How do poor people..."survive "from LA's high mortgage payments/rents..? (Los Angeles: middle-class, rent)

[harrycrat]

What kind of apt & where ,may I ask..?

[LASam]

Originally Posted by harrymiafl

What kind of apt & where ,may I ask..?

1 bedroom upper floor apartment, renovated 1-year before I moved in. Located in Sawtelle area of West LA.

[harrycrat]

So,a typical 3 bed,1,5 bath,1 car parking there would cost...$3K/month...

Almost 1 salary would go to rent...

That's the...anomaly...

[LASam]

I'm not following you.

[harrycrat]

I am saying that if the rent of a good apt in LA costs...36K/year,that's an abnormal economy & a very expensive lifestyle...

[SunnyDay70]

Well, remember that there is a disparity between renting costs and mortagage/ownership costs...that has always been the case.

You can find a 3 Bedroom for less than $3,000 (to rent) in good to decent areas. But take your example of 3k per month.... a couple or TWO roomates would need to gross about $50k each and they'd still have one bedroom for use for guests or as a den.

Take a look at this 2 bedroom apartment in Westwood....a very nice high-rise with good views and walking distance to Westwood Village and UCLA.

Beautiful, light & airy, views! Doorman-valet/gym (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/apa/1739358299.html - broken link)

The monthly rent is $2,300 for two bedrooms. So let's assume it's shared by TWO people (one bedroom each)....that would mean each person would need an annual income of approx. $41,500 to afford it.

Again, for college grads that is not too difficult. For others they would need to add roomates or find a cheaper neighborhood.

[harrycrat]

Now I see why Amers marry young...

Of course.when comparing LA to NYC.LA looks humane...

[JohnG72]

Not everyone lives in nicer areas. The people posting here skew heavily towards people who live in nicer areas.

There are 2 bed/ba houses in not horrible, but not great areas, available for $1500 a month or so. So a married couple plus kids and throw in a relative sleeping on the couch in the living room and thats 3 people to make up that money. This would be in a neighborhood like Van Nuys, Reseda, Arleta, etc.

The places in bad neighborhoods...east LA, Compton, etc are even less expensive. And then theres also Section 8.

For instance(and Bellflower isn't even a bad neighborhood):

Back House on Jefferson in Bellflower (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/apa/1739519094.html - broken link)

And this:

EAGLE ROCK HOUSE GREAT LOCATION NEAR OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/apa/1739391758.html - broken link)

And:

2 Bed 1 Bath newly remodeled House Bresee Ave (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/apa/1739356792.html - broken link)

[harrycrat]

Thanks for the links...

I get it...

I guess something similar happens in the even more expensive NYC...

People live in the suburbs & commute 1h to work "downtown"...

[uptown_urbanist]

LA is very different than NY. There aren't "suburbs" and "city" in quite the same way; there are job centers around the region, and although there is downtown, it's not the same as Manhattan.

Many people don't own, they rent. And yes, it is expensive, but like others have said, not everyone lives in fancy places or upscale neighborhoods. And I'm not sure what a "typical" apartment would be; in general in LA I think people from less expensive areas come in expecting that they're going to be able to afford to buy or rent a huge place in a nice neighborhood because that's what they could do in wherever they came from. Some can, of course, but in general in LA many people don't live as large; houses are often smaller, lots are smaller, people are less likely to have a lot of extra space that they don't use. I'm always surprised at the single posters with no roommates who want a 2 BR/2BA place but don't have anywhere near the budget for it. And I'd assume that more kids in LA share bedrooms than do in cities with bigger, cheaper housing.

It's not too expensive to live in LA if you're willing to rent and make a middle class salary. It gets tougher when you have kids and want more space or a good school district, but it's still within the realm of reason for many middle class people. The people who have the toughest time are those who aren't making much money, and LA does have a lot of poverty. Some people are lucky and bought their homes when they were affordable, some might have rent control, others live in crowded apartments or houses or take on very long commutes.