Moving to LA from Iowa (Los Angeles, Long Beach: best city, apartment, rent)

[KEhlis]

I just graduated from college and have a degree in MIS. I have always thought about moving to Los Angeles because I would like to pursue Fitness Modeling and I believe that's the best city to do it in.

Anyone have any advice, as to specific places I could apply that would want MIS majors. I've posted my info on dice.com, monster.com, and a few others.

I think it's harder to get an entry level job out of state since employers don't care to fly you out there to interview you.

Also, how much would be an ideal salary for a comfortable living? In Iowa, I could probably make $50K doing Web Development work. I've looked at various salary websites, but those can only do so much.

What about gym memberships, I know everything is more expensive there.

[jessemh431]

Well to live comfortably, it depends on where you live and how big of a place you want.

[KEhlis]

Comfortable to me is a 1 bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood. Doesn't have to be too huge.

[jessemh431]

How much you can afford on rent depends on how much you make a year. 50k in LA wont do, but then again, salaries are higher in LA. You need to get a general idea of how much you would make, then I can help you. Because you could afford from 1k in Long Beach to maybe 2k in Santa Monica or some other nice area.

[motoman]

Rule of thumb is to never spend more than 1/3 of your gross income on housing. That is a maximum. So if you make $50,000 per year, you should not spend anymore than $1,388 per month in rent. That's about what a one-bedroom will cost you in a decent area in LA. Average rent in LA is about $1,600-$1,700 per month.

Ideally you'd want to spend much less than 1/3 of your income. So getting a roommate is a good idea.

You won't necessarily make more in LA. Just because it's more expensive here doesn't mean you're going to make more money. The cost of living in LA is about twice the national average. But people in LA don't make twice the income.