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Old 02-06-2016, 12:10 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,146 times
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I have a solid opportunity to move to Santa Cruz and manage an office for an aviation entrepreneur. $75,000/yr with great benefit package and able to invest. I'm single and spend free time free outdoors. Can I afford cost of living in that area?
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Old 02-06-2016, 12:19 AM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,176 posts, read 16,571,310 times
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I am sure there are folks who do it for less. If you are willing to live a bit lean initially and there is growth opportunity, then why not? The area is beautiful with plenty of year round outdoor activities available.

What it really boils down to is your expectation for housing. If all you need is a simple apartment and aren't as particular about being right on the beach, then it should be easier. Take a look at Craigslist to get an idea of prices.

Derek
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Old 02-06-2016, 11:17 AM
 
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
1,722 posts, read 1,723,279 times
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^^^^^^^
Absolutely, no problem and what MtSurfer said.
I'm one of the ones who do it for less. Of course, i live in a 40 year old, small trailer in the redwoods. But i do it for way, way less.
And you may just be able to find a sweet place on / near the ocean.
And as was stated, you will pay more for less. Just lower your expectations for housing a bit and be patient and tolerant.
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Old 02-10-2016, 03:02 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,063 posts, read 106,896,974 times
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It depends on what your space requirements are, but if you're ok with a 1-br., you'll do fine. I don't know if you want to be in the city of SC itself, or if you'd be ok with locating in one of the towns in the mountains where rents can be a lower, but either way, it's doable on that salary. You won't find much on Craigslist right now, because the listings are always sparse in the winter, but you can at least get an idea, and compare rents between in-city and the small mountain towns.
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Old 02-11-2016, 08:01 AM
 
958 posts, read 1,138,259 times
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Youll be fine as long as buying a house is not part of your future plans in the area. Just keep in mind that a 1br studio rents for more than a 3br house with land in oklahoma.
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Old 02-11-2016, 10:50 AM
 
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
1,722 posts, read 1,723,279 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boulder2015 View Post
Youll be fine as long as buying a house is not part of your future plans in the area. Just keep in mind that a 1br studio rents for more than a 3br house with land in oklahoma.
If you have the money to buy a house in S.C. county better that than paying for an over priced rental and feeding the greedy (generally speaking) landlords who are often high end slum lords who are sitting on $ million + properties and rent dumps out to schmucks who help them maintain their land rich cash poor b.s. "life-style" but who get very little in return.
Oh the land-lord / rental horror stories i could tell. One lady woman said to me, when i was considering renting her place and asked her about the lack of screens on the window, "oh, well ... i was going to put screens on the windows but there were just so many of them".
And when i asked her about a huge space between the double doors (from top to bottom) she said, "well, that's country living".
Meanwhile she and her husband lived above on the top of a hill (of course) overlooking their vineyards and the bay. Typical.
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Old 02-11-2016, 10:32 PM
 
Location: Redding, CA
49 posts, read 82,503 times
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My brother-in-law does it on $35,000/year so it's certainly doable. That should be enough to live comfortably for you I would think. It would not be enough for me to raise my family there comfortably though.
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Old 02-17-2016, 04:03 PM
 
22 posts, read 30,873 times
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As one of the many who have watched the cost of living skyrocket in Santa Cruz, I think you can do it as a single person as long as you rent, but your housing costs are likely to be much, much more funky or sketchy or remote or small (or all of the above) than you might expect. Look at the "housing wanted" on craigslist to see what a challenge it can be to find housing. Do not acquire any pets, or you will have a much tougher time. If you don't need to be in Santa Cruz proper, and are willing to look in the mountains or South County, you'll have more "affordable" options. Good luck!
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Old 02-17-2016, 07:01 PM
 
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
1,722 posts, read 1,723,279 times
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^^^^^^^^

And realize .... a "cabin" is never a cabin and a "cottage" is never a cottage.
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Old 02-17-2016, 10:15 PM
 
964 posts, read 987,297 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blueskywalker View Post
^^^^^^^^

And realize .... a "cabin" is never a cabin and a "cottage" is never a cottage.
I don't know what this is supposed to mean. There definitely are cabins in the mountain towns, including rustic, 1-br. jobs, and there are cottages even in SC proper, that are left over from the days when parts of SC were full of orchards and small farms. I've rented one. But enough people have posted about more affordable options being outside of town, up in the hills, that I don't need to go into that. It depends on how flexible you are with location, OP. There's bus service connecting those little towns with downtown SC, if that helps.
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