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By Vera Chinese

My best friend just got a call for a job interview in Georgia, the state she’s talked about moving to for as long as I can remember. Though I am truly happy for her, I can’t help but sigh and feel saddened that Long Island’s lost another promising and locally educated young adult.
I’ve seen far too many friends and family members leave this rock in the hope of a better and more affordable life south of the Mason-Dixon line. And I can’t say I blame them, at least when it comes to finances.
Let’s say a recent graduate earns an entry-level salary of $32,000 per year, which is what I earned when I first entered the work force after grad school two and half years ago. Take-home pay amounts to about $475 per week. That’s $1,900 a month. Subtract $900 per month for rent and utilities, $100 for car insurance, $50 for a cell phone, $150 for a student loan payment, $150 for gas and about $350 for groceries. That leaves about $200

Vera Chinese has been the editor of northforker.com and northforker magazines since May 2014. Prior to that she spent two and a half years as a staff reporter for the New York Daily News. She joined the Riverhead News-Review as a staff writer in January 2010 and was named Associate Web Editor nine months later. She previously worked for the Southampton Press Western Edition and was named the third place 2008 Rookie Reporter of the Year by the New York Press Association. She graduated from Wagner College in 2006 where she received a bachelor's degree in English. She earned a master's degree in English education from New York University in 2007. She is a 2002 graduate of Eastport High School and has lived on the East End for more than 20 years.

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