Stipend-Housing

[ted23]

I understand the issue of housing is dependent on the cost of living, but in general does anyone have an idea what is the norm regarding how much of a stipend should be dedicated towards rent? Any current PhD student able to weigh in on this?

[tflan]

Also interested in this question. I'm considering paying a higher fraction of my income to live within walking distance of campus.

[YaSvoboden]

I think it is worth it to be close to campus if you can manage it. It can also save a lot on transportation, so it may make financial sense too.

 

I spend about 35-40% on rent after I consider scholarships and tax returns. More than any financial planner will tell you to do, but it works for now. I'm also not putting anything toward retirement, but that makes very little distance in the long run.

 

I have heard of students in New York spending like 60% on rent. That would really get to me. So, it varies a lot, but I think you should do at least a one bed apartment if you are single. I have a decent house for my family.

 

Basically, you make the wages of a low skill trade, but you know that you are getting a big raise down the road.

[ted23]

I think it is worth it to be close to campus if you can manage it. It can also save a lot on transportation, so it may make financial sense too.

 

I spend about 35-40% on rent after I consider scholarships and tax returns. More than any financial planner will tell you to do, but it works for now. I'm also not putting anything toward retirement, but that makes very little distance in the long run.

 

I have heard of students in New York spending like 60% on rent. That would really get to me. So, it varies a lot, but I think you should do at least a one bed apartment if you are single. I have a decent house for my family.

 

Basically, you make the wages of a low skill trade, but you know that you are getting a big raise down the road.

 

Thanks, this is very helpful. Also, as I understand it, the fellowship component of the stipend is not taxed, but work requirements via RA and TA experiences are. Is this correct?

[XanthusARES]

Depends on the institution in terms of taxation. But yeah generally fellowship component isn't taxed but the TA/.RA work is.

 

As far as living, I'd suggest rather than specifically living close to campus as that generally means living close to undergrads (who are the worst), living close to a bus stop that will get you into school in 15 minutes or less. Generally you can get a little more bang for your buck, but you can also have the experience of feeling that when you leave the office you've actually left the office. That has been invaluable to me throughout the program.

 

Also, and it might be too late for this, but I strongly suggest finding a significant other to pay for all of your expenses. It has worked wonderfully for me. (I'm joking of course, but seriously my wife is amazing)

[Mandalorian]

Entirely depends on the specific location. The stipends do vary somewhat, but most are in the general neighborhood of $25,000-$35.000 +/- a few thousand.. In terms of housing that is going to go a lot further in places like Florida or Missouri vs places like New York or California for example. In Iowa City, that would allow one to rent a comfortable house, whereas in Los Angeles it would be a 1-bedroom apartment.

[TaxGal]

Chiming in here what are thoughts on roommates in low COL areas? Living near campus (10-15 minute bus ride) all that’s left is is expensive with studios and 1 bedrooms close to $1,000 or I can go 30 minutes away and get one for $600. I don’t wanna be too far my first year so I’m considering finding another grad roommate maybe a medical student or something and get a 2 bdrm at a more reasonable cost.

[XanthusARES]

Chiming in here what are thoughts on roommates in low COL areas? Living near campus (10-15 minute bus ride) all that’s left is is expensive with studios and 1 bedrooms close to $1,000 or I can go 30 minutes away and get one for $600. I don’t wanna be too far my first year so I’m considering finding another grad roommate maybe a medical student or something and get a 2 bdrm at a more reasonable cost.

 

Some of our students have roommates. I think that they can be fine, but there are also horror stories. Here's my advice. If you are going to go with a roommate definitely go with another PhD student. Master's students often have way more time off and can be extremely annoying. Also I would suggest going with someone a little older (i.e. not straight from undergrad). These people can have a difficult time transitioning from undergrad lifestyle to grad lifestyle. Things such as drinking all night, throwing parties and all the fun undergrad stuff you could do because time didn't actually mean anything. It can be extremely annoying to you as you spend every waking hour in existential dread (welcome to a PhD program by the way). But seriously another grad student who will be working as much as you is a great choice.

 

The only other suggestion I have on that is to find an apartment that has large bedrooms. The more personal space you have to yourself the better. Basically if you have an office at school where you're sharing space with 10 other students, you don't want to share office space with your roommate in the common area. A large bedroom with space for a desk can really help your sanity.

 

Also I would caution against signing a multi-year lease with a roommate you've never lived with before. You need to be able to get out of a bad situation if necessary.

[XanthusARES]

For the record I currently have two roommates. One I've lived with for 10 years and she's awesome, super clean, very respectful of my time, pays rent on time, etc...

 

The other ones a monster. Up at all hours of the night. Screaming. Crying over everything. Never cleans up anything and leaves the common area looking like tornado came through.

[PobleNou]

Haha, good one. I am assuming the second roommate also expects to be driven around everywhere, be read stories at night and wants toys for Christmas and birthdays!!

 

For the record I currently have two roommates. One I've lived with for 10 years and she's awesome, super clean, very respectful of my time, pays rent on time, etc...

 

The other ones a monster. Up at all hours of the night. Screaming. Crying over everything. Never cleans up anything and leaves the common area looking like tornado came through.

[ted23]

To give a bit more context, my school (Northwestern) is in Evanston which is about 20 minutes away from Chicago. I have a choice of picking on-campus housing on Campus vs finding an apartment in Chicago. Is it worth paying more (approximately 40-45% of my stipend) for the on-campus accommodation? I can find cheaper apartments in Chicago but ideally I'd like to be closer to the campus. Is 40-45% of my stipend too much to dedicate on housing? All of this is ignoring taxation so it could be even higher.

[XanthusARES]

Haha, good one. I am assuming the second roommate also expects to be driven around everywhere, be read stories at night and wants toys for Christmas and birthdays!!

 

Yes that is true, but, in fairness, I also want toys for my birthday and Christmas.

[XanthusARES]

To give a bit more context, my school (Northwestern) is in Evanston which is about 20 minutes away from Chicago. I have a choice of picking on-campus housing on Campus vs finding an apartment in Chicago. Is it worth paying more (approximately 40-45% of my stipend) for the on-campus accommodation? I can find cheaper apartments in Chicago but ideally I'd like to be closer to the campus. Is 40-45% of my stipend too much to dedicate on housing? All of this is ignoring taxation so it could be even higher.

 

That is a difficult situation. Here's my advice. Talk to current students in the PhD program. Find out what they are currently doing. That will give you a much better answer to your specific case than we are able to.

 

Spending ~50% of your stipend on housing does seem like a lot, but I think that it's on par with what a lot of students do. Yeah your next 5 years are going to be rough financially, but the pay-off is huge. Plus, you know, you'll get to be called Dr. Ted in about 5 years.

[YaSvoboden]

The best answer that we can give to any school-specific question is to ask the current students. You can ask students from other disciplines within the school too, you just want to talk to someone that has similar life circumstances and goals for a living arrangement.

 

I recall that Kellogg isn't far off of one of the train lines down to Chicago. I can see a 20 min train ride being just fine if it saves you some money. Aren't there apartments in Evanston that are just a few blocks off of campus that are cheaper than that? I have a friend there in the accounting PhD program and I think he bought a 2 room condo and it has worked out well for him.

 

Kellogg's stipend is pretty good though, so if you had half of it left over for non-rent, you would be ok.

 

TaxGal, I couldn't do a roommate other than the ones that I have, but I could see it working out with another PhD student. This is more of a personal choice.

 

Like Xan, I started the program with one roommate that was very helpful and now I have 4. The 3 new ones wouldn't go away, so I got a bigger place to accommodate them. One of them yells at me all the time and asks the weirdest questions, the other two are nice but messy. For some reason the original roommate is only interested in talking to me about the new ones, even though I recall that we used to have a lot of common interests.

[BrazilianPhD]

For me, about rest is about 40% of my stipend. I take the train to go to the university, which is 2 stations far from my apartment, so it's very convenient and easy for me, and I don't have a car. It's a nice apartment, but not a good neighborhood. Most students prefer to live in better places even if they are distant.

[Granps]

I will be spending about 60% of my stipend on housing. It will be a rough year. But when I will be there, understand where everything is and how to be efficient with traveling - and especially after the initial two years of coursework - I will move further away from the campus.

[littlepink]

I think it is worth it to be close to campus if you can manage it. It can also save a lot on transportation, so it may make financial sense too.

 

I spend about 35-40% on rent after I consider scholarships and tax returns. More than any financial planner will tell you to do, but it works for now. I'm also not putting anything toward retirement, but that makes very little distance in the long run.

 

I have heard of students in New York spending like 60% on rent. That would really get to me. So, it varies a lot, but I think you should do at least a one bed apartment if you are single. I have a decent house for my family.

 

Basically, you make the wages of a low skill trade, but you know that you are getting a big raise down the road.

 

exactly 1/3 of my stipend will be spent on rent (incld utilities etc) as well.

[GoStop]

Btw to add to this, Australia does NOT have a scholarship/stipend income tax treaty with USA, so being an Australian, you are subject to A LOT of federal taxes. My friend who is Australian is taxed at 14%, you can take off about 4k if you have a 30k stipend.

[YaSvoboden]

Ouch. I just looked it up. Australia has super high taxes and worldwide taxation. That is a citizenship with some drawbacks.

[GoStop]

Ouch. I just looked it up. Australia has super high taxes and worldwide taxation. That is a citizenship with some drawbacks.

 

Yup, that's right, everyone in our department has full stipend tax exemption, apart from the Australian who's fully taxed :(

[ted23]

Btw to add to this, Australia does NOT have a scholarship/stipend income tax treaty with USA, so being an Australian, you are subject to A LOT of federal taxes. My friend who is Australian is taxed at 14%, you can take off about 4k if you have a 30k stipend.

 

Wow, my information was to the contrary. That sucks being an Aussie myself. Sort of makes me reconsider my housing decisions...

[GoStop]

Yes, apparently, Australia has all sorts of income tax treaties with the US with the EXCEPTION of taxable scholarship/stipends.

[ted23]

Yes, apparently, Australia has all sorts of income tax treaties with the US with the EXCEPTION of taxable scholarship/stipends.

 

You are right. I just received this email from tax support at NW:

 

Considering you are non-resident of USA for tax purposes all your USA income will be subject to USA tax withholding, since Australia does not have treaty with USA for student income. The scholarship income is subject to 14% federal and 4.95% state taxes.

The assistantship income depends on the US federal tax bracket for wages depending on your annual gross income it could be between 10%--20% and additional state tax of 4.95%.

Best Regards,