26-year-old bookstore manager lives in New York City on $53,000 a year: 'It's hard, but it's so worth it'

This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which examines how people earn, spend and save their money.

In August 2022, Eileen Tyrrell sat in a rented moving van on the way to New York City, ready to build a life there. A recent college graduate, she moved from suburban Chicago without a full-time job lined up, relying on freelance writing and $3,000 in savings to get by.

“I remember seeing the skyline in the distance, and all of a sudden it just hits me that this is reality,” Tyrrell tells CNBC Make It. “All of my worldly possessions are in this van right now, and they’re coming with me to that city. It was really scary too, but so exciting.”

Living on uncertain income in one of the most expensive places in the world wasn’t easy, Tyrrell says, especially early on, when she was piecing together freelance work and seasonal jobs. But today, Tyrrell still lives in Manhattan and earns about $53,000 a year, including her $45,000 salary as a bookstore manager — a life she says feels meaningful, even if money is tight.

“I love my job,” she says. “And I feel very lucky to get to say that, because I have so many friends who kind of hate their jobs.”