How do you enjoy L.A. and Southern California if you earn less than 100K per year? (Beverly Hills: real estate market, apartment complex) - Los Angeles - (CA) - Page 6 - City-Data Forum

PDF · 02-07-2013, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

Well, drshang is only pointing out the option of living in a cheaper place to build one's career before moving to California once they've been established and have a solid career.

I've considered the possibility as well but I've found that it won't necessarily improve my lifestyle and reject it but YMMV.

I do get what he was saying. But I was arguing the point that for people like me and you, it's just not a viable option.

Bruce81 · 02-07-2013, 03:12 PM

You just have to know where to go. The weather alone saves you money on electric and the wear and tear of your car. In Az the heat kills your battery, tires, ac, quicker than anywhere else I have ever lived. Yes you might get a nice stucco house with a pool, but it's still 115 degrees in the summer while here you can go to the beach, festivals, without worrying about melting. I have no interest of mingling with the stars or doing Hollywood stuff, and we make about 70k with my spouse and enjoy all the many different places L.A has to offer and we still have not seen it all.

Tex?Il? · 02-07-2013, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce81

You just have to know where to go. The weather alone saves you money on electric and the wear and tear of your car. In Az the heat kills your battery, tires, ac, quicker than anywhere else I have ever lived. Yes you might get a nice stucco house with a pool, but it's still 115 degrees in the summer while here you can go to the beach, festivals, without worrying about melting. I have no interest of mingling with the stars or doing Hollywood stuff, and we make about 70k with my spouse and enjoy all the many different places L.A has to offer and we still have not seen it all.

I know. People for some reason just don't understand that the climate that many just think is nothing more than pleasant, actually saves people money month-to-month, and over the long term.

Add on to that: accepting the living space size that someone in Western Europe used to (OMG: God forbid

) and one is well on their way to compensating for the higher costs in housing/rent and car costs.

jm1982 · 02-07-2013, 05:04 PM

drshang,
you mentioned that natives have a hard time because they basically don't get the hint they should move elsewhere.

I really don't feel there are a lot of natives...but maybe it's because are now moving out of L.A once they decide to have kids?

It would be interesting to get some data on that.

I am willing to bet most of the young natives are now nonwhites , many would not live in the same scene as the young transplants that come here.

It does seem to make sense to move somewhere where you can save money and maybe even make more money than in L.A ,and then move back when you have the money to afford living here.

I am a native, but almost feeling like a stranger in my own land.

I guess I see more opportunities in other parts of the country especially with cheap real estate values..but I am interested in real estate as a business.

I just saw a 40 UNIT building for $400,000 ... $10,000 a unit..and they were 3 bedroom apartments.
Even if you account for lower rents. Those units still could rent for prob $600+ a month.

It's amazing the kinds of opportunities that are available in other parts of the country.

In L.A you can barely buy a house for 400k.

If you do have some money to buy a place in L.A it seems like it makes sense to invest it out of state , then you can live anywhere you want or maybe even quit your job.

I know most people don't think this way though.

woodsart · 02-07-2013, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1982

If you do have some money to buy a place in L.A it seems like it makes sense to invest it out of state , then you can live anywhere you want or maybe even quit your job.

I know most people don't think this way though.

I think this way. I might buy a tiny house in LA, if it works out to be not much more than rent on the same type of place/same location.

But my long-term plan that is definite is to buy my larger home in Oregon where I have family members. It is gorgeous there and way more affordable. (I like the rain.) I can afford a 3 bedroom house with a barn on 2 acres there for around $200K. You can't even get a condo here for that price.

I figure I can rent it out until I get ready to retire, pay off the mortgage, and then remodel it and move. Doing this rather than buying a larger place in LA in a more fashionable neighborhood would allow me to retire 10-15 years early, if I want to.

jm1982 · 02-07-2013, 05:18 PM

woodsart, Yeah that sounds like it could be a good idea, especially if you can rent it to cover all of your expenses -mortgage,taxes,insurance etc .

I did purchase a home in the valley , but it's not really ideal for me. It does seem prices have gone up ..I bought in 2010, so I don't really regret buying...but still needs some work and I already put money into it (fixer) . I guess even breaking even after commissions,etc is not too bad . If I moved I might rent it too.

As you mentioned the reason I purchased was payment wasn't much more than renting a 1bedroom apt at the time, and I felt prices had come down enough. Right around the time I bought it there was a flipping home that sold for 50% more than I bought for. Kind of crazy...

woodsart · 02-07-2013, 07:48 PM

JM- exactly. I'm not opposed to buying a house in LA if, when I'm ready in a few more years, the interest rate is still low and the mortgage + insurance + taxes wouldn't be much more than the rent on a similar place. I'm also entertaining buying a property here with a front house/back house arrangement, since those guest houses rent for a pretty good price and you only have to deal with one tenant.

But I'm not dying to buy here. If I miss the low interest, low cost bubble, that is OK with me. I'd be "wasting" money renting but then again I would not be fixing up a house and I could move whenever I wanted to suit my needs as my income rises.

I do want to own at least one property, but I want one that I'd (1) want to retire to (not here, too expensive for retirement and not close enough to family) and (2) could pay off by the time I'm 50-55 (again, not here).

415_s2k · 02-07-2013, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

I grew up in Los Angeles and live in Phoenix now. I would never move back. I earn a decent salary but I don't understand how people can enjoy living in L.A. and Southern California unless they earn a lot of money? Everything costs more. Housing is expensive. You don't really get to partake in the said glamorous activities in the valley if you don't have money. I think a lot of people live there so they say they boast about living there but really live a very poor quality of life. I don't see how that type of lifestyle can be sustainable. It seems like a lot of people in their 20's move there to live a perceived glamorous lifestyle when they end up just waiting tables and spending all their savings on partying only to find themselves in their 30's and moving to Texas or Arizona. I think the L.A. area is wonderful and a lot of fun but only if you have money. If you don't earn a lot of money, I don't see how you can enjoy living there.

... well, when I first moved here in '02 and was basically totally flat broke, I lived like I was totally flat broke. When I had a part-time job that paid me what would have been about $10k/year, I lived like I made $10k/year. When I got a real job that paid me $30k, I lived within that... and so on and so forth.

A lot of people who move here - or, to NYC, SF, etc. - get sucked into trying to live far outside their means so that they feel closer to the dream that they have of their new city. Many people move here with an image in their mind of being a well-dressed, well-connected, BMW-driving, Hills-dwelling mover & shaker - not everyone, but certainly plenty... you'll find similar variations of people who move to any other major, iconic city with a "type."

When I moved here, my ex and I literally survived off of Shin Ramyun that we'd get a six pack of for $2.99, and we'd make it palatable with fresh green onions. As I made more money, we ate better... got new furniture... took little day trips that were further and further out as we could afford the gas or a hotel room. Many of our friends who were jobless and living off of student loans with a few bucks here or there from their families already had new computers, new clothes, new furniture, were living in newer apartment complexes (we lived in an old place in the Mexican part of Koreatown), were getting new cars. We ended up loaning people twenty bucks for food here or there, because they'd freak the hell out, go to a show, buy three shirts and a poster, and then realize that they had absolutely no cash with which to buy food for the next two weeks - we would go to a show if it was free, or was cheap, once every few weeks and try to keep a couple hundred bucks cushion for the inevitable disaster around the corner.

In a nutshell: accept what you means are, and then live within them. If you aren't happy with what that entails, then you take steps to make it better - whether that's a job, paring back what you don't need, or simply moving to an area that's more affordable.

jm1982 · 02-07-2013, 08:17 PM

Woodsart, seems to make a lot of sense . Oregon definitely is a nice state , only visited briefly but would like to go again sometime soon.

jm1982 · 02-07-2013, 08:21 PM

415, some very interesting points . If you leave beyond your means anywhere in the country you'll be in trouble...it's crazy sometimes what people spend on ..like your example of buying shirts and a posters and not having money for food.

I take it you are doing well financially these days if you're in Beverly Hills