Question on moving to CA!

[Afflict]

Hey all, I might be moving to the states soon...
This is a really big deal in my life at the moment and I have a couple of questions!
Please explain and help where you can!

* What is like an avarage salary in the states ? is like $ 4000 per month good ?
* How much is rent or bond repayments and what do you qualify for when earning about $ 4000?
* Whats up with california the good the bad and the ugly please!

thanx..

[Domino]

Wow, $4000 a month seems like good money here in the U.S.  I make a little over $30,000 a year and bring home $1680 a month (420 a week) after taxes, and i consider that damn good for a single man like myself.

If you get a job making 4 grand a month, i'd move in a heartbeat.

Oh, i've never been to California, but someday i will get there.

Good Luck.

[Kweepa]

$4000 a month is not good for the big cities in California.
I guess it depends on your age and qualifications.

[shbaz]

If you were going to a non-coastal state or a southern state $4k a month would be awesome, but Cali and the NE states have some harsh costs-of-living. I wouldn't call it paltry, but you wouldn't be banking much of it. I'd go for it anyway.

In bigger cities you're looking at $700-$1000 per month rent
Transportation depends on your method of travel, but probably at least $100 using public transport and somewhere above $1000 if you buy a car
Food could be anywhere from $150-$500 depending on how/where you eat

So you see, as a single guy it wouldn't be bad.

[Alun]

In bigger cities you're looking at $700-$1000 per month rent
Transportation depends on your method of travel, but probably at least $100 using public transport and somewhere above $1000 if you buy a car

Actually, a monthly Metro pass in L.A. costs about $50.

The $700-$1000 rent figure, though, is about accurate--if anything, that may be a little low.Ã,  My rent is around $650, but that's very much on the low end of the rent scale, and I get what I pay for--I live in a rundown apartment with no working hot water in the shower, a ceiling that's prone to leaks and has actually collapsed once, and an infestation of roaches, among other issues.

$4000 a month is certainly enough to live on in L.A.Ã,  My income has averaged around $1000 to $2000 a month, and I get by...though, as you can see from the description of my apartment, I don't exactly live in luxury.

For more information, it would help to know what part of California you're thinking of moving to.Ã,  Los Angeles is very different from San Francisco, which is very different from Sacramento, which is very different from etc.

[PsychicHeart]

$4000 a month sounds good to me. not that i live in california.......or the USA.......... or America......

[Ponch]

I lived in and around San Diego for years and 4000 a month will get you by but you won't be saving much. If you're willing to live a bit further inland (away from the pricey cost of living near the coast) then 4000 a month will be more than adequate to cover all your expenses and still have money to blow on the weekends.

As for cost of living, in California you'll fork out at least a 1000 a month for a decent place to live and you almost have to have a car or a motorcycle. Other cost of living expenses depend on how you like to live. For example, I love to cook so my food expenses were substantially lower than some of my other friends who ate out for practically every meal.

Personally, I moved to Texas a few years ago just so my salary would go a lot further. I guess I had to start thinking about retirement sooner or later But living in CA has a lot of advantages. The surf is great and there is never a shortage of things to do. Plus the weather is great year round. Except for "earthquake season" but that's just from January until December, so it's not really worth worrying about.

CA is a great place to live and best of all, you have The Terminator as governor! Your time there can yield great opportunities if you're willing to work at it.

Good luck. I hope you enjoy America!

- Ponch

[PsychicHeart]

well, if you get a basic place to live, nothing fancy, you'd probably have a pretty good rent fee. My advice is just start out with essentials, then in a couple weeks get all the other crap like a richter scale*?




* My apologies

[Snarky]

* What is like an avarage salary in the states ? is like $ 4000 per month good ?

The US is a nation with big economic differences. It's almost meaningless to talk about an "average" salary. The median household income is around $35,000 I think, but most middle-class people wouldn't find that to be an acceptable salary (depending on your major, you can easily make more money than that straight out of college). As people have mentioned, salaries and prices vary a lot across different parts of the US, too.

To find out what the typical salary is for your type of job, based on your level of education, in the region you're thinking of going to, check out http://www.salary.com.

And when you're budgeting, don't forget to take taxes into account! $4,000 a month can easily become $3,000 (or less) after taxes and health insurance. (This is just off the top of my head. I don't actually know the tax rate at around $50,000 per year.)

[Chicky]

with no working hot water in the shower

Damn man! I know just what that's like! I had to put up with no hot water for a year in the place i stay at the moment (yes, i live alone at the age of 17), and it's not nice when you want to have a shower at 7 each morning!

Good luck moving to CA tho, i may be joining you americans somewhere along the line, but i've got to get things a lot more stable over here first, oh and sort myself a visa... Any american women looking for a husband?

[LGM]

I'd say, 4000 bucks a month and a good credit card would get you livin' on easy street.. Especially if you are single. Go for it.

Plus, there are tons of hot babes in Cali.

[TheYak]

It very much depends upon where you're going.  My experience is primarily with the San Francisco Bay Area (Roughly, SF with a 60 mile radius).  Average apartment rent for decent accomodations is somewhere in the $800-900 range.  I'm currently renting a house with a roommate, have ~1300 square feet, three bedrooms/two bathrooms and it sets me back $825.  Utilities are a good-sized cost, particularly in the water & power areas.  Cost of living is higher, but not as much as some would lead you to believe.  Generally, we get low-to-average tech prices but middle-to-high food prices. 

Near any major city, the name of the game is commuting.  The larger cities' rent is often exorbitant.  Rent in San Francisco or some of the wealthier communities in the north bay can often be $1500 for a somewhat acceptable apartment and $3-4000 for 2-bedroom home rentals.  My basic expenses in this area come to around $2400 (rent, food, utilities, phone, internet, gas, etc).  Median gas price for NorCal's around $250 at the moment. 

Location is everything..  my experience only counts for central/north-central California and I'm sure the Southern Cal/ LA & San Diego areas are a bit different.  Far northern California's pretty damned cheap by comparison.  Do you have a specific city or area in mind?

[Las Naranjas]

Cali has a population about 3/4 that of South Africa, and about the same as Canada, so I'd expect a great deal of diversity in incomes and other economic aspects.

Is it true that SF still has rent controls on much of it's accomodation? It's just that rent control is a bemusing idea.

[PsychicHeart]

well, if you can find a place with a rent of around $800 bucks or around that, then $2200
on food and similar stuff, then halve the rest into banking and leisure.
.......
yeh i know i sound like a 50 year old loser...........well, goodbye!

[LGM]

Then again I wouldn't consider taking real-world advice from a 12 year old.. $2200 for food?

[TheYak]

Cali has a population about 3/4 that of South Africa, and about the same as Canada, so I'd expect a great deal of diversity in incomes and other economic aspects.

Is it true that SF still has rent controls on much of it's accomodation? It's just that rent control is a bemusing idea.

Sure, in that the majority of rent doesn't go above $10,000. Ã, I'm sure there are programs for different districts but when searching for a place, I found a low of $1500 (place wasn't pretty either) to a high (searching non-luxury, run-of-the-mill apartments) of $5200. Ã, There are rent controls for the Federal areas (like the Presidio) but the ceiling's so high, I've no hope for it. This general area is very fuedal in economic divisiveness. Ã, 

[Oliver]

Whoa, 4000 $ a month is a lot.  What work will you be doing?
Here in Estonia a monthly salary is around 10 000 kroons, and one dollar is around 13 kroons. But you can have more than enough for that. 4000 $ seems a lot to me, though, the prices of things in America are very different from here in Estonia. But if someone would earn 
43 000 kroons (4000 dollars) a month, he's considered quite wealthy around here (That's something around what the president earns around here).

[Afflict]

Wow you guys have been a great help!

Redwood City - CA, thats where I will be working.
I have a friend that stays in San Fran. I am planning to crash with him for awhile until i get my own place.
Yeah "I wish they all could be CA girls.. )

[Gregjazz]

Wow you guys have been a great help!

Redwood City - CA, thats where I will be working.
I have a friend that stays in San Fran. I am planning to crash with him for awhile until i get my own place.
Yeah "I wish they all could be CA girls.. )

Redwood City... that's a little over an hour's drive for me. Heheheh...

[PsychicHeart]

Then again I wouldn't consider taking real-world advice from a 12 year old.. $2200 for food?

don't make me club you with my gameboy!