Is a job in Malibu (Pepperdine) worth it? (Santa Monica, Woodland: apartments, rent)

[uscue]

I am currently mulling a decision to go for a job at Pepperdine. Single, 22yr male, it's not a big money position, more like entry-level pay (<35k). Being that there's only my one income and not an added partner, would it be worth it? Reading the boards, obviously Malibu wouldn't be a good fit socially or financially for me. What are some areas that would be good to look at. Commuting isn't the biggest problem; I live in South Carolina and am already used to my 30 minute commute to work so anything close to 45 minutes on a good day wouldn't bother me too much. Have a few friends that live in the Valley (Northridge) and WeHo.

Thanks

[CESpeed]

You would have to live in Santa Monica in order to keep your commute to under thirty minutes. Woodland Hills might be a possibilty if you are near Topanga Canyon. If you are in a buying position and want to avoid a longer commute, there's a very nice mobile home park on PCH where you might consider buying. Good Luck. You can do a lot worse than Pepperdine.

[BRinSM]

you could also live in calabasas or any of the conejo valley cities (thousand oaks, agoura, westlake...) and keep your commute around 30 minutes.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I think you guys are missing the fact that he's making under $35k annually so living in Calabasas or Woodland Hills really is not an option unless he finds someone with a converted garage who is renting it out.

OP, will Pepperdine offer you relocation assistance? Will this position also allow you the chance to study at the school? Have you tried networking with the school to find housing opportunities? Unless the school is offering you a chance to study and giving you housing, I would suggest that you NOT take the position. You will be living at near poverty level. Do you have your own car? Is is reliable enough to commute 20-30 miles per day?

I would have to say that the job is NOT worth it to move.

[Charles]

One bedroom apartments (Archstone) at Lost Hills and Las Virgenes/Medea Creek are about $1500 for 655 sqft. That is about eight miles north of Pepperdine. That might be the closest (outside of Malibu). Beautiful neighborhood. Probably not the best singles region though. With gas at $5/gal, Santa Monica would be costly.

LA Apartment Search at ArchstoneApartments.com

[perek]

You will need a roomate to survive. I make about twice that and I have 2 roomates. I honestly don't know how you would survive on such a salary, with rent for a 1 br at about 1300 on average you would be spending about half your take home on housing alone, leaving almost no wiggle room for emergencies. It is still worth the experiance though, I love this area and if you are ready to downsize your lifestyle considerably you can have a great experiance out here.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Have you actually been offered the position? Or are you just interested in applying for the position? The reason I ask is that actually I dont believe you have a chance at the position for the following reasons:

1. Pepperdine would not offer a $35k job to someone from out of state because there are already so many local applicants to consider. Unless it is for some highly specialized position that no one in California can do, which I doubt because it would not be at $35k annually.

2. Most universities would offer relocation assistance to anyone hired from out of area. Again, at $35k it would not make it financially viable for them to hire you and relocate you to LA especially with the cost of housing here.

3. Personally, I usually take new posters' posts with a grain of salt if its their very first post and they dont respond within 24hrs to their own post.

[katenik]

how far are you accustomed to traveling during that half hour commute? you can't compare south carolina to LA. in some parts of town at certain times of the day, you'd be lucky to be able to drive from your front door to the freeway in 30 minutes.

gas is likely to cost $5/gallon here by the end of the month. with an income of $35K, i really don't think you'll be able to afford to live anywhere within an hour of pepperdine. (and i mean an hour in modest traffic.) i wouldn't do it, but i'm not 22 and excited to work in malibu. (pepperdine is a gorgeous campus, though.)

[uscue]

Thanks, that's all good info. I figured I'd need roommates and that would be a matter of if my buddy that's currently in WeHo still has an extra room. Yeah, the main thing is salary over commute.

As far as the position, it's not faculty, it's a position in the athletics department. It's not a glorified position (hence the salary) and this area of athletics departments doesn't (historically) make a preference based on location, although it is possible they could go a different route.

Relocation is a negative. I probably should have specified that it wasn't a faculty type position but a specialty position in athletics.

DaBeez, I was hoping to get most of that information that people have posted before posting again. Thanks again everyone, I have a better idea about things out there.