Many of us can agree that Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City’s protagonist, is one of the most beloved characters in television history.
From her witty humor to her incredible fashion, fans have come to love and adore everything Sarah Jessica Parker‘s character is known for on the show.
Fans especially love her lavish NYC liftstyle that she has glamorized throughout her time on the hit HBO series.
While Bradshaw has led many of us to believe that we too can live our best lives in New York on a writer’s income, we soon came to realization that that is not at all true.
The average income for an experienced writer in NYC is $66,000
Although many of us absolute love and adore Carrie Bradshaw, fans have come to despise her for giving us false hope when it comes to the NYC lifestyle.
On Sex and The City, Bradshaw makes a living as an highly accredited journalist and gets to live the life many of expect to have when we move to the Big Apple.
From attending A-list parties in SoHo to shopping on 5th Ave, many of us are guilty of thinking that we too could have this lifestyle if we lived in the Big Apple.
However, we have come to the conclusion the Bradshaw and SATC have given us unrealistic expectations and the life of a NYC journalist isn’t as glamorous as one would hope.
While times have definitely changed since the HBO series first premiered in 1998, life was quite different back then and the cost of living in NYC was a whole lot cheaper than it is now.
So, lets figure out whether or not Bradshaw could actually afford her lavish NYC lifestyle in 2019?
Let’s begin with her income. Bradshaw worked as a columnist for The New York Star, and her column was, of course, called “Sex and the City.”
Today, the average annual salary for a journalist in NYC is $66,307 according to Glassdoor.
That means that the monthly income for an experienced writer would be $5,525 before taxes.
Now, could someone really live a similar lifestyle to Bradshaw with this monthly income?
The rent for an apartment alone would take a good portion of anyone’s monthly paycheck, not leaving much for other costs.
While the actual filming location of Bradshaw’s apartment is located in the West Village on Perry Street, the fictionalized location was in the Upper East Side.
While Carrie claimed to only pay $750 for her apartment, the average apartment rent in Upper East Side today is $2,559 for a studio and $3,288 for one bedroom, putting us already way over budget.
We wouldn’t have any money for shopping or partying
In addition to rent, we also have to factor in utilities, internet, transportation costs, and groceries, which can easily run anyone way more than $500 a month.
If Bradshaw was a real person, she would also have to dish out money for cigarettes which would take out a lot amount of money from her bank account.
Seeing as though she doesn’t cook on the show, Bradshaw’s takeout bill would also be pretty hefty each month.
We are now way over the budget and can’t even factor in the weekly cosmos Carrie has while out with her friends because we’re already out of money.
This now shoots down any hope for a shopping spree on 5th Ave. and walking home with 10 huge bags from high end retailers on our arms.
Although Bradshaw’s life is all around glamorous, it’s just not realistic.
While it is doable, Bradshaw would definitely need a second job in order to make ends meet and live comfortably as a writer in NYC.