What's it like living in Manhattan as an investment banker?

What's it like living in Manhattan as an investment banker?
It is intense, expensive, and convenient: proximity helps, but unpredictable 70–100-hour weeks can dominate your social life.
Eighty-hour week
An NYC analyst reports 70–80 hours that week, with Sunday work and plans interrupted by late requests.
No downtime
A typical banking day can begin early and leave limited time for evenings and weekends.
Unpredictable loneliness
A former banker calls loneliness and unpredictability the hardest parts because sudden work can erase personal plans.
Short commute
A credit-risk banker describes month-end deadlines, sponsor-driven turnaround, and logging back on after getting home.
Plans disrupted
Investment banking schedules can mean a 7 p.m. sign-off or a 3 a.m. finish, making social plans unreliable.
Busy banking week
An investment-banking professional describes office days, networking events, coffee chats, dinners, and weekend activities in New York City.
Subway then Uber
She usually takes the subway to work and an Uber home, often reimbursed after late investment-banking hours.
Four roommates
A Goldman Sachs commuter recalls sharing a cramped two-bedroom apartment with four roommates near 67 Wall Street.
No time spending
Monday through Thursday, banking ran from 9 a.m. past midnight, leaving little time to spend money or enjoy New York.
Manhattan intensity
After working in New York finance, he describes Manhattan as intense, fast-paced, and built around doing everything in excess.
Banking and networking
An NYC investment banker describes balancing banking work, GMAT preparation, networking, and Manhattan social activities.
Final banking week
A New York investment banker describes Manhattan mornings, demanding workdays, team dinners, and social time in nearby Brooklyn.
Tiny convenient apartment
Living alone in Manhattan avoids train travel, supports an inconsistent schedule, and keeps 24-hour stores and restaurants nearby.
Finance-worker costs
Young finance workers spend much of their income on rent and partying because New York City is extremely expensive.
Wall street move
After joining JPMorgan’s New York equities desk, she spent her savings on an apartment and found the intense work rewarding.
Pay versus lifestyle
Investment banking can pay $400,000–$600,000 junior-level, but demanding hours and New York’s high costs reduce the lifestyle benefit.
Hundred-hour weeks
Investment bankers work roughly 100 hours weekly, leaving little personal life, according to the clip's Wall Street discussion.
Finance opportunities
New York offers extensive finance opportunities, but average one-bedroom rent is about $3,500.
Rent ceiling
A hedge-fund professional earning $300,000 in a bad year should cap monthly rent at $7,500, the speaker says.
Pay-cost premium
New York generally pays more for the same job, but living expenses are substantially higher, the speaker says.
Analyst burnout
First-year analysts reported averaging 95-hour weeks and sleeping under five hours nightly, revealing investment banking’s punishing schedule.