Cost of Rent, bills & insurance (moving from UK) (Simi Valley: apartments, car insurance)

[Jay Warren]

Hi All,

I've been searching through this forum today and found a wealth of great information!
I'll be moving to LA in March with my company and will be based in Culver city. Salary is going to be approx $80-$85K. My long term Girlfriend will be coming out with me (the visa side for this needs sorting out still, any advise appreciated!)
What would you recommend me spending on an apartment on this wage? I am happy with a 1 bed but not studio. Also any ideas on what the monthly bills (eg electricity etc) and what insurances would I need to take out? (is car insurance crazy out there?)
Many Thanks for any advise!
Jay

[SandyCo]

You could probably find something nice in Culver City. Check Craigs List or just Google "apartments in Culver City, CA", and see what appears.

I'm not sure how much you'd spend for utilities. It depends what size place you get, and how warm/cool you like to be. Culver City dosn't get very hot in the summer, so you probably wouldn't need air conditioning too often. The Gas Company is not terribly expensive, but I think Culver City is its own city, meaning it's probably not part of the Dept. of Water and Power for your electric bill.

Car insurance varies depending on what kind of car you drive, what kind of coverage you choose, etc. There are lots of companies that will offer online quotes, so you could get an idea.

$80-$85K is a "living wage" around here. It's not a great lifestyle, but you won't have to settle for living in a bad area or anything, especially because it's just you and your girlfriend. And if she's working, too, you'll both be even better off, of course. Best of luck to you, and I'm sorry my answers are so vague!

[copyguy]

I second SandyCo's Craigslist suggestion. You should be fine on you salary if you don't live too extravagantly. Oh, you have to check out Trader Joe's. . .great place for inexpensive unusual food items and a decent wine selection. There's one right in Culver City!

[Jay Warren]

Thanks for the responses.
Do you think that $2000 would be too much to be spending on an apartment with this wage?

[WINNIEK]

Originally Posted by Jay Warren

Thanks for the responses.
Do you think that $2000 would be too much to be spending on an apartment with this wage?

$2000 should get you a nice 1 bedroom in Culver City.I think that would be a a good price range.

[Des_Demona]

Yeah I agree with the above posters. $2,000 is a good price to stay around. I wouldn't pay more than $2500 or less than $1600. Culver City is a pretty decent place to live and it would be great to be near your job so you wouldn't have to deal with the commute.

Every place has different requirements for utilities. Sometimes landlords include them, sometimes you have to pay all or some of them. Usually you'll find that you have to pay for gas and electricity which for me comes to about $10 for gas and $75 for electricity monthly. The elecricity can be a lot less or a lot more depending on usage and the season. In the summer for my 2 bedroom condo we used the A/C in the afternoons usually and it went up to about $115 per month. In the winter we use the heater sometimes at night and it's an electric heater so our electricity is usually around $40.

My car insurance is $91 a month which is really good for a 25 year old and it's only because I live in Simi Valley rather than LA metro. Yours will be more than that almost guaranteed. Males pay more for car insurance and the rate gets lower as you get older. You can do some pretty fast calculations on insurance websites for comparison purposes and put in all your personal specifications. I've done this a lot. Out here the common insurance agents are Geiko, Famers, Mercury, Progressive (expensive but they give you comparison rates on their site), State Farm. Just go to their websites and many of them will give you an estimate rate.

Just other things to keep in mind that if you want Cable television and Internet access at home it's usually about $100 ($50 for each) unless you can swing a deal with the company, gas money is a factor but you're used to high gas rates in the UK so that won't be a big shock for you. I put aside about $300 per month for gas but that's because I commute everyday. LA does not have great public transportation so make sure you have a car to get around. My food expenses are probably higher than other places since there is such a huge selection of food in LA and it's usually expensive. You should probably make sure you have about $400 a month for food for you and your gf.

All in all, I rent for $1600 a month and have all of those expenses and my combined income with my partner is just over 60k so you should be fine. I'm being priced out and moving to a place where I can afford to buy a home. If I were you, I'd rent as cheaply as possible but start saving that money every month. You're gonna need it. Good luck!

[Jay Warren]

Many thanks for that fantastic response! trader Joe's looks great!
This place looks amazing, any advise? www.theseacastle.com seems that a 1 bed is roughly $2K. Is the commute from Santa Monica to Culver pretty short? Seems very close...

[DontH8Me]

Jay - one of the trickiest things you'll find about LA is that things aren't always what they seem - Shutters on the Beach (which is by that "Sea Castle") is a top-notch establishment (I have frequented on more than one occasion), as are most of the beachfront properties in Santa Monica. What they won't tell you on their gorgeous website is that this city is a haven for the homeless, and business owners are at odds on a daily basis with vagrants/panhandlers that saturate the area. Overnight, they will seek refuge in stairwells and doorways, and I will leave it up to your imagination what sort of deposits they are famous for leaving there after proprietors finally shoo them off.

During the day, they wander the coastal streets including the Promenade looking for handouts - now mind you I would not object so much if they were not as violent as they are. A small, 100-lb Russian girl who was staying with a friend was punched in the face by a male vagrant when she told him she didn't have any money for him.

If you are geared towards big complex buildings, please do some research on apartmentratings.com before you commit to anything.

Also, Culver City is a prime example of the 'LA community' phenomenon - in the same ZIP code, you have gated communities with affluent, educated residents juxtaposed with crime-ridden gang hovels. Be very careful in selecting your residence, and I would recommend you ask one of your LA-based friends to screen places for you before you commit to anything.

Good luck and welcome to LA!

[Jay Warren]

What do you think my take home wage would be approx on $87K please guys? Are there any good online calculators for this?
Thx
J

[UB50]

Originally Posted by Jay Warren

What do you think my take home wage would be approx on $87K please guys? Are there any good online calculators for this?
Thx
J

I don't know if you have to pay taxes to the UK or not, but for a California citizen, you can lop roughly 1/3 to 1/2 off the top. That covers state, local, federal taxes, etc.