Is Los Angeles really that expensive?

Geesh people, you are making it sound way worse than it is here. You can EASILY live in LA on $55,000 if you are single, esp if you get a roommate or 2. You can rent a 3 bedroom house/condo for about $2,500 a month in plenty of areas of both LA and Orange County. That is about $1,000 in rent and utilities if you had 2 roommates. You can get a studio or 1 bedroom for $1,500 and live alone. A car payment, ins and gas will be about $500 a month. At $55,000, you are probably bringing home about $3,500 a month. Rent and transportation wont even run you half your monthly expenses if you have roommates. It is when you want to buy a house and have a family that it gets harder to live here. If you are single making that much, you will be more than ok. In fact, you can share an apartment instead of a house and your rent will be easily under a thousand.

I strongly suggest Orange County over LA.

Wow...what a pay cut..just a couple months ago you were making 80K. The biggest problem for you is finding employment. Unfortunately railroad jobs aren't one thing that is generally considered "easily transferable" and you may have some issues trying to find one.

Do you need to be earning 6 figures to live here..No. However with the assumption you are able to get a job paying 55K BEFORE you move here, it is possible but you are going to struggle. The average rent for an apartment in LA is about $1500/month. Landlords generally require you to be earning about 3-times the monthly rent to qualify. At 55K you are right around that threshold.

Also, I don't know what Los Angeles you were in but one thing LA doesn't get all of the time is Blue Skies and Palm Trees..you want that you need to go to Southern Florida or the Caribbean. Yesterday we had light rain all day and the beach has been in clouds for the last week.

One other thing...remember that "vacation" LA is not the same as "living" in LA.

I would suggest that $55,000 is on the low side.
If you want believe cadisneygirl , you would need a room mate, or two.
But, there is more involved than just moving to LA.

You need:

Money to move. Keep in mind that moving cross country is expensive.
To be old enough to rent a hotel and a car.

A car. Yes, you need a car.
Pass a credit check. A job.
A place to live close to the job. If you find a job, it will not likely be near the shore.
Money to live. A back up plan.

Pro: It never snows.
Close to the beach and the slopes.
Great health care in SD and LA.

Con: We are suffering a drought.
Real Estate prices are excessive.
Traffic sucks.
Higher pollution.
Earthquakes, mud slides, and fire season.
Housing by the beach has been falling into the ocean.
Housing by the beach will soon be covered by the ocean.

You will not make it as a movie or TV star.

As you move inland and to the east, California become mountainous, then a desert.

Three critical things to remember:
- There is no magical place by the beach where it is inexpensive to live.
- You can't live anywhere (except with your parents) on minimal wage.

- You also lose your network (family and friends).
There is no one to help you when you move out here.

Here is the plan.
Stay where you are.
Go to college and earn a degree.
Live with the parents as long as you are able.
Get a job, then move.

I was living in SF. I wanted to continue to live, there.
But, I couldn't get job offers.
So, I moved to Maine, then 29 Palms, then LA.
Basically, I'm living in LA, because I have a job in LA.

yes

If you want to buy a house, you'll need at least that much. If you can live simply, like in a one bedroom in a less ritzy neighborhood, and not need a flashy car, you'll be fine.

Tip: live as close as possible to your job, even if you don't like the neighborhood. You do NOT want to commute.

Living here is very expensive

Yes guys, Los Angeles is expensive city to live as well as for the visitors. I had spent two days there with lots of money.

No. I have lived here nearly ten years and I make about 10 k a year. I am a student right now. I don't own a car, and I live really cheap. And I did it just fine. I excel at living in expensive places tho. I lived in a cottage in Carmel for 400 month. Its all about being a nice person, and asking around. Loads of super cheap/borderline illegal places that you can only find out about by not being a dick. So don't be a dick. We have enough of em here (see above).

yes

No. It's expensive, but you could make it on $55,000 a year. You might not be able to afford your own house downtown, but you could rent a studio apartment or share a two-bedroom apartment in the valley with a roommate.

I make 50k, drive a Mercedes and living middle class in Los Angeles. (San Fernando valley) I live in a luxury 1 bedroom for $1400

Some perspective there.

The utility bills in some places of Los Angeles are outrageous. Having a car is a must and the average rent is $2k a month.

Los Angeles is very expensive, but I don't think that you need to make $100,000 to live here. The major cost is housing. Average rent is about $2,000/month. It is also a difficult city to manage without an automobile, and gasoline costs are among the highest in the country.