How much should a person make in order to live in L.A.? What is a good starting salary?|120693

I am a single college grad and just landed an interview in L.A. I don_t live near there, I am from the Midwest, and I just wondered what would be a good starting salary? I will have to move out there, pay for a car, pay a security deposit, and pay for an apartment/food, etc. How much should I hope to make to live comfortably as a single young adult?

Most people who ask this question are unprepared, unrealistic, with no money, no experience, no skills, (no visa), and no plan.


Next, you need a plan: First item on the agenda is rent. A decent 1BR apartment in LA currently goes for $1200, give or take. Nicer areas and areas closer to the beach are much higher. Don_t expect to move to Santa Monica and get an apartment on the beach for that much. Or Toluca Lake, or Beverly Hills.

Next, you will need a car. Los Angeles is VERY spread out, and train service is extremely limited. If you don_t have a car, you will have to take a bus, which takes 3 times longer to get anywhere than a car.

All told, it generally takes about $3,000 per month to live here. If you don_t have a job that pays that much or skills that can get you that kind of job, stay where you are. If you are unskilled and work for minimum wage (or for tips like bartending or waiting tables), you_ll only make about $1200 per month.

And speaking of jobs, they are rather hard to come by now. College grads seeking employment are having a very tough time of it right now, since the job market is flooded with experienced people who were laid off. Unemployment is over 12% right now. Not exactly the kind of job market you want to move into.

Finally, you will need money. Landlords want first month_s rent and a security deposit up front. You_ll need money for food, transportation, utilities, etc. The consensus in this forum is that you need about $7500 to start out.

So there_s your plan. And please don_t tell us that you have dreams of being an actor or singer. That sets off another alarm. We already have a million (literally) wannabe actors in this town. Don��t even get me started.

In order to live comfortably in LA, you must have a very well paying job, Because rents are very high here in LA, or generally speaking, in California. A 1 bedroom apartment would cost you about $1200 + at a minimum. And unemployment has currently reached up to 12%, so you will have trouble finding a well paying job. It_s almost impossible.

I will give you some generally safe areas in LA, they all cost money to live in, so don_t expect Cheap and Safe : West LA, Pacific Palisades, Westwood, Beverly Hills, Silver Lake, Burbank, Glendale, Encino, Calabasas, Toluca Lake,Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Altadena, South Pasadena, Arcadia, Glendora, Manhatten Beach, Torrance, Parts of Redondo Beach (there is still some crime up north of RB), South of Long Beach, Whittier, La Mirada. This should be a lot of the main areas to look at.

It depends. What is the job? If you are a business grad, you might get $30K. If you have an engineering degree, you should expect $55K.

Really, you need to make at least $30,000 a year to get by reasonably well and more would not hurt. When I first moved to LA in 2001 I was comfortable on the $59,000 a year they offered and lived in a really nice part of Orange County.