Lifestyle

Wow: this costs the lifestyle of Carrie Bradshaw in 2023

By Sophie Rietmulder | #!31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:005831#31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:00-2Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202331 18pm31pm-31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:002Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam2023312023Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200002008pmFriday=9#!31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam8#08-18-2023#!31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:005831#\/31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:00-2Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202331#!31Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:58 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam8#

At fifteen, I was sure: when I grew up, I wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw. I would become a writer in vibrant New York, skip the lines at the hottest clubs every weekend in brand new Manolos, and date every desirable bachelor who crossed my path. The latter has actually happened in recent years, but just safely in my own city. I would be lying if I said I wasn't bummed that my Sex and the City dreams haven't fully come true. In fact: I still dream about it. Now booking a ticket to New York isn't the problem, but I recently found out that for the real Carrie Bradshaw experience, you need to bring a hefty bag of money. How much would you spend monthly in 2023? TikTok account @leanwithsmartmarket looked it up for us and it is truly shocking.

Fixed charges
Rent: $5500 (start spreading the news: this is of course already unaffordable)
Gas and electricity: $370
Insurance: $700
Tax: $1210

Total fixed costs: $7780

Variable expenses
Eating out 5 times a week: $2950 (cosmopolitans included)
Clothing & two pairs of Manolo Blahniks: $3250
Cigarettes: $120
Personal care: $1050
Taxi: $1050 (you will never catch Carrie B. in the subway)

Total variable expenses: $8170

Anyone who can do a bit of math has already seen it: to live like Carrie Bradshaw in 2023, you would need exactly $15,950 per month. How that woman has managed to do that all those years from writing one column a week is a mystery to me, but maybe it's time to pay a visit to the editorial office of the New York Star. In the 90s, this amount would have been around $6000 per month, but even then, that's of course a bizarre amount of money. As someone whose cash is absolutely only hanging in her closet, I will have to save a bit longer to make my Carrie dreams come true, but I'm sure it will be fine. Those Manolos can wait, and as far as I know, New York isn't going anywhere.