Moving to Palm Desert Area (Indio, La Quinta: apartments, rentals, casinos)

[California Hopeful]

I am in need of information on apartment availability in the Palm Desert area. Would appreciate any information about cost of living. Thanks

[GoodbyeCalifornia]

Hello California Hopeful:

There are a fair number of apartments available for rent in Palm Desert. However, it's not going to be cheap. Rents average between $800 to $1500 or even higher. If you are seeking rentals outside of Palm Desert itself, I would recommend avoiding just about anything east of there. Some parts of La Quinta are OK, but Indio, Coachella, and beyond are fairly high in crime.

You don't say where you are moving from but depending, the cost of living in Palm Desert is quite high. Right now a gallon of gas is averaging close to $2.50. If you move into an area that electricity is provided by Edison rather than Imperial Irrigation, you can expect at the very least $100 or more per month bills during the hotter summer months.

And unless you are moving there to retire or already have a good paying job lined up, be prepared for very low wages. There are many business owners in the area that think that $7.00 an hour is a great wage for just about any type of job. For the most part, the highest paying businesses in the whole desert area are the casinos. So if that appeals to you, you can always try there.

To bottomline it for you...I lived in the desert for 8, almost 9 years. There were aspects of it that I liked and some that I didn't. If I had it to do over again would I have moved out there? Simply put, no. Now perhaps you don't have a choice. But if you do, I would seriously rethink your plan.