How do you afford to live in California? (San Francisco, Anaheim: best neighborhoods, apartment complex)

[nurserosie]

Originally Posted by jklmnop

Yes this is a serious post. Like I said, after taxes my 20k/month becomes 14k/month. After student loans (medical school is expensive) 11k/month. 50% of my salary is gone before I know it. Mortgage for 600k home probably another 4k/month? Throw in utilities, car payments, savings/retirement, it goes pretty fast.

I wont be living the high life by any means. I will be driving a toyota tacoma to work, living in a 3bed single family home in who knows where. Hopefully somewhere nice/safe but definitely not beverly hills.

I am not complaining, just want to know how people get by on less in California? The average home in most areas I am looking at is in the 600k-700k price range. What salary do most people in these neighborhoods get by on?

I am curious what your specialty is?...you Are. Quoting a annual income of 240 k per year. Only certain surgical groups are making that. If you are quoting salary I gather you are joining a group such as kaiser. Very few docs here go into private or small group practices. As then you have expenses such as office overhead malpractice healthcare. Etc to add to your monthly expenses...now if you are a cardiac plastic. Or other surgical specs. You may make 240 k a year. Kaiser docs are extremely well paid. As they have no overhead malpractice. Etc to pay.
Recently had dinner with 60ish r old net surgeon frien in single surgeon practice. He says reimbursements. From Medicare. Medical. And HMO companies. Are so low that his 31 year old Yale grad son now makes more than dad does

Luckily this guy had grandparents that paid for

[k374]

many people here just don't get it... yes, $200k is a lot of money but not relatively speaking for Southern California. Let me explain...

A person who has the ability to make $200k/yr has more than likely worked VERY hard to attain that level of success and expects certain things in life...a nice house, two nice luxury cars - for himself and his wife, security for their children, at least a nice family vacation once a year etc. These are VERY reasonable expectations for someone with that level of income...YET it is barely enough for a person with that income to make it if he wants to live this lifestyle, you need considerably more if you want something left over to save as well.

The principal culprit is housing... the kind of decent house such a person may want would be $1 million plus all the tax liabilities that come with such a high price tag. I have friends who live in good houses in Irvine, houses they paid only $300,000 for before this crazy run up and still valued at $800-900,000, absolutely nuts!

Do you guys expect a person who has managed to earn $200k/yr to live in a ghetto in Garden Grove? Geezus!

What I am saying is that even now housing prices are insanely out of wack and looking at the current picture $200,000/yr doesn't go very far.. it's not what people think it is, some people have the idea that someone who hits this earning level is rolling in wealth, hardly! These folks are struggling as well.

[DinsdalePirahna]

I'm doing quite well and I am very happy in SoCal (Huntington Beach) and make under 75K a year.

I have a condo one mile off the beach.
I scuba dive
I own a small 26 foot sail boat and a rowing shell)
I ride my bike along the beach to work ever day (saves gas, and keeps me in shape)

No kids and I drive a 2007 Ford Ranger (a very cheap car to operate)

Life is good.

Seriously, Its not that hard if you don't have a keeping up with the jones mentality.

[jaijai]

Originally Posted by k374

many people here just don't get it... yes, $200k is a lot of money but not relatively speaking for Southern California. Let me explain...

A person who has the ability to make $200k/yr has more than likely worked VERY hard to attain that level of success and expects certain things in life...a nice house, two nice luxury cars - for himself and his wife, security for their children, at least a nice family vacation once a year etc. These are VERY reasonable expectations for someone with that level of income...YET it is barely enough for a person with that income to make it if he wants to live this lifestyle, you need considerably more if you want something left over to save as well.

The principal culprit is housing... the kind of decent house such a person may want would be $1 million plus all the tax liabilities that come with such a high price tag. I have friends who live in good houses in Irvine, houses they paid only $300,000 for before this crazy run up and still valued at $800-900,000, absolutely nuts!

Do you guys expect a person who has managed to earn $200k/yr to live in a ghetto in Garden Grove? Geezus!

What I am saying is that even now housing prices are insanely out of wack and looking at the current picture $200,000/yr doesn't go very far.. it's not what people think it is, some people have the idea that someone who hits this earning level is rolling in wealth, hardly! These folks are struggling as well.

I'm sorry but screw that.
They're "struggling" (sure they had to let go of their second home in Aspen - boo hoo) because they insist on living in an unnecessarily large house and think they need two Mercedes.
People can do anything that they want with the money that they earn but complaining about the cost of living in California when one makes that kind of money is just gross.
And this is a different time. Natural resources are dwindling. The world is way out of balance largely (if not solely) due to greed / materialism.

"The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin."

Watch out.
This paradigm cannot continue and those who cling to it will have the most difficulty with the changes that are bound to happen.
Imbalance can be sustained for only so long and then corrections happen naturally.
They already are.

Of course buying a home on the coast of CA is expensive.
If you don't like what it gets you here then live somewhere else.
Move to Texas and build a 20 thousand sq. foot home and have your two Mercedes.
Or learn to live simply which does not = living in a ghetto.

I'll step down off my soap box now.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by jklmnop

Thanks nullgeo. I definitely consider myself privileged to be a physician and as you noticed I am not a financial guru. That is why I am being extra careful to keep my head above water. Hopefully on a surfboard.

You're welcome.

Heh ... this thread is amusing ... not the OP's question -- that was honest and straightforward ... I don't see jklmnop saying anything about expecting too much or trying to live high on the hog. Just asking how it works here. Certainly not a clueless kid just out of high school that needs life lessons. Probably just in shock over the real estate -- who isn't?

But the thread is on fire! Funny ...

jklmnop, I live in a van and on a couple old boats, different places at different times of the year. I own properties and rent them out while I roam. Buying real estate is over-rated in general. Some times, some places, real estate is right to buy -- and sometimes it ain't. Go surfing ... figure out the house later ... you been slaving like a plow mule for years to get through ... sounds like you made it ... have a good breather ... tell 'em nullgeo said you could ... that's my $0.02

[jaijai]

No, he's a financially clueless 20 something just out of med school who may need some life lessons and who is seeking information and advice, on a forum which is, from my impressions, largely composed of working - middle class people who aren't necessarily equipped to answer questions about how one lives on 200K - 300K a year in California.
And of course you are no stranger to going off on tangents (albeit good ones) that have nothing to do with the original post. just sayin.

[nullgeo]

Well, speaking of tangents -- and doctors -- as long as you're here, jklmnop, not speaking of myself, of course, but let's say I have a "friend" who suffers from cataplexy ... thing is: he likes to tell jokes ... so every time he laughs at his own humor, he collapses on the floor ... wonder what he can do about that? I always tells him that -- since, as we all know, most cataplexics also battle narcolepsy, and he does that too -- he should just consider it a blessing as a two-fer ... that is: he gets to go to sleep laughing his arse off -- which ain't a bad way to sleep in today's economy ... know what I mean?

But anyways, I kinda hate to impose, but seeing as you're a doc and all, what do you think? Should "he" stop telling jokes and start taking life more seriously?

Thanks for whatever you're willin' to share.

[nurserosie]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Temecula's out since it's nowhere near the ocean. In Pasadena, you'd have to send your kids to private schools. Burbank is part of LAUSD but has some good schools. For Orange County, you might want to look at that subforum. Hopefully, you got a lot of answers about Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz on your other thread.



Most of us bought well before the most recent housing bubble.

Curious. What is your speciality? As you mentioned your offers were from hospitals. Not groups.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by nurserosie

Curious. What is your speciality? As you mentioned your offers were from hospitals. Not groups.

Wait your turn ... let him answer my question about my "friend's" cataplexy first ...

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by k374

many people here just don't get it... yes, $200k is a lot of money but not relatively speaking for Southern California. Let me explain...

A person who has the ability to make $200k/yr has more than likely worked VERY hard to attain that level of success and expects certain things in life...a nice house, two nice luxury cars - for himself and his wife, security for their children, at least a nice family vacation once a year etc. These are VERY reasonable expectations for someone with that level of income...YET it is barely enough for a person with that income to make it if he wants to live this lifestyle, you need considerably more if you want something left over to save as well.

The principal culprit is housing... the kind of decent house such a person may want would be $1 million plus all the tax liabilities that come with such a high price tag. I have friends who live in good houses in Irvine, houses they paid only $300,000 for before this crazy run up and still valued at $800-900,000, absolutely nuts!

Do you guys expect a person who has managed to earn $200k/yr to live in a ghetto in Garden Grove? Geezus!

What I am saying is that even now housing prices are insanely out of wack and looking at the current picture $200,000/yr doesn't go very far.. it's not what people think it is, some people have the idea that someone who hits this earning level is rolling in wealth, hardly! These folks are struggling as well.

Do you expect someone who worked hard to earn $200k/yr to want to live in frigid North Dakota? If they value the climate, quality of life, and leisure opportunities, etc. in California, they'll take the "ghetto" in Garden Grove any day (which is an entirely different world from the true ghettos of Skid Row in LA or Tenderloin in SF.)

Or if you live in Omaha and want to go to the Beach everyday.. Not even Warren Buffet with his billions can "buy" this convenient access to the beach from his house in Omaha.

The point is, everyone has their own priorities. In order to live affordably in California, you gotta cut back on the housing. That doesn't mean one will always be happier living somewhere else.