LA is the most unaffordable city in US: report (Santa Clarita: low income, rental market)

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by skankhunt42

Hah I live in Arizona. I find desert landscapes pretty depressing. The only cities I could really see myself in would either be the Miami or Tampa area. I lived in NV for 3 years. Hated every second of it.

Tampa? How is it? I had a co-workers transfer in from Tampa and he said it's a great place.

[skankhunt42]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Tampa? How is it? I had a co-workers transfer in from Tampa and he said it's a great place.

Okay with Tampa, all I have to go by is what family has told me, Youtube, and pictures lol just to be honest.

Tampa to me just seemed very comfortable with everything you really need available with beautiful beaches and affordable housing. Doesn't seem to have the culture of Miami though.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by skankhunt42

Okay with Tampa, all I have to go by is what family has told me, Youtube, and pictures lol just to be honest.

Tampa to me just seemed very comfortable with everything you really need available with beautiful beaches and affordable housing. Doesn't seem to have the culture of Miami though.

Miami is turbocharged. It seems like WeHo on steroids to me. Just very flashy and gaudy. Nothing is going to beat SoCal, mostly LA, OC and San Diego. These places are just unparalleled.

The closest I've come to a comparable life in terms of having that CA-lite culture with ample blondes running around was Austin, TX.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

NYC is way more expensive than LA. I grew up there and when I visited back in 2014 was shocked at how much more. Want to cross the George Washington Bridge, that will be $13.50, got charged a $1 for a refill on iced tea at a diner. Just a couple of examples.

LA home prices are outrageous and yes rents have gone up, but NYC on a day to day basis is much more costly.

According to the info posted by jm1982, the median income in LA is lower than NYC, so when income is taken into account LA is the more expensive city.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by Stephy0519

I agree with all of this. However, depending on your field, your salary could actually be MORE here. I received a significant salary bump moving from my NYC position to my position out here. I'm currently paying MORE in rent, but I moved on a tight schedule--and I'm moving in July where I will be paying LESS in rent than I did in the NYC area (and saving 1K a month compared to what I'm paying now.) I'm on the Westside, very close to the beach, too.

Food is much cheaper here, gas is close to the same, there are no tolls like NYC, and property taxes are ridiculous. My car insurance also went down quite a bit. Friends that visit from the tri-state have been shocked at our food/bar tabs, expecting it to be much more expensive than it is, when they get the check.

While buying may be significantly more expensive (I do agree with that, for the house/land you get,) renting and everything else, is actually not.

As a graduate student at Columbia I paid $650 for a room in West Harlem. Los Angeles is not cheaper in rent than NYC. A lot of people on this forum, when they speak of NYC only speak of Lower Manhattan. Move into Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, or further into Brooklyn or Queens and things get cheaper. Or Staten Island. Of course this means moving into neighborhoods with lots of immigrants and Black people and in the case of Staten Island working class whites. GASP, the horror!

It would be like me coming to LA county and pretending that there's only the Westside.......

Of course there similarly are cheaper parts in LA as well.

In terms of dining, if one goes to ethnic restaurants in NYC, it's pretty cheap.

[skankhunt42]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

As a graduate student at Columbia I paid $650 for a room in West Harlem. Los Angeles is not cheaper in rent than NYC. A lot of people on this forum, when they speak of NYC only speak of Lower Manhattan. Move into Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, or further into Brooklyn or Queens and things get cheaper. Or Staten Island. Of course this means moving into neighborhoods with lots of immigrants and Black people and in the case of Staten Island working class whites. GASP, the horror!

It would be like me coming to LA county and pretending that there's only the Westside.......

Of course there similarly are cheaper parts in LA as well.

In terms of dining, if one goes to ethnic restaurants in NYC, it's pretty cheap.

I guess (at least for me) what people said here about LA being more expensive is true. I played around with what my money would get me in NYC (specially in neighborhoods I like....Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, and Forest Hills and Rego Park in Queens) for a 1b1b. A 1b1b in those neighborhoods seemed to range from $1900-$2000. I would make $6,000 more a year in NYC strictly based on salary. I would "save" in NY on state income tax by 2.85%. I would end up actually saving around $10,500 in NYC opposed to staying in LA. It would end up being more though because I wouldn't keep a car. I would probably spend a lot of $$ though on heat =D

SF for me would end up living pay check to pay check and most likely having to dip into savings. I would earn less there than LA by $2,000 a year and it appears in the "affordable" neighborhoods in SF a 1b1b would run between $3,000-$3,500 a month. After rent, my "savings" would be $6200. LA is $23,750 and NY is $24,990

So far me NYC would be pretty comparable to LA based on my salary and rent.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

As a graduate student at Columbia I paid $650 for a room in West Harlem. Los Angeles is not cheaper in rent than NYC. A lot of people on this forum, when they speak of NYC only speak of Lower Manhattan. Move into Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, or further into Brooklyn or Queens and things get cheaper. Or Staten Island. Of course this means moving into neighborhoods with lots of immigrants and Black people and in the case of Staten Island working class whites. GASP, the horror!

It would be like me coming to LA county and pretending that there's only the Westside.......

Of course there similarly are cheaper parts in LA as well.

In terms of dining, if one goes to ethnic restaurants in NYC, it's pretty cheap.

Can't you also move to Jersey City or Hoboken and still be fairly close to the city? I've heard about people doing that and finding some cheap rent there too.

In terms of wages, and affordability of rent, NYC does have cheaper areas than the supposed cheaper areas of LA. But this is a recent thing. I remember my place, a studio, was 900 when I moved here in 2012, now it goes for 1600. And I am out in the equivalent of Queens.

[Kobe25]

Originally Posted by skankhunt42

I guess (at least for me) what people said here about LA being more expensive is true. I played around with what my money would get me in NYC (specially in neighborhoods I like....Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, and Forest Hills and Rego Park in Queens) for a 1b1b. A 1b1b in those neighborhoods seemed to range from $1900-$2000. I would make $6,000 more a year in NYC strictly based on salary. I would "save" in NY on state income tax by 2.85%. I would end up actually saving around $10,500 in NYC opposed to staying in LA. It would end up being more though because I wouldn't keep a car. I would probably spend a lot of $$ though on heat =D

SF for me would end up living pay check to pay check and most likely having to dip into savings. I would earn less there than LA by $2,000 a year and it appears in the "affordable" neighborhoods in SF a 1b1b would run between $3,000-$3,500 a month. After rent, my "savings" would be $6200. LA is $23,750 and NY is $24,990

So far me NYC would be pretty comparable to LA based on my salary and rent.

I guess it depends on the lifestyle a person lives.

L.A is like the pretty girl in schools that's all about her fashion and looks. Some rather live a flashly lifestyle while driving a nice corvette next to the beach.

There's homes in Compton & South L.A going for half a million and that's considered the ghetto areas.

Gas,car note, car insurance, gym class lol and everything else can be a pretty penny if your living up to par in Los Angeles.

[skankhunt42]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Can't you also move to Jersey City or Hoboken and still be fairly close to the city? I've heard about people doing that and finding some cheap rent there too.

In terms of wages, and affordability of rent, NYC does have cheaper areas than the supposed cheaper areas of LA. But this is a recent thing. I remember my place, a studio, was 900 when I moved here in 2012, now it goes for 1600. And I am out in the equivalent of Queens.

I'm a NJ fan myself LOL but Hoboken is pretty darn expensive especially to be within a short walk to PATH. I actually like Jersey City too but to me, but I didn't feel walk walking in much of the city (only felt same walking distance to Exchange Place and in a short radius around Grove St).

[skankhunt42]

Originally Posted by Kobe25

I guess it depends on the lifestyle a person lives.

L.A is like the pretty girl in schools that's all about her fashion and looks. Some rather live a flashly lifestyle while driving a nice corvette next to the beach.

There's homes in Compton & South L.A going for half a million and that's considered the ghetto areas.

Gas,car note, car insurance, gym class lol and everything else can be a pretty penny if your living up to par in Los Angeles.

While that may be true for a lot of women in LA (specially white women in very expensive areas) the same can be said for women in NYC who also live in the very expensive areas. The main difference to me between those women is that LA women wear expensive, casual clothing while NY women wear expensive, somewhat more city chic clothing. Whenever I've been to NY (frequently for family but all just left NYC now so no family anymore) I only felt like I really blended in in Queens and Brooklyn lol. I felt like a slob in the city wearing shorts, a tank top, and flip flops.