What's a great salary to have in OC (Huntington Beach, Orange: short sales, apartments)

[zeekosu]

Assuming all the normal bills for the average person (car payment, credit card bills, food, gas, etc), what would be a good salary to have if you wanted to live in the Huntington Beach area in a home (with a garage) that has around 2000 sq ft? I'm single and don't have any kids.

I'd like to be able to live comfortably and not paycheck to paycheck. I'm not looking to go on expensive vacations, have an expensive car, etc. But, I just want to be able to go out to eat when I want to without worrying about overdrawing my account. I'm looking to start a business and am trying to figure out what my revenue and profit margins need to be in order to live that kind of lifestyle in huntington beach.

I'm looking for some kind of realistic recommendation like ...150k, 200k, more?

Thanks

[Joe Van Fossen]

Prices for single family homes in HB with 2000+ sf start in the high-$600s. If you can live with 1500+ sf, then you can start in the mid-$500s. You should be fairly comfortable with a salary between $120K-150K a year in those price ranges.

[TheAccelerator]

Anything over $20,000 (20K) is fine. Depends on whether you want a billion dollar house and super-yachts and owning skyscrapers and fifty-seven 3-million dollar cars and a castle with a moat with alligators in it etc.

[MrOrangeCounty]

100k household income.

Anything less, don't bother living here.

[red4ce]

Why do you need such a large house if you're single and have no kids? Even in Huntington Beach you can find apartments for less than $1500/month.

[5pyg1a55]

Originally Posted by MrOrangeCounty

100k household income.

Anything less, don't bother living here.

Well said.

[zeekosu]

Thanks for the responses so far. I used to live in california for a while and lived in apartments, so I'm aware of the cost of living. I live in Ohio now in an average sized home. I enjoy having a little bit more space and a garage to work on my car, etc. So, I'm just trying to gauge what I'll need to make to have a similar lifestyle. There's certainly nothing wrong with a cheaper apartment and I lived in those throughout my 20's, but I'm 31 now and looking for a regular home.

As a side note, I also like fixing up homes, so I figure my money is better spent purchasing a home where I can put it to good use. What is the market like right now for buying foreclosures or homes that need repairs? The last time I was there it seemed like investors were just making all cash offers and snatching up homes like crazy, making it difficult for the average person to have a chance.

Thanks

[Joe Van Fossen]

Originally Posted by zeekosu

As a side note, I also like fixing up homes, so I figure my money is better spent purchasing a home where I can put it to good use. What is the market like right now for buying foreclosures or homes that need repairs? The last time I was there it seemed like investors were just making all cash offers and snatching up homes like crazy, making it difficult for the average person to have a chance.

Thanks

That's still happening. Considering there are a lot less distressed sales on the market now, it's even more competitive. A lot of the REOs and short sales I'm seeing on the market these days are going up for over what would seem like fair market value, or they are listed way below and eventually get bid above (ebay mentality). This is a very unscientific observation, but I believe there may be a psychological affect behind the words "short sale" and "foreclosure" that makes some buyers believe they're getting a deal when they are not. I've seen better deals on some outdated standard sales.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by MrOrangeCounty

100k household income.

Anything less, don't bother living here.

Many do live here making under 100K, including some on this board.

My guess is you are speaking to those not already here and wanting the "OC lifestyle", whatever that is.

[zeekosu]

Thanks. When I lived there before I was making about 84k per year and was paying 1450 dollars for a 1bdrm apt. With all my bills and the gas I spent on my commute every day, even 84k didn't seem like enough. I never felt like I had enough money leftover to put into savings or my 401k.

I'm not really looking to acquire more things and live a lavish lifestyle. I just want to live an average lifestyle where I live in a home and save money for retirement. So if you have made less than 100k per year and are somehow living that kind of life, I would definitely like to know how you are doing it.

Thanks