Job offer in LA (Glendale, Pasadena: apartments, crime, student loans)

[matchrsim]

Hi,

I am 26 living in Greensboro, NC and my company wants me to move to LA. Shooting from the hip, I asked for 90K for the job as it is a big promotion, plus I need to move to a city that my friends tell me is easily 2.5 times expensive. But the cost of living calculators say it is only about 1.3 times as expensive. And then some tell me I don't need that much more at all...So I am confused.

Of course, I have a million questions, but to start, I would like to know how bad IS traffic there. My take is that it is horrendous all the time. The place I would work is located in Pacoima, near the Whiteman Airport. I wanted to live close, but is Van Nuys a good place? Is Burbank? how long would the commute be? How long would the commute be from downtown LA? I also would like to be near young professionals, girls and guys, where I would have a good chance of meeting young people along with a good mix of demographic. Should I live downtown? Is Van Nuys/Burbank/N. Hollywood safe? I imagine it would be spotty, but what areas are better than others.

Also, is 90K overkill? Would I be able to live nicely, party (not go overboard of course) and overall be able to save money if I made less? how much less.

i know these are relative questions, but I am totally clueless and all advice is welcome and appreciated.

THANKS!!

-Matt

[BRinSM]

you could easily survive on 90k, you could also survive on much less. i would guess you could live fairly comfortably on $60k in a 1br apartment as long as you don't plan on driving a 7 series bmw and party on sunset every night.

as for apartments, i would focus my apartment search on the sherman oaks/studio city area. pacoima is not a nice area, neither is most of van nuys. the areas i mentioned are in the valley and nearby to pacoima, but also have a younger demographic. you could live on 'the city' side of the hill, but your commute would be much worse (probably 45 minutes vs. 20 minutes living in the valley). the valley is also generally cheaper, although SO and SC are probably the most expensive areas of the valley. they are close to the hollywood and a quick canyon drive to the rest of the city.

[uptown_urbanist]

I dont' know Pacoima at all, so will leave that to others. That said, traffic really is bad, and it would take a long time to commute from downtown. I wouldn't live downtown, unless you absolutely love it, because you might as well make life easy and live at least somewhere sort of near your work if you can. North Hollywood seems pretty popular as a cheaper alternative; I've spent some time there but don't know it well, but seems increasingly trendy, especially in the NoHo Arts District. I have friends around your age living in Burbank who love it there. Burbank has the greatest family vibe of your choices so far, but there's plenty of young, single people, too.

You can easily live (and still save) as a single person in LA for less than $90,000, assuming you don't intend on immediately buying a house (which I wouldn't recommend anyway). Exactly how much you need depends on how nice is nice, where you live, and how expensive your tastes run. Still, good luck getting the 90k!

[ZenMaster2008]

Whether or not you can survive on 90k depends:

1. Do you have debt? If so, how much?
2. Do you have a family to support?
3. Do you have a lavish lifestlye?

You don't need to answer these personal questions for us but answer them for yourself. I survived easily on 50k when I first moved here with 0 debt and no family to support. Someone with debt and a family would probably not do so well on the same salary.

[nmnita]

If the company is in Pacoima you can live in Glendale or Burbank, both are nice and the commute wouldn't be bad at all. Is there a lot of traffic in L.A? yep, but at least you wouldn't be driving in the worst for work.

$90,000 is plenty to live on, I think if the company pays you even $70,000 and it is a good opportunity I would grab it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Nita

[bhcompy]

90k is plenty to live on. my family lives on 90k, and we've got 3 people to support and a 2bd apt.

[Charles]

I was thinking Burbank and Studio City too. Also, Pasadena along the 210 wouldn't be too bad either.

[ValleyBoy85]

Pacoima is considered the Watts/South Central of the Valley. Areas of Van Nuys and Panorama City are up there in terms of crime as well. I strongly recommend you don't live within a 5 miles radius from Pacoima.

I suggest you look into Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena (Old Town area) NoHO Arts Disctrict area (If you look in North Hollywood area stay south of Burbank Blvd), Studio City, Toluca Lake, and Sherman Oaks. Hollywood has been experiencing revitalization efforts in the past few years. A friend of mine that live there really enjoys the nightlife and all of the amenities/attractions it has to offer. However, if commute time is determinant factor in your decision then you might have an issue with anything in the L.A. Basin area (south of the Hollywood Hills)

[UB50]

I'd go for Burbank -- you can get a place near the Media Center Mall and you'll be able to walk to a lot of things (movie theaters, bars, restaurants, etc.). Traffic is bad all over but you can take either Glenoaks Blvd. or San Fernando Road to the Whiteman Airport and not even get on the freeway if the freeway is jammed.

You can easily live on $70K.

(I would not live in Van Nuys or anywhere really close to Pacoima. Pacoima is not a great area to live in.)

[matchrsim]

WOW! I did not expect so many great responses so soon. Thanks Everyone!!

So based on this info, 70K is a definite shot for me. We'll see what my company comes back with. I have a car payment (250/mo) as well as some CC debt and student loans. All in all, I am about 25K in debt (~15% CC). My tastes aren't too lavish, I just want to be able to save and also go out in an effort to make friends when/if I get there. I like music, theatre and the arts to a degree, also.

As for location, I THINK am split between Glendale/Burbank/Pasadena strip and the Sherman Oaks area just south of Ventura Fwy. I agree that the commute from downtown LA would be miserable. From what I have heard from everyone I have spoken too, they agree that the area around my job is definitely not a good area to live.

Finally, for a young, urban professional who wants access to diversity, but (at least at first) wants to live around familiarity...where should I go? For example, personally, I have nothing against families, but as to be expected, most people with families tend to not want to go out. I would much rather be surrounded by young kids my age who like to socialize. (unless families in LA are way different then families elsewhere, which could be true!) To put it this way, I would rather be around people who are a little loud on the weekends, then people who would insist on peace and quiet 24/7. I also want an area that is close to necessities like a food store, CVS/Pharmacy and things like that.

Also, as an aside, is the valley comprised of that whole area north of Central LA (basically from Burbank on the NE, to Chatworth in the NW?

Thanks again, you guys have been the quickest and most helpful city-data folks ever!!