will 40k before enough to live on? (San Diego: rent, home)

[moved]

He's going to need at least three jobs to survive now.

[echo42]

Originally Posted by moved

You do realize that people have lost their jobs, don't you? Some people have not only lost their jobs, but also lost their housing due to COVID-19, and it's not exactly a good time to make a move.

As the Fonz would say....."Correctamundo"

[TimTheEnchanter]

There are a lot of people in San Diego County living on $40,000 or less. Yes it can be done, but you have to be frugal and maybe share housing.

[moved]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

There are a lot of people in San Diego County living on $40,000 or less. Yes it can be done, but you have to be frugal and maybe share housing.

I'd be overjoyed if I could make $40,000. I live on a lot less than that, but I'm very frugal, more like very cheap.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by moved

You do realize that people have lost their jobs, don't you? Some people have not only lost their jobs, but also lost their housing due to COVID-19, and it's not exactly a good time to make a move.

Every grocery store I go into has help wanted signs out. Ditto for the big box stores like Walmart, Target, etc.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

Every grocery store I go into has help wanted signs out. Ditto for the big box stores like Walmart, Target, etc.

Yeah, but you won’t be making $20 an hour from the get go, and that’s what you’ll need to make $40K.

As for making it on $40K it’s very doable if you’re single with little/no debt. You’ll first need to have a roommate(s). You’ll need to live close to work so you don’t need a car, or if you do want/have one you won’t be racking up miles/expenses on an old one. Car payment, forget it. If you have expensive vices like drinking, smoking, and drugs they will need to go bye bye, or severely limited. I’ve had plenty of employees that made this, and less, that got by just fine. They were mostly all young though, and didn’t have anything to show at the end of the month seeing they all were looking to pick up shifts come rent.

I was young and poor here after college not making much more than minimum wage and those were some of the happiest years of my life. Granted rent was cheaper then, but I did have my own studio at the beach, but dumped that after a year to move across the street to cut that expense in half. There’s way worse places to be struggling than San Diego. I’d rather struggle here than live “comfortably” someone else? In fact that’s exactly what I did turning down good jobs in Michigan to come home to make way less than half of what I was offered, with housing a fraction of the cost.

Good luck and go for it. What do you have to lose?

[Elna Rae]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

Every grocery store I go into has help wanted signs out. Ditto for the big box stores like Walmart, Target, etc.

You're absolutely right and as a matter of fact one of our businesses needs a blue collar, semi-skilled technician currently. (Yes, we train.) The problem is that no one wants to work hard right now; even for $25/hour.

As other's have mentioned, at 40-50k a year you better have a roommate and live like a monk or nun.

[msgsing]

OP has a short posting history and has already inquired about living in other places basically from coast to coast. Whether OP actually intends to relocate anywhere is open to question. How long can some of these newbies survive with very modest salaries paying a grand a month to rent out a bedroom in someone’s condo?

[Axxlrod]

Why would someone who has admittedly low job skills and thus earning potential want to move to the most expensive state in the country?

Makes no sense.

[mathina]

I would urge you to consider a room mate. This is a college town so you might be able to find someone that wouldn't even be home that much! Good luck - it's a wonderful place to live. There is a lot of natural beauty, so if you like to hike, fish, surf, etc., once this pandemic is over you can find a lot to do that might not cost you too much. Enjoy!