I have $20,000 saved up for south CA (Glendale, Orange: apartments, to rent)

[XWI]

i have $20,000 saved up. I have been wanting to move to southern California. I applied with the Burbank police department and almost through the final stages of the interviewing process starting at 66k. If i get the job will i be able to afford the living and other needs living there? should i live in burbank? or should i live outside the city? is 20k enough saved to get started?

[bhcompy]

are you looking to buy a house? rent?

66k is a respectable income for a single person in a 1bed or studio apt. for a family 66k will be much more difficult though

burbank should be fine to live in. glendale is also closeby and should have plenty of affordable places to live

[Donn2390]

I would be asking some of the people at PD and Personnel. There should be plenty of officers in your age group, and marital status who could best answer those questions.
I would find an apartment close to work and learn the area before making any permanent arrangements. You will be a whole lot smarter in a few months. Having worked for a So Calif city in Orange County, I would say will be fine in that income bracket, with a $20 K lump of cash to seed you until you get established.
Good luck with your career, you're gonna love it here. The only thing you will miss is shoveling snow and freezing to death in the winter. You can call your friends back home and laugh at them, while sitting on the beach New Year's day..!

[killer2021]

get the job first and then you can start figuring out how much you can afford. Remember, if you have to spend more than 30% of your take home pay on housing expenses then you can't afford it.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by killer2021

get the job first and then you can start figuring out how much you can afford. Remember, if you have to spend more than 30% of your take home pay on housing expenses then you can't afford it.

Must be a Dave Ramsey fan?

[XWI]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

are you looking to buy a house? rent?

66k is a respectable income for a single person in a 1bed or studio apt. for a family 66k will be much more difficult though

burbank should be fine to live in. glendale is also closeby and should have plenty of affordable places to live

I am single and i am looking to rent

[UB50]

You'll be fine. There are plenty of apartments in Burbank and Glendale and I know people from the police department live in some of them. There are a lot of nice apartments near the Burbank police headquarters -- and the area is very low crime too. (Not that you'll really care, I guess.) The whole area (both cities) is really low crime because the police are REALLY GOOD!!

You should be aware that places like Burbank and Glendale are kind of like living in the United Nations. You are likely to have neighbors from all over the world. It's actually a lot of fun because you get to celebrate holidays you've never heard of (like Armenian New Year). I've lived in a few places and everyone has always been friendly.