What's "expensive" with regard to LA / Santa Monica (Cerritos: section 8, apartments)

[Petemon]

Hi All,

I'm lucky enough that my work is always on a client site so I can live where ever I like in the US. I'm seriously considering LA after finding Boston rather boring and the weather rather depressing.

I've noticed a lot of people saying LA isn't really affordable and has a high cost of living. From what i've seen rent in Santa Monica is comparable to Back Bay in Boston, is there something I'm missing?

Pete

[uptown_urbanist]

Many people don't consider Boston affordable, either. It's all relative. LA is very expensive compared to many cities, but it still looks like a good deal when compared to cities like NYC or SF. I don't know about Boston specifically, but when we moved to LA from DC (this is now outdated, admittedly) my husband got a slight cost-of-living raise, although on the ground, at least, prices seemed fairly similar, or maybe even a bit cheaper in LA.

Mostly, though, I think the cost of living comes into play for those wanting to buy homes. Renting isn't cheap, either, of course, but the cost of buying is still out of reach for many people. It gets even tougher if you have kids, since the LA area's school situation is so spotty. You pay a real premium for living somewhere with good school districts. But then again, that's true in many places.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Hi Pete,

Lucky you to be living in one of the few parts of the nation that are similarilly priced as out here. You will feel at home and have the sun to follow you around most days, and have the warm air to bask in.

About 6 years ago we were looking for a new CEO and in the end it came down to a guy from Boston and a local resident. Many others just didn't see the value in moving to an area that would offer them higher cost of living than what they were used to.

For most of the nation though they just are not used to the kind of prices that we have out here or you will find in Boston.

[Petemon]

That's what I figured, thanks everyone!

[Chichappens]

I lived in the back bay in Boston on Comm Ave..and Boston is much cheaper then LA...LA is much cheaper then NYC and SF. Not sure what your budget is or what you are looking for but, like back bay you will be able to afford living in areas like West Hollywood, Studio City with out any problem. You can find a VERY chic 1 bed pad in these areas under $2000 a month. If you have a good job and salary DO IT..

[UB50]

I looked at apartment prices in Boston in 1999 and I thought they were outrageous! LA isn't that bad, unless you move to a trendy place.

Lots of other things (like groceries and clothes) can be found at prices way below what you would pay in other cities. That kind of helps to even things out.

[JohnG72]

I can tell you why people say LA is so expensive:

1.) There is absolutely no stock of inexpensive apartments. Studios start at $850-950 a month in nicer, but not upscale, areas. There are no $500 or $600 a month one bedroom apartments in "safe" areas of LA. While overall rents are fairly in line with income, and falling appropriately due to heavy unemployment, there is no one bedrooms our there for people making $20-35K a year.

2.) House prices are WAAAAAY out of line with incomes. This issue is especially magnified in high demand areas such as Cerritos(due to schools) or on the Westside(due to traffic issues). So a family making $200K a year income is not able to live in comparably high end neighborhoods where they would reside in other cities on say $125K a year.

3.) You simply cannot get a 3 bd/2ba house with a yard in a safe area with good schools for say $1500 a month. It just doesn't exist. You can do it on $2500 a month though. But the difference there, I'd guess is a family income of $75K a year vs a family income of around $115K-125k a year.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Ofcourse their is Section 8 housing for those that can't swing the cost of rent in the more upscale parts of the city. I am sure that you can afford a place in Venice on section 8 housing. Maybe even Santa Monica.

[readymade]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

I can tell you why people say LA is so expensive:


3.) You simply cannot get a 3 bd/2ba house with a yard in a safe area with good schools for say $1500 a month. It just doesn't exist.

You can't in Boston, either.

[John23]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

I can tell you why people say LA is so expensive:

1.) There is absolutely no stock of inexpensive apartments. Studios start at $850-950 a month in nicer, but not upscale, areas. There are no $500 or $600 a month one bedroom apartments in "safe" areas of LA. While overall rents are fairly in line with income, and falling appropriately due to heavy unemployment, there is no one bedrooms our there for people making $20-35K a year.

2.) House prices are WAAAAAY out of line with incomes. This issue is especially magnified in high demand areas such as Cerritos(due to schools) or on the Westside(due to traffic issues). So a family making $200K a year income is not able to live in comparably high end neighborhoods where they would reside in other cities on say $125K a year.

3.) You simply cannot get a 3 bd/2ba house with a yard in a safe area with good schools for say $1500 a month. It just doesn't exist. You can do it on $2500 a month though. But the difference there, I'd guess is a family income of $75K a year vs a family income of around $115K-125k a year.

With 1). I would blame the deterioration of inner LA.

In the 90's, there wasnt much of a gap between west la (3-5 miles from the beach) and riverside or san bernardino. Homes in west la were $230 or $250 in the middle 90's, and riverside was maybe 1/2 that. The disparity between the two has grown sharply in the last 15 years.

2) Home prices got so bloated, it was 5 or 6 bubbles on top of each other from 02 to 06. It was a once in 75 year anomoly that will be fully reversed eventually. So cal draws a high number of those born out of state, immigrants, and young people (20-35), so it means a lot of people don't have a basis for comparing home prices to 15 or 20 years ago, since they werent in the area.

The quality of schools in LA has collapsed in the last 30 years, artificially driving up home prices in good areas.

And the infrastructure hasnt kept up at all with the areas growth. So you get these artificial traffic issues that wouldnt be issues in other cities. Really 3 major factors, home prices, schools, infrastructure that make LA look so different from most other cities.

3). Some of it is just the changes in finances people face now. With the $1,500 to $2,500 difference, how many people are paying $500-700 a month or more in student loan payments (that could be going for a home?). There wasnt such a high student loan burden in the 90's. That kept things more in line with income.

Thats part of why people are coming up short vs historical standards.