Affording California (L.A.) as a resident

[TylerDurden]

I am looking at residency programs in Los Angeles and am wondering if I can expect to live ok on $35k. I do not have to live well, but I do want to be comfortable. I am worried because I have around 100k in loans to pay off. Any thoughts?

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[cytoborg]

Same here dude. Rent there is no joke. The residents I asked about it all seemed to have significant others who were gainfully employed as software engineers, stockbrokers, or strippers, and didn't seem too concerned. I unfortunately am the sole breadwinner not to mention I have the standard 100K of debt. It might actually be cheaper in the end to buy a hovel and a gun than fork out 2K qmonth to a landlord.

 

[tofurious]

The only ways to survive as a resident in CA:

1. Be born into a rich family (my daddy being a doctor was my inspiration to be a doctor).
2. Marry rich (promise that you'll support them once you start the 6 figure salary).
3. Spend what you have on a bullet proof vest and live in the ghetto.
4. Take out another 5 loans to pay for room and board alone.
5. Find the van by the beach the last resident left.

 

[JAMMAN]

Become a "resident" and move into the hospital call rooms.

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

My sister lived in LA on a residents salary for 4 years without any difficulty. She lived in the Pasadena area and found decent rent prices.

 

[Ologist]

I agree w/ the above poster. There is affordable housing available. You might have to live out a little farther though.

____________________________________________________________
The best blog ever: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=kmd1

 

[TylerDurden]

So it is possible to live in LA as a single resident without any supplementary income or huge bank acount?

 

[DigableCat]

Check out Craig's List Los Angeles .

There you can find the "avg" amount for rent in the different areas of LA, as well as find potential roommates. Another website that a lot of people use is WestsideRentals , although you have to pay a fee to use their services for 60 days. But I've seen people sell their passwords on Craig's List(likely not entirely legal) when they are done with them, so you may be able to get it for cheaps.

Good luck.

 

[Purulent DC]

I'll be moving to the Southland in June for residency and am lamenting the fact that I'll be taking a $7k+ salary cut from my current internship wage. Now my rent for a gigantic 1 bedroom with large balcony here in the mid-Atlantic countryside is a paltry $535/mo; I'll likely have to fork over twice that in LA for a smallish studio in an less than desirable neighborhood. I have about $200k in debt, and with condos in Westwood costing more than half a mil, I think my 3 years in LA are going to be pretty tight. My Perkins loan is starting repayment next month, but I've deferred the rest of my loan payments (which would be $1800.00/ month otherwise). I also have some consumer debt that I'm trying to pay down, and my goal of maxing my donations to my newly opened Roth IRA for the next 3 years now no longer seems possible. During my interview at LAC+USC, an attending pointed out that some of the surgery residents live in trailers in hospital parking lot. If anyone has any suggestions for affordable neighborhoods within commuting distance of LAC+USC, I'm all ears. Thanks!

 

[cytoborg]

A trailer in the parking lot?!?! Holy shyte...a sense of doom is creeping in...

 

[Purulent DC]

Yeah, and considering where LAC+USC is located [Hazard Park/East (of downtown) LA], that parking lot trailer has got to feel pretty bleak at times. Hell, I'd worry about the trailer being stolen during one of my shifts...

 

[Ross434]

Yeah, and considering where LAC+USC is located [Hazard Park/East (of downtown) LA], that parking lot trailer has got to feel pretty bleak at times. Hell, I'd worry about the trailer being stolen during one of my shifts...

haha, true

 

[Long Dong]

I'm just a student but I live with a resident and a phd student and we are just 2 miles away from ucla chs in brentwood. Our rent is about $625 each for a 3 bedroom 2 bath. When I was in undergrad I lived in palms which is about 15 minutes away from UCLA and about 30 minutes from USC and rent was about 1100 for a one bedroom split w/my gf. So I would suggest going to that westside rentals web site that some other poster talked about, or putting an add in ether UCLA or USC's medical school website for a roomate. But don't live with no undergrads they are way too loud and party to much.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I am looking at residency programs in Los Angeles and am wondering if I can expect to live ok on $35k. I do not have to live well, but I do want to be comfortable. I am worried because I have around 100k in loans to pay off. Any thoughts?

In reference to your last point..it is unlikely that you will be required to start repayment of your loans during residency. More than likely, especially during the first couple of years you will qualify for deferment.