monthly grocery budget is. And then I’ll ask about other expenses, like if people are helping to take care of elderly family members, or what people splurge on. For instance, if people take an annual summer vacation, what’s the budget for that? Or if people have side projects or hobbies, what do they budget for that? I have several conversations with everyone I feature; I spend around two hours talking to them.
Why do you think people are willing to be so open about their finances?
So many people in New York are experiencing this cost-of-living crisis, yet are passionate about how much they love New York. They want to stay here. They wish it was an easier place to live. So I think people want to participate in this broader conversation about how to make it in New York in 2026.
Why do people stay?
Some people have lived here their whole lives, and their families have lived here, and they’ve always wanted to raise their own kids here. For others, they feel like the city is where they’re in the best position to succeed in their career. The city is such a big market, with lots of different people to meet and talk to. The opportunity of being here is still really strong. Some people, though, have also been like, I’m here right now trying to make money, but I don’t know that I can afford to be here, or that I want to be here, in the longer term.
Did you struggle to afford life in the city when you were starting your career?
I was very lucky, because my family lives here, so I always had that support. But it’s been unmistakable in the last five or 10 years how many people around me have been leaving or thinking about leaving. So many of my conversations with friends, once people started having kids, have been focused on: Can I make it?
What do you hope people take away from the series?
There are a lot of misconceptions held by people outside of New York, and I think it’s helpful just to show, in the plainest, most straightforward terms, how people do this. The goal is to show readers a wide variety of how people live and spend money, and for that to deepen their understanding of New York as a place and as a story.
The series has only deepened my interest in and my love for reporting about New York. There are just so many good stories to tell.
What feedback have you received so far?
I’ve gotten some great notes from readers saying that it’s nice to read about how a bunch of regular people live. People have even written in, asking, like, “I wonder if this person could file for this tax exemption.” People feel connected to the stories they’re reading about, which has been very gratifying.
Sarah Bahr writes about culture and style for The Times.
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