How do you afford to live in So. Cal?

[OldRoadGuy]

You were kidding about the wife thing....?
Sometimes you can be ok with something
and they hate it. You never know.

I work in a retail-ish position.
I live a mile from the beach in a ghetto (to me)
1br apt. I make less than 60k am divorced and
pay child support. It's doable if you want it to be.
I don't live like a balla and I drive a small conservative
car (w/ pmts) but squeak by.
You'll do fine if you can get established. It also
depends on how far inland and how crowded
you can /want to deal with.

[cjbruin]

And I'm gonna park it on CJBruin's doorstep. And pee out the window.

Bring beer.

[Scootcore]

bought a crappy house in an ok neighborhood in 95 and have been working on it since.....mortgage is less than most peoples rent and its tripled in value....good times.....

[swimmer88]

I live in Irvine in a brand new apartment and I'm only 23. How do I afford it? Work hard, save, invest.

I wish I was like some of you and had the opportunity to buy a house 10+ years ago. I guarantee every single one of you pay less for your mortgage than I pay for rent.

[cole505]

Get yourself an interest-only no money down (http://www.forthebestrate.com/no-money-down-mortgage.aspx) home loan like everybody else, but you best hurry the government is rolling out plans to help people lock in those ARMs (http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/05/08/conflict_over_housing_crisis_threatens_rescue_package/);)

[roadfix]

I guarantee every single one of you pay less for your mortgage than I pay for rent.

Do you pay over $4,000/month in rent? :rolleyes:

[chirojeremy]

Sub Urban living. I don't live in any great place like Malibu, New Port Beach, Big Bear Mtn. Hollywood, Palm Springs but I can be in any of those places in an hour or less.When I was a kid growing up in Chino Hills I used too think it was the perfect place to live. 45mins to the beach in the summer, 45min to the ski lifts in the winter, 60 min to Palm springs for spring break, 35 min to LA, 2 hours to Mexico. So even though I am fortunate enough that I can probably live any where I want, I choose to stay.

I just compared Chino Hills with Money Mags best places to live in US and it blows the best averages away in most categories. Now, how many chiropractors/population?

[kuf]

Do you pay over $4,000/month in rent? :rolleyes:

And don't forget property taxes!
Over $8,000 a year.
That's what irks me. Some of my neighbors pay only $1,000.

[Yen]

Some people are way in over their heads just to own the house they do. They are "house poor".

[chirojeremy]

I just compared Chino Hills with Money Mags best places to live in US and it blows the best averages away in most categories. Now, how many chiropractors/population?

Nearly 9600 vs 1100 for Santa Barbara and the same population...

[umd]

Nearly 9600 vs 1100 for Santa Barbara and the same population...

What do those numbers mean?

[umd]

I guarantee every single one of you pay less for your mortgage than I pay for rent.

As roadfix said, my mortgage + property taxes + insurance > $4000. I suppose you could pay more than that per month for a condo, but I doubt it.

[1955]

I just compared Chino Hills with Money Mags best places to live in US and it blows the best averages away in most categories. Now, how many chiropractors/population?

I lived in the Butterfield area of Chino Hills for 9 years during the 90's and it was a great place to live. No smog to speak of (it seemed to blow right over us and into Corona), and being on the south side of CH, it was all new. You do have to deal with the smell of cows (are all the dairy farms still there?) it gets relatively cold in the winter and the heat in the summer can be oppressive. Of course it's built up a lot since I lived there; when we were there the nearest liquor store was 7 miles away. We love it there, but we both worked in Huntington Beach and had a new born, the commute was killing us and our marriage so we sold our first house that we loved and moved to a huge house that was WAY to big in Fountain Valley.

[nekohime]

I live with my parents... :o

Ditto. I can move out and rent nearer to Westwood but I don't because I'm saving for the down payment for my house, my wedding, and retirement. No kidding. Teh bf and I want to stay in CA, so we have to SAVE SAVE SAVE!!!

That said, my parents bought our house in West Covina just last year for a decent price. It's an older 3br/1.75ba house with a pool, and it's close to everything--park, schools, groceries, drug stores, video rental shop/tweaker store, restaurant, etc etc etc. Quite lovely.

[roadfix]

....because I'm saving for the down payment for my house, my wedding, and retirement.

Smart move. I wish I started saving for my retirement when I was your age. :D

[chirojeremy]

What do those numbers mean?

Those are the number of chiropractors that came up on Google maps. I have a hard time believing there are THAT many in that immediate area. But if there are only 83,000 people in each town, and 10x as many chiros 9600 vs 1100, which sounds more competitive?

[nekohime]

Smart move. I wish I started saving for my retirement when I was your age. :D


Oh and student debt too. Hafta save up for paying that too. :cry:

[swimmer88]

Do you pay over $4,000/month in rent? :rolleyes:

its a reeeeeally nice apartment:lol:

haha...no i don't pay $4,000/month, not even close. I stand corrected, I'm sure many of you pay more for your house than my rent.

Maybe if we do $/square foot, then I'll be right:D

[umd]

Those are the number of chiropractors that came up on Google maps. I have a hard time believing there are THAT many in that immediate area. But if there are only 83,000 people in each town, and 10x as many chiros 9600 vs 1100, which sounds more competitive?

83000 may be the number of people in the city of Santa Barbara, but there is a lot of the immediate surrounding area that is not actually part of the city. The population of the whole contunious area is probably closer to 150,000-200,000

[kuf]

Those are the number of chiropractors that came up on Google maps. I have a hard time believing there are THAT many in that immediate area. But if there are only 83,000 people in each town, and 10x as many chiros 9600 vs 1100, which sounds more competitive?

Well, I was talking to a chirporactor in town (Santa Barbara.) He said he can only afford to do it as a hobby. When cases were from insurance, it was a set price for the service- it didn't matter that we're in a more expensive area, where rents are higher. So it's less profitable than other places can be.

[kuf]

its a reeeeeally nice apartment:lol:

haha...no i don't pay $4,000/month, not even close. I stand corrected, I'm sure many of you pay more for your house than my rent.

Maybe if we do $/square foot, then I'll be right:D

Er, again, don't count on it. But what is your square footage, for kicks?

[swimmer88]

Er, again, don't count on it. But what is your square footage, for kicks?

$2000 per month rent
800 square feet.
=$2.5/square foot

i have a feeling someone is going to beat me on this

[umd]

$2000 per month rent
800 square feet.
=$2.5/square foot

i have a feeling someone is going to beat me on this

$4200
1700 sq. feet
=$2.47/sq. foot

so you win, at least vs. us, barely. But does your rent include any utilities? (water, garbage, gas, electricity, etc.)?

[swimmer88]

$4200
1700 sq. feet
=$2.47/sq. foot

so you win, at least vs. us, barely. But does your rent include any utilities? (water, garbage, gas, electricity, etc.)?

no. that should add another $150-$200.

[Drew12]

Irvines overpriced.
$2k?? Must be Irvine Co.

I have a 2 BR house 5 blocks form the beach on the border of Newport for $1500 rent.
But then, wall heater, no A/C ( don't need it anyway, ocean breeze), and no grounded plugs.
A $9000 house on a $1.5 million lot. Just wait til the owner want so tear it down and re-build...

Rent in OC is overpriced, but hey, I still live here so....

[chirojeremy]

Well, I was talking to a chirporactor in town (Santa Barbara.) He said he can only afford to do it as a hobby. When cases were from insurance, it was a set price for the service- it didn't matter that we're in a more expensive area, where rents are higher. So it's less profitable than other places can be.

I would be interested in talking to some docs there in so cal. You make a good point, but those docs that are just squeaking by are not doing something right. If insurance only pays so much, you can also have cash plans or higher co pays. Also, how many pts are they seeing per day? I dont know if I said this earlier, but there are docs that only see 30pts per day and there are a select few docs that see 300 pts per day. The difference is the goals of the doc and their willingness to step outside their comfort zone. Some people are satisfied with only making $100k per year, some want more than that...

[photonick]

Two words, Warner Brothers.

[DScott]

I would be interested in talking to some docs there in so cal. You make a good point, but those docs that are just squeaking by are not doing something right. If insurance only pays so much, you can also have cash plans or higher co pays. Also, how many pts are they seeing per day? I dont know if I said this earlier, but there are docs that only see 30pts per day and there are a select few docs that see 300 pts per day. The difference is the goals of the doc and their willingness to step outside their comfort zone. Some people are satisfied with only making $100k per year, some want more than that...

So you're going into this biz to make a bunch of money, and servicing 50 pts an hour is something you admire and aspire to. Do I have that right?

[umd]

I would be interested in talking to some docs there in so cal. You make a good point, but those docs that are just squeaking by are not doing something right. If insurance only pays so much, you can also have cash plans or higher co pays. Also, how many pts are they seeing per day? I dont know if I said this earlier, but there are docs that only see 30pts per day and there are a select few docs that see 300 pts per day. The difference is the goals of the doc and their willingness to step outside their comfort zone. Some people are satisfied with only making $100k per year, some want more than that...

It wasn't so much that he was just squeaking by, but that he found being a contractor to be much more profitable. He's also cat 1 and I think an ex-pro so he must have valued his time for training...

[photonick]

You know recently I was feeling bad about not having a physical or going the Dr. since summer of 04' but now i remember why I hate going to the Dr.

[rooftest]

$2000 per month rent
800 square feet.
=$2.5/square foot

i have a feeling someone is going to beat me on this

In Irvine? You gotta be ****ting me! For that coin, you should look near the beach!

[chirojeremy]

So you're going into this biz to make a bunch of money, and servicing 50 pts an hour is something you admire and aspire to. Do I have that right?

Originally, yes. However I also valued that I would be providing a service. You can make money ripping people off as a used car salesman or a drug dealer, but I wanted to help people. If I can make very good money and have the status of being called doctor, then thats icing on the cake! Now, I am going to school to learn many things, but to do 1 thing VERY WELL, and that is to help people be healthy by removing subluxations and getting them out of pain. If I can see 300pts per day, I will be helping far more people than if I was only seeing 30 pts per day. Dont you agree? My staff can do everything in my office except for one thing and that is what you need a doctorate of chiropractic to do; adjust. I will adjust the patients and then adjust the next. Money is a by product of services rendered. I want to serve as many people as humanly possible without killing myself in the process. What good will I be able to do if I can only work for 5 years because I killed myself working 40 hours per week and I am developing arthritis from adjusting so much. So I will work limited hours and use as low force techniques as possible to save my body and still get results. Does anyone have a problem with my approach?

[OldRoadGuy]

Wtf? Is it even humanly possible to see 300 in a day?
I get bent helping 50 a day (on a very busy day) including
when UMD used to come in.

[chirojeremy]

Wtf? Is it even humanly possible to see 300 in a day?
I get bent helping 50 a day (on a very busy day) including
when UMD used to come in.

Are you a chiro? I went to a docs office who had AT LEAST 20 people waiting in his office. That does not include the 3 treatment rooms that were full, the x ray/exam room and the 1 office the doc worked out of giving adjustments. All he does is walks out the door and tells the staff when to make the next appointment and holds the door open for the next patient to come in. Adjustments only take about a minute. He saw 300 the day before when there were TORRENTIAL down pours and a tornado touched down that evening within a few miles. The day I saw him was the day after so there may have been a few no shows from the previous day. I sure would have liked to see how many he saw because he was packed. Standing room only...

[rooftest]

There must not be any chiropractors on here - nobody's gotten offended by my insurance fraud comment on page 1.

[Metric Man]

Forget California...move to the Phoenix area. They still have cheap homes and great climate. No ocean, but great riding and it's affordable.

[Grumpy Pig]

Forget California...move to the Phoenix area. They still have cheap homes and great climate. No ocean, but great riding and it's affordable.
Are you serious?

[Drew12]

Forget California...move to the Phoenix area. They still have cheap homes and great climate. No ocean, but great riding and it's affordable.

Great climate???
If you like 100+ all summer...
But there is a glut of homes, and can buy a house for much less than rent in So Cal.

[Metric Man]

Great climate???
If you like 100+ all summer...
But there is a glut of homes, and can buy a house for much less than rent in So Cal.

Three months out of the year it's too hot to ride...but where I live, three months out of the year it's too cold. I call it a trade off. The other 9 months is FANTASTIC! And you can get new 3-4 bedroom homes for under $200K.

[mateo44]

Three months out of the year it's too hot to ride...but where I live, three months out of the year it's too cold. I call it a trade off. The other 9 months is FANTASTIC! And you can get new 3-4 bedroom homes for under $200K.

http://www.housingtracker.net/old_housingtracker/location/Arizona/Phoenix/

The median home price in the Phoenix area is currently $275K. Of course that's way down -- in August 2006 it was $339K. Are you saying that the typical new home selling at the median price is 3-4 bedrooms?

[Metric Man]

http://www.housingtracker.net/old_housingtracker/location/Arizona/Phoenix/

The median home price in the Phoenix area is currently $275K. Of course that's way down -- in August 2006 it was $339K. Are you saying that the typical new home selling at the median price is 3-4 bedrooms?

I was in Queens Creek, south east of Mesa, last week end visiting my daughter. I saw a NEW 4 bdrm house for $179k, and they were offering incentives too. :D There were some 4500 sq/ft homes with full basements going for the mid $300's.

BTW, I think the page you were looking at is for re-sale homes which typically sell at a higher price than new.

[chirojeremy]

There must not be any chiropractors on here - nobody's gotten offended by my insurance fraud comment on page 1.


I am not offended because I dont plan on committing insurance fraud.

[Nachoman]

[Are you a chiro? I went to a docs office who had AT LEAST 20 people waiting in his office. That does not include the 3 treatment rooms that were full, the x ray/exam room and the 1 office the doc worked out of giving adjustments. All he does is walks out the door and tells the staff when to make the next appointment and holds the door open for the next patient to come in. Adjustments only take about a minute. He saw [/COLOR]300 the day before when there were TORRENTIAL down pours and a tornado touched down that evening within a few miles. The day I saw him was the day after so there may have been a few no shows from the previous day. I sure would have liked to see how many he saw because he was packed. Standing room only...

300 patients a day? Working a 8 hour day WITHOUT lunch or any other breaks at all, that would mean you see one patient every 1.6 minutes. Good luck with that.

[cjbruin]

Are you a chiro? I went to a docs office who had AT LEAST 20 people waiting in his office. That does not include the 3 treatment rooms that were full, the x ray/exam room and the 1 office the doc worked out of giving adjustments. All he does is walks out the door and tells the staff when to make the next appointment and holds the door open for the next patient to come in. Adjustments only take about a minute. He saw 300 the day before when there were TORRENTIAL down pours and a tornado touched down that evening within a few miles. The day I saw him was the day after so there may have been a few no shows from the previous day. I sure would have liked to see how many he saw because he was packed. Standing room only...

I'm having trouble understanding this. If you worked 10 hours with not a single break, that would be one patient every two minutes. Even if the actual adjustment only takes a minute, what about speaking to the patient and understanding what's bothering him/her? Heck, what about walking from one exam room to the other? I guess I'm more convinced than ever that I never want to visit a chiropractor. I'll stick with my acupuncturist.

[chirojeremy]

300 patients a day? Working a 8 hour day WITHOUT lunch or any other breaks at all, that would mean you see one patient every 1.6 minutes. Good luck with that.

His hours were 9:30-12:30 then from 3-6pm.

[chirojeremy]

I'm having trouble understanding this. If you worked 10 hours with not a single break, that would be one patient every two minutes. Even if the actual adjustment only takes a minute, what about speaking to the patient and understanding what's bothering him/her? Heck, what about walking from one exam room to the other? I guess I'm more convinced than ever that I never want to visit a chiropractor. I'll stick with my acupuncturist.

This guy was also an accupuncturist btw. The actual adjustments take mere seconds. You ask them how they are feeling, you have them lie down and talk to you at the same time while you palpate them for restriction, taught muscles or tender spot then you make the adjustment. Once the spine is cleared and they feel good they are done. There is rushing at all, its all about efficiency. Just like multitasking. Why would you have them sit in a chair in another room where you have to spend time walking to them, talk to them, then have them lay down, then palpate, then adjust? Why not do it all at once so you are saving as much time as possible?

[tinrobot]

Forget California...move to the Phoenix area. They still have cheap homes and great climate. No ocean, but great riding and it's affordable.

I was raised in Phoenix and moved away 20 years ago. Every time I go back for a visit, I'm reminded of why I'm still in Los Angeles.

The climate in Phoenix is only nice four months of the year, otherwise it's way too hot and getting hotter. There's tons of dust in the air, which coats the city and kills my breathing. The city is way too overdeveloped for where it is, I still don't understand where they get all the water. The thing that bugs me most is the way the city looks. Almost every single building in that city is painted off-white, beige, or light brown. It's depressing.

I do love the Sonoran desert, though. It's beautiful. Too bad it keeps getting plowed under by subdivisions.

[roadfix]

I would eventually like to sell everything and get the hell out of Ca. :D

[Raiderdave]

I would eventually like to sell everything and get the hell out of Ca. :D

Hear you George...its all about the "exit strategy". My home will be paid off in 11 years (age 54), retire one year later, and look for that 2nd place somewhere less crowded. Will keep this Chino Hills home as my So Cal base (great riding out this way). Somewhere in eastern Arizona or New Mexico me thinks. Can still drive here whenever we choose that way.

[roadfix]

I like Oregon, New Mexico, and Idaho, in no particular order. :)