Yeah but outside of (Manhattan and the expensive parts of Brooklyn) leaves like... not much of NYC? Most new grads do not choose to live in Queens, the Bronx, or Bed-stuy.
Assuming you pay $200/month in healthcare, ~$1800 a month to max out your 401k, your take home pay is about $5,000 after taxes. In Manhattan and the expensive parts of Brooklyn, your own place is realistically a minimum of $2,500, possibly as much as $3,000. Outside of those places, still $2,000.
Source: I literally just went through this process, as a new grad, making slightly above $120k about 3 months ago.
$1,800 is a lot to save relative to your income. 50/30/20 rule says you should be saving <$1,300ish and spending around $3,200 on needs, so maybe like $2700 on housing and $500 on utilities, groceries, etc. $3k / mo for an apartment on $120k salary is completely reasonable.
I went through the same thing and had no problem getting a place of my own.
Plus with junior devs the salary increase is pretty steep in the first few years.
I think the argument “he has to live in a share flat otherwise would need to compromise on maxing out with 401k” isn’t as convincing an argument as the OP thinks.
Assuming you pay $200/month in healthcare, ~$1800 a month to max out your 401k, your take home pay is about $5,000 after taxes. In Manhattan and the expensive parts of Brooklyn, your own place is realistically a minimum of $2,500, possibly as much as $3,000. Outside of those places, still $2,000.
Source: I literally just went through this process, as a new grad, making slightly above $120k about 3 months ago.