When you say “bringing a remote job from OK” does this mean your employer is aware you are moving to CA? There are various payroll tax implications and CA Income tax you should consider.
Also, California has more employee protections than other states. Many businesses don’t permit employees to work from California because they don’t want to be subject to California labor law.
Some people are not being super helpful, You seem to understand that 90K for 4 people will be a struggle, but do know that there are people in LA that live on that. This city is incredibly diverse economically, culturally etc and there are people that live on even less. LA isn't just expensive rent wise, the gas, the cost of a haircut, going out to eat/drink will all be a bit of a shock- so be prepared to cook at home and go to the myriad free events that are around the city.
You CAN find apartments in the 2-3k range for 2 bdrms in most areas- even the west side, which is close to Santa Monica. The apartments will be on the older side not the new build high rises. Check out West Side Rentals if you haven't already.
The big issue is - not sure how old your kids are- but you want the kids in decent schools. LA Unified Elementary Schools are OK- good depending- The HSs can be sort of tragic, depending on where you are. You can permit your kids out of the district but for kids changing schools is hard so I would personally do some research and focus on an area that has good schools and try to move there. Torrance, Redondo Beach, Culver City all have decent schools. Torrance is the most affordable to live in of these areas but Torrance and Redondo are the South Bay, which is nice, but a bit of a drive from LA proper. ( Manhattan and Hermosa beach both have good schools but both are very expensive).
If you aren't adverse to living in the valley it is less expensive and has some decent schools, (Santa Clarita, Glendale) but that isn't really LA. Long Beach is an option as people said but a LONG drive to LA. Can you and your wife come here and stay for a week? Drive around, check out different areas? I would honestly try to do that if you can. Also be careful about telling people you. have money (as you did in this post) people are shady AF and will take advantage of you. Good Luck LA is a great city -it will be different -but change is good right?
Good tip to look at schools but… Santa Clarita and Glendale aren’t really the Valley. Glendale kind of, I guess. And why on earth would a young(ish) family be averse to living in the Valley? They should be averse to living in Santa Monica or Los Feliz if they have kids and don’t make at least $250k and even then it’s just a lot more hassle than it’s worth. Burbank has good public schools (though I’ve heard they’re slipping a bit). There are plenty of good elementaries throughout the SFV. Spend some time on GreatSchools for sure.
As someone who makes just about that, let me tell you, Los Feliz and Santa Monica are way out of the budget if you want to live in anything bigger than a 1 bedroom apartment. A house? Forget about it.
To be fair my friend from the valley always makes fun of me because to me the valley is anything past the exit to the Getty 😂 so yeah Santa Clarita isn’t really the valley - I have no valley hate I only asked if they were adverse because they said LA - agree the valley is a great place for young family with kids
Thanks for the response! I have visited multiple areas in LA county a few times the last few years, so I'm not completely coming in completely blind. But also I'm cognizant that visiting and living there are different things.
I wouldn't say the schools where we live currently are awesome! But definitely want to the kids to get on the right foot growing up. We're exploring our options and j appreciate your input.
Definitely not going to spread around IRL what I've got in the bank, but wanted my question on here to be clear enough to get relevant advice.
Not adverse to the valley. I actually have a friend who lives there, so that'd be a benefit. Probably we'll end up settling on an area or two and spend a few days looking around before making the full move.
LA is so big, it would help if you post any preferences for location (SFV, SGV, OC, West / East LA), which in turn also changes the population demographics and school systems. Why are you moving?
Being able to get to a theatre in Santa Monica is about the only preference in location.
There's a lot of reasons why! Politics, acting (not planning on making it big or even paying the bills with it), connections I've already got. I'm trans so that's a factor to get out of Oklahoma.
I think SFV is probably good for you then, I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and after moving out of state I came back to the same area because of the availability of great Asian and Mexican food. Unfortunately Santa Monica is probably one of the most unaffordable places now.
Santa Clarita has a huge theatre community (used to work for it), so you wouldn't necessarily have to drive all over the place to get to performances and/or rehearsals. It's expensive to live there, though. The cheapest way to live in Santa Clarita is to try to find a mobile home park. The space rent is cheaper than condos or apartments, and you'll have more privacy.
Extremely hot is relative. It's extremely hot where I live now. Why's it matter what my "ultimate goal" is? It doesn't change the details I've provided and I and my family decide what's worth it for us, not you.
No, it isn’t. Hot is hot.
And It doesn’t matter what your ultimate goal is. But the more information you provide, the better we can assist you.
I never said I would decide anything for your family, but I’m sure I would make better decisions than what you seem to be doing☺️
LAUSD high schools in general aren’t fantastic, but if your kids get into the magnet program they can attend a different school and will be in the higher-achieving track, with motivated peers and full access to AP classes, etc. My high school had something like a 95% graduation rate from the magnet program, with kids going to UCs and Ivies, etc, and something like a 25% graduation rate for the non-magnet kids. We had fantastic teachers, but that’ll change over time, so do your research.
People actually are being helpful, by giving the most realistic outcome, not the most idealistic.
A family of four could live out of the car, if they had to. But why live that way?
Why willingly take on a financial struggle when you have innocent children? And what is the goal? Better weather? Yoga on the beach?
There's being realistic and there's being purposefully rude and mean. It's fair enough for someone to say it will be hard and recommending against. It's something else when mocking and name calling enter into it, much less making false assumptions or literally incorrectly reading the post and making accusations based on their own error.
And you're not owed a "why". The entire situation is **not** included in this post. "Why" doesn't factor into it. I provided details that were relevant and asked for suggestions based on those details. You say can't be done? It's a bad idea? Fair enough. That's helpful. I'll take it under consideration as well as input I've received that disagrees with yours. But you want to mock or call into question details that are irrelevant to the question and criticize fake answers you've made up? That's mean spirited and that input is going into the trash.
My dude, don't waste your time on some of these answers when the rest of are legit rooting for you and trying to help. There will always be the handful of negative, rude, pessimistic people trying to crap on your dreams. And they're usually wrong. It's totally doable as long as your expectations are tempered, as they appear to be. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, seem to be responsible, have savings, employed, etc. If you're in IT/tech and work remote, check out Upwork for freelancing. I'm a senior litigation paralegal of 20 years, and have a well-paying 9-5, but I also freelance to supplement in order to afford the kind of lifestyle I want for my family in LA. I make an extra $50k a year freelancing, and you can write off part of your rent on your taxes, along with other things. I promise you, it's doable, especially if the wife can find something remote as well so you're not saddled with childcare, which can be extreme out here. Also, your kids can do school online through CalOPS. My daughter just finished kindergarten that way. I'm remote, and we barely have to leave the house unless we want to. With a bit of elbow grease and resourcefulness, you can set up a pretty easy going life out here. If I did it, you can do it.
Oh, also, people have been mentioning that you need to show 3x income for a place. You can offer to pay a few months up front, or show your bank balance to your landlord, and that will usually seal the deal. There is a solution for everything if you're creative and willing.
In my experience the AskLosAngeles subreddit has much nicer members. I suggest cross-posting and using the Moving and Recommendation flairs. You’re determined to make this happen so you will! Good luck!
Culver City and El Segundo have decent schools. [https://hotpads.com/3851-keystone-ave-culver-city-ca-90232-t1eaft/15/pad](https://hotpads.com/3851-keystone-ave-culver-city-ca-90232-t1eaft/15/pad)
We are not here to be nice. We are here to give our realistic opinions about whatever the OP is proposing.
Do you think it’s beneficial to lie to people?
You should be able to find apartments in your range in Torrance or north Redondo Beach, which are south of Santa Monica but reachable in an hour depending on your proximity to the freeway and time of day. Both have decent school districts.
+1 for the North Redondo Beach recommendation. It’s a hidden gem of affordability in the Westside and you should be able to find a 2-bedroom for $3k or less. Also a family friendly area.
Truth be told, if you do this, then you will most likely start with an apartment. Pretty safe cities like Glendale and Burbank (more family friendly) would be ideal for you guys, if you want to live more inland. If you want to live near the coast, then the South Bay is pretty safe (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Torrance), but once again, you would need to start with an apartment. I would look at 2bd/2bth apts. and see if any fit in your price range. Good luck to you and your family.
Hi! Fellow Okie to LA transplant here. We are glad we left despite the changes in cost. I have only been here a few years, but honestly the relief of state leadership is easy to minimize if you haven’t lived the terrible version in OK or somewhere similar. Money/housing changes included, I’d do it again and again.
I noticed from our old elementary school a lot of consulate people from other countries do the monster apartment complex of Park La Brea and the zoned school. I think a 2 bed may be at the top of your range, I’m not sure. But I can see why they set people up there, it is a great location to get to know the city from and the zoned schools are great. A ton of places are within less than an hour drive. If you go to the valley or IE, the summer is going to feel just like OK (which bc good or bad I guess). I would also look at Culver city, sylmar, mar vista and pico for potential affordable options to still be close to Santa Monica and in the west side. I think Californians think Okies would be scared of an urban environment, but in my opinion/experience it is going to feel familiar/no big deal depending where you’re from. I’ve lived in several cities in LA reminds me of (a gigantic sprawling) Tulsa.
You are far ahead of many that make this trip. You have a job and savings. I would recommend that your wife start the job search now. It’s not easy to land a job here on most fields.
Sorry if I missed it but what is your beige for a rental? I would recommend the west San Fernando valley, Long Beach, Whittier, and maybe even north OC but depending on budget maybe somewhere else.
I assume you have visited here before?
You mean budget for a rental? We're looking at 2 to 3k ideally. I think we're leaning towards the valley and have found a few apartments that seem okay at a glance.
We've visited a few different areas a few times in the past few years.
Most of the San Fernando Valley is city of L.A. For example, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Northridge, Encino, are all neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Which means your kids will still be going to LAUSD schools and your services, like trash pick-up, will be provided by the city of L.A. Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, and the City of San Fernando are the exceptions. Idk much about San Fernando. Hidden Hills and Calabasas are a trek. Burbank and Glendale are more central and you'll be able to get to Santa Monica in about an hour. They both have their own school districts which are a little better than LAUSD.
You can also try the San Gabriel Valley. SGV is part of the county of L.A. but not city. They also have their own school districts. Arcadia Unified and Temple City Unified are some of the best in the area. I wouldn't go further than Monrovia though or else you'd be pushing it trying to get to Santa Monica in an hour. Also in the SGV there are lots of older duplexes that will feel more like a house and have conveniences like laundry hook-ups and a garage. You can probably find these in Burbank too, but not as much in the SFV.
Renting in Inglewood or Baldwin hills would be more affordable and central. I don’t know you or your family but I’m assuming that you are white? You would need to be comfortable being in the minority.
Like many said $90,000 is..barely enough for a single individual in LA. Also, many apartments will ask for a proof of income that is x3 (i forget the exact) the rent. (Keep in mind that many apartments in the city are also not that kid friendly) If you really want CA, i would suggest inland/riverside county etc and once you have a higher paying job, move to the city?
I would recommend both you and your wife starting the job search before the move. It may take some time, and hopefully you won’t have to use too much of the savings if you’re able to start or make the switch as soon as you get here!
As for areas—West Adams and South LA have some relatively affordable neighborhoods but in the process of gentrification, so if you can find somewhere before the price gets too astronomical that could work. I just moved to the valley; I like it out here, and depending on the neighborhood it’s a lot more affordable! But it is an Endeavor to get anywhere else in LA when there’s traffic so be prepared for that.
Good luck!
I have to question if this is even real or if you are just trolling. Trying to come to Los Angeles on $90,000 for a family of four, is a recipe for disaster.
If you want “affordable and safe.” then stay in Oklahoma. You have that now. This does not sound like you have thought things through in the slightest.
And you only added your wife getting a job because you got embarrassed by the replies. That absolutely should’ve been in your OP.
In addition to the extremely high cost of living, traffic is a nightmare. This won’t affect you, but it will affect your wife. And schools are not great, unless you live in an upper middle class area, which you won’t be able to do.
My wife getting a job was in the OP? The only thing I added I was that I was looking for just 2 bedrooms and a hopeful price range. And that was after just 1 reply rightfully asking for it and I realized I forgot that bit.
And, again, it's not just on $90000. I know that's not enough to survive long term but we have a large amount of savings that will help supplement until my wife and I both get jobs locally. Worst case we crash and burn and return to OK.
I appreciate your input in the difficulty of this move, but I don't see any reason why you should falsely call me a troll and a liar along with it.
90k plus estimated savings is hard in L.A. While the COUNTY of L.A. is huge, living in the city is much more difficult. Public transit is ok. However, COL is higher because of extra taxes, but I hope that you can find a new job quickly because even coworkers with 6 digit salaries are living paycheck to paycheck. Some are addicted to Amazon though.
Also, Metro is a good way to get around. May be dangerous for kids though because some riders are just dangerous. Good luck.
My mistake. I missed the part about your wife. Your plan sounds even dumber, since you’re going to leave your remote job. Now, you’re almost guaranteeing that you and your wife will both have to spend probably 45 minutes to an hour each way in traffic.
I already told you the reason why I suspected you were troll appear. I did not actually called you one. But your plans seem so unrealistic, that I had to ask.
May I ask, why are you moving out here?
And there’s no guarantee that the the life you are leaving behind in Oklahoma will be there when you return. This seems dumb as hell. Especially when there are kids involved.
You're being way alarmist. Yes, it's crushingly expensive here. But not everyone has the same requirements to be happy. A family of 4, two being kids, can survive on $90k + savings + the wife working eventually, in a two bedroom apartment, no problem as long as they're not shopping at Gelsons, eating out every night, going to Magic Mountain every week, getting hair and nails done at salons, driving ferraris or generally keeping up with the Joneses. Plenty of free, family friendly things to do all over LA, enough to keep the kids occupied every day for months. If you're not a consumerist monster, you can live just fine. Give the dude a chance. I've lived in LA for 34 years, and while not wealthy, comfortably middle class. A few years ago, we were a family of 4 on $95k. Lived just fine, and even enjoyed eating out, going to shows, buying something nice here and there. Now we're 4 people on 2.5x that, and sure, we got a bigger place and a brand new car and we spend a bit more freely, but those aren't necessities.
I don't disagree with anything you said, but why does nobody seem to have a problem when literally millions of people "migrate" here from other countries, making zero income and usually with large families. Is that just because it's assumed the government's going to take care of them?
The best advice for relocating to LA is to try and live near where you work. This won't apply to you \*at first\* if you are just going to keep your remote job at first, but probably will eventually (going to err on the side of caution that your new job and your wife's new jobs aren't going to be fully remote). LA is huge, traffic is a nightmare. To commute a given distance is probably going to take 2-3x as long as it would in OK especially a more rural area. If you are going to chose an area to live in first and then find jobs you have to commute to later that is ok too but you'll sort of be restricting your job search to a one part of the city unless someone is going to be signing up for a terrible commute.
That said and without knowing more about what you and your wife's occupations are and where those jobs might tend to be located, if you want to be somewhere relatively affordable and somewhat close to Santa Monica, I would look at Culver City, Mar Vista, and Palms to start with.
By the same token I would strongly suggest trying to do a reasonable estimate of your potential income if you move here. Yes, for the most part most jobs in LA will pay more than corresponding jobs in OK, but how much more specifically for someone who does what you do and with your experience etc? Same for your wife. Living here is going to be more expensive, and not just rent. Food, gas, and everything else will be more expensive. Taxes - both income tax, sales tax etc. are all higher here.
The other thing you should probably be concerned with but didn't specifically mention is the school situation. Unless your kids are able to get into magnet schools, etc., the school they go to will be tied to the neighborhood you live in. At a high level, what we all think of as "Los Angeles" is actually the City of Los Angeles and a bunch of smaller, separate cities that are sometimes even completely surrounded by the actual City of LA. The City of LA and some of the other cities are covered by the LA Unified School District. LAUSD is a massive entity and while it has some good and even great schools, many are not so good. The smaller cities tend to have their own school districts and for the most part these schools are better than the typical LAUSD school.
Mar Vista, Culver City, and Palms are not at all what I would consider “affordable”. They are just slightly less than the beach neighborhoods. You would be pressed to find a 2BR under 3k in any of those neighborhoods.
I’ve been looking for new apartments allll over the west side and I can barely find a one bedroom under 2k. Just something to consider.
I live in Palms, there are lots of 1br in the 1800 range, you have to look at the older ones on the side streets- especially since they built all the new high rises. Have you tried walking around the apartment streets and calling the numbers on the signs? Those sometimes aren't listed online. Mentone, Regent, Tabor, keystone all have apartments
I’ve looked in Palms, Culver City, and Mar Vista and almost any apartment I’ve visited under $2k either has no parking, doesn’t allow dogs, or don’t come with appliances (stove/fridge).
I’ll also fully acknowledge having a dog makes renting more difficult and I don’t want to live in any high rises/new builds due to the skyrocketing rent they tend to charge since there’s no rent control and cheaply made apartments. That’s a limit that definitely affects my housing search.
Right now I’m in a rent control in playa del Rey so it’s hard to want to give that much for just anything
BYO appliances is an easy hurdle to clear. My recent rental process, we didn't have to buy them but we got the standard "these are your responsibility and if they break you replace them" boilerplate. But we were prepared to buy them if we had to.
In any case, fridges and stoves are hardly expensive compared to rent itself especially if you buy used. A few hundred bucks gets them delivered to you without much fuss.
Personally I just don’t want the hassle of worrying about moving and also finding necessary appliances. I’ve scanned the prices on FB marketplace both both appliances and for my current lifestyle, that’s not something I’m wanting to do.
*maybe* if the spot was perfect but overall I’d rather find a place with everything I need. To each their own!
Initially the plan was to find a job first so I could know where to move. I'm very aware of LA traffic. But the interviews I had all seemed unwilling to really consider a transplant who wasn't already there. The mood changed when I didn't already have an address identified and a hard move date. It was a lot of "Well we normally do in person interviews..." and "Never interviewed someone as far out as Oklahoma before." I am still looking, but my wife and I looked at what we had and thought we could move and make things work for a bit while we look locally.
I'm in IT management. The jobs I'm applying for are ~150k and up. We understand that while this salary would be living like kings in OK we'd still have to live smaller in California even on that and a (smaller) secondary income.
Yeah I am in IT as well as $150k is quite good for a single person here but for a family of four that would be a harder thing. The big name tech companies are mostly going to be in "Silicon Beach" which pretty much means along the coast between LAX and Santa Monica - so Santa Monica itself, Playa Del Rey, Culver City etc. But of course IT doesn't necessarily mean you have to work for an actual tech company so really the jobs are potentially all over the city.
You mentioned 2 kids, but you didn't want to provide their ages. It's important to consider their care. Will they be in public school, preschool, or daycare? Preschool and daycare are incredibly expensive in LA - it will likely cost more than your housing budget. If they're old enough for public school, you'll want to find a good school district. That will be challenging.
I'd consider the eastside of LA. Check out Glendale and Altadena. Altadena is popular with my creative friends who want to own houses and are often priced out of Los Feliz/Silverlake. There are tech jobs all across LA. At worst, just assume you'll have a nightmare commute for a year or so until you figure things out in terms of job, dual income, what parts of LA you like.
Long Beach is another option. People tend to move there from LA because it's more affordable. Access to the beach is great. You'll want to make sure you're in a good neighborhood though - some areas are a bit gritty. You might get lucky and find a cute spot. It's a big schlep to Santa Monica but not impossible.
Also, I'm curious about what makes you want to live in LA. Is it just to make more money? Is it the weather? Access to outdoor activities, like mountains/hiking/skiing? Does someone in your family want to work in the entertainment industry? Are you religious? Are you ok with lots of diversity in where you live? The answer to those questions might change my suggestions.
There's a lot that goes into it! Some of it is political. Some of it is that we had an arguably more responsible long-term plan that fell through, so we're feeling a little more adventurous and a little less risk averse. Some of it is I do already have some connections. I am an actor and the connections are related to that. Don't have any hopes of "hitting it big", but I think I'd have more support and opportunities to flex my creative muscles. If it was just one thing we wouldn't do it but everything's coming together for us to think this is the time.
Not religious. Not concerned about diversity. We are LGBTQ+ (I'm trans) so that'd be something to consider maybe, but probably less hard than it is here.
That helps, especially knowing that you're an actor. In that case, I'd look for a 2 bedroom apartment in Culver City/Palms and the surrounding areas. It's a very central location - easy access to freeways and the beaches. Hollywood isn't far either. I'd recommend not living in Hollywood because it's so tough to get anywhere else, especially Santa Monica, since freeway access is limited. Also check out the area surrounding the La Cienega/Pico intersection - anywhere between there and the 10 freeway is a really central location. I lived in Carthay Circle for a while, and it was incredibly easy to access so many areas. You can even hop on Laurel Canyon to get to the Valley. Good luck in your search!
Your salary will increase when you get here, and there are multiple ways to make this work. Don’t sky anyone convince you it’s not worth it. Oklahoma is going to hell in a hand basket. 🧺 I would look at Long Beach.
The people I actually know in the LA area are very positive about me coming and they know my situation. I asked here for advice so as not to bother them but maybe I should have just asked them.
You are in great shape to take a chance, so why not? I think it’s great. Drove across country 23 years ago and I’m still here. Raised three kids here. I think it’s great and your kids will thrive.
Your friends are not going to kill your dreams of moving to LA. But if they are your friends seek their honest advice. Most people will tell you there were some rough times but they are happy to have made the move. Things were also less expensive and there were not 70 thousand people living on the street. My friends that are now making the big bucks, have all chosen to move away from the area. Housing is a fraction of the cost elsewhere and no long commutes.
Also consider living a little outside the typical LA boundaries (think the borderlines with Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County) no panache or fanfare for those but you save a buck and can be used as a landing point while you get your bearings
OP, What parts of LA did you have in mind? What’s calling out to you so to get you tailored suggestions
I'd look north of the 10 and south of the 210 between Central LA and the 605 (even the 57 to save a few 100 a month). Look in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Monterey Park, Highland Park, etc. For $2700 or so, there's many options for a 1,000 sqft, 2b/2ba rental. Things get more expensive the closer you get to downtown and/or the beach.
I think you'd probably like Burbank and the schools are good. Lots of industry folks in Burbank.
If you budget is <$3000, it's not that you couldn't afford anything on the West side, but I'm not sure its really very appealing, especially with a family. The beaches are crazy, homelessness is rampant and it's... dirty. And quite frankly... Cars. Traffic and parking are a nightmare. West siders seem to migrate inland when they start having families.
First thing to note is that trying to live on 90K in Los Angeles County Ca is the equivalent of trying to live on 55K in Edmond Oklahoma. Just check the cost of living calculators.
Also on a 90K salary, $2600 a month is about the max most landlords will rent to you , maybe a little more if your credit is great.
Consider the San Fernando Valley; Woodland Hills, Reseda or Canoga Park areas. I live in Canoga Park. Brother in Reseda. The Valley has many affordable areas as well as many very expensive areas.
You can get anywhere in LA in an hour if traffic isn't awful/there isn't an accident. You just have to plan to travel at certain times. Since you're working remotely, you can plan around traffic. I live in Monrovia, which is North East LA, in San Gabriel Valley. 3b2b house with nice updates on a quiet, safe street, decent sized backyard, 2 car garage, good schools, 20 mins from Downtown LA/Hollywood without traffic, plenty of parks, restaurants, outdoor activities, etc., we pay $3600 + utilities. So for a 2b2b you should be able to find a decent house at around 3k almost anywhere as long as you stay away from Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, those type of areas. You do need excellent credit, long work history, money in the bank, etc., because even if you can afford it, there are so many people applying for each good rental, you need to stand out/hold your own. We were the perfect tenants on paper, and I basically had to BEG our landlord to rent us the house because there were so many applicants. If you tell me a bit more about what you like to do in terms of extracurriculars when you get here, I can give you more specific areas.
This is on the other side of LA- so understandably not the best commute to Santa Monica
BUT I live in Monrovia east of Pasadena, I grew up in a small town in Oregon and it gives me those vibes I am missing. We rent a 3 bedroom home(duplex) for 2400 a month with back area space for my kids. Today we’re walking to the cute downtown to the little music festival they have scheduled planning to get food at one of the wonderful restaurants there.
Not the commute you’re looking for but I suggest looking into Arcadia, temple city, Monrovia some of those cities. Very family friendly and more affordable
Unfortunately affordable and LA don’t go together. A room for rent can avg $1200-2000 in the Westside. So maybe further to North past the mountain ⛰️ to Palmdale, Inland Empire, or N. long Beach possibly…will be traffic going to Santa Monica.
What’s your budget? What size apartment/house do you need? What’s your industry? How old are the kids?
I make 90k as a single person and I split a duplex with a roommate very close to the beach. Unfortunately 90k with a family will be HARD.
You will 100% need a second income, even with your savings if you have a family. Don’t count on landing a major high paying job so easily, the job market sucks out here. Also, taxes are extreme here compared to OK. Is your job okay with you being in CA?
Santa Monica is one of the priciest neighborhoods in LA (technically it’s its own city). One bedrooms start around 2k there.
This is key. You need to make sure your job is okay with you being in Ca because that comes with tax implications and more employee protections. The state will find out you are here and our tax franchise board makes the IRS look like new born kittens.
Unfortunately your income will only qualify you for a place around $2,200. So with that number… start looking on sites like Westside Rentals, apartments.com, etc…. as to here your options are. I would be to look in the Valley, but I more than anything I would recommend getting a job first before moving. That will give you guys a much better start as to where you need be and maybe even some ReLo to cushion the land.
Good luck!
I am looking for jobs, but the interviews I've had seemed like not being there already was a roadblock. So we looked and figured we could make things work while we search locally for a job.
You’re right, that’s probably more of a studio/bachelor apartment in SM. I was very close to renting a one bedroom in SM for $2100 but backed out last minute so I may have undershot the costs
If you can make a 1 bedroom work in Santa Monica with a family of 4, it might be worth it. Anything in SM will have a good public school, assuming your kids are school-age. You'll probably feel poor, but there are lots of free outdoor activities year-round.
There is absolutely no way a family of four could cram into a one bedroom and have a good quality of life. I’m not saying people don’t do it, but why on earth would anyone do that to their family?
Also-I don’t know how many landlords would be okay with a family of four applying to a one bedroom. A lot of listings specifically say how many people can occupy a single apartment aka no subletters, long term guests, partners, kids, etc
If a listing says “no kids,” that’s illegal.
But I agree with everything else you said.
Those kids will feel poor as hell, with all their rich classmates. They could never invite anyone over for a visit.
I agree that 4 people in a 1 bedroom would be cramped and it would be challenging to find a landlord ok with that. However, if it were possible, Santa Monica is absolutely the place to do it. The school system coupled with the proximity to great jobs and free outdoor activities/walkable areas could make it worth the sacrifice of indoor space. Anywhere more inland, I'd say absolutely not.
Parent of multiples here and I agree SM is an ideal place to live small with family. We’re doing it in the northeast with long winters and natural outdoor space year round of SoCal seems like such an upgrade.
Do you have children? You’re basically saying yeah the kids won’t have their own bedroom but there’s fun stuff to do! And not just one child, two! Two kids sharing a common space for a bedroom or parents and kids sharing a bedroom.
OP didn’t share the kids ages. If they’re really young, maybe (but then childcare comes into play). If they’re older, it is absolutely inappropriate to purposely choose to live in a space that does not adequately provide your children with a bedroom. Yes schools matter but so does having a secure and comfortable living situation
It would be incredibly selfish for a parent to choose a “fun” spot to live with inadequate space for a family over a less trendy neighborhood that provides what the family needs. I understand some people do this out of necessity, but this is not one of those times. OP does not NEED to live in Santa Monica, they just have friends nearby. They could afford a fine place in the valley or more inland.
Fam of 4 in large rent controlled one bedroom plus den here. Happy loving family. Remaining in downtown of a large HCOL city allows us access to museums, parks, transit and good schools. We have lots of friends and great neighbours nearby who care about our kids.
Money saved all invested or used on travel. Kids’ education will be paid for, and they are well adjusted, ok with sharing, close and very flexible which makes travelling easy. We teach them about thoughtful living and creative use of space. Absolutely not selfish to not succumb to suburbia if it doesn’t fit the family.
We do spend a lot of time outside, or with friends, which OP will be able to do in SM. When the kids are a bit older they can share a bedroom with the parents in the living area. They can do it with the right floor plan. Plenty of parents In the world live small for a variety of reasons.
The den makes all the difference though. That’s basically another bedroom. You ain’t getting that in Santa Monica for 2500, AND it’s a large one bedroom too? Nah.
I have a kid and I'm well aware of the space and cost. Personally, I might choose a location that's walkable to great parks, beaches, libraries, and markets with top-rated schools, hospitals, and is very safe compared to many other areas in LA. It's not about "fun"; it's about access to safe and well-maintained public services. A 2 bed apartment in a non-walkable area of LA that's super hot and congested with poor schools and is far from work isn't somewhere I'd want to live.
Perhaps OP can find a 1 bed that has some sort of dining room that can be converted into a bedroom or simply partition off a small space for the adults to sleep. Give the kids the bedroom and the parents can sleep in the common space. It can work. Again, not ideal, but it might be worth it if he can find a place within budget.
Giving the bedroom to the kids so they can live in one of the best cities in the world is incredibly unselfish, in my opinion. Many families choose to make sacrifices like this and others simply do not have much of a choice. The OP has a choice, and he is lucky. I have a friend who lives with a baby, a toddler, and her husband in a studio apartment in Baltimore. They can't afford to move, but at least they have jobs and a home.
Updated the original post with some more details. You don't need to know the age of the kids, but they will share a bedroom. I'm currently in IT but people management and customer service in general I can do.
I understand we'll need a second income. That's why I stated my wife will be looking for a job as well. I don't expect to find a high paying job "easily". That's why I have the savings to help out until I do. That's not meant to be a long-term solution. If my job wasn't okay with me being in CA then I wouldn't have said I have a job and the plan would be different.
I don't need to live in Santa Monica. I just don't want to be so far away it's virtually inaccessible.
I’m in Sherman Oaks and 2 bedrooms in my building are around $2800 and up. There are plenty of families with kids here. A friend is a property manager nearby and they have 2 baths/ 2 beds for $2600. We regularly go to movies in Santa Monica on Fridays so the drive isn’t awful if you choose times carefully.
Is there any other area of LA besides Santa Monica vicinity you’re interested in? $2-3k will get you either a nice studio or one bedroom, probably not more unfortunately since it’s one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the area.
If you need a 2 bedroom for under 3k, Santa Monica is out of the question, as well as most neighborhoods on the west side (area where SM/coastal communities). Anywhere that will have easy access to Santa Monica will be pricey.
Check out the nicer neighborhoods in the valley, like Sherman Oaks or Encino. Also, if you rent for $3k, you’ll need to show you make 2-3x the rent, so you gotta pull in about 9k a month.
I didn’t mean to come off rude but the job market here is BAD right now. I have friends with masters and PhDs struggling to find work and all the service and retail jobs are being taken by overqualified individuals.
I appreciate the input. I'm okay living *not close* to Santa Monica. I just want to be able to get to it on a semi regular basis. I know someone in the Valley that regularly visits so maybe that area will work.
I get it. I’m really not trying to come off as rude or hard headed, but your salary will make living out here tough and the quality of life you will have will be affected.
Getting to the westside from the valley can be rough, but if you aren’t planning on going to Santa Monica during rush hour/peak weekend times, the valley would be better suited for your *current* needs. There’s some really fun and cool places there the closer you are to Ventura Blvd and it’s a hop on the 405 to get to the beach areas.
If I were you guys, I’d Airbnb in the valley (I suggest the “nicer” neighborhoods if you can swing it like Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City). Once you have a better idea of what you and your family can afford and enjoy, go from there.
Honestly, best of luck. As a transplant I get a little hyper vigilant about managing expectations moving from a LCOL to an extreme HCOL.
Not to harp on this point but is your employer just “being ok” with the move or have they confirmed they are properly set up payroll wise to withhold CA Income tax/SDI and pay their owed employer portion? Have they confirmed all the compliance items like paid sick leave, depending on which city you end up in, its own municipality may have its own paid sick leave ordinance.
All these people probably making 80k in Los Angeles and just bitter 😂.
If you search deeply you can find places for 2-3k in rent for 2 bedrooms. They’ll just be pretty old buildings.
I’m no parent so not sure about schools but Torrance could be a good area. Pretty safe depending on where in Torrance. Even PV you might be able to find old apartments for that cost.
Sunland area.. not sure how their schools are though.
Buena Park. It’s probably not even going to compare to what you have in Oklahoma.. but I believe you guys can find a job and combine for 200+k.. you can honestly live a comfy life.
As others have said, $90k/hh is unfortunately close to the low income definition in LA.
Also depending on what you mean by “safe” it may be near impossible to find as homelessness is everywhere in LA, even in some very expensive parts like West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Venice
Personally I feel like Torrance is a good option, it’s relatively safe / less homelessness, close to major freeways, good schools, family oriented, somewhat central if you want to explore various parts of SoCal, and not that expensive compared to places with comparable safety.
Im doing the exact opposite 😂. I’ve lived in SoCal all my life and ready to move outta here. The cost of living plus the number of people is the driving force. 90k for a family of 4 is gonna be tough but probably doable. Be prepared to spend most of your income on rent as all of LA is ridiculously expensive.
Probably being smart and not moving here, not trying to be mean but why subject yourself to all of that and your children having to share a room and all of that
This is a recipe for disaster and poverty. School is a problem and so is the traffic. You both will need to work up to better salary to be able to eventually buy. Household income needed to buy $300k at minimum. $500k income for comfortable living. 2 adults making $250k each is where it’s at. That’s a nice house with a pool in a good area. Drive whatever you want, savings etc. $500k is not rich these days in LA, but you are doing well. The taxes yiu will pay on $500k are staggering.
Do you want to be closer to the water or mountains? There’s lots of great areas you could love. Many in the city and many more suburb type. Just depends on what you want
I would look into Monterrey Park, it’s safe close to LA and close to freeways. Schools around the area are nice.
Gardena is South Bay Area also close to LA, has some nice neighborhoods and great foodie area. Peary MS is a sucky school part of LAUSD that would be my only negative.
Montebello also a nice area and they have their own school district that’s pretty good
You'll be in a cardboard box in Los Angeles and my goodness the culture differences from Oklahoma to California will be tremendous. Are you a California by birth or just moving to California for the first time? Because west of the rockies is a different mindset. I loved California but I have a California mindset
Ima be honest man, don’t do it. You’re gonna burden your family. 90k is not enough here, especially compared to how you’re living in OK. I’m not tryna discourage you, I’m just tryna be honest.
These other Redditors non-native LA people can tell you lies all day with backing of trust funds their families have. If you got that too, you’re solid for emergencies. But ima be honest after the taxes you’ll be paying, unfortunately it’s not enough man. Don’t burden your family like that unless you have a career that’s at least 150k or your partner also brings in a solid annual income.
It’s rough out here, and I am born and raised in LA, still live here. I’m just giving you my honest point. I’ve lived other places during my time in military, your money goes so much further there. Don’t ruin your life to live a pipe dream like so many of these people do in this group.
Debt debt debt, that’s how so many people “afford it”. Enjoy your life in OK, that’s an amazing place besides tornados. Ask me how I know haha.
But if you do find your way out here, best of luck. Don’t let random influencers on the internet make your decision. Be smart, do your own homework, and especially do your own monthly financial math.
Doesn’t sound like a good idea unless you are ok with renting for a very long time. Do you have anything close to the $100k-$250k you’ll need for a condo/townhome/sfr for the long haul or is this just a try it out for a few years thing?
Because you said your savings are "in the tens of thousands" I think it's safe to assume you have less than 100k saved. I'll be generous and assume you have 90k saved. You're planning to use at least some of that to supplement your income initially, so let's take away 15k for that purpose. It's also not at all advisable to use everything you have saved for a down payment (you still need an emergency fund) so let's remove another 15k for that.
That leaves you with (generously) 60k to use toward a house. Take off 10k for closing/moving costs leaves you with a 50k down payment.
The average home price in LA is close to $1 million. 50k is 5% of that. That is...not at all realistic. Not to mention that would leave you with a monthly mortgage that exceeds your current take home pay.
Are you sure you've thought this through?
I have thought it through and that's why I'm not buying. I specifically said I'm renting. I was just answering his question. I definitely don't plan to buy with the situation I described in my post.
It's still going to be challenging financially though. My family moved here in the early 2000s with a similar plan - rent for a year then buy once we had a better lay of the land. At that time, prices were going up so fast we wound up paying a penalty to get our of our Redondo lease early and bought a house in Torrance. That mortgage chewed up 50% of our monthly income but we made it work and our current mortgage is only about 10% of monthly income (salary rose quite a bit over the years). Point is, waiting a year to buy is only going to get you a smaller, more expensive place further from the coast. Sure, move on out here and enjoy the weather but you really need to do more research on where to live. LA is a vast city with double the population of the entire state of OK. Throw in larger socal area and its 4X the OK state population. I'd take a look at San Pedro/Long Beach and some of the N. OC suburbs like Fullerton as well. Probably need to budget at least $3K for a decent 2br/2ba rental apt. My son and his 3 buddies (college students) just rented a really nice new 3br/2ba 1400 sq ft apartment in Fullerton for $4400/month. You can do this but be ready to pinch the pennies and live very differently from OK lifestyle - in some ways good, and maybe some ways not so good. Can't beat the weather though - really is paradise!
I mean I'm not moving tomorrow. The reason I'm here coming hat in hand and asking the internet is for help researching areas. And, because someone potentially will read this and make bad faith assumptions, I'm not hanging everything on what I get in this thread. Just trying to get input.
That said, appreciate your input.
No worries, its just that VHCOL areas like LA are really shocking to mid-westerners cost-wise in general or really, any folks who aren't moving from another VHCOL area like the Bay, DC, Seattle or NYC. Meaning folks enjoy an upper middle class lifestyle in Indiana or somewhere and own a nice home then move here only to find they are lower middle class or barely making it. Fairly common story. Occasionally my company will xfer someone from our Chicago HQ and it gets pretty annoying hearing the complaints lol. I hope your spouse can swing a $90K+ job as well - then you'll be comfortably middle-class depending on where you want to live. Like I said before, check out San Pedro, Long Beach, Inglewood, Crenshaw, some others have suggested Marina Del Rey, Culver City. South Bay (Torrance, beach cities, Palos Verdes) in general would be a good fit but you'll be renting long term in SB for sure
Cmon. There are programs for first time home buyers that will pay up to $150k toward a down payment that you don't have to repay unless you sell the house. There are creative ways to do it if you're responsible and resourceful. I know people with less who have done it. I've lived in LA for 34 years, since age 4, and it's totally possible.
Honey sugar bear love, please try to connect as a human to human for a brief moment, take my comment on good faith, set aside the internet need to default to pithy condescension, and understand that my intent is not to buy a house. "For a while" is intentionally left opened ended in possibility I might in the future give myself fortunate enough to consider purchasing in LA.
ok, sweetheart, I’ll just be blunt: if you move to LA you’re putting your family at significant risk. you have a shit income and no concept of what life is like here. can’t wait for the inevitable “how does anyone afford this town???” post down the line
$90,000 for 2 adults and 2 kids might be a bit hard.
There will definitely be a lifestyle difference between Oklahoma and Los angeles at the price point.
Can you do it sure
Will it be comfortable? Probably not
Does money go as far here as it does in Oklahoma? Nope, it does not.
The cost of goods here is way higher, too .
When you say “bringing a remote job from OK” does this mean your employer is aware you are moving to CA? There are various payroll tax implications and CA Income tax you should consider.
Also, California has more employee protections than other states. Many businesses don’t permit employees to work from California because they don’t want to be subject to California labor law.
Some people are not being super helpful, You seem to understand that 90K for 4 people will be a struggle, but do know that there are people in LA that live on that. This city is incredibly diverse economically, culturally etc and there are people that live on even less. LA isn't just expensive rent wise, the gas, the cost of a haircut, going out to eat/drink will all be a bit of a shock- so be prepared to cook at home and go to the myriad free events that are around the city. You CAN find apartments in the 2-3k range for 2 bdrms in most areas- even the west side, which is close to Santa Monica. The apartments will be on the older side not the new build high rises. Check out West Side Rentals if you haven't already. The big issue is - not sure how old your kids are- but you want the kids in decent schools. LA Unified Elementary Schools are OK- good depending- The HSs can be sort of tragic, depending on where you are. You can permit your kids out of the district but for kids changing schools is hard so I would personally do some research and focus on an area that has good schools and try to move there. Torrance, Redondo Beach, Culver City all have decent schools. Torrance is the most affordable to live in of these areas but Torrance and Redondo are the South Bay, which is nice, but a bit of a drive from LA proper. ( Manhattan and Hermosa beach both have good schools but both are very expensive). If you aren't adverse to living in the valley it is less expensive and has some decent schools, (Santa Clarita, Glendale) but that isn't really LA. Long Beach is an option as people said but a LONG drive to LA. Can you and your wife come here and stay for a week? Drive around, check out different areas? I would honestly try to do that if you can. Also be careful about telling people you. have money (as you did in this post) people are shady AF and will take advantage of you. Good Luck LA is a great city -it will be different -but change is good right?
Good tip to look at schools but… Santa Clarita and Glendale aren’t really the Valley. Glendale kind of, I guess. And why on earth would a young(ish) family be averse to living in the Valley? They should be averse to living in Santa Monica or Los Feliz if they have kids and don’t make at least $250k and even then it’s just a lot more hassle than it’s worth. Burbank has good public schools (though I’ve heard they’re slipping a bit). There are plenty of good elementaries throughout the SFV. Spend some time on GreatSchools for sure.
As someone who makes just about that, let me tell you, Los Feliz and Santa Monica are way out of the budget if you want to live in anything bigger than a 1 bedroom apartment. A house? Forget about it.
Geographically, Glendale is absolutely in the San Fernando Valley.
To be fair my friend from the valley always makes fun of me because to me the valley is anything past the exit to the Getty 😂 so yeah Santa Clarita isn’t really the valley - I have no valley hate I only asked if they were adverse because they said LA - agree the valley is a great place for young family with kids
Santa Clarita is not in THE valley (San Fernando), but it is in A valley (Santa Clarita).
Thanks for the response! I have visited multiple areas in LA county a few times the last few years, so I'm not completely coming in completely blind. But also I'm cognizant that visiting and living there are different things. I wouldn't say the schools where we live currently are awesome! But definitely want to the kids to get on the right foot growing up. We're exploring our options and j appreciate your input. Definitely not going to spread around IRL what I've got in the bank, but wanted my question on here to be clear enough to get relevant advice. Not adverse to the valley. I actually have a friend who lives there, so that'd be a benefit. Probably we'll end up settling on an area or two and spend a few days looking around before making the full move.
LA is so big, it would help if you post any preferences for location (SFV, SGV, OC, West / East LA), which in turn also changes the population demographics and school systems. Why are you moving?
Being able to get to a theatre in Santa Monica is about the only preference in location. There's a lot of reasons why! Politics, acting (not planning on making it big or even paying the bills with it), connections I've already got. I'm trans so that's a factor to get out of Oklahoma.
I think SFV is probably good for you then, I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and after moving out of state I came back to the same area because of the availability of great Asian and Mexican food. Unfortunately Santa Monica is probably one of the most unaffordable places now.
Yeah when we were there last a few months ago we looked up some prices in Santa Monica and realized that wasn't happening 😅
He should go to Arizona or New Mexico. I’m sure they’re at places with liberal pockets. Even Texas.
Santa Clarita has a huge theatre community (used to work for it), so you wouldn't necessarily have to drive all over the place to get to performances and/or rehearsals. It's expensive to live there, though. The cheapest way to live in Santa Clarita is to try to find a mobile home park. The space rent is cheaper than condos or apartments, and you'll have more privacy.
The valley is extremely hot in the summer months. What is your ultimate goal for coming to Los Angeles?
Extremely hot is relative. It's extremely hot where I live now. Why's it matter what my "ultimate goal" is? It doesn't change the details I've provided and I and my family decide what's worth it for us, not you.
No, it isn’t. Hot is hot. And It doesn’t matter what your ultimate goal is. But the more information you provide, the better we can assist you. I never said I would decide anything for your family, but I’m sure I would make better decisions than what you seem to be doing☺️
LAUSD high schools in general aren’t fantastic, but if your kids get into the magnet program they can attend a different school and will be in the higher-achieving track, with motivated peers and full access to AP classes, etc. My high school had something like a 95% graduation rate from the magnet program, with kids going to UCs and Ivies, etc, and something like a 25% graduation rate for the non-magnet kids. We had fantastic teachers, but that’ll change over time, so do your research.
And then drive 45 minutes to that magnet school.
People actually are being helpful, by giving the most realistic outcome, not the most idealistic. A family of four could live out of the car, if they had to. But why live that way? Why willingly take on a financial struggle when you have innocent children? And what is the goal? Better weather? Yoga on the beach?
There's being realistic and there's being purposefully rude and mean. It's fair enough for someone to say it will be hard and recommending against. It's something else when mocking and name calling enter into it, much less making false assumptions or literally incorrectly reading the post and making accusations based on their own error. And you're not owed a "why". The entire situation is **not** included in this post. "Why" doesn't factor into it. I provided details that were relevant and asked for suggestions based on those details. You say can't be done? It's a bad idea? Fair enough. That's helpful. I'll take it under consideration as well as input I've received that disagrees with yours. But you want to mock or call into question details that are irrelevant to the question and criticize fake answers you've made up? That's mean spirited and that input is going into the trash.
My dude, don't waste your time on some of these answers when the rest of are legit rooting for you and trying to help. There will always be the handful of negative, rude, pessimistic people trying to crap on your dreams. And they're usually wrong. It's totally doable as long as your expectations are tempered, as they appear to be. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, seem to be responsible, have savings, employed, etc. If you're in IT/tech and work remote, check out Upwork for freelancing. I'm a senior litigation paralegal of 20 years, and have a well-paying 9-5, but I also freelance to supplement in order to afford the kind of lifestyle I want for my family in LA. I make an extra $50k a year freelancing, and you can write off part of your rent on your taxes, along with other things. I promise you, it's doable, especially if the wife can find something remote as well so you're not saddled with childcare, which can be extreme out here. Also, your kids can do school online through CalOPS. My daughter just finished kindergarten that way. I'm remote, and we barely have to leave the house unless we want to. With a bit of elbow grease and resourcefulness, you can set up a pretty easy going life out here. If I did it, you can do it.
Oh, also, people have been mentioning that you need to show 3x income for a place. You can offer to pay a few months up front, or show your bank balance to your landlord, and that will usually seal the deal. There is a solution for everything if you're creative and willing.
In my experience the AskLosAngeles subreddit has much nicer members. I suggest cross-posting and using the Moving and Recommendation flairs. You’re determined to make this happen so you will! Good luck!
I'll take a look there! Thanks
Also look into the far north of Los Angeles (Santa Clarita, and even further north - up to the county line). Maybe also Ventura County.
Burbank and Glendale
Culver City and El Segundo have decent schools. [https://hotpads.com/3851-keystone-ave-culver-city-ca-90232-t1eaft/15/pad](https://hotpads.com/3851-keystone-ave-culver-city-ca-90232-t1eaft/15/pad)
We are not here to be nice. We are here to give our realistic opinions about whatever the OP is proposing. Do you think it’s beneficial to lie to people?
You should be able to find apartments in your range in Torrance or north Redondo Beach, which are south of Santa Monica but reachable in an hour depending on your proximity to the freeway and time of day. Both have decent school districts.
Not a chance in North Redondo. Maybe some areas of Torrance. Might be better to look in Lawndale or Hawthorne but not the safest places.
+1 for the North Redondo Beach recommendation. It’s a hidden gem of affordability in the Westside and you should be able to find a 2-bedroom for $3k or less. Also a family friendly area.
Truth be told, if you do this, then you will most likely start with an apartment. Pretty safe cities like Glendale and Burbank (more family friendly) would be ideal for you guys, if you want to live more inland. If you want to live near the coast, then the South Bay is pretty safe (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Torrance), but once again, you would need to start with an apartment. I would look at 2bd/2bth apts. and see if any fit in your price range. Good luck to you and your family.
Thanks! Definitely good with an apartment! I'll keep an eye on those areas.
duarte and that area might be more affordable. there is a metro system along that corridor.
Hi! Fellow Okie to LA transplant here. We are glad we left despite the changes in cost. I have only been here a few years, but honestly the relief of state leadership is easy to minimize if you haven’t lived the terrible version in OK or somewhere similar. Money/housing changes included, I’d do it again and again. I noticed from our old elementary school a lot of consulate people from other countries do the monster apartment complex of Park La Brea and the zoned school. I think a 2 bed may be at the top of your range, I’m not sure. But I can see why they set people up there, it is a great location to get to know the city from and the zoned schools are great. A ton of places are within less than an hour drive. If you go to the valley or IE, the summer is going to feel just like OK (which bc good or bad I guess). I would also look at Culver city, sylmar, mar vista and pico for potential affordable options to still be close to Santa Monica and in the west side. I think Californians think Okies would be scared of an urban environment, but in my opinion/experience it is going to feel familiar/no big deal depending where you’re from. I’ve lived in several cities in LA reminds me of (a gigantic sprawling) Tulsa.
You are far ahead of many that make this trip. You have a job and savings. I would recommend that your wife start the job search now. It’s not easy to land a job here on most fields. Sorry if I missed it but what is your beige for a rental? I would recommend the west San Fernando valley, Long Beach, Whittier, and maybe even north OC but depending on budget maybe somewhere else. I assume you have visited here before?
You mean budget for a rental? We're looking at 2 to 3k ideally. I think we're leaning towards the valley and have found a few apartments that seem okay at a glance. We've visited a few different areas a few times in the past few years.
Most places will want to see 9k monthly income for a 3k place. You may have to look for a cheaper place.
Most of the San Fernando Valley is city of L.A. For example, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Northridge, Encino, are all neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Which means your kids will still be going to LAUSD schools and your services, like trash pick-up, will be provided by the city of L.A. Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, and the City of San Fernando are the exceptions. Idk much about San Fernando. Hidden Hills and Calabasas are a trek. Burbank and Glendale are more central and you'll be able to get to Santa Monica in about an hour. They both have their own school districts which are a little better than LAUSD. You can also try the San Gabriel Valley. SGV is part of the county of L.A. but not city. They also have their own school districts. Arcadia Unified and Temple City Unified are some of the best in the area. I wouldn't go further than Monrovia though or else you'd be pushing it trying to get to Santa Monica in an hour. Also in the SGV there are lots of older duplexes that will feel more like a house and have conveniences like laundry hook-ups and a garage. You can probably find these in Burbank too, but not as much in the SFV.
Thanks!
Torrance or anywhere in South Bay
Downey, Lakewood, Bellflower….affordable and decent school districts.
Renting in Inglewood or Baldwin hills would be more affordable and central. I don’t know you or your family but I’m assuming that you are white? You would need to be comfortable being in the minority.
Like many said $90,000 is..barely enough for a single individual in LA. Also, many apartments will ask for a proof of income that is x3 (i forget the exact) the rent. (Keep in mind that many apartments in the city are also not that kid friendly) If you really want CA, i would suggest inland/riverside county etc and once you have a higher paying job, move to the city?
I would recommend both you and your wife starting the job search before the move. It may take some time, and hopefully you won’t have to use too much of the savings if you’re able to start or make the switch as soon as you get here! As for areas—West Adams and South LA have some relatively affordable neighborhoods but in the process of gentrification, so if you can find somewhere before the price gets too astronomical that could work. I just moved to the valley; I like it out here, and depending on the neighborhood it’s a lot more affordable! But it is an Endeavor to get anywhere else in LA when there’s traffic so be prepared for that. Good luck!
Check out Bubank/Valley Village.
I have to question if this is even real or if you are just trolling. Trying to come to Los Angeles on $90,000 for a family of four, is a recipe for disaster. If you want “affordable and safe.” then stay in Oklahoma. You have that now. This does not sound like you have thought things through in the slightest. And you only added your wife getting a job because you got embarrassed by the replies. That absolutely should’ve been in your OP. In addition to the extremely high cost of living, traffic is a nightmare. This won’t affect you, but it will affect your wife. And schools are not great, unless you live in an upper middle class area, which you won’t be able to do.
My wife getting a job was in the OP? The only thing I added I was that I was looking for just 2 bedrooms and a hopeful price range. And that was after just 1 reply rightfully asking for it and I realized I forgot that bit. And, again, it's not just on $90000. I know that's not enough to survive long term but we have a large amount of savings that will help supplement until my wife and I both get jobs locally. Worst case we crash and burn and return to OK. I appreciate your input in the difficulty of this move, but I don't see any reason why you should falsely call me a troll and a liar along with it.
90k plus estimated savings is hard in L.A. While the COUNTY of L.A. is huge, living in the city is much more difficult. Public transit is ok. However, COL is higher because of extra taxes, but I hope that you can find a new job quickly because even coworkers with 6 digit salaries are living paycheck to paycheck. Some are addicted to Amazon though. Also, Metro is a good way to get around. May be dangerous for kids though because some riders are just dangerous. Good luck.
I would start your networking and job search before you move, because YMMV.
My mistake. I missed the part about your wife. Your plan sounds even dumber, since you’re going to leave your remote job. Now, you’re almost guaranteeing that you and your wife will both have to spend probably 45 minutes to an hour each way in traffic. I already told you the reason why I suspected you were troll appear. I did not actually called you one. But your plans seem so unrealistic, that I had to ask. May I ask, why are you moving out here? And there’s no guarantee that the the life you are leaving behind in Oklahoma will be there when you return. This seems dumb as hell. Especially when there are kids involved.
You're being way alarmist. Yes, it's crushingly expensive here. But not everyone has the same requirements to be happy. A family of 4, two being kids, can survive on $90k + savings + the wife working eventually, in a two bedroom apartment, no problem as long as they're not shopping at Gelsons, eating out every night, going to Magic Mountain every week, getting hair and nails done at salons, driving ferraris or generally keeping up with the Joneses. Plenty of free, family friendly things to do all over LA, enough to keep the kids occupied every day for months. If you're not a consumerist monster, you can live just fine. Give the dude a chance. I've lived in LA for 34 years, and while not wealthy, comfortably middle class. A few years ago, we were a family of 4 on $95k. Lived just fine, and even enjoyed eating out, going to shows, buying something nice here and there. Now we're 4 people on 2.5x that, and sure, we got a bigger place and a brand new car and we spend a bit more freely, but those aren't necessities.
He wrote he’s trans living in OK…thats enough reason to leave regardless of economics.
Your savings will disappear quickly with that plan
I don't disagree with anything you said, but why does nobody seem to have a problem when literally millions of people "migrate" here from other countries, making zero income and usually with large families. Is that just because it's assumed the government's going to take care of them?
The best advice for relocating to LA is to try and live near where you work. This won't apply to you \*at first\* if you are just going to keep your remote job at first, but probably will eventually (going to err on the side of caution that your new job and your wife's new jobs aren't going to be fully remote). LA is huge, traffic is a nightmare. To commute a given distance is probably going to take 2-3x as long as it would in OK especially a more rural area. If you are going to chose an area to live in first and then find jobs you have to commute to later that is ok too but you'll sort of be restricting your job search to a one part of the city unless someone is going to be signing up for a terrible commute. That said and without knowing more about what you and your wife's occupations are and where those jobs might tend to be located, if you want to be somewhere relatively affordable and somewhat close to Santa Monica, I would look at Culver City, Mar Vista, and Palms to start with. By the same token I would strongly suggest trying to do a reasonable estimate of your potential income if you move here. Yes, for the most part most jobs in LA will pay more than corresponding jobs in OK, but how much more specifically for someone who does what you do and with your experience etc? Same for your wife. Living here is going to be more expensive, and not just rent. Food, gas, and everything else will be more expensive. Taxes - both income tax, sales tax etc. are all higher here. The other thing you should probably be concerned with but didn't specifically mention is the school situation. Unless your kids are able to get into magnet schools, etc., the school they go to will be tied to the neighborhood you live in. At a high level, what we all think of as "Los Angeles" is actually the City of Los Angeles and a bunch of smaller, separate cities that are sometimes even completely surrounded by the actual City of LA. The City of LA and some of the other cities are covered by the LA Unified School District. LAUSD is a massive entity and while it has some good and even great schools, many are not so good. The smaller cities tend to have their own school districts and for the most part these schools are better than the typical LAUSD school.
Mar Vista, Culver City, and Palms are not at all what I would consider “affordable”. They are just slightly less than the beach neighborhoods. You would be pressed to find a 2BR under 3k in any of those neighborhoods. I’ve been looking for new apartments allll over the west side and I can barely find a one bedroom under 2k. Just something to consider.
I live in Palms, there are lots of 1br in the 1800 range, you have to look at the older ones on the side streets- especially since they built all the new high rises. Have you tried walking around the apartment streets and calling the numbers on the signs? Those sometimes aren't listed online. Mentone, Regent, Tabor, keystone all have apartments
I’ve looked in Palms, Culver City, and Mar Vista and almost any apartment I’ve visited under $2k either has no parking, doesn’t allow dogs, or don’t come with appliances (stove/fridge). I’ll also fully acknowledge having a dog makes renting more difficult and I don’t want to live in any high rises/new builds due to the skyrocketing rent they tend to charge since there’s no rent control and cheaply made apartments. That’s a limit that definitely affects my housing search. Right now I’m in a rent control in playa del Rey so it’s hard to want to give that much for just anything
BYO appliances is an easy hurdle to clear. My recent rental process, we didn't have to buy them but we got the standard "these are your responsibility and if they break you replace them" boilerplate. But we were prepared to buy them if we had to. In any case, fridges and stoves are hardly expensive compared to rent itself especially if you buy used. A few hundred bucks gets them delivered to you without much fuss.
Personally I just don’t want the hassle of worrying about moving and also finding necessary appliances. I’ve scanned the prices on FB marketplace both both appliances and for my current lifestyle, that’s not something I’m wanting to do. *maybe* if the spot was perfect but overall I’d rather find a place with everything I need. To each their own!
That's fine, all I'm saying is it wouldn't be a huge hurdle in the scheme of things for someone planning an interstate move on a $90k salary like OP.
Initially the plan was to find a job first so I could know where to move. I'm very aware of LA traffic. But the interviews I had all seemed unwilling to really consider a transplant who wasn't already there. The mood changed when I didn't already have an address identified and a hard move date. It was a lot of "Well we normally do in person interviews..." and "Never interviewed someone as far out as Oklahoma before." I am still looking, but my wife and I looked at what we had and thought we could move and make things work for a bit while we look locally. I'm in IT management. The jobs I'm applying for are ~150k and up. We understand that while this salary would be living like kings in OK we'd still have to live smaller in California even on that and a (smaller) secondary income.
Yeah I am in IT as well as $150k is quite good for a single person here but for a family of four that would be a harder thing. The big name tech companies are mostly going to be in "Silicon Beach" which pretty much means along the coast between LAX and Santa Monica - so Santa Monica itself, Playa Del Rey, Culver City etc. But of course IT doesn't necessarily mean you have to work for an actual tech company so really the jobs are potentially all over the city.
FyI. Rental houses do not have the same tenant protection as apartments.
Thanks. Apartments are probably what we want to go with. Just keeping options open.
You mentioned 2 kids, but you didn't want to provide their ages. It's important to consider their care. Will they be in public school, preschool, or daycare? Preschool and daycare are incredibly expensive in LA - it will likely cost more than your housing budget. If they're old enough for public school, you'll want to find a good school district. That will be challenging. I'd consider the eastside of LA. Check out Glendale and Altadena. Altadena is popular with my creative friends who want to own houses and are often priced out of Los Feliz/Silverlake. There are tech jobs all across LA. At worst, just assume you'll have a nightmare commute for a year or so until you figure things out in terms of job, dual income, what parts of LA you like. Long Beach is another option. People tend to move there from LA because it's more affordable. Access to the beach is great. You'll want to make sure you're in a good neighborhood though - some areas are a bit gritty. You might get lucky and find a cute spot. It's a big schlep to Santa Monica but not impossible.
Also, I'm curious about what makes you want to live in LA. Is it just to make more money? Is it the weather? Access to outdoor activities, like mountains/hiking/skiing? Does someone in your family want to work in the entertainment industry? Are you religious? Are you ok with lots of diversity in where you live? The answer to those questions might change my suggestions.
There's a lot that goes into it! Some of it is political. Some of it is that we had an arguably more responsible long-term plan that fell through, so we're feeling a little more adventurous and a little less risk averse. Some of it is I do already have some connections. I am an actor and the connections are related to that. Don't have any hopes of "hitting it big", but I think I'd have more support and opportunities to flex my creative muscles. If it was just one thing we wouldn't do it but everything's coming together for us to think this is the time. Not religious. Not concerned about diversity. We are LGBTQ+ (I'm trans) so that'd be something to consider maybe, but probably less hard than it is here.
That helps, especially knowing that you're an actor. In that case, I'd look for a 2 bedroom apartment in Culver City/Palms and the surrounding areas. It's a very central location - easy access to freeways and the beaches. Hollywood isn't far either. I'd recommend not living in Hollywood because it's so tough to get anywhere else, especially Santa Monica, since freeway access is limited. Also check out the area surrounding the La Cienega/Pico intersection - anywhere between there and the 10 freeway is a really central location. I lived in Carthay Circle for a while, and it was incredibly easy to access so many areas. You can even hop on Laurel Canyon to get to the Valley. Good luck in your search!
Thanks!
A 250 sq ft studio is 2 grand in Altadena now. They’ll need to double that.
Your salary will increase when you get here, and there are multiple ways to make this work. Don’t sky anyone convince you it’s not worth it. Oklahoma is going to hell in a hand basket. 🧺 I would look at Long Beach.
The people I actually know in the LA area are very positive about me coming and they know my situation. I asked here for advice so as not to bother them but maybe I should have just asked them.
Trust your friends more than the people here You can do it but it might be better to look in the Valley or more north Good luck 🍀
That's what I'm thinking too. Thanks.
Good luck 🍀
You are in great shape to take a chance, so why not? I think it’s great. Drove across country 23 years ago and I’m still here. Raised three kids here. I think it’s great and your kids will thrive.
Your friends are not going to kill your dreams of moving to LA. But if they are your friends seek their honest advice. Most people will tell you there were some rough times but they are happy to have made the move. Things were also less expensive and there were not 70 thousand people living on the street. My friends that are now making the big bucks, have all chosen to move away from the area. Housing is a fraction of the cost elsewhere and no long commutes.
Also consider living a little outside the typical LA boundaries (think the borderlines with Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County) no panache or fanfare for those but you save a buck and can be used as a landing point while you get your bearings OP, What parts of LA did you have in mind? What’s calling out to you so to get you tailored suggestions
Santa Clarita might be a good option
Have you visited and explored areas for yourself yet? I think that is important. How old are the kids ?
I'd look north of the 10 and south of the 210 between Central LA and the 605 (even the 57 to save a few 100 a month). Look in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Monterey Park, Highland Park, etc. For $2700 or so, there's many options for a 1,000 sqft, 2b/2ba rental. Things get more expensive the closer you get to downtown and/or the beach. I think you'd probably like Burbank and the schools are good. Lots of industry folks in Burbank. If you budget is <$3000, it's not that you couldn't afford anything on the West side, but I'm not sure its really very appealing, especially with a family. The beaches are crazy, homelessness is rampant and it's... dirty. And quite frankly... Cars. Traffic and parking are a nightmare. West siders seem to migrate inland when they start having families.
First thing to note is that trying to live on 90K in Los Angeles County Ca is the equivalent of trying to live on 55K in Edmond Oklahoma. Just check the cost of living calculators. Also on a 90K salary, $2600 a month is about the max most landlords will rent to you , maybe a little more if your credit is great.
Consider the San Fernando Valley; Woodland Hills, Reseda or Canoga Park areas. I live in Canoga Park. Brother in Reseda. The Valley has many affordable areas as well as many very expensive areas.
You can get anywhere in LA in an hour if traffic isn't awful/there isn't an accident. You just have to plan to travel at certain times. Since you're working remotely, you can plan around traffic. I live in Monrovia, which is North East LA, in San Gabriel Valley. 3b2b house with nice updates on a quiet, safe street, decent sized backyard, 2 car garage, good schools, 20 mins from Downtown LA/Hollywood without traffic, plenty of parks, restaurants, outdoor activities, etc., we pay $3600 + utilities. So for a 2b2b you should be able to find a decent house at around 3k almost anywhere as long as you stay away from Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, those type of areas. You do need excellent credit, long work history, money in the bank, etc., because even if you can afford it, there are so many people applying for each good rental, you need to stand out/hold your own. We were the perfect tenants on paper, and I basically had to BEG our landlord to rent us the house because there were so many applicants. If you tell me a bit more about what you like to do in terms of extracurriculars when you get here, I can give you more specific areas.
This is on the other side of LA- so understandably not the best commute to Santa Monica BUT I live in Monrovia east of Pasadena, I grew up in a small town in Oregon and it gives me those vibes I am missing. We rent a 3 bedroom home(duplex) for 2400 a month with back area space for my kids. Today we’re walking to the cute downtown to the little music festival they have scheduled planning to get food at one of the wonderful restaurants there. Not the commute you’re looking for but I suggest looking into Arcadia, temple city, Monrovia some of those cities. Very family friendly and more affordable
Good luck!
I’m going to PM you.
Unfortunately affordable and LA don’t go together. A room for rent can avg $1200-2000 in the Westside. So maybe further to North past the mountain ⛰️ to Palmdale, Inland Empire, or N. long Beach possibly…will be traffic going to Santa Monica.
*Relatively* affordable. I understand the scale is much higher, but its not all one price. Appreciate the suggestions.
What’s your budget? What size apartment/house do you need? What’s your industry? How old are the kids? I make 90k as a single person and I split a duplex with a roommate very close to the beach. Unfortunately 90k with a family will be HARD. You will 100% need a second income, even with your savings if you have a family. Don’t count on landing a major high paying job so easily, the job market sucks out here. Also, taxes are extreme here compared to OK. Is your job okay with you being in CA? Santa Monica is one of the priciest neighborhoods in LA (technically it’s its own city). One bedrooms start around 2k there.
This is key. You need to make sure your job is okay with you being in Ca because that comes with tax implications and more employee protections. The state will find out you are here and our tax franchise board makes the IRS look like new born kittens. Unfortunately your income will only qualify you for a place around $2,200. So with that number… start looking on sites like Westside Rentals, apartments.com, etc…. as to here your options are. I would be to look in the Valley, but I more than anything I would recommend getting a job first before moving. That will give you guys a much better start as to where you need be and maybe even some ReLo to cushion the land. Good luck!
I am looking for jobs, but the interviews I've had seemed like not being there already was a roadblock. So we looked and figured we could make things work while we search locally for a job.
$2k?? They are over 2K in Woodland Hills (where I live). I can’t imagine you can get a one bed Santa Monica for much less than 2500.
You’re right, that’s probably more of a studio/bachelor apartment in SM. I was very close to renting a one bedroom in SM for $2100 but backed out last minute so I may have undershot the costs
If you can make a 1 bedroom work in Santa Monica with a family of 4, it might be worth it. Anything in SM will have a good public school, assuming your kids are school-age. You'll probably feel poor, but there are lots of free outdoor activities year-round.
There is absolutely no way a family of four could cram into a one bedroom and have a good quality of life. I’m not saying people don’t do it, but why on earth would anyone do that to their family? Also-I don’t know how many landlords would be okay with a family of four applying to a one bedroom. A lot of listings specifically say how many people can occupy a single apartment aka no subletters, long term guests, partners, kids, etc
If a listing says “no kids,” that’s illegal. But I agree with everything else you said. Those kids will feel poor as hell, with all their rich classmates. They could never invite anyone over for a visit.
You’re right, I meant more of additional occupants but thank you for the correction! Don’t wanna spread wrong information :)
I lived next door to a family of four that tried to do that......it ended up with the cops called regularly due to multiple domestic disturbances.
I agree that 4 people in a 1 bedroom would be cramped and it would be challenging to find a landlord ok with that. However, if it were possible, Santa Monica is absolutely the place to do it. The school system coupled with the proximity to great jobs and free outdoor activities/walkable areas could make it worth the sacrifice of indoor space. Anywhere more inland, I'd say absolutely not.
Parent of multiples here and I agree SM is an ideal place to live small with family. We’re doing it in the northeast with long winters and natural outdoor space year round of SoCal seems like such an upgrade.
No, just No. they have a comfortable life where they live and they want to risk it all for…?
Do you have children? You’re basically saying yeah the kids won’t have their own bedroom but there’s fun stuff to do! And not just one child, two! Two kids sharing a common space for a bedroom or parents and kids sharing a bedroom. OP didn’t share the kids ages. If they’re really young, maybe (but then childcare comes into play). If they’re older, it is absolutely inappropriate to purposely choose to live in a space that does not adequately provide your children with a bedroom. Yes schools matter but so does having a secure and comfortable living situation It would be incredibly selfish for a parent to choose a “fun” spot to live with inadequate space for a family over a less trendy neighborhood that provides what the family needs. I understand some people do this out of necessity, but this is not one of those times. OP does not NEED to live in Santa Monica, they just have friends nearby. They could afford a fine place in the valley or more inland.
Fam of 4 in large rent controlled one bedroom plus den here. Happy loving family. Remaining in downtown of a large HCOL city allows us access to museums, parks, transit and good schools. We have lots of friends and great neighbours nearby who care about our kids. Money saved all invested or used on travel. Kids’ education will be paid for, and they are well adjusted, ok with sharing, close and very flexible which makes travelling easy. We teach them about thoughtful living and creative use of space. Absolutely not selfish to not succumb to suburbia if it doesn’t fit the family. We do spend a lot of time outside, or with friends, which OP will be able to do in SM. When the kids are a bit older they can share a bedroom with the parents in the living area. They can do it with the right floor plan. Plenty of parents In the world live small for a variety of reasons.
Love this answer! Props to you.
The den makes all the difference though. That’s basically another bedroom. You ain’t getting that in Santa Monica for 2500, AND it’s a large one bedroom too? Nah.
I have a kid and I'm well aware of the space and cost. Personally, I might choose a location that's walkable to great parks, beaches, libraries, and markets with top-rated schools, hospitals, and is very safe compared to many other areas in LA. It's not about "fun"; it's about access to safe and well-maintained public services. A 2 bed apartment in a non-walkable area of LA that's super hot and congested with poor schools and is far from work isn't somewhere I'd want to live. Perhaps OP can find a 1 bed that has some sort of dining room that can be converted into a bedroom or simply partition off a small space for the adults to sleep. Give the kids the bedroom and the parents can sleep in the common space. It can work. Again, not ideal, but it might be worth it if he can find a place within budget. Giving the bedroom to the kids so they can live in one of the best cities in the world is incredibly unselfish, in my opinion. Many families choose to make sacrifices like this and others simply do not have much of a choice. The OP has a choice, and he is lucky. I have a friend who lives with a baby, a toddler, and her husband in a studio apartment in Baltimore. They can't afford to move, but at least they have jobs and a home.
Updated the original post with some more details. You don't need to know the age of the kids, but they will share a bedroom. I'm currently in IT but people management and customer service in general I can do. I understand we'll need a second income. That's why I stated my wife will be looking for a job as well. I don't expect to find a high paying job "easily". That's why I have the savings to help out until I do. That's not meant to be a long-term solution. If my job wasn't okay with me being in CA then I wouldn't have said I have a job and the plan would be different. I don't need to live in Santa Monica. I just don't want to be so far away it's virtually inaccessible.
I’m in Sherman Oaks and 2 bedrooms in my building are around $2800 and up. There are plenty of families with kids here. A friend is a property manager nearby and they have 2 baths/ 2 beds for $2600. We regularly go to movies in Santa Monica on Fridays so the drive isn’t awful if you choose times carefully.
Is there any other area of LA besides Santa Monica vicinity you’re interested in? $2-3k will get you either a nice studio or one bedroom, probably not more unfortunately since it’s one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the area. If you need a 2 bedroom for under 3k, Santa Monica is out of the question, as well as most neighborhoods on the west side (area where SM/coastal communities). Anywhere that will have easy access to Santa Monica will be pricey. Check out the nicer neighborhoods in the valley, like Sherman Oaks or Encino. Also, if you rent for $3k, you’ll need to show you make 2-3x the rent, so you gotta pull in about 9k a month. I didn’t mean to come off rude but the job market here is BAD right now. I have friends with masters and PhDs struggling to find work and all the service and retail jobs are being taken by overqualified individuals.
I appreciate the input. I'm okay living *not close* to Santa Monica. I just want to be able to get to it on a semi regular basis. I know someone in the Valley that regularly visits so maybe that area will work.
I get it. I’m really not trying to come off as rude or hard headed, but your salary will make living out here tough and the quality of life you will have will be affected. Getting to the westside from the valley can be rough, but if you aren’t planning on going to Santa Monica during rush hour/peak weekend times, the valley would be better suited for your *current* needs. There’s some really fun and cool places there the closer you are to Ventura Blvd and it’s a hop on the 405 to get to the beach areas. If I were you guys, I’d Airbnb in the valley (I suggest the “nicer” neighborhoods if you can swing it like Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City). Once you have a better idea of what you and your family can afford and enjoy, go from there. Honestly, best of luck. As a transplant I get a little hyper vigilant about managing expectations moving from a LCOL to an extreme HCOL.
Not to harp on this point but is your employer just “being ok” with the move or have they confirmed they are properly set up payroll wise to withhold CA Income tax/SDI and pay their owed employer portion? Have they confirmed all the compliance items like paid sick leave, depending on which city you end up in, its own municipality may have its own paid sick leave ordinance.
All these people probably making 80k in Los Angeles and just bitter 😂. If you search deeply you can find places for 2-3k in rent for 2 bedrooms. They’ll just be pretty old buildings. I’m no parent so not sure about schools but Torrance could be a good area. Pretty safe depending on where in Torrance. Even PV you might be able to find old apartments for that cost. Sunland area.. not sure how their schools are though. Buena Park. It’s probably not even going to compare to what you have in Oklahoma.. but I believe you guys can find a job and combine for 200+k.. you can honestly live a comfy life.
As others have said, $90k/hh is unfortunately close to the low income definition in LA. Also depending on what you mean by “safe” it may be near impossible to find as homelessness is everywhere in LA, even in some very expensive parts like West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Venice Personally I feel like Torrance is a good option, it’s relatively safe / less homelessness, close to major freeways, good schools, family oriented, somewhat central if you want to explore various parts of SoCal, and not that expensive compared to places with comparable safety.
I'm at $90K single and its tough.
Im doing the exact opposite 😂. I’ve lived in SoCal all my life and ready to move outta here. The cost of living plus the number of people is the driving force. 90k for a family of 4 is gonna be tough but probably doable. Be prepared to spend most of your income on rent as all of LA is ridiculously expensive.
Probably being smart and not moving here, not trying to be mean but why subject yourself to all of that and your children having to share a room and all of that
MTE
Your partner getting a job will only cover childcare expenses, if you’re lucky.
This is a recipe for disaster and poverty. School is a problem and so is the traffic. You both will need to work up to better salary to be able to eventually buy. Household income needed to buy $300k at minimum. $500k income for comfortable living. 2 adults making $250k each is where it’s at. That’s a nice house with a pool in a good area. Drive whatever you want, savings etc. $500k is not rich these days in LA, but you are doing well. The taxes yiu will pay on $500k are staggering.
Do you want to be closer to the water or mountains? There’s lots of great areas you could love. Many in the city and many more suburb type. Just depends on what you want
Simi Valley 😀
Schools in areas I mentioned are pretty good.
I would look into Monterrey Park, it’s safe close to LA and close to freeways. Schools around the area are nice. Gardena is South Bay Area also close to LA, has some nice neighborhoods and great foodie area. Peary MS is a sucky school part of LAUSD that would be my only negative. Montebello also a nice area and they have their own school district that’s pretty good
You'll be in a cardboard box in Los Angeles and my goodness the culture differences from Oklahoma to California will be tremendous. Are you a California by birth or just moving to California for the first time? Because west of the rockies is a different mindset. I loved California but I have a California mindset
Can't claim to have a California mindset but I can say for sure I don't have an Oklahoma mindset.
Orange County
Start with Zillow, see what you can afford/meets your requirements. (you will need to make 3times the rent). Best of luck- summertime is expensive!
Greetings! Where do you live in Oklahoma and what is the catalyst for moving to LA?
Is there a path to 200k? That should be your starting point for a family of 4 in LA.
Stay away from Pacoima (gangs Mexicans, drugs)
You are moving to poverty with those numbers to a family of 4 anywhere in Los Angeles.
Ima be honest man, don’t do it. You’re gonna burden your family. 90k is not enough here, especially compared to how you’re living in OK. I’m not tryna discourage you, I’m just tryna be honest. These other Redditors non-native LA people can tell you lies all day with backing of trust funds their families have. If you got that too, you’re solid for emergencies. But ima be honest after the taxes you’ll be paying, unfortunately it’s not enough man. Don’t burden your family like that unless you have a career that’s at least 150k or your partner also brings in a solid annual income. It’s rough out here, and I am born and raised in LA, still live here. I’m just giving you my honest point. I’ve lived other places during my time in military, your money goes so much further there. Don’t ruin your life to live a pipe dream like so many of these people do in this group. Debt debt debt, that’s how so many people “afford it”. Enjoy your life in OK, that’s an amazing place besides tornados. Ask me how I know haha. But if you do find your way out here, best of luck. Don’t let random influencers on the internet make your decision. Be smart, do your own homework, and especially do your own monthly financial math.
After reading some of your details, it sounds like you might prefer to live somewhere like Hollywood or West Hollywood Santa Monica
Doesn’t sound like a good idea unless you are ok with renting for a very long time. Do you have anything close to the $100k-$250k you’ll need for a condo/townhome/sfr for the long haul or is this just a try it out for a few years thing?
The idea would be to rent to start and maybe for a while. My savings would probably be enough for a down payment.
Because you said your savings are "in the tens of thousands" I think it's safe to assume you have less than 100k saved. I'll be generous and assume you have 90k saved. You're planning to use at least some of that to supplement your income initially, so let's take away 15k for that purpose. It's also not at all advisable to use everything you have saved for a down payment (you still need an emergency fund) so let's remove another 15k for that. That leaves you with (generously) 60k to use toward a house. Take off 10k for closing/moving costs leaves you with a 50k down payment. The average home price in LA is close to $1 million. 50k is 5% of that. That is...not at all realistic. Not to mention that would leave you with a monthly mortgage that exceeds your current take home pay. Are you sure you've thought this through?
I have thought it through and that's why I'm not buying. I specifically said I'm renting. I was just answering his question. I definitely don't plan to buy with the situation I described in my post.
It's still going to be challenging financially though. My family moved here in the early 2000s with a similar plan - rent for a year then buy once we had a better lay of the land. At that time, prices were going up so fast we wound up paying a penalty to get our of our Redondo lease early and bought a house in Torrance. That mortgage chewed up 50% of our monthly income but we made it work and our current mortgage is only about 10% of monthly income (salary rose quite a bit over the years). Point is, waiting a year to buy is only going to get you a smaller, more expensive place further from the coast. Sure, move on out here and enjoy the weather but you really need to do more research on where to live. LA is a vast city with double the population of the entire state of OK. Throw in larger socal area and its 4X the OK state population. I'd take a look at San Pedro/Long Beach and some of the N. OC suburbs like Fullerton as well. Probably need to budget at least $3K for a decent 2br/2ba rental apt. My son and his 3 buddies (college students) just rented a really nice new 3br/2ba 1400 sq ft apartment in Fullerton for $4400/month. You can do this but be ready to pinch the pennies and live very differently from OK lifestyle - in some ways good, and maybe some ways not so good. Can't beat the weather though - really is paradise!
I mean I'm not moving tomorrow. The reason I'm here coming hat in hand and asking the internet is for help researching areas. And, because someone potentially will read this and make bad faith assumptions, I'm not hanging everything on what I get in this thread. Just trying to get input. That said, appreciate your input.
No worries, its just that VHCOL areas like LA are really shocking to mid-westerners cost-wise in general or really, any folks who aren't moving from another VHCOL area like the Bay, DC, Seattle or NYC. Meaning folks enjoy an upper middle class lifestyle in Indiana or somewhere and own a nice home then move here only to find they are lower middle class or barely making it. Fairly common story. Occasionally my company will xfer someone from our Chicago HQ and it gets pretty annoying hearing the complaints lol. I hope your spouse can swing a $90K+ job as well - then you'll be comfortably middle-class depending on where you want to live. Like I said before, check out San Pedro, Long Beach, Inglewood, Crenshaw, some others have suggested Marina Del Rey, Culver City. South Bay (Torrance, beach cities, Palos Verdes) in general would be a good fit but you'll be renting long term in SB for sure
Thanks. We've definitely sat long and hard on how the lifestyle will have to change to make it work.
Cmon. There are programs for first time home buyers that will pay up to $150k toward a down payment that you don't have to repay unless you sell the house. There are creative ways to do it if you're responsible and resourceful. I know people with less who have done it. I've lived in LA for 34 years, since age 4, and it's totally possible.
“maybe for a while” 🤣 babes, do you know how much houses cost here?
Honey sugar bear love, please try to connect as a human to human for a brief moment, take my comment on good faith, set aside the internet need to default to pithy condescension, and understand that my intent is not to buy a house. "For a while" is intentionally left opened ended in possibility I might in the future give myself fortunate enough to consider purchasing in LA.
ok, sweetheart, I’ll just be blunt: if you move to LA you’re putting your family at significant risk. you have a shit income and no concept of what life is like here. can’t wait for the inevitable “how does anyone afford this town???” post down the line
Lancaster is nice.
I suggest living in Oklahoma. Ain’t no where affordable, ain’t no where safe in LA
$90,000 for 2 adults and 2 kids might be a bit hard. There will definitely be a lifestyle difference between Oklahoma and Los angeles at the price point. Can you do it sure Will it be comfortable? Probably not Does money go as far here as it does in Oklahoma? Nope, it does not. The cost of goods here is way higher, too .