Salary needed for LA (Los Angeles, Empire: apartment, rentals, condo)

[EugeneBKLYN]

Whats the income needed to live comfortably in a working-class type of neighborhood in LA? (Nowhere trendy/hip)

[MorningCalm]

aren't we all working class ..where about are you going to be working and do you need to be close to home? Alot of people live in the Inland Empire but it is getting expensive out there too.

[Venezolanita]

Can anyone ask this question with less irony please? that would help me also to me
I'll appreciate it

[fastfilm]

This is actually so relative a question that it's going to be difficult for anyone to answer to your complete satisfaction. Do you require any entertainment, for instance? Public transportation (hah! in L.A., it's for limited hours.) Amenities for kids? Signage in English?

So my subjective answer would be: I do miserably here on under 40K a year. This puts me in a vestigial "working class" neighborhood, with graffiti and violent gangs galore. In Los Angeles, the non-upscale areas are more likely populated by extended families of immigrants, both legal and illegal, than traditional blue collar, salt of the earth types of all possible persuasions.

[Victor912]

I think a little more info is needed to answer your question intelligently.
1. Is this for a family or single person?
2. If a family number and age of kids/adults - public vs. private schools etc. etc.
3. Will you be buying or renting? Apartment/Condo-Townhouse or single family dwelling?
4. General area of LA you are interested in? LA covers a large geographic area with an extremely diverse cost of living range.

Anyone could all give you basic answers but it really depends on answers to these questions. AND these are just a few I could think of while reading your post.

Depending on the answers could be anywhere from 60K up for a family of 4 and I think that is conservative.

[EscapeCalifornia]

It really depends on how much space you need and how many other people you're willing to share it with.

[CLQ]

Originally Posted by EugeneBKLYN

Whats the income needed to live comfortably in a working-class type of neighborhood in LA? (Nowhere trendy/hip)

I think you need to be more specific. Living comfortably is subjective. Do you want to live in a house or an apartment? Rentals and home prices vary in each city. How much free cash do you want per month after living expenses?

[DawnW]

Could you really make it on 60K a year? I wonder as I have looked at moving back.

We are a family of 5 and we would make (if both of us worked full time in our profession) $180K. I am even worried about housing with that! We would buy though.

Dawn

Originally Posted by Victor912

I think a little more info is needed to answer your question intelligently.
1. Is this for a family or single person?
2. If a family number and age of kids/adults - public vs. private schools etc. etc.
3. Will you be buying or renting? Apartment/Condo-Townhouse or single family dwelling?
4. General area of LA you are interested in? LA covers a large geographic area with an extremely diverse cost of living range.

Anyone could all give you basic answers but it really depends on answers to these questions. AND these are just a few I could think of while reading your post.

Depending on the answers could be anywhere from 60K up for a family of 4 and I think that is conservative.

[sponger42]

Originally Posted by DawnW

Could you really make it on 60K a year? I wonder as I have looked at moving back.

We are a family of 5 and we would make (if both of us worked full time in our profession) $180K. I am even worried about housing with that! We would buy though.

Dawn

That's probably okay for a family of 5, but do you and your wife really want to live dependant on both of you being employed full-time?

I wouldn't try to raise a family in LA on any salary.

If you do decide to come out, I'd rent for the next 3 years until the housing market stabilizes. You'll probably save yourself a bundle instead of losing 50-150K+ on a house if you bought now or during the next year or so.

[DawnW]

We aren't leaving here for at least 2-3 more years anyway. We will see where we are at that point.

We moved out of LA 2 years ago and I am having a hard time with the thought of making HALF my salary here. The COL is NOT half, it is more like 33% less here than LA, so it makes it hard.

Dawn

Originally Posted by sponger42

That's probably okay for a family of 5, but do you and your wife really want to live dependant on both of you being employed full-time?

I wouldn't try to raise a family in LA on any salary.

If you do decide to come out, I'd rent for the next 3 years until the housing market stabilizes. You'll probably save yourself a bundle instead of losing 50-150K+ on a house if you bought now or during the next year or so.