It's just getting too expensive in Los Angeles (West Hollywood, Paradise: private school, moving)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by maxutilperusd

I'm not sure what the backlash is for. I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone to sell a home to make a profit, start renting, and buy again when prices decline.

I'm a young professional and selling my home helped me move much closer to work, shaving off 30 min of driving time going home.

Counting on another real estate crash so you can get back in doesn't sound like a good choice to me. The real estate commissions alone can really eat into any profit you make--and that doesn't even take into account the rent gouging issue.

[theraven24]

Originally Posted by AJT123

Boating is a passion of mine, as I grew up on the lake(s) here. There is NOTHING, IN THE WORLD, that I'd rather be doing than driving my boat and/or sitting out on the lake with friends, in the middle of nowhere (read: around no people), drinking, and blaring 80s music as loud as it will go on the bangin' sound system I installed. I did enjoy Abalone Cove (the most beautiful beach I've ever seen) on many occasions there, but every time I'd see a boat offshore that looked similar to mine I would get ridiculously homesick.

I'm sure surfing is fun, but I'd be like a pig on rollerskates attempting it. Boats are a hassle, I won't deny that, but I've kept mine up and it's surprisingly trouble free; I simply pay about $400 each season for normal maintenance and never have issues. But like I said, I won't deny how big of a PITA they can be. But cruising around the lake is totally worth every penny, to me. Counting down days until March when I can get her out on the water and throw that stick down.



Of course I wasn't shocked. We did our homework. We spent 5 months chewing on whether to make the move or not (and we don't regret the experience). It's common sense that housing is outrageous, and we weren't surprised at the prices. What more I'm getting at is just the fact that it gnaws at your brain that people can make such good money (like us), and still homeownership is completely out of reach. We brought in 6 figures and had to be careful spending, limit going out to eat, etc, plan ahead for airfare back home, all while trying to amass a comfortable 401k, etc. for retirement. That is craziness, and it just wasn't worth it long-term. They even offered to bump my husbands salary by 65% to entice us to stay and we still left, because even that much still wouldn't have given us the QOL we had here in TN. No amount of money would have made me not stress out every time I had to run an errand there, with the traffic and congestion, etc, so many people in your face. This is the reason I've always said if you're rich enough to afford a home and hire help for your errands, etc., LA is complete and utter paradise. For the middle and upper middle class, it's a circlejerk.

LA was a great ride and man, I have stories to tell, but we are glad we left. Our time out there wasn't going to be permanent anyway, but we did leave a few years early. We miss precisely nothing other than maybe looking at the skyline and walking around DTLA, and walking around Beverly Hills.

You made six figures and couldn't afford Los Angeles? Something isn't right about that equation, and I'm assuming it's the six figures part.

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by theraven24

You made six figures and couldn't afford Los Angeles? Something isn't right about that equation, and I'm assuming it's the six figures part.

I never said that. Can you read? I said it's crazy how NOT FAR six figures goes there. We afforded it fine, but it was just absolutely impossible to ignore how much further your money goes elsewhere. Hence the house we are about to buy, etc. etc.

[theraven24]

Originally Posted by AJT123

I never said that. Can you read? I said it's crazy how NOT FAR six figures goes there. We afforded it fine, but it was just absolutely impossible to ignore how much further your money goes elsewhere. Hence the house we are about to buy, etc. etc.

Don't ever insult my intelligence again.

You've basically said you couldn't afford it. When someone says such and such "will only get you so far," that means something is limited and won't last. One should be able to live comfortably in Los Angeles making six figures. What were you spending your money on, exactly? Six figures??? Come on. This is especially true if all of Los Angeles County is considered.

If you did your research, as you say you did, you would have never moved to Los Angeles in the first place. CLEARLY in certain parts of Los Angeles, it is more expensive than an average-Joe city. This includes rent, gas, grocery prices, etc. Does that not seem obvious? Why even move to a city like Los Angeles in the first place if you know things will cost more?

Enjoy your house in Tennessee. If you're so happy to be going back, why do you continue to come to the Los Angeles forum and insult and attack not only the city, but the Angelenos that post here? If I moved away from a city I moved to, I wouldn't bother going to its dedicated forum, especially to talk smack.

[RobPerry]

Cost of living in LA is higher than a lot of places, but not sure why a guy claiming to make a 6 figure income would have trouble getting by. Unless he's another that's living beyond his means, he should get by fine.

[Astral_Weeks]

Originally Posted by AJT123

I never said that. Can you read? I said it's crazy how NOT FAR six figures goes there. We afforded it fine, but it was just absolutely impossible to ignore how much further your money goes elsewhere. Hence the house we are about to buy, etc. etc.

Yes, I can read and you said you and your husband brought in six figures and had to be careful with your spending. You also said he was offered a 65% bump to stay in LA. Find that hard to believe but if true would have bumped your collective salary to $165,000. You definitely have issues if you couldn't make it in LA on that salary.

Originally Posted by AJT123

Of course I wasn't shocked. We did our homework. We spent 5 months chewing on whether to make the move or not (and we don't regret the experience). It's common sense that housing is outrageous, and we weren't surprised at the prices. What more I'm getting at is just the fact that it gnaws at your brain that people can make such good money (like us), and still homeownership is completely out of reach. We brought in 6 figures and had to be careful spending, limit going out to eat, etc, plan ahead for airfare back home, all while trying to amass a comfortable 401k, etc. for retirement. That is craziness, and it just wasn't worth it long-term. They even offered to bump my husbands salary by 65% to entice us to stay and we still left, because even that much still wouldn't have given us the QOL we had here in TN. No amount of money would have made me not stress out every time I had to run an errand there, with the traffic and congestion, etc, so many people in your face. This is the reason I've always said if you're rich enough to afford a home and hire help for your errands, etc., LA is complete and utter paradise. For the middle and upper middle class, it's a circlejerk.

Wow, you sound like a spoiled Hilton or Kardashian. You would only live in LA if you could afford to hire "help" to run errands for you because the traffic in LA is bad. Yikes.

[3shipguy]

Wait, is AJT the poster that said he has experienced all that LA has to offer after only living here for one year?

[SupBro]

100k is basically entry level salary for a professional dual income couple. Why would one expect to have servants and hired help with those figures?

I would say you need at least 250k a year to do a true upper middle class lifestyle in LA. Private schools, 1M+ SFR, late model import cars, that type of thing.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by AJT123

We left because we didn't have a good enough QOL for the obscene amount of $ we paid to live there at the end of the day. It just wasn't worth it. Luckily someone took over our lease so we saved some $, but our landlord said the rent on our old apt would be going up $350(!!!) once the lease was renewed. That's just bonkers.

I wonder if your QOL would have improved much if you threw more money into your housing budget, but I do understand that no amount of money will give you that lake life.

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by theraven24

Don't ever insult my intelligence again.

Whoa, easy there, killer. I simply asked if you could read because you, as well as others, clearly aren't reading and/or understanding what I'm saying, (and have said repeatedly) which is not that we couldn't afford it, but rather WE FELT AS IF WE WERE WASTING OUR MONEY FOR A QUALITY OF LIFE WHICH JUST WASN'T THAT GREAT. What part of this do you not understand?? I didn't even work in LA, by choice. Nor do I need to, as I have my own $. I don't know how you guys are spinning what I just said into "You couldn't afford it," probably just trying to twist my words, which is common for all the fanboys on here.

Originally Posted by theraven24

You've basically said you couldn't afford it.

No, I didn't. Again, I said that (please read this carefully and closely) WE FELT AS IF WE WERE WASTING OUR MONEY FOR A QUALITY OF LIFE WHICH JUST WASN'T THAT GREAT. I'd rather OWN a home like this700 Baldwin Station Ln, Knoxville, TN 37922 | Zillow and have two $50,000 cars in the garage, with a new boat docked literally 5-10 minutes away at the marina (look at the map; the lake's right there), while still having enough money to retire comfortably and spend without really thinking about it. This is the lifestyle that six figures buys you here. I'll definitely take that over a just average life in West Hollywood and throwing away money on rent for an apartment that I'll NEVER be able to own, let alone a house there (or anywhere near it). The est. mortgage on that house above is a whopping $1,007/mo (and would be less for us because we have way more than 20% saved for a down payment). Are you still not understanding why we left? Read it again. We knew it wouldn't be permanent, but we did leave a few years early. Not for money reasons but more that we just weren't happy there, and much prefer our life here. NOBODY can tell me I don't have a right to come live in LA for a few years and decide I didn't really like it.

Originally Posted by theraven24

Enjoy your house in Tennessee.

Will do. We probably won't buy for another six months or so, as we are very picky and want to pick out the perfect one. The thought of homeownership is so exciting!

Originally Posted by theraven24

If you're so happy to be going back, why do you continue to come to the Los Angeles forum and insult and attack not only the city, but the Angelenos that post here? If I moved away from a city I moved to, I wouldn't bother going to its dedicated forum, especially to talk smack.

I never talk smack. I voice my opinion. It's the people like you that live, breathe, and die CityData forums who choose to read (normal) peoples' threads and attack them if they say anything you don't agree with. I've always been very respectful on here, until others get nasty.

It's funny you even say this, because the only reason I'm back responding on here is because I saw for about the umpteenth time another member continues to bring me up, repeatedly, as if I'm some sort of example, even MONTHS after I've been long gone from LA and been silent on these forums. Some people need to get off of here and get a life, girlfriend, or laid. You can read this exchange below, and this may explain more what I've tried to convey a million times to many of you, which some just can't seem to understand.

//www.city-data.com/forum/calif...l#post42299018