Dutch Expat Survives New York on $580 Weekly Salary Through Frugal Choices
Lukas Jannick, a 23-year-old from the Netherlands, lives in Queens on a $580-per-week sales job, keeping costs low by cooking at home and budgeting groceries under $100.
After falling in love with a New Yorker during a work trip to Greece, Lukas Jannick left Apeldoorn and relocated to New York City in May 2026. With the help of Stage Global, he secured a sales administrator position at Vertex Security, earning roughly $580 per one outlet. He now rents a room in a three-bedroom apartment in Woodside, Queens for $990 a month, adding $35 for air-conditioning and about $50 for utilities.
To stretch his budget, he prepares coffee at home using a machine his parents mailed him and purchases weekly groceries for under $100 from Amazon Fresh and Trader Joe's, despite long checkout lines. Jannick describes his lifestyle as frugal, influenced by his grandparents' wartime scarcity, and he plans to keep his $20,000 savings for future investments while growing his YouTube channel, which currently has 14,000 subscribers. He travels 45 minutes by subway to his Manhattan office and recently bought a bike to reduce his estimated $140 monthly transportation costs.
Why it matters
The story illustrates how young expatriates manage tight budgets in one of the world's most expensive cities.
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