Savings

[motoman]

la_bound, housing is certainly the biggest difference. My rent is about $700 more per month for a place that isn't half as nice as the place I had in Dallas.

My car insurance went up $400 per year moving from Dallas to LA, for example. I am 37, single, no accidents, no tickets, clean record, on a 10-year old car. And that's the cheapest I have been able to find. I'm paying about $100 per month.

Restaurant meals will typically be higher too, particularly if you have any alcohol. Although the larger chain restaurants are very comparable in price pretty much across the country. A bottle of beer is going to run you $5+ at most places. An entree probably averages $15 or so. A soda is $3. Stuff like that. So to have an average meal will be $20-$25 per person, with tip, but can very easily go up from there.

I don't know the cost of gas in Phoenix, but depending on the day and the area LA can be as much as $0.50 per gallon higher than Dallas (my city of comparison).

Parking can add up, particularly if you go a lot of places. A few dollars here and there can add up. You even have to pay at most malls, although the first 2-3 hours are usually free if you get validation from a merchant.

Utilities will likely be much lower because you won't have to run your AC 24/7 as you probably do in Phoenix. Well, that is if you live south of "The Valley". A lady I work with lives in The Valley and has $500-$600 electric bills during the summer. I live in West LA, next to Santa Monica, and my electric bill averages less than $50 per month.

Food at grocery stores I think is relatively comparable. But I shop at the discount stores because they are so much cheaper than the traditional grocery stores. For the things I buy, I can usually get them for about 50% less at the discount stores.

Department stores, Target, places like that, are usually pretty comparable.

When I moved from Dallas to LA, I got about a 15% pay increase. All of that, plus some, was eaten up by higher taxes and higher rent. With the higher costs for other things, I effectively took a pay cut.

[la_bound?]

First off - I must say, thank you again Motoman (and others) . . . it's nice to know that this is coming across seriously given the amount of people that do flock to this page with questions similar to mine. That being said, line item by line item is a good way to handle comparisons again :-)

- Regarding insurance: my car insurance here is currently $150, and I've priced similar policies using addresses of friends in the Los Angeles area. Obviously there are fluctuations, but prices typically work out to be fairly comparable. I guess they're obviously factoring in that Phoenix is, more times than not, the car theft and red light running capital of the US.

- Restaurant meals: I rarely eat out, and will typically only do so on weekends. Even then, I avoid soda (desire to maintain a bit of health) and won't typically do alcohol with dinner. Even then, I'm hard-pressed to walk out of a restaurant here with paying less than $10, normally it's closer to $10. All in all, sounds fairly comparable as well.

- Gas: According to gasbuddy.com, the average here in Scottsdale is $1.84 while the average in Culver City (chosen randomly) is $2.33, a difference of about $0.50 as well. Obviously fill-ups would depend on how much I drive, but I'd aim for a flil-up every 2 weeks (I already accomplish that and then some on account of driving a Civic). Usually takes about 10 gallons to fill up, so that's a difference of about 5 dollars per tank, or 10 dollars per month. Suffice it to say - it's time like these that it's easy to see those little things (like parking) adding up.

- Parking: this one will be hard to gauge, and that's an annoyance. No direct comparison here, so blech, moving on!

- Utilities: $50/month or less sounds fantastic - is that in a 1 bedroom alone? And yes - I know my parents, while in a house, pay a rather absurd amount of money to keep the AC going to maintain a moderate level of comfort.

- Groceries: I love Fresh & Easy, and am so happy they're establishing a presence out here (one within walking distance of my parent's in Scottsdale). I hear Trader Joe's is a good place for cheaper grocery items as well. Not sure if those are the discount stores you're referencing, but I think that's feasible.

I think that covers everything - and again, thank you for approaching this honestly and seriously! I know how easy it is to get bogged down amongst the many other similar threads and questions.

[motoman]

Originally Posted by la_bound?

Restaurant meals: I rarely eat out, and will typically only do so on weekends. Even then, I avoid soda (desire to maintain a bit of health) and won't typically do alcohol with dinner. Even then, I'm hard-pressed to walk out of a restaurant here with paying less than $10, normally it's closer to $10. All in all, sounds fairly comparable as well.

At the sit-down places you're probably looking at $10-$15 for the entree, so plus tax and tip you're looking at $15-$20. But if you don't eat out a lot it's manageable.

And you're welcome for providing feedback. But what I appreciate more than anything, as I have said before, is the fact you are taking a very sensible and realistic approach to this rather than ignore the things you don't want to hear.

Based on what you've posted so far I think you'll do fine. Your head's screwed on straight, which is 90% of the battle. You can deal with the other 10%.