Young Couple Looking to move to LA from Michigan (Los Angeles: low income, apartment) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

helpmeout82 · 02-04-2009, 08:20 AM

So...My boyfriend and I are professional artists thinking about moving to LA from the Detroit area. We're not originally from Michigan and moved here about a year ago from Florida. He's a theme park designer/scenic painter/freelance illustrator, and I'm a Animation/CG modeling artist. We moved here because I got a job at GM modeling car interiors, but he can't find any work as an artist not involved in the car industry. Aside from that, we're not too excited about the crappy weather, and have no family/support system here which also kind of sucks. We're looking at just picking up and moving to the LA area because there seems to be a lot of work out there for both of us and I have a lot of close friends living out there. I've got a financially secure job right now, would it be too much of a risk to leave my job and pack up and move on a whim. How quickly could we find work in the area? We only have about a couple thousand dollars saved up, but are feeling kind of desperate to get out of here. Could use any advise I could get. Also, between the two of us, we've got about $1600 a month in student loan payments we have to worry about. Does anyone think that paying this, and the insane LA rent costs, and everything else be do-able? THANKS

premier soccer fan · 02-04-2009, 08:29 AM

Hate to rain on your parade, but.......Los Angeles has a 10% unemployment rate currently with more layoffs looming on the horizon. Those who have a job are thankful every day to have it. There aren't many "help wanted" signs up. The State of California is in financial straits. Taxpayers who over-paid their taxes will not be getting a refund, we'll be getting an IOU. Hollywood has been hit very hard over the last few years and with another strike looming (SAG actors), it appears it won't be getting better anytime soon. Gas prices are much higher here than in MI. Currently, we're at about $2.27 and it's been inching up every day again. At their highest a few months ago, I was paying about $4.80 per gallon. Rent is high! Electricity, natural gas, television, etc are higher than what you probably pay now.

So, to answer your question....YES, IT WOULD BE CRAZY to leave a job and move somewhere on a whim with no money saved up and no job when you get here. Advice? Save your money. Cut your costs as much as possible and save for the future. It's gonna get worse before it gets better. Have your boyfriend get more schooling or go back to Florida if he can get a job there. He can always re-join you at another time.

Best of luck.

Stay safe.

timelesschild · 02-04-2009, 08:58 AM

Wait until you have $10,000 saved. Or have your boyfriend start looking for jobs in LA now. Maybe he can land something - you never know. Don't move here without a job in hand, unless you are prepared to bankroll yourself for 6 months. Craigslist should give you a good idea of what that will look like, rent-wise. Those are some hefty student loans you are paying.

Our experience (we just moved here in the last year from Kentucky - which might, or might not, be similar to Michigan) is that electricity and water bills are way higher. Natural gas is way lower. Television, car insurance, phones and all the rest are exactly the same as they were back east.

Gasoline is higher, of course. Chinese food and fresh produce are cheaper. Rent is very high, although rents are starting to see a downturn.

Good luck!

helpmeout82 · 02-04-2009, 09:04 AM

[quote=premier soccer fan;7315956]Hate to rain on your parade, but.......Los Angeles has a 10% unemployment rate currently with more layoffs looming on the horizon. Those who have a job are thankful every day to have it. There aren't many "help wanted" signs up. The State of California is in financial straits. Taxpayers who over-paid their taxes will not be getting a refund, we'll be getting an IOU. Hollywood has been hit very hard over the last few years and with another strike looming (SAG actors), it appears it won't be getting better anytime soon. Gas prices are much higher here than in MI. Currently, we're at about $2.27 and it's been inching up every day again. At their highest a few months ago, I was paying about $4.80 per gallon. Rent is high! Electricity, natural gas, television, etc are higher than what you probably pay now.]

Thanks for your honesty. It's refreshing to get an honest answer. We'll make sure to save up more and keep looking for work. We are willing to live poorly as long as we're happy and have enough work to pay the bills. We both became artists knowing that finding work isn't always easy and are more focused on being together and doing what we love. With that said, I know all too well from experience about how horrible it would be to not be able to survive on at least a low income. So, I have a quick question: Would you say that even if one of us did get a decent job in LA before we moved over there, that's it's not worth it to begin with because LA is almost impossibly expensive?

timelesschild · 02-04-2009, 09:16 AM

It depends on what you mean by a decent job. The absolute LEAST you would pay in rent for a studio apartment would be $800. It is much more realistic to budget for $1100 for a studio. Try to make sure that the $1100 includes water, parking, and as many other bills as possible. Then work out your income needs from there.

$1100 - rent
$1600 - student loans

plus your other bills - gas, electric, phone, water, car insurance, renter's insurance, car payment, whatever you have. You can certainly live on one income. Our family of 5 is living on one income, so I know 2 young people can do it. Just make sure it's a realistic salary level for what you will be paying.

helpmeout82 · 02-04-2009, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timelesschild

It depends on what you mean by a decent job. The absolute LEAST you would pay in rent for a studio apartment would be $800. It is much more realistic to budget for $1100 for a studio. Try to make sure that the $1100 includes water, parking, and as many other bills as possible. Then work out your income needs from there.

$1100 - rent
$1600 - student loans

plus your other bills - gas, electric, phone, water, car insurance, renter's insurance, car payment, whatever you have. You can certainly live on one income. Our family of 5 is living on one income, so I know 2 young people can do it. Just make sure it's a realistic salary level for what you will be paying.

Thank you so much.