Is LA for me?Philly burbs transplants also chime in (Irvine: budget, condos)

[zionrug]

Hi all,

One of my vendors tossed out an offer to come head up a new division they are starting. Base would be 75K plus 5k-10k a month in commission.I would be working on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly hills.I'm 27, married, 2 kids, stay at home wife. We currently reside in the Philadelphia suburbs.


Is this doable? Any recommendations on where to live that are close to work, kid-friendly, affordable, and fun?Any former Philly burbs people wanting to put in their 2 cents?

I plan on renting for a while.

[BRinSM]

Do you plan on owning a home or renting?

[Sarah Marie]

THough I am not from Philly, my parents live in State College and I visit frequently..
Being a mother of a toddler, all I can say is LA is tough to raise a kid unless your middle-upper class. Houses are really expensive and school tuition is CRAZY!!
We are planning on moving to a smaller city in nor cal as the cost of living here is to much. If it were me, I would stay in the Philly burbs and continue to raise my kids at home instead of a babysitter etc... LA is a awesome place to visit w a kid, but another story to live.....in my opinion.

[zionrug]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

Do you plan on owning a home or renting?

Renting. I added that to my original post.

[BRinSM]

I think you could make it work here, especially since it looks like you should be making well over $100k/year. You could rent a nice little house in a place like Culver City while you're getting accustomed to the area. You're wife should also be able stay at home as long as you can afford around $2500 rent with your other expenses. You could also rent in the Valley, which is a longer commute to Beverly Hills, but you'll get more for your money out there. Since you're only 27, I'd imagine your kids are pretty young, but schools may also be an issue. LAUSD is notoriously bad. If your kids are school aged, this will certainly have an effect on where you decide to live if you do move out here.

[hsw]

$200K/yr single guy....not many more enjoyable places in world to live/work than LA's Westside...

$200K/yr married w/kids....LA entails dismal std of living vs e.g. eastern Cherry Hill, NJ...closest version in LA region of CH is Irvine....which is still ?30-50% more expensive than CH...

[CESpeed]

Living in LA will be tough on a family of four on your salary. This is assuming you do thngs like save for college, send the kids to camp, go on vacation, etc. If you don't do these things and live well with a tight budget you might make it work. BR's suggestion of Culver City wil work well for you. It's a short commute and CC is family friendly. I believe Santa Monica has better schools but you might be able to make it work. You'll have a slightly longer commute. But you might feel pressured to make that bonus if you want to be able to relax financially.

[prophetx2]

I'm from bucks county, pa where the median income is MUCH higher than LA and had no issues living in PA where as out here the housing market is just crazy (essentially 3bdroom houses out in bucks county are MORE affordable than single bedroom condos in nicer parts of LA). Here with 4 kids on your income it can be hard especially if you want a relatively short drive (LA traffic is notoriously famous) and in a decent school.

Rent will easily be over 2k for a decent sized place in a good neighborhood for your family just to put it in perspective.. If your looking for anything like 3 bedrooms and up I'd say your getting closer to 3k and that's just rent.

As far as for your kids, the lifestyle here is definitely more healthy. Kids out here seem more active compared to philadelphia suburbs (i was raised in Warminster btw). Of course I'm new here myself and I'm in my late 20's. Career wise the job market is also better if that is important to you..

[timelesschild]

There are good public schools, especially on the west side. Check out GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Community for Parents, as well as California School Performance Maps.

We are living on essentially the same salary, family size, etc. as you are considering. It is tight but to us it is worth it. The weather allows for such a healthy lifestyle - outdoor activities pretty much year 'round.