How do you enjoy L.A. and Southern California if you earn less than 100K per year? (Los Angeles: apartments, renters)

[munchitup]

My wife and I make over 100k combined but with student loans that figure is much lower in terms of how much we take home (probably closer to 75k for two people to live off of). We have a relatively upscale apartment in one of the more expensive parts of Central LA, and have no problem getting by and even saving a little bit of money.

[Old Tired Man]

People who are downplaying the cost of living are in denial and forgetting the nearly 10% sales tax and high state income taxes and the property taxes that are based on the inflated home prices. Plus the highest cost of gasoline in the nation and a long commute to get from the places with affordable housing to employment centers.

[drshang]

Originally Posted by PDF

Well you keep saying these type of people should get out. But what if they don't want to? Is there something wrong with that?

I am pretty sure anyone with that attitude could care less about what I have to say, and that is fine. People in this country have the freedom to do whatever they would like within the boundaries of the law.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by drshang

I am pretty sure anyone with that attitude could care less about what I have to say, and that is fine. People in this country have the freedom to do whatever they would like within the boundaries of the law.

No, I was actually genuinely curious. You just seemed so against the idea.

[drshang]

Originally Posted by PDF

No, I was actually genuinely curious. You just seemed so against the idea.

I think people should try to better themselves financially and take some risks and make some bold moves early in their career to maximize their net worth and future earning potential. If they don't want to, that's their choice. I am not going to push anyone, especially when I have no vested interest in their lives. I am not going to be like someones childhood dentist and give thinly veiled threats like, "if you don't brush your teeth your teeth will fall out."

I am a realist, and a pragmatist. I am more than happy to and will try to help people who want help, but if people don't want to be helped and don't care what I think, that's fine, I have better things to do, and no shortage of people who will listen. That's more or less my approach to this kind of thing. There are tons of people who need and want help with financial matters, and that takes far more time than I have already rather than trying to help people who would respond with attitude such as, "I don't want to."

[jm1982]

I do agree with the OP in many ways. I think there probably are a ton of people that live here but it might not be the best thing for them. They live here for reasons such as they were born here, they have family here, their friends are here. These aren't terrible reasons to stay in a place, but it's not always best to base where you live just on reasons.

Many people live in L.A...but in reality might really enjoy living in another city where they can actually buy a home for example and not struggle as much.

In regards to rent i'm sure Phoenix rents on average are much less than L.A. But I'm also sure there are parts of Phoenix and other cities where people are living in luxury apartments and spending all kinds of money where they are spending MORE than they would in L.A .

The big difference I think is in home prices. Average home prices in halfway decent parts of L.A are very high on average that it's one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the country from what I've been reading.

Also I agree with the other posters that there are actually a lot of free or cheap activities in L.A a lot more than many other cities. Also you can find relatively cheap places to eat as well.

I could see L.A being appealing to people that want to live in a "fun" place , sure you can't do a ton of fun stuff not making a bunch of money..but maybe you can have more fun than your hometown. I was born here so I never had the same mentality of people that moved from other places.

I don't see it as a great place to raise a family or if you are really serious about a career or establishing yourself. Unless that happens to be something in the entertainment business.

Price of real estate , high regulations/costs, somewhat higher wages also makes it seem like it's not the best places to start or run a business...especially if you are just getting started.

So to sum it up , I would definitely say you could live a decent lifestyle in L.A making under 100k...but definately can't enjoy the celeb lifestyle of limos, bottle service regularly ,designer clothes and living in mansions.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

Oh, another one of these threads.

LOL....like UFO sightings, it will never stop!

I am quite used to, if not slightly bored of the threads that asks the "Would you rather serve in Heaven (CA) or rules in Hell (some other state)?" question but it is obvious none of the responders got anything better to do!

[genjy]

There are plenty of career opportunities here if you have an education. Plenty.

However, sometimes the stars don't align, so just leave the state to build your career somewhere else.

I know plenty of engineering grads who couldn't find a job here, so they left for Washington and Texas for entry-level engineering jobs.

Some of them probably won't come back.

[The Illusive Man]

Making it in LA can definitely be tough but if you're willing to work hard, you can make. Since graduating last May, I haven't had any issues with landing interviewsm but it did take me a while to finally get some offers as I improved my resume and interview skills between the months of May and September. I was able to get a job right out of school but it was part-time, so I kept applying for accounting jobs. I probably had around 20 interviews during that span. Finally in September I had three offers for a trading company doing accounting/finance. Plus I plan to go for the CPA.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't survice in LA. There are plenty of job openings, you just need to find a way to stand out against the other applicants.

[taydigga]

Live is what you make it. If money is what you need to make you happy and you don't make a lot of it in LA then you won't be happy. But if you're smart and know how to spend it without spending all of it, then you'll see LA is rich with things to do. Do you think all the people who claim to love LA really have that much money? If that were true, I'm sure there would be less of a income gap out here. I've lived here since 98' didn't hit $100k until maybe 2 years ago and I had tons of fun and etc., I'd rather be here and have ample things to do with little money than to live in 90% of the rest of the U.S., with money and not have much to do.