Is it possible to live here on...

[timelesschild]

Originally Posted by Tasksgirl

Bottom line - don't ever let somebody tell you something isn't possible. If you want something bad enough it is always possible. What one person can do on 70k is not the same as another person could do on 70k.

Bravo, Tasksgirl! Great post all the way through.

[trablus]

Originally Posted by Tasksgirl

Since the areas you have named are so far from the center of L.A. it seems that you are flexible with SoCal in general. There are SO many areas in SoCal I am sure you can find something that you like and can afford.

I would check out some areas like Temecula and Corona. I personally am planning to move to Corona.

In Corona prices have dropped to where you can get a nice house for 250k - and STILL dropping. Keep in mind that Texas often has huge HOA fees like $500-800 a month. The same size house in Corona comes with a $50 HOA and the same amenities - plus priceless views of the mountains. Nice parks around almost every corner (just download Google Earth and you can see a satellite image with various things like parks or schools or stores marked on the map), fairly good schools, a very nice family environment, and lots of retail around.

I was planning to move to Texas as well but then I realized with the HOA it would be around the same to stay here and move to the IE which is where I really want to be!

Just go to ziprealty and play around with it - putting in various cities and refining your search by home size, lot size, bedrooms, etc. This is my favorite real estate site. I have spent a LONG time searching for homes in both Texas and SoCal..

Bottom line - don't ever let somebody tell you something isn't possible. If you want something bad enough it is always possible. What one person can do on 70k is not the same as another person could do on 70k. Having your wife able to stay home with the kids thus avoiding the expense of a second car, more gas, daycare, etc. is a great asset. If you still owe money on your cars I would have that paid off. Car payments are such an uncessary expense. I bought a used car in cash and I am so glad I have no car payments. There really wouldn't be a need for 2 vehicles if your wife will stay at home. Really, you could even take a scooter to work. I see hundreds of these on my commute home. I use a combination of coupons, sales, and the cash back programs that CVS and Walgreens offer. Last week I walked out of both places with $250 worth of detergent, shampoo, cleaning supplies, food, toiletries, etc. and I only paid $80. A friend of mine regularly gets about $200 worth of things including diapers for around $16. It's not that hard to do either - your wife could just search for a website like www.afullcup.com. And it's not really even about sacrificing or leaving cheaply. If you can get things free or much cheaper why wouldn't you do it? I will never pay full price for a single thing every again.

In other words, I know what I want and that is a home and it is so easy to re-adjust certain things to accomodate that. California can NOT compare to Texas. I grew up there - I know. I see what happens to these kids that live in the suburbs in Texas - it's not pretty. When there's nothing to do kids find trouble. Parents are bored in those suburbs and there is nothing to do. SoCal is gorgeous, entertaining, and more vibrant than anyplace in Texas. I would MUCH rather raise a family here...

Good luck !

Dear Taskgirl:

Thank you for all of the support and kind words. You are indeed correct in stating that it is possible to live in Cali, more so in TO than in LA proper or SB.

As for Texas HOA fees I haven't seen them that high in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I have seen $250-300 a month, usually less.

What area of Texas did you look into?

Thanks again,

Trablus

[Tasksgirl]

I was looking in Houston, around Katy and NW Houston like where I grew up. That included modest 130k older homes with an HOA of 500+

[mellabella]

mine is Forth Worth (Keller) were only $300 a year! it was a brand new subdivision, pools parks etc
the surrounding ones were from 250 a year to 300 a year
my property taxes were high, for a 165K house I paid $4500 a year in taxes!!!(I live in Toronto suburbs now and for a $400K house my property taxes are $4700)

[firetraq]

I am constantly confused by people who strugle making $100k plus, whats wrong with that picture, me and my wife will probably be living on around $75,000 same as the OP. And although things may be a little tight we would make do.

Perhaps its a cultral thing, I moved from London to Florida and lived fine, but i grew up with a single dad that only bought the essentials, so perhaps, its because i dont like coffee or whatever it is that people making $100k + go broke over...

I'd love to have this cleared up, what do people spend their money on? in fact new post....

[timelesschild]

Housing and private schools are the big-ticket items. If a person is happy without expensive digs and private schools, then that makes a huge difference. I know plenty of people who think NOTHING of paying $16,000/year on a child's private school tuition. By the time you are doing this (and imagine doing it for one, two, three or more children), TWO 6-figure incomes start to be very desirable.

Then if you like eating out in restaurants, taking in concerts, ballgames, etc., those items start to add up too. Add in your payments on that BMW and that SUV, and buy them some insurance and gasoline, and add about $4000/month for the house, and you start to see why people struggle. And I haven't even mentioned student loans. And if you start to add credit card debt, the burden can become overwhelming.

BUT.

It isn't necessary to buy all those things, as any reasonable person understands. It's all in your priorities. If life in a small house would be insupportable to Person A, then that person needs to understand that s/he needs to get crackin' and start making some serious money..... or move to Texas.

[firetraq]

or florida for that matter.

[JonathanLB]

Originally Posted by micchio

Moving to CA from TX might be the best thing you ever do. I think all the folks that are so desperate to leave CA (for greener pastures?) are out of their collective minds. I am originally from NJ, but lived in LA for 3.5 years. I was forced to leave due to military service, and I have been desperate to get back since then.

All that being said, $60-70K in SoCal won't get you anywhere. I was making about $100K years ago, and lived in one of the exerbs, Santa Clarita, which is very similar to Thousand Oaks. We rented a small condo. If you needed to be in the Ventura County area for work there are less expensive places than Thousand Oaks, like Camarillo, Simi Valley or Oxnard, but less expensive is relative in LA. Forget Santa Barbara. At that wage you'd have to share a converted garage with 5 or 6 migrant workers. In addition, rent won't be the only thing to adjust to. Count on you car insurance rising, your income tax of course (from 0 in TX to up to 10% in CA), and some of the most expensive gas and food in the nation.

All that being said, I've often said I'd rather be a homeless bum in LA than the richest man in Grand Forks, North Dakota (another place we had the misfortune of being stationed). It's that great in terms of weather, and quality of life (which is more than money).

I agree -- people who make some big deal about leaving California are mostly idiots. This is the best place in the world to live, especially Southern California. The reasons given are so naive for leaving Los Angeles / California, and usually from people who are just naive. "Oh wow we went up to look at Portland, Oregon, in July and oh my god it's so beautiful there! We loved it. The air, the mountains, the community, it's so great. What a wonderful place to live. So we bought a condo up there in the Pearl District." Yeah wait until you live there a year, TOOLS, it rains 876 days per year, LOL. Worst weather imaginable. Are there places that get colder during the winters and way hotter during the summers? Yes. Do those places have as many clouds as Portland? ABSOLUTELY NOT. It is the rainhole of the world, the cloudiest, most miserable place to live where even a mentally tough person has trouble not becoming depressed after 30 days in a row of clouds, rain, and drizzle. Only a fool would think that's a brighter pasture. But it was always funny to see the Californians move up to Oregon for cheaper property prices. Thems fools gold my friends. Fools gold!