Job At UCLA On $45,000 (Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga: apartment complexes, condo, townhome)

[Paddington]

There may be a job opportunity in my future at the UCLA-VA Health Center. I would have to live within a half hour drive since I'll be taking home call. I really like Southern California. My uncle lives in Rancho Cucamonga.

I will be earning about $45,000.

What kind of lifestyle does this buy in LA?

I currently pay about $550 for a new 1 bedroom apartment in Columbus. I would prefer not to have a roommate, and I have a strong preference for new/refurbished places since I've got terrible allergies to dust mites. I want a 1 or 2 bedroom place, but I suppose a studio might be acceptable. Also I would need safe parking for my car. Is this affordable in this part of LA?

EDIT: There's another position at UC-Irvine that I'm also considering, same stuff as above.

[artichoke63]

You need to write yourself up a budget and figure out how you want to live and what compromises you can make. A new one bedroom around UCLA is probably around $1500 a month.

A

[lalagonegaga]

Yes, a budget is a MUST. One more thing- Westwood, the area around UCLA, has a huuuuuge rat problem. Just fyi.

Oh, and you'd probably get more bang for your buck in Irvine. L.A. proper (where UCLA is located), and the city in general, doesn't have complexes like I imagine you're living in in Columbus (we tend to have buildings, not townhome-style apartment complexes). In Westwood, the vast majority of apartments were built in th 60's and 70's and have a very condo-style arrangement. Sort of modern-ish boxes with little charm. The newer buildings are variations on the boxes-with-no-charm thing. In Irvine, you'll likely find a lot more new construction with some of the ammenities you might find useful (parking being one).