Cost of living

Yeah, I hear tell it's all right.

 

I've had a little bit of sticker shock in SoCal, but not as much as I thought I would. Found a little 1-bedroom place for $625/month when I first moved out here and didn't know a soul. There was a shooting about a block away once and it wasn't somewhere I was willing to walk around at night ... but I never got robbed and was able to save some money, so, you know, that's a plus.

Problem here is, all the decent 1-bedroom places are at least $1,000-$1,200/month. So if you're on your own, you're pretty fucked. But all the 2-bedroom places are only about $1,200-$1,400. So if you're splitting the bills with somebody, you can afford just about anything (except a house, of course. That's a different story.)

Anyway, my point is that if you're flexible (or lucky enough to have a roommate), you can make do for yourself even in what's supposed to be one of the most expensive areas of the country. I was scraping by a lot tougher in a cheap area of Georgia than I ever have been here.

 

That's what he/she get for living on the Upper West Side. I have four friends, just graduated last year and none of whom makes more than 35k a year, who pay like $700 a month apiece for a 4-bedroom, spacious apartment in NYC. Granted, most people are going to have to live by themselves or with only one other person, but you can find plenty of apts in NYC for under $1500 a month.

 

When Dr. J and I first got married, my mom found us an apartment.

Two bedroom, including electric and water, for $375. We never spent more than $460 a month. The best part, was that after a year or two, we were so far ahead in our heating budget that we didn't have to pay a nickel for heat in the last sixth months -- plus we got a rebate when we moved out.

Great neighborhood, across from a park and it came with new appliances.

 

And now my rent increase to $775 sounds like a bargin.

Two-bedroom, one bath, spacious apartment in a medium sized complex.

 

Holy hell. You can find a HOUSE for $500 where I live, not far from havok's old WNY stomping grounds.

Of course, you'd also have to find a reason to want to live here, I suppose ...

 

My BF and I pay $1,400 a month for a 2BR townhouse, no utilities but a 2-car garage. Before this we were paying $1,100 for a 2BR apartment, no utilities and covered parking in the absolute ghetto.

Eight years ago my college roommates and I were paying $500 ($125 each) for a 4BR, 2BA right across from campus. To say I have undergone sticker shock is an understatement.

 

I have a 3.5 room apartment (I'm not sure the closet can count as a full room) and with all utilities, aside from cable/Internet, it's $360/month. Being single and making an entry-level journalist's salary, I can't afford more.

Last year, me and my four roommates had a 5BR house in a college town for $1,500 a month + utilities, so I definitely like this living arrangement better. I usually paid somewhere around $400 a month with all of the utilities.

 

Yeah, in case anyone had wondered why I wasn't jumping to leave town when I got my new job ... cost of housing would be it.

 

The part of the city I live in is not bad for what I pay. I can see airplanes, Ducky.

 

If you're smart about it, you can still save a little bit of money on that. It's certainly liveable, if you're disciplined.

But you won't have much in the way of luxuries. And if something goes wrong (car breaks down or unforeseen medical expenses) ... you could quickly be fucked.