If New York was its own country, the city of 8 million residents would have one of the top twenty biggest economies in the world. Its gross state product, or the total value of all goods and services produced within New York state during 2007, was more than US$1 trillion.
As a major centre of commerce and finance, the Big Apple is home to many of the world's largest finance, accounting, banking and stock broking corporations.
So, you might find yourself working at the headquarters of one of the big 4 accounting firms, a brokerage firm, an investment bank, or a major corporation headed, perhaps, by Donald Trump himself. The real estate tycoon's Trump Organisation is based at the 58-story Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Manhattan is also home to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, the busiest stock exchange in the world. The NASDAQ, the largest US electronic stock exchange, is located nearby at 165 Broadway.
As a major financial centre, salaries for accountants are fairly generous. CPA Australia's 2007 international salary survey found the average wages in US dollars for part-qualified accountants (one to two years' experience) working in commerce or industry in New York are:
financial accountant, US$69K to US$82K
management accountant, US$69K to US$82K
corporate accountant, US$74K to US$94K
cost accountant, US$81K to US$102K
But it certainly isn't cheap to live there. According to the June 2007 Cost of living survey from Mercer, New York is the 15th most expensive city in the world for expatriates.
To be able to live and work in New York you must have a relevant visa.
If you're an Australian citizen you could be eligible for the exchange visitor visa via the student work and travel pilot program, which was launched in October 2007. Another new visa is the E-3, which allows Australian nationals to work in specialty occupations in the US.
Alternatively there is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which is a lottery program that annually provides 50,000 permanent resident visas to randomly selected applicants. To be eligible, you must apply electronically two years before the selection date.
