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One of my besties has a similar house hold income. Her and her fiance just bough a house on the westside with 2K plus sq feet, 4 bedrooms 3 baths (1 and 1 in the guesthouse, 3 and 2 in the main) for 1.75. It's also updated and has a garage. It absolutely can be found, you just have to hunt.
My household income is just slightly lower than hers and yours (I'm plus 200 though, as well, though) and I rent a 2bedroom 2.5 bath town home w two gated spots and a private rooftop patio...for under 3K. One the Westside. Like deep Westside. You can find good deals, you just have to be really, really on top of it.
Yes I agree there are deals - I am basically on redfin everyday. $1.75M is definitely stretching it on a $300K income though, even at 20% down - being a household they probably have a lower tax rate. I'm a W2 worker like most people and my effective tax rate last year was something like 39% (state+federal+FICA). Banks basically said $1.5M is the recommended max for me with a 20% ($300K) down payment.
Yes I agree there are deals - I am basically on redfin everyday. $1.75M is definitely stretching it on a $300K income though, even at 20% down - being a household they probably have a lower tax rate. I'm a W2 worker like most people and my effective tax rate last year was something like 39% (state+federal+FICA). Banks basically said $1.5M is the recommended max for me with a 20% ($300K) down payment.
Seems low to me. What DTI are they looking at for a 1.5M home? That's only a 1.2M loan if you're putting 20% down.
Due to the type of work I am feeling out, being on the westside seems easiest to me for travel, seeing as though it will be a lot of freelance work. Most of the work would be in that area. So.. if there are by chance people who have alternative methods to achieving the goal of moving out of state to West LA, I'd like to hear those stories.
I don't personally know of any, although they must exist. Like you, I lived in West L.A. in my early 20s on a retail management salary (entry level) with a roommate who was a teacher and the other a social worker. Looking back, I'm stunned to think about how low our rent was, but for us, it was a stretch....we had little left at the end of the month. None of us were from out of state, although we had all gone to college in other states. I'm not sure how people do it today.
Recently I looked up the apartment complex in which we lived; it's been converted to condos. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked at the prices they sell for now.
I lived in a shed for $600 a month a couple years ago in Mar Vista. This was less than a year after moving to LA (I spent my first several months in transitional housing)
I don't think many people are moving to LA and starting out on the westside anymore. People moving there today probably have high paying tech jobs, a partner to double their income, or place to stay on the cheap with friends/family. If you really want to try it again consider sharing a bedroom in one of those dorm style housing set ups.
I originally posted on this forum back in 2009. I was a (somewhat) naive 24 year old, looking to make the leap from Chicago to West LA. Being someone who was looking to get into the music industry, I networked a lot, and trusted my contacts would give me work. I moved. I stayed for a year. I had zero luck.
I always had the urge to move back. The problem always became -- lining up work before making the move is nearly impossible. I don't know how many interview requests I was given over the last 10 years, only to have them taken away once they found out I'm in Chicago looking to relocate. Literally.. no one will Skype.
In more recent years, my work has transitioned into something different. I'm still pushing for entertainment work, but in an aspect of the industry that is freelance based. I thought.. If my networking is good and I'm a bit more cautious this time, maybe I should make the move again. Trying to crunch the numbers in any situation seems almost impossible.
A studio apartment costs about $2,300, more than double the cost for my prime location studio in 2010. A shared apartment costs about $1,300, about $400 more than my shared unit when I moved in 2009. And rooms shared (yikes..) are at $900. It sounds completely insane! Even if I had a lot of full time jobs in the LA area, I'm not so sure I would be able to make those costs work. As for transferring within a company to a West LA location, I don't see how that is even possible unless they give you a major raise.
So.. How is / has everyone here done it who has relocated rather recently? Only way I see possible is if you are married and have both incomes coming in.
Is there something here I'm missing?
WLA is expensive but, it helps to know somebody. See if any of your contacts knows somebody who knows somebody who is renting a place.
It’s not a exaggeration if your moving here cold and want to live in W LA. People that work retail or in restaurants here live at home or have multiple roommates. In addition to sky high rent you have to pay for parking, expensive gas, food, expensive utilities, LA and SF are one of the most expensive places to live in the nation. The struggle is real
This is an exaggeration. I work in retail. Lived in W. LA by myself. I drive an ok car which I finished paying off last year. I live comfortably. I moved to DTLA to be in a more walkable environment. Besides living relatively close to the beach I don't see the attraction to W. LA. Gas stations, strip malls, carwashes, not pedestrian friendly, way too much traffic. It's not even pretty architecturally. I lived there to be close to work, but that couldn't even keep me there. But the one thing is you DO NOT need to make $150k to live there. That is ridiculous.
Location: Midwesterner living in California (previously East Coast)
296 posts, read 434,282 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jer3784
I originally posted on this forum back in 2009. I was a (somewhat) naive 24 year old, looking to make the leap from Chicago to West LA. Being someone who was looking to get into the music industry, I networked a lot, and trusted my contacts would give me work. I moved. I stayed for a year. I had zero luck.
I always had the urge to move back. The problem always became -- lining up work before making the move is nearly impossible. I don't know how many interview requests I was given over the last 10 years, only to have them taken away once they found out I'm in Chicago looking to relocate. Literally.. no one will Skype.
In more recent years, my work has transitioned into something different. I'm still pushing for entertainment work, but in an aspect of the industry that is freelance based. I thought.. If my networking is good and I'm a bit more cautious this time, maybe I should make the move again. Trying to crunch the numbers in any situation seems almost impossible.
A studio apartment costs about $2,300, more than double the cost for my prime location studio in 2010. A shared apartment costs about $1,300, about $400 more than my shared unit when I moved in 2009. And rooms shared (yikes..) are at $900. It sounds completely insane! Even if I had a lot of full time jobs in the LA area, I'm not so sure I would be able to make those costs work. As for transferring within a company to a West LA location, I don't see how that is even possible unless they give you a major raise.
So.. How is / has everyone here done it who has relocated rather recently? Only way I see possible is if you are married and have both incomes coming in.
Is there something here I'm missing?
Oh boy. Lots to unpack. Where to start!?!
1.) The Westside of LA is the most expensive and sought after region in LA County. You are competing with locals, out-of-state Americans, and wealthy foreigners. Plenty of good jobs. Plenty of urban amenities. Relatively safe. Excellent micro-climate compared with more inland regions of the county. You could say the Westside is "somewhat" comparable to the lower 1/3 of Manhattan Island in terms of the role it plays in its respective metro area. So you need to adjust your expectations appropriately.
2.) Compared to other major U.S. cities, LA's median incomes are noticeably lower. This is true across a variety of professions and industries. Boston, NYC, DC, Bay Area, even Philly all have higher median incomes.
3.) Unfortunately, housing costs here are also very high. I'd say Westside LA is probably a close third after NYC and SF on that front. The problem is that when you combine housing costs with low median incomes, it makes Westside LA feel especially challenging of a place to live in and be financially comfortable.
4.) For a newbie wanting to move to Westside LA (assuming you don't have a trust fund, rich parents, or six-figures of liquid assets) you need to have the following:
5k of cash for rent security deposit and one-time moving expenses
75k annual income (if you're single). Assuming you're prepared to have at least 1 roommate.
135k annual income (if you're a couple). Assuming you're prepared to live in a 1 bedroom together.
This is all dependent on how much your debt is for student loans, credit cards, vehicles, etc
If you are below those numbers, then you need to consider more affordable regions.
Eastside LA, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South-Central LA, Long Beach are all regions of the greater metro area that have housing options 20% to 25% lower than the Westside.
1.) The Westside of LA is the most expensive and sought after region in LA County. You are competing with locals, out-of-state Americans, and wealthy foreigners. Plenty of good jobs. Plenty of urban amenities. Relatively safe. Excellent micro-climate compared with more inland regions of the county. You could say the Westside is "somewhat" comparable to the lower 1/3 of Manhattan Island in terms of the role it plays in its respective metro area. So you need to adjust your expectations appropriately.
2.) Compared to other major U.S. cities, LA's median incomes are noticeably lower. This is true across a variety of professions and industries. Boston, NYC, DC, Bay Area, even Philly all have higher median incomes.
3.) Unfortunately, housing costs here are also very high. I'd say Westside LA is probably a close third after NYC and SF on that front. The problem is that when you combine housing costs with low median incomes, it makes Westside LA feel especially challenging of a place to live in and be financially comfortable.
4.) For a newbie wanting to move to Westside LA (assuming you don't have a trust fund, rich parents, or six-figures of liquid assets) you need to have the following:
5k of cash for rent security deposit and one-time moving expenses
75k annual income (if you're single). Assuming you're prepared to have at least 1 roommate.
135k annual income (if you're a couple). Assuming you're prepared to live in a 1 bedroom together.
This is all dependent on how much your debt is for student loans, credit cards, vehicles, etc
If you are below those numbers, then you need to consider more affordable regions.
Eastside LA, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South-Central LA, Long Beach are all regions of the greater metro area that have housing options 20% to 25% lower than the Westside.
Everything you said was pretty much true.
But I have do say how can you post all of this now?
Sad to say this, but the OP has dodged a bullet.
And prices in regards to rentals and homes are going to come down, way down. Real estate always lags behind a few months(sometimes 6 months but it already happening here and elsewhere) a bad economy. This is now a really bad economy. I mean you do know that 34 million Americans are now unemployed? From all sectors. Including the medical field.
The OP I know wanted to move back, but really they should consider themselves very lucky. Think of all the ones who did do this, have been here a few years, now out of a job. I know now 4 people who have been laid off, only one has even been able to get through to EDD, they're still waiting now over 4 weeks for their first UE check. So they can't even get unemployment yet, CA unemployment maxes out at I believe $900 a month, that extra stimulus money only goes for 3 months.
There are going to be a lot of empty apartments, and that includes West LA. There were plenty of vacancies signs going up in places like Silverlake and Hollywood prior to this, now with all the job losses many(especially those who like this poster and are young and out of state) will be moving back home.
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