Liveable salary? (Los Angeles, Pasadena, Whittier: transplants, apartment, to rent)

[jeremiahl]

Hello everyone. Currently finishing up my degree and have a job interview in Los Angeles very soon. I've been researching pay scales for my field in the area and it doesn't look like the starting salary really differs much in Los Angeles compared with places that are much less expensive to live in. I personally do not know anyone who lives in Los Angeles and have never visited the area or had any interest in it up to this point. I am trying to determine if this would be a place I would enjoy living, at least for the next 3-5 years.

One big consideration is quality of life and ability to make ends meet. From my fairly limited research it looks like people in my field start at around $120,000-$130,000 in Los Angeles. This is essentially the same pay as classmates of mine have gotten in places much much cheaper to live.

I've heard (and read here) some pretty bad reports about things like housing costs and I really have very little feel for how far this sort of salary will take me in LA. I'm sure there are places in LA that are more affordable than others, but safety and convenience are big concerns of mine. I currently do not know where in LA exactly I would be working as there are multiple potential locations, but I would like to live within a short commute of work so that probably means closer to a business district than in a suburb.

On the other hand, living in such a culturally diverse place and getting to experience so many unique things while still in my mid-20s is very appealing and could very well win out if I know that I will be able to make ends meet and enjoy a simple luxury every now and then.

Any opinions? What if I weren't able to get 120,000 and were offered something much less, say 90,000? Would that change your opinion?

[BRinSM]

you could live comfortably on either salary in some of the nicer parts of LA. rent will be more than other places of course, but the biggest issue facing transplants is when they want to buy a home. however, if you get the $120k that you're looking for, you should certainly be able to afford a nice apartment and still put plenty of money away. i'd also imagine with that high of a salary that your income potential in the next few years would also be very high giving you the ability to eventually buy a nice home in LA is you wanted. however, if you just wanted to come out here for a few years to live it up, you'll certainly be able to afford that too.

my only concern with moving to LA would be whether you would have the time to enjoy it. there's only a few professions that i'm aware of that offer that high of a salary to such young people and they all involve crazy long work hours. LA is a great place, but you really need to time to explore and get to know the place. IF you're working 60+ hour weeks it may be difficult to appreciate LA and make it your home.

[harhar]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

you could live comfortably on either salary in some of the nicer parts of LA. rent will be more than other places of course, but the biggest issue facing transplants is when they want to buy a home. however, if you get the $120k that you're looking for, you should certainly be able to afford a nice apartment and still put plenty of money away. i'd also imagine with that high of a salary that your income potential in the next few years would also be very high giving you the ability to eventually buy a nice home in LA is you wanted. however, if you just wanted to come out here for a few years to live it up, you'll certainly be able to afford that too.

my only concern with moving to LA would be whether you would have the time to enjoy it. there's only a few professions that i'm aware of that offer that high of a salary to such young people and they all involve crazy long work hours. LA is a great place, but you really need to time to explore and get to know the place. IF you're working 60+ hour weeks it may be difficult to appreciate LA and make it your home.

This is true. I think your ends will be more than sufficiently met. Just try not to get burnt out.

[skip2000]

Are you getting a law degree?

[jeremiahl]

Thanks for the feedback.

I am not getting a law degree, I am finishing up my M.S. in Medical Physics (Radiation Oncology specialty).

[JohnG72]

$120k a year in Los Angeles gets you a old house in a mediocre area at 4x income(Van Nuys, Whittier, etc), an ok condo in a nice area(Sherman Oaks, Pasadena), or you just rent and live in an apartment or small house in a nicer area for 1/2 what you would pay to buy.

In much of the rest of the country, $360k gets you a new build mini mcmansion in the nicest part of town.

Bottom line is that amount of money in LA is fine, just don't buy for a few years until you've saved and prices plunge.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Lets say that you get the $120,000 a year and decide to rent, depending on your debt load, you could save over the next 3 to 5 years a nice downpayment on a home and by then you would know where in the area you would want to live. If the case is that you will be working lots of hours when you start out then one thing you could do is just rent a room or a small studio allowing you to save more for your downpayment. Your young and I am assuming single. If your debt load, student loan dept allows, stick 20% of your income away and in 5 years you would have the cash to buy a nice place. Some people have even stated that prices may still decline over the next few years. The best bet is that if the market improves prices will increase only slightly over the next few years anyway. I doubt we see major increases for at least a decade anyway.