Pilots & Cali - Do They Mix?

[Goose Egg]

I think it's safe to say that California doesn't mix with anything.

-Goose

 

[PacoPollo]

Joshrk22 IT CAN be done. I lived in E.LA for few years when I used to work at a restaurant.

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

I just took some general numbers and plugged them in this way.

5 Year Captain at a regional = $50,000
Teacher = $50,000

Use the formula... Annual Salary x .28 / 12 = Monthly house payment

$100,000 x .28 = 28,000

28,000/12= About $2,300.

Therefore you could accept a house payment of 2,300 a month or $28,000 a year. And it gives you extra money for car payments, gas money, or whatever else you need it for.

Do you think 2,300 a month would be acceptable?

Although your formula is accurate here, take into account that you have taxes to pay on your salary, and you didn't figure that in there. I'm living in Norcal making a little over 90k a year and im close to about 4700$ a month after taxes cause they are brutal out here, so you figure on 50k a year, your take home cash is gonna be roughly 32k a year, which puts you at about 2600 a month take home after paying rent your looking at about a grand for bills, food, and whatever else. You want to move to Calif.....get a roomate!!! Im from the Omaha area and was paying 850 for a huge brand new apartment with a garage, im living in a comparable place now, getting a house next month though, but right now im paying 1550$ for my place. I hate the cost out here, but your paying for California which is beautiful, but has too many f'n people.

 

[JediNein]

After 7 years of living in the same apartment, them bastages finally had the nads to increase the rent. We have one garage stall, one numbered parking spot, two bedrooms and pretty big kitchen and living room, central air and heat. I'd estimate it at about 900 sq feet. The rent just went up to 650 a month...after 7 years of no increases from the original rent.

This is in Van Nuys, just north of L.A. I had a one room closet, upstairs, shower - no tub, for $1100/mo. They would have charged an extra $200/mo for a single roommate. The 'building' had 1970's appliances, a gas leak, occasional bouts of no hot water (every time the wind blew), and a psychotic landlord that claimed I was having loud parties every weekend. While I know folks that can have parties at their home while flying out of state, I'm not that capable. I really enjoyed the voicemail messages to "cut out the noise" upon landing in BFN Kansas.

After 6 months, the landlord raised the rent to $1200/mo. The hot water was no longer, the air conditioning didn't, and the toliet was falling off its mounts. The landlord had another fit when I declined to renew the lease. We're about to go to court over the substantial security deposit.

A walk-in closet size place goes for around $1395 a month and up if you have perfect credit. Add another couple of hundred per month for electric, gas, water, and trash. Feel very lucky if you get your own meter instead of an 'estimated' shared one.

Sure, with these rents you could buy a place worth around $200 -300 thousand. That'll get you a refrigerator box on a hazmat site.

If you wait out the 7 years to get on the Section 8 housing list, you can find a really nice 2 bedroom apartment in a nice area with a pool, spa, and landscaping in pristine conditions. However, you must speak Spanish, be pregnant with twins, a single mom, a recognized minority (which the gov't still defines as hispanic despite their majority in L.A.), and on welfare. Being a single Dad doesn't count.

Head north to Bakersfield and commute. The $150,000 home that is 1500 sq feet on a 1/4th acre lot is now $420,000. BTW, the jobs are in L.A. IFTA and the air charter places need a few pilots, but not many. The round trip to L.A., depending on your car, will be approximately $50 in gas and 2-5 hours depending on traffic.

The coast is worse. Santa Maria - a beaten up old 1 bd mobile home on a ranch with contaminated well water runs $1500 a month. An apartment, if you can find one, is in the 1000-1500 range for bachelors (no kitchen).

San Francisco (where some jobs are), see L.A.

Redding? Has a few jobs, and prices are not too insane.

Visit Craig's List and check out the potential areas. Move there before ruining your credit with flying.

Good Luck!

 

[TheDogsBollocks]

There are other big cities in Oregon???

MFR

Yes there are, by Oregon standards they would be Salem, Eugene, Medford and Bend!

 

[tomgoodman]

Try the desert?

The high desert area (Lancaster, Mojave, etc.) used to be RELATIVELY affordable, but it may be wall-to-wall houses by now. Little danger of brush fires, as there was no vegitation to burn--besides, it was already so hot that a fire wouldn't have made any difference.

Actually, I really enjoyed living there.

 

[NuGuy]

.....

 

[cakeordeath]

I grew up in Oregon. PM me if you have questions.

 

[Joshrk22]

What is Oregon's climate like?

 

[MFRskyknight]

What is Oregon's climate like?

Depends on what part you live in. It varies from the coast, to the eastern desert, to the mountains and the valleys. Where I live (Medford) the summers are hot and fairly dry, winters are wet and foggy, but little if any snow. Overall pretty mild.

MFR