TL:DR My wife and I were talking about how much a safe cushion is to move back to NYC with is without a job lined up. I say $35k min and she thinks its more like $50k. we arent young, we middle aged, my wife has a good career built up but due to illness I am not working a full time job the last few years. mostly doing a small craft business that I could easily do in NYC.

My wife and I are considering moving back to NYC. We were both born and raised in New York (she in Brooklyn, and I in Queens), and after seven years away, we want to return for my health and because we miss our friends and the NYC lifestyle. In recent years, we’ve lost family members whom we couldn’t spend time with due to being far away, which also factors into our decision.

My health issues are a significant part of our reason for moving back. The medical care where we currently live is terrible, and I don’t want to travel five hours to possibly get the care I need. Queens is likely our preferred borough, and we estimate that $2,000 per month is the starting point for a 1BR apartment but think itll be higher.

My wife works for a NYC company and is hoping for a transfer to another position within the company, with a position that matches NYC living expenses. They usually offer good pay, so if that works out, the financial cushion may not be as critical. The one obstacle is they want her here and we can see them holding her back for their needs. However, we are also considering moving without a job lined up and using our financial cushion to make it work from there.

We have connections in NYC that might help us find apartment leads without needing a broker, but our biggest challenge I see is renting without a steady income, even though we have substantial savings. The only thing we lack is a place to stay, as our friends either have children or live in places without room for two more adults. We’re too old for couch surfing, etc.

Any thoughts? I’ve researched and visited recently, and spoken with friends back there, but I’d appreciate any additional opinions or advice from the community.