Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Very similar to the North of you in my part of the SF Bay Area... simply do not use the furnace...
and never have lived in a home with A/C and only one home has it in my neighborhood.
These realities (and their inverse with extra high bills) are why the "how much to budget" threads
will so often advise including the utility bills in total housing costs.
Whatever the various categories cost focus on the total of the MONTHLY bills vs WEEKLY net.
---
The peak months here run up to about $90 (heat or AC season).
Less the constant demand (WH, stove, lights, etc) and taxes/fees that nets out to about
a $60 bump for the 8 high(er) demand months ...or apprx $40/mo. on average
How many thousands of dollars of mortgage balance will $40/month pay for?
Bankrate puts it at about $8000 (maybe $9000) depending on loan rate.
People have to do the best with what they can earn
Thats how it is no matter where you live or what you do for a living
Luxuries are extra and unnecessary.
If you cant live with what you make start finding ways to earn more or Start managing your money more wisely
I keep saying the same thing. I have heard from some though that the cost of rent has far exceeded the ability for them to make more money. I hear that and remember the time I worked a full time and two part time jobs to make things work. I don't have to do that anymore but I remember doing it.
I keep saying the same thing. I have heard from some though that the cost of rent has far exceeded the ability for them to make more money. I hear that and remember the time I worked a full time and two part time jobs to make things work. I don't have to do that anymore but I remember doing it.
Depends where you are renting and how agressively you look.
I have never done that and don't intend to.
If you head towards more East in LA there are some reasonable Studios and apartments where you can pay a reasonable rent althou its not anything fancy at all and the areas may be undesirable but its safe enough.
I rent a studio its much cheaper and since its just me ( and my girlfriend who comes over).
Depends where you are renting and how agressively you look.
I have never done that and don't intend to.
If you head towards more East in LA there are some reasonable Studios and apartments where you can pay a reasonable rent althou its not anything fancy at all and the areas may be undesirable but its safe enough.
I rent a studio its much cheaper and since its just me ( and my girlfriend who comes over).
For me I have always lived near where I work. I have been at the same Hospital for almost 20 years and my home is just about 8 miles door to door. Takes me 15 minutes to get to work, from the time I walk out the door till the time I have parked in the parking structure at work. Moving to a cheaper place when I had been renting was not something that was ever going to happen. When prices were higher, or what I thought was high, we had kids in school and that has never been something I wanted to do, move the kids to different schools. Luckily we were able to buy a home in 2010. Our former 2 bedroom apartment rents for more than our house payment, including property tax, and home owners insurance cost us today.
I am guessing that people could move to a cheaper area. The problem with inland is high heat during the summer which turns into high electric bills to cool the place down. I was amazed when I heard on the radio a game that one of the Indian Casinos had where if you won they would pay your electric bill for the next three months. For me that would come out to less than $150 for the entire three month period, and that is for a 4 bedroom house. We don't have air conditioning because we don't need it.
Your single, or at least not married and I take it no kids, so for you, chances are you can move to a cheaper area. Still, myself I value my time. To have to spend anything over 20 minutes on the road would suck the life out of me. In the past two weeks we have been down to USC on a Monday morning, Down to Marina Del Ray on a Friday morning, Down to Long Beach on a Saturday Morning, over to LAX on a Sunday morning and Monday Night. Driving that far, especially during the day time when the roads were packed with cars, is insane. Cars were meant to go faster than 20MPH. If I want to drive 20MPH I will stay home and drive around the neighborhood. On the 101, or the 405, or the 110 I want to go faster. Kind of loved when we took our son to LAX early Sunday morning. NO traffic. Loved it.
I like driving... I don't like traffic or wasted time...
Simply couldn't do the long commute of my co-workers... and after a time they can't either... most lived nearby at one time as I do... the siren call of a new home in the valley was too hard to resist.
Buyer's remorse has taken a toll on most.
Typically... a 1950 two bedroom home 10 minutes from work is sold for a 4 or 5 bedroom new home 1 hour from work... on a good day... 2 hours on a bad day or time.
Thing is these are people with kids that long ago have left the nest... so one or two people going from 1100 square feet to 2800 square feet... and needing to upgrade cars and pay for gas.
Depends on what model/year, whether they leased or financed (or paid cash in full), credit score, etc. I looked at the Scion iM during my last car-shopping experience, and could have leased one for like $125/mo - financing would have been a little more, but still not a very expensive car. Average sale price for that model is around $18K.
As for the rest of your post, I'll have to take your word for it! I don't know much about the subject, honestly, but don't believe THAT many are working the system... some, of course, but not as many as some folks seem to think.
I like driving... I don't like traffic or wasted time...
Simply couldn't do the long commute of my co-workers... and after a time they can't either... most lived nearby at one time as I do... the siren call of a new home in the valley was too hard to resist.
Buyer's remorse has taken a toll on most.
There was just a discussion on another thread about this, where a woman had to wake up at 2:30am to start her daily (public transit) commute from STOCKTON to SAN FRANCISCO. All this because she wanted to buy a house! Call me crazy, but I'd rather live in a studio apt or even shared housing, and use those extra hours to live life... I mean, how can she even enjoy her new home, when she's either at work or commuting? Even her days off probably aren't that enjoyable, since she's catching up on sleep and errands/housework. It's not like Stockton is such a great place, either. I lived there - it sucks.
I live 4 or 8 miles from work (two locations), which takes between 10-15 minutes each way. And since I work an odd schedule, traffic is rare in either direction. It's really nice being so close, but sometimes I miss having enough time to hear the Howard Stern shows... only advantage to my formerly long commutes, lol.
Several bought new in Tracy or Mountain House with commutes to Oakland... it is bad both ways... they owned homes in San Leandro.
They also do not enjoy their homes other than having it... spend a lot of hours on the road and expense.
Buying in Oakland when I did was how I afforded the SF Bay Area... thing is 20 years of appreciation vanished in when the market crashed... prices have gone up about 250% since 2012 in my East Oakland neighborhood.
There was just a discussion on another thread about this, where a woman had to wake up at 2:30am to start her daily (public transit) commute from STOCKTON to SAN FRANCISCO. All this because she wanted to buy a house! Call me crazy, but I'd rather live in a studio apt or even shared housing, and use those extra hours to live life... I mean, how can she even enjoy her new home, when she's either at work or commuting? Even her days off probably aren't that enjoyable, since she's catching up on sleep and errands/housework. It's not like Stockton is such a great place, either. I lived there - it sucks.
I live 4 or 8 miles from work (two locations), which takes between 10-15 minutes each way. And since I work an odd schedule, traffic is rare in either direction. It's really nice being so close, but sometimes I miss having enough time to hear the Howard Stern shows... only advantage to my formerly long commutes, lol.
I know the old adage about living close to work. I just can't do it. I prefer to live somewhere I like, because who knows how long the job will last.
As a result I do not even think about jobs out of my desired commuting range. I have different rules based on mode of transit. Driving is 45 minhtes with limited congestion. Each minute of traffic requires 2-3 minutes less driving. Transit is an hour but no more than 1-2 seats and a walk. I am willing to walk up to 20 minutes. I haven't yet figured out if I have different rules if the commute includes my bike.
Ideally I'd love to work near home. Have yet to see the right job. I do see jobs near where you are with my desired title, but I do not want to move or commute that far.
I don't care about soace, but neighborhood amenities and the option to not drive are really important to me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
