I am reposting it without permission. My responses are in red.
I think everyone agrees that there is no easy solution or fix to the problem of affordability of Orthodox living in Bergen County. By all estimates you need to be at the top of the earning chain to afford to live there. Obviously, the biggest expense that most of us bear is tuition. Assuming you pay the full amount. Many of us, who are newer to the community, moved in when times were good and we were able to afford the house, expenses and tuition. Unfortunately the current situation is such that people who were comfortable just a few years ago can now no longer afford the expenses associated with living in the area. In the last comment section a conversation ensued regarding the expenses of the average family in town who makes around $200,000 and has 4 kids in Yeshiva. I am not an accountant but I will use a rough tax number of 40%. Baruch Hashem your not an accountant. Few people pay this %. Lets also say that the couple is being responsible and trying to save for retirement by putting 5% into a 401K (average amount that companies are matching). Lets say they also like to go to the Bahamas for two weeks a year. Silly assumption. Take another $7000 out for health insurance. Well, if $200,000.00 doesn't cut it, Uncle Sam pays anyway. Though the $200,000 seems like a lot of money, and by all accounts it is, you are not making it by a long shot. Net take home pay is about $107,000. Here is how the math break's down on average for expenses*.
Housing:
Say the person moved in within the last 5 years and paid $475,000 for a 3 or 4 bedroom house (way too much but the reality of what houses cost in the average Modern Orthodox community in the tri state area) and took out an 80% loan (although many people I know did not). Your mortgage is $380,000 and at a 5.5% rate your annual mortgage payment is somewhere in the area of $26,000. Add on $10,000 for taxes (non improved home) and another thousand for insurance and your annual housing expense is $37,000.
Ever heard of rent?
Car/Travel:
Let us make the assumption that there is one owned and one leased car (most likely a minivan). No frills lease is around $350 a month, insurance on both cars is about $2000 annually, $65 a month for gas and lets say another $200 to get to work, the car expense is $9380.
Sure, maybe 4 or 5 cars? Why not add a Ferrari to the mix as well?
Food
I think on average $15,000 for food and related expenses seems like a reasonable number for a family of 6 (though this might be a low estimate)
or a high one. "I think" doesn't cut it.
Utilities:
Electric, $250 a month. Phone, internet & TV (let's assume the family is not so frum) $120 (factoring in some kind of triple play package). Cell phone (both parents out of the house all day need to communicate) $100. Water is about $400 annual on average. Add another $1500 a year unforeseen maintenance costs gets the average utilities/maintenance bill to $7540.
You for get about the home entertainment system and the ten petaflop, 50 hexabyte "home" server. Oh, and all the movies...
Babysitting:
If both parents are working and this is a young family chances are the family has a babysitter, most people I know do. Based on much research (I personally have been through 3 in the last 7 months) the average babysitter costs around $500 a week. Let's say the person is sharing the babysitter (as I and many of the people I know do) it is still $1000 a month, $12,000 a year (both parents work full time no summers off).
Why does this young family need to own a home already?
Clothes:
On average I would say that factoring in yom tov, and school/camp clothes, shopping on sale and hand me downs. For a family of 6, clothes are still costing around $2000 a year .
Don't know. Could be.
Although these are estimates the average cost, before factoring in tuition, or shul membership and any extra and unforeseen expenses, is somewhere in the area of $83,000 a year. (I am sure Orthonomics will have a field day with these numbers, but I think it is a pretty good estimate for the average Bergenfield/Teaneck family, though Bergen county is much larger, this is where the major concentration is).
You should work as a stock analyst.
The family making $200,000 a year is left with, at the end of the day (on average) $24,000 after paying day to day living expenses.
Their Yeshiva tuition bill for 4 kids is around $56,000 (average tuition is about $14,000)!
Right. Even with for kids in the school.
NET LOSS OF $32,000 a year.
You should go get a job.
*disclaimer- these numbers are averages based on personal experience as well as some research. What kind? Obviously there are going to be variations and room for cuts and add ons but this seems like a pretty good estimate.Some of what I write above is just to bring a contrarian position, not because I neccesary believe it to be totally true.
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