How do you afford to live in California? (Long Beach, Glendale: foreclosure, insurance)

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

...you can't really get much out of a state to state comparison because California is so large and diverse in every way...

True. And trying to find a link to site that has actual data (as opposed to someone's opinion) is a feat.

... hotels don't count -- they are a traveler's expense.

Right. I listed off the top of my head what friends/relatives say that they think are high....having never lived in their midwestern cities, I have no idea what they pay there, only that they complain that "it's expensive out here!" (Rose Parade and whatnot....)

[JohnG72]

OP's post doesn't make any sense. $500-700K will buy you a 3/2 2000 sq ft home in almost every community in LA. The only exceptions I can think of are very upscale rich areas(Beverly Hills, Palos Verdes, San Marino, Newport Beach, Santa Monica, South Pasadena, etc).

But it gets you a nice home in areas with 9 and 10 rated high schools....the northern part of San Gabriel, Temple City, Irvine, Cerritos, Torrance, Walnut, Glendora, La Crescenta, etc.

Also works in areas with 8 rated high schools like Burbank and Glendale

7 rated schools in Culver City with $700K being on the low end for that city, if you need to live on the Westside.

If you are ok with 7 rated high schools(which are perfectly fine BTW), $400K does the job and then some in Long Beach, Lakewood, Whittier, West Covina, etc.

With a $200K income and current interest rates, one should be able to afford a home up to $700K using a 3.5% down FHA loan.

[hopeforgood]

Well living in California seems difficult. But I think you can live anywhere if you have control over your expenses. Just check and see if you can live there.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

3% of $1.5 million is $45K a year. I spend less than that and I live in the high cost Bay Area. 3% is considered a low initial withdrawal rate and has a good chance of lasting 50 years even with annual cost of living adjustments.

In short, it's called living a modest lifestyle.

The person who accumulated that kind of big payout by age 40 isn't going to cut back to $45k/year just be able to retire. You'd have to slash your quality of life a ridiculous degree.

[gone down south]

Having moved here two years ago from PA, it seems to us that gas and housing are both considerably more expensive here than on the East Coast.

Food is a toss up - incredibly cheap fresh fruits and veggies year round make a big difference, but you have to make a commitment to getting out of Safeway and finding the small fruit stands and local vendors.

Taxes and fees, depends on where you come from. Pennsylvania/NJ had very high taxes, we didn't see much net change (more consumption taxes here, higher real estate/income taxes there)

Everything is about the same - Target and WalMart and CVS set prices nationally. You can pay more for stuff at local stores, but if you've ever bought a gallon of milk at a bodega in NYC you know that local stores are always more expensive.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by gone down south

The person who accumulated that kind of big payout by age 40 isn't going to cut back to $45k/year just be able to retire. You'd have to slash your quality of life a ridiculous degree.

Maybe, maybe not. If your house is also paid for, or if you lived modestly all along, as some engineers/computer programmers do, it wouldn't be out of the question.

A lot of people come to realize having their time to themselves is also a part of success, and that if you have more time, you don't need as much money.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by gone down south

The person who accumulated that kind of big payout by age 40 isn't going to cut back to $45k/year just be able to retire. You'd have to slash your quality of life a ridiculous degree.

I don't think she will have any problem...

Someone that saves and pays off the mortgage is not the type to spend lavishly...

She loves the outdoors and spends her free time hiking with her dog... again, much more expensive ways to spend free time.

[insightofitall]

Originally Posted by jklmnop

I will be making between 200k-300k next year and am looking to make California my next home. I really love the idea of surf, soccer, and warm weather year long but when I break down the numbers after taxes, student loans, mortgage, savings/retirement, etc. my salary feels pretty thin.

Either everyone in California is in serious debt or they are seriously rich. How do you guys pull this off? What kind of salary does one need to support a small family and live in a half decent home (600K)? Even on my salary pulling this off seems like a challenge.

I know this depends on your proximity to the ocean and desirable/safe neighborhoods. l am looking mostly at Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Pasadena, Burbank, Thousand Oaks, Temecula, parts of Orange County. Everywhere I look I see more or less about the same cost of living. I know not everyone makes six figure salaries in California so what is the scoop? How do you get by?

God forgive me for saying this, but I'm human and sometimes there are things which I just can't hold inside...

Poor pitiful you. It must be really tough up there on the hill, barely scraping by on only 200k-300k a year.

Excuse me, but I don't feel sorry for you. If you can't make it on that kind of salary, you have serious issues. Move somewhere else. There are people in this country who can only wish they made as much as you will be bringing in. I refuse to believe you have THAT hard of a time trying to make it in California, or even NYC, on such a high salary.

Sorry, mods. I know I'm not supposed to personally attack people, but this kind of stuff gets on my nerves.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by insightofitall

God forgive me for saying this, but I'm human and sometimes there are things which I just can't hold inside...

Poor pitiful you. It must be really tough up there on the hill, barely scraping by on only 200k-300k a year.

Excuse me, but I don't feel sorry for you. If you can't make it on that kind of salary, you have serious issues. Move somewhere else. There are people in this country who can only wish they made as much as you will be bringing in. I refuse to believe you have THAT hard of a time trying to make it in California, or even NYC, on such a high salary.

Sorry, mods. I know I'm not supposed to personally attack people, but this kind of stuff gets on my nerves.

I'm gonna guess you read the first post and then responded without reading any more ... you might want to consider reading more carefully and further into the thread in the future. If you DO go back and read more that the OP in particular had to say, you'll find that this OP wasn't complaining or whining a bit ... he's not even moved to California yet ... he comes from a real everyday background, doesn't live high on the hog, doesn't have high-falutin' expectations ... seems like a real regular Joe who worked hard to get through medical school and put in his time for his communities along the way. He's just asking some questions is all.

Just sayin' ...

[jklmnop]

Originally Posted by cmdreset

Getting back to the original poster's question (God forbid)



Yes, in the better-rated school districts $600k is a middle-middle-class house in CA (read: not where you would expect an MD to live in other parts of the country.) So here is how they do it out here:

(1) The Old Timers: Lots of people bought houses before the bubble - they are doubly fine (low price house, Prop 13 low taxes.)
(2) The Wealthy: All that real estate money went somewhere during the boom. A one-time $300k windfall makes a $600k house a lot more affordable.
(3) The High Earners: In the high-cost areas, there is a combination of dual income professional couples, stock-option and bonus money, and low interest rate loans floating around to keep prices high relative to other parts of the country, even today. But one earner losing a job usually puts them in Category 4 below.
(4) The Pretenders: People who spend every cent they make (and more) to finance their aspirational "dream house". This category is slowly being foreclosed upon.

In my little corner of affluent San Diego, I see a lot of each type.

I make decent money and support a family on one income. We choose to rent in a good school district.

Thanks for answering the question directly. It gives me some perspective. I am not sure how these four categories break down numbers wise but I am guessing group 4 probably makes up a decent chunk of californians. Exactly what I hope to avoid, being a pretender and living above my means. I will eventually be in group 3 so no need to worry, as everyone here has graciously pointed out. So long as I keep it real?