Could I survive and save some money earning 65k in NY?

I think you should clarify that you mean New York City and maybe even indicate what borough you would live to live in. New York is a big state and $65k is a nice salary in Utica, NY.

some people will tell you no, but if you live in brooklyn, possibly with roommates, you definitely can.

i make around that, live by myself in brooklyn, go out and do stuff (maybe not super extravagant stuff) once or twice on the weekends, put 10% of my salary to my 401k, and put roughly $1k into my savings account every month. it works for me.

(also you will need to make your own food every day or buy the cheapest fast food like i do. i am not a picky eater and i do go out to restaurants time to time, but realistically most of your income will be spent on rent and food, so don't get take out every night)

I did this, on a 40k salary, in 2003. I had a $1k/month studio apartment in Hoboken NJ and commuted on the Path subway to lower Manhattan. I kept spending very low: never went to restaurants, never traveled, no relationship, no cell phone, cheapest available DSL internet at $30/month. For food I'd sometimes actually get ramen, but more often other cheap groceries like store brand cereals, pancake mix, PB&J. I had about $400/month disposable income and saved about $300 of it.

Adjusting from 2003 to today, the apartment might cost $1500 now, but a 65k salary is still better off than I was then.

By the way, one of the best places to live in New York is actually New Jersey. If your office is in Manhattan anywhere close to the Path stations, you've got a 30 minute commute from Hoboken or the downtown areas of Jersey City out to Journal Square. Housing is decently affordable there, and as a bonus you dodge the NYC commuter income tax.

I did that to pay for my tuition. I only had the salary from my employer in my home country, immigration services didn't let me get a part time work.

This is how I did it:

Place to sleep: Queens village. Take the F train all the way to the last station than a bus (Q43) for another 5-10 minutes (hillside av). That area (queens village/jamaica) has the cheapest rents I could find at the time (2006). The commute to Manhattan would take around 1:20. The bus transfer is free. A lot of reading.

Plan before you leave home so you don't waste money on transportation

Eat: pizza, standing. Some 99c stores do have some fake microwave meals (taste like rubber) . Do never pay for drinks. Drink water. Try not to spend more than 6 dollars on a meal.

Internet: Asked for a neighbor to share with me (paying a bit)

Take care of you teeth and health in general!!! Dentists are evil greedy bastards. Just kidding... (no I'm not)

PS: Those living conditions made me quit my studies.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: median salaray for NYC are is $50,820. Median more so reliable for that sampling size of people. Put it in perspective. What's in it other than money? A cooler experience? A new opportunity. Shoot for so much more than money.