Gross income? Why not net income?

[debtmonster]

I typically have paid $680-900 for a 2 bedroom apartment. I am looking to rent in the future and this is the kind of place I would like for under $1200/mo. If you're getting some 1500-2200 sq. ft. place for $1600/mo., then by all means.

[debtmonster]

I used $1900, the most allowable for my schedule J too. And we don't make $175K a year either. And most rents for a 3 bedroom track home are ~$2200.

No, San Diego is not for the faint of heart

How much was your net take home to justify $2200? I hope at least $8,000/mo. net.

[BROKENN]

Nope, I wrote in the 1900 on Schedule J. Just telling you hard to confront rents in CA
We came under means; with rent 1900 and all the usual exemptions though higher on gas and health (ie: CA prices).
If you aren't paying credit and you still make $3 - $4K a month, rent, utils, gas, health and food fit in. We were able to pay our bills just to live but that felt good. If you have less HH members, your means is lower, but then you can rent an apt. Still fits.

[debtmonster]

If you're only making $3-4k/mo., you can do that in other states without the need to pay double the rent and other expenses. I can only see the idea of living in California if you earn a relative income. If 25% of your net pay goes to rent in Florida, Georgia, NC, and other states, I don't see why it shouldn't be any different in CA.

[BROKENN]

If you're only making $3-4k/mo., you can do that in other states without the need to pay double the rent and other expenses. I can only see the idea of living in California if you earn a relative income. If 25% of your net pay goes to rent in Florida, Georgia, NC, and other states, I don't see why it shouldn't be any different in CA.

When you are a fourth generation CA, you don't know the difference And 3-4 was only one earner. I know some that earned less!

But you are correct, we moved to another state We also had to leave a lot of loved ones, including a child.. One of the hardest things I have ever done....

[Medora]

I think we typically do pay a higher percentage of our income towards housing, probably around 30%, but that's because when you've lived in Cal all your life, it's really really hard to live anywhere else. Yes, wages ARE typically much higher--but honestly $100K before taxes for a married couple in Cal. is just making it--because our expenses are so much more. It's a trade off--we pay the premium to live in a cultural environment that's comfortable for us. Just as some southerners think SF is a freak show on another planet, many Cal urbanites wouldn't understand life in the south. That said, some geographical transitions work better than others--LA to SF, Boston to NY, etc. etc.

[debtmonster]

I want to get out of the South and move north. California is beautiful, but it has no bang for the buck to live there. I don't want to be house poor in any place I live. I want to live in a place that has a good mixture of nice people, high paying jobs and decent cost of living. Florida is a terrible place now. Property & rentals are no longer cheap the way they used to be. I used to rent a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment 10 years ago in Miami for only $680/mo. w/ vaulted ceilings and a guard gate. Now the same place is about $1200/mo.

$100k is poverty in CA. I remember reading an article in the Washington Post back in 2001 how a guy was making $80k and living at the Salvation Army because he could not afford any place to live. That is SICK. I can't believe that's even legal. California needs rent control BIG TIME. I hope more and more people go bankrupt in that state to help bring prices to be the same as the rest of the country. I like things on a level playing field. If I ever wanted to move to California, I would want to pay the same as any other state and not much more.

[Doghouse]

True, we do pay a higher proportion of our wages to housing but it's also about the quality of life you prefer. In 2007, 36.5 million people lived in California and the population keeps increasing despite the earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, floodings, smog, freeway shootings and police chases, alternative lifestyles, high cost of living and many other things people of when they think California. Yeah, I could pay $450 for a 2 bed apt in Sioux Falls, South Dakota or Gary, Indiana but, um, really, why would I? Yeah I know why not ... beaches, museums, cuisine, incredible outdoors, parks, sunshine, bikinis and tank tops in October/November, skiing, culture, entertainment, urbanity, quaint small towns, wine and wineries, art, music, diversity and much much more. I live in a place where we get over 320 days of sunshine a year and it doesn't snow but is within a 90 minute drive of 12 ski resorts and a 90 minute drive to San Francisco and the wine country and Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. And that's just Northern California. Throw in Southern California and it's a country onto itself.

[debtmonster]

Those are very good reasons for living there. Thanks for sharing. 36 million people in one state... WOW!!! Man, that is a LOT of people in one area.

I had most of the stuff you described, other than the skiing, all in South Florida for a fraction of the cost. I just wish tech companies would relocate there and flood the place with 6-figure income jobs the way California has.

[epiphany]

How is it possible for kids to pay that kind of money? I barely gross $4k? I would need to make $16,000/mo. to justify paying that kind of money. That is absolutely insane. Rent should never be more than 25% of your gross income. If it is, then you need to live some place else. That is why this country is so messed up. That sickens me that people pay that outrageous amount of money to live.

Most of the kids renting glorious ocean views in California are being supported by rich daddies from a myriad of states while they go to college and then some.

It's sick I know but silver spoons do indeed exist.

ep

[debtmonster]

Totally not fair for the rest of us. Everyone should have the right to do that, not just a select few.

[epiphany]

Those are very good reasons for living there. Thanks for sharing. 36 million people in one state... WOW!!! Man, that is a LOT of people in one area.

I had most of the stuff you described, other than the skiing, all in South Florida for a fraction of the cost. I just wish tech companies would relocate there and flood the place with 6-figure income jobs the way California has.

California is not what is used to be. There are gorgeous parts and some great living but many are leaving the state because the cost of living it too high and climbing monthly. And it's going to get worse before it gets better.

There are too many variables to get into. I love this place and I grew up here but I have seriously been thinking about moving to Nevada.

ep

[debtmonster]

The same thing has happened to Florida that happened to California. All of the homes that were $20,000 are now $350,000. The jobs that paid $10/hr. back in the 1980's are still paying $10/hr. in the 2000's. VERY, VERY SAD.

[Cali]

We have a 3 bedroom house and our rent is 3k, and that is on the cheaper side for the area I live in.
A 1 bedroom is like 1200 and it isn't that big.
Normally if you live in SoCal you have the income to back it. But that same job wouldn't be paid the same in say NC.
I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

[relief13035]

I am born & raised in Southern California, but it's not for everyone. We are fast-paced people. Los Angeles Country is not for the weary. If I could afford to live in San Diego, I would in a heartbeat. It's incredible!