From D.C. to OC, is this affordable? (Los Angeles, Long Beach: houses, camping)

[awilliaml]

Myself and two of my friends are in the midst of planning a move to California from Northern Virginia. We've been looking at either the Los Angeles area (Burbank, Santa Monica) or the Orange County (Mission Viejo, Irvine) area.

I myself will be making roughly 40,000 a year starting. One of my other friends will be making slightly less than that and the other will be making a little more than that.

We want a house (preferably) that has 3br, 2bth.

I've been looking online and it seems that it's possible to get a house like that for roughly 1700 a month in OC. Is this at all close?

My ultimate question is this:

Making the money stated above and living with two other guys will it be possible to afford OC?

[robabeatle]

possible yes.
a house for that much: good luck. but depends greatly on where you will live.

[awilliaml]

What's a good place to live in OC that has things to do for people who are in there early 20's and is also affordable?

I've heard a friend of mine say she pays 2k a month for a 2 bedroom in Laguna.

[nurserosie]

I assume you all have jobs...you didn't mention where your jobs will be..where you live has to be connected with where you live...commutes can be awful..

good luck

[robabeatle]

as nurserosie stated, live near work.
even if it looks close on a map, commuting can be quite bad here.

[Coldjensens]

Whether OC is a good place for you depends on what you like to do. Hiking, biking, beach, surfing, diving, skiing, snowboarding, camping, you will find Orange County nad hte nearby areas will keep you busy. If you are into clubding, getting your hair done, fashion shopping, gawking at movie stars, you are better off in LA.

You can get by on that income. The house may not be practical, but a 3br arpartment should be. If one of your friends bails and returns to home, or gets married or arrested or anything you, are FUBARed.

Irvine or Mission Viejo? Why? Do you want jobs as Nannies? You will be bored to tears. (Actually you should be able to avoid boredom by staying out of Irvine and only going there to sleep). You will be busy anyway, so where you sleep is not super critical.

Try Huntington Beach, Balboa (Newport Beach), Costa Mesa, San Clemente. Away from the water, Orange, Fullerton, even Santa Ana if you are not xenophobic. Also if you like outdoors stuff like hiking or moutnain biking more than beaches or clubs, you could try Silverado Canyon. It is a little place with noting going on, but it is right in the Cleveland National forest (a forest of hills, not trees).

Long beach migh be fun. Not Orange County, but it has a lot going on for young people.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Where are you finding 3/2 houses for $1700? I don't think even Santa Ana is that cheap. All the ones I've seen listed in decent areas are $2300++++.

[redjan1225]

#1, a concur that you need to live near work

#2, if you are three single people sharing a house, you may not enjoy the cities you mentioned.

Definitely check out Long Beach; it is a cool city. I grew up in Fullerton and I love downtown Fullerton and downtown Orange and would recommend them both.

[awilliaml]

Location is going to be flexible due to our job opportunities having multiple locations to choose from.

Right now we are trying to figure out whether or not we can afford to pay roughly 800 a month each on rent.

We considered LA because thats where all "the action" is. We want to live as guys in their 20s do. That would mean bars, etc.

The reason we ruled LA out was because it seemed like it would be too expensive.

Bottom line being can we afford OC at 800 each a month?

[EscapeCalifornia]

So based on your numbers, you'll have about $120k gross income under one roof. That's more than most families in OC. 25% of your combined gross income is $2500/mo. So I'd say you can afford it. But as stated above, if one of you skips out on the other two, you'll have a big hole to fill.