Can a single person live on $30,000 in Austin?

[achtungpv]

Can you live? Yes. Can you get ahead? Iffy.

[cp102]

You can live on 30,000 single. Look for a reasonable apartment, keep utility's down, don't add excessive channels to your cable, keep a reasonable cell phone not one with everything added and you end up paying $150 a month. You can live fine! You can have a reasonable car payment with insurance. But I wouldn't add alot of debt. Put money away each month for emergencies. Shop smart and stick to your shopping list. Get a roommate if you can and you can put more money in savings .

[eileenkeeney]

Yes,
Not that I have done this, but I recently did an analysis of how little I could live on, if I lost my job.
I came out below 30K, even with my current house payment. I have no other debt. I use mass transit, and do not own a car.
I also could take on a room mate (but it would not have been necessary to stay below the 30K).

[sinking]

I make about that and own a house, have two cars, and put money into savings monthly. Yes, it can be done. No, it is not fun.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by satanoid

At age 18, I was making 30,000.
I started at UT (where I had no scholarships, and no student loans) and bought my first home (20% down payment) in the same week.

I worked full time (50+hours) took a 15 hour+ course load year round - paid my own tuition and mortgage without a dime from anybody else. Finished a bachelors degree in 2 1/2 years, graduated at 21.

Hard? Oh yes. Impossible? No.

I don't know how old you are, but most likely $30,000 then bought a lot more than $30,000 now. When I graduated in 1987, I rented a beautiful one room apartment on Jollyville Rd by Arboretum with full size washer and dryer and lots of amenities for $342/mo. I thought that it was too expensive. I'd hate to see what that same apartment costs now. Of course, it may be all relative, my annual salary was $20,000.

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by mgrayce14

Greetings to each and all,

I'm in education...and wanting to relocate from Shrevepor Area to Austin. They are offering me $30K....

I have NO DEBT, NO CREDIT CARD DEBT, NO MORTGAGE (looking to rent)...nothing. is it possible to live on $30K here in Austin...I'm a simple person...and into fishing and outdoors, not into bar scenes, etc...

Any ideas or comments?

Thanks for your help!
MGrayce14

Many students manage on that and less.

When you get here, I bet you find out it is easy to make more than that, unless your skill is competing for a job Americans don't want to do.

[sinking]

Originally Posted by BentBow

Many students manage on that and less.

When you get here, I bet you find out it is easy to make more than that, unless your skill is competing for a job Americans don't want to do.

I wouldn't say it is easy to make more than that. I have been looking for a new job for a while since my company hasn't done raises in 3 years and it is starting to get rough because my take home pay goes down but all my fixed expenses keep going up. I work in IT and haven't come across many postings offering more than the $30k I make now.

[Tralfaz]

I dunno, I know plenty of IT folks (unix, storage, DB, not Microsoft) that get $50k or more in Austin with 5+ years XP.. With 10+ years getting >$100k plus bonuses.. And it's not just who you know: I moved here without a firm prospect and no inside recommendations, never finished my degree, and had a 6 figure app support job in 2 weeks..