Monthly San Diego Costs (apartments, renters, health insurance)

[cebu077]

So I've gone over my projected cost-of-living once I move to San Diego, and despite comments that the annual cost-of-living in SD is around $100,000, I'm not coming up with a number anywhere near that.

A bit of background: I'm single, I have one dog who costs me very little each month in food and medication, and I have NO desire to buy a home anytime soon. I have a small amount of credit card debt in comparison to most Americans, and I already paid off all of my student loans.

When doing my estimates, I've purposely OVER-estimated what I project my monthly bills will be in SD. For example, I've never spent $500 a month on groceries in my life, but I've calculated my monthly grocery costs to be $500. I've estimated my car gas costs to be $360/month, my electric to be $50/month, my gas/heating/hot water bill to be $50/month, my total credit card payments to be $220/month, my car insurance to be $89/month, my cell phone to be $65/month, and the cost of rent for a studio or one-bedroom apartment to be $1700/month (which includes a $50 pet rent and $50 parking fee). I've lived without cable TV before, and I can live without it again, so I didn't include a monthly cost for that.

The annual cost I've been coming up with is about $36,000-$37,000. This doesn't seem high enough in comparison to everything I've heard about the cost-of-living in SD. Am I leaving something out? Do CA residents need to pay additional monthly fees for highway costs, emission costs, etc.? I just can't think of any costs in addition to the ones I already estimated.

Thanks in advance!

[Pom]

What about federal and state taxes, FICA, health insurance, out-of-pocket medical, renters insurance, clothing, etc?

[bianca0]

Keep in mind that you need to make about $50,000 a year to bring home $36,000 to $37000. You definitely don't need to make $100k to live comfortably in San Diego.

[cebu077]

Thanks for your responses, Pom and bianca!

Originally Posted by Pom

What about federal and state taxes, FICA, health insurance, out-of-pocket medical, renters insurance, clothing, etc?

Pom -- I assume federal and state taxes will be taken out of my paycheck, plus health insurance. Am I wrong about this? I've never lived anywhere outside of Ohio, so I don't know how taxes work in other states.

Renters insurance is definitely something I'd consider purchasing, so I'll add that into my budget.

I have plenty of clothes -- TOO MANY, in fact -- and those include business suits, so I don't anticipate I'll need to purchase more clothing on a regular basis.

Oh, and I do realize that I'll have random costs outside of the monthly costs I mentioned; I only calculated monthly costs, but kept in mind costs like recreation and out-of-pocket medical.

bianca -- yes, I figured I'd need to gross at least $50,000 annually to make it in SD. I'm going into public relations, and the average salary of a low-level public relations executive in SD is about $55,000. So I've read/heard, anyway.

BTW, how do you quote multiple posts in one comment? I only know how to quote one.

I'm so baffled as to why people consider SD to be extremely expensive. I mean, when you take into account that it's A.) technically a big city, and B.) in a region with beautiful weather...Well, I'm aware of NYC city rents, and believe it or not, SD is actually a BARGAIN in comparison! I guess that's why I feel like I'm missing costs.

[moved]

You can find a place for well under $1700 a month, without paying $50 per month for parking. Just keep checking, and you may want to look at Yelp.com for apartment reviews in the areas that you're thinking of.

There may be pet rent, but more than likely it will only be a deposit. Your gas and heating bill comes from the same place - SDGE. Mine runs about $20 per month when it's warm outside, and higher in the winter. Basic cable is $14.99 per month, high speed internet is $43.00 per month, and I doubt if you'll spend $500 per month on groceries. Your car insurance rates will depend on the company and your zip code.

San Diego can be expensive - it depends on how you want to live, and what area you want to live in.

[Radical347]

You'll definitely be fine making ~$50K before taxes. San Diego honestly isn't that expensive anymore. It was mostly the housing, but it's going down and many places have since caught up (and like you said, it's a bargain compared to NYC.) I think you've covered most of the incidentals. The only thing that I would have included for myself that you didn't was a dining out cost, but perhaps you don't dine out that much...or included it in groceries. In any case, there are plenty of good cheap restaurants. As long as you have a real job you'll be fine -- it's expensive for people still working part time jobs, retail, etc, and many of them are making it just fine.

I think people still complain because despite not being that bad, spending money is probably the worst part about San Diego. (That and traffic, which is actually a breeze for a metro area, but so many people complain about it as if it's the worst in the country, because they have nothing else to complain about. Pshaw.) And it helps if you don't have to go to those douchey clubs in the Gaslamp that charge $20 cover and like $10 vodka-tonics every day...or week. There are plenty of free events and festivals going around most weekends and they're not too hard to find.

Renters insurance is a good idea -- it's not too expensive either, I've heard around $10-$20/mo.

Oh, to quote multiple replies I think you have to load each reply separately and copy and paste. Or at least that's what I've done.

[cebu077]

Originally Posted by moved

You can find a place for well under $1700 a month, without paying $50 per month for parking. Just keep checking, and you may want to look at Yelp.com for apartment reviews in the areas that you're thinking of.

There may be pet rent, but more than likely it will only be a deposit. Your gas and heating bill comes from the same place - SDGE. Mine runs about $20 per month when it's warm outside, and higher in the winter. Basic cable is $14.99 per month, high speed internet is $43.00 per month, and I doubt if you'll spend $500 per month on groceries. Your car insurance rates will depend on the company and your zip code.

San Diego can be expensive - it depends on how you want to live, and what area you want to live in.

Thanks for that feedback and those numbers, moved! Yes, I've found apartments for less than $1700/month, BUT I want to live really close to Balboa Park, and the pet-friendly apartments that I've found near Balboa tend to be pricey. Most of them also require a monthly pet rent. Hmmm, I wonder if I'm looking at the wrong places? I'll do a bit more research on apartments in that area.

WOW, $20 for utilities??? I'm used to paying a MINIMUM of $100/month, and more in the summer months when I need to run the air conditioning. And basic cable for $14.99??? This is sounding better and better, HA HA!

Honestly, I'm pretty low-maintenance in regard to lifestyle; I don't need a super nice apartment, fancy car, or even many nights "on the town." The number one reason I'm moving to SD is the wealth of outdoor recreation opportunities, the beaches, and the ocean. Number two, SD is a big city, and number three, Balboa Park. There's other reasons as well, but those are the Top 3.

[moved]

Keep checking apartments, I'm sure you'll find something. You can live really close to Balboa Park, and not pay that much. You just won't be directly across the street from it, if you find something a few blocks away, it'll be less. You won't need A/C, here, though some people use it. You definitely need it if you live in East County, though. I have ceiling fans, and haven't used A/C since I've been here.

[cebu077]

Originally Posted by Radical347

You'll definitely be fine making ~$50K before taxes. San Diego honestly isn't that expensive anymore. It was mostly the housing, but it's going down and many places have since caught up (and like you said, it's a bargain compared to NYC.) I think you've covered most of the incidentals. The only thing that I would have included for myself that you didn't was a dining out cost, but perhaps you don't dine out that much...or included it in groceries. In any case, there are plenty of good cheap restaurants. As long as you have a real job you'll be fine -- it's expensive for people still working part time jobs, retail, etc, and many of them are making it just fine.

I think people still complain because despite not being that bad, spending money is probably the worst part about San Diego. (That and traffic, which is actually a breeze for a metro area, but so many people complain about it as if it's the worst in the country, because they have nothing else to complain about. Pshaw.) And it helps if you don't have to go to those douchey clubs in the Gaslamp that charge $20 cover and like $10 vodka-tonics every day...or week. There are plenty of free events and festivals going around most weekends and they're not too hard to find.

Renters insurance is a good idea -- it's not too expensive either, I've heard around $10-$20/mo.

Oh, to quote multiple replies I think you have to load each reply separately and copy and paste. Or at least that's what I've done.

Thanks, Radical! When it comes to how high people rate cost-of-living, I suppose it's all relative. For example, I wasn't at all shocked by the rental prices in SD because A.) I was already aware of NYC rental prices, and B.) I EXPECT a big city with a beautiful climate to be pricey. I mean, in general, you get what you pay for, or that's been my experience at least.

I rarely dine out, and I would say that I go out to bars/clubs maybe once or twice a month. You know, I'm 31 years-old...So I've been there, done that. I still enjoy it, but I don't NEED to do it every weekend. However, I'm really passionate about sports and outdoor activities of all kinds, and I simply can't live anywhere that lacks close water and beach access.

Maybe I'll actually be OK financially in SD! All I've heard is how expensive it is, so it's a relief to find out that my profession may pay enough for life in SD.

I'll try the technique you suggested, thanks!

[cebu077]

Originally Posted by moved

Keep checking apartments, I'm sure you'll find something. You can live really close to Balboa Park, and not pay that much. You just won't be directly across the street from it, if you find something a few blocks away, it'll be less. You won't need A/C, here, though some people use it. You definitely need it if you live in East County, though. I have ceiling fans, and haven't used A/C since I've been here.

I'll definitely follow-up on your suggestion, moved! Maybe I've been using the wrong websites. I've tried rent.com, apartments.com and neighborhoods.apartmentguide.com.

Thanks again, I appreciate it!!!