Posted on 08/18/2016 12:26:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
City living can be fun, glamourous and expensive - but mostly expensive.
If you were thinking about moving to a city soon, you might want to take a look at Smart Asset's 2016 report that breaks down just how much money you really need to make it in the big city.
The personal-finance company gathered data on the average cost of renting available two-bedroom apartments in in each major city and calculated the gross income required by setting the rent-toincome ratio at 28%.
Check out the cost of these major cities!
San Francisco, California
Income needed to pay rent: $216,129
Average cost of renting a two-bedrom in 2016: $5,043
Percent change from 2015: 7.4%
New York, New York
Income needed to pay rent: $158,229
Average cost of renting a two-bedroom in 2016: $3,692
Percent change from 2015: -0.1%
Los Angeles, California
Income needed to pay rent: $145,629
Average cost of renting a two-bedroom in 2016: $3,398
Percent change from 2015: 17.1%
Boston, Massachusetts
Income needed to pay rent: $120,900
Average cost of renting a two-bedroom in 2016: $2,821
Percent change from 2015: -0.2%
It depends on local regulations. Some communities on the SF peninsula are trying to pass legislation to force landlords to take tenants first come, first served regardless of background. No bias allowed or heavy fines result. The local government decides who will rent your property, despite your misgivings about the prospective tenant. If you property is ruined or tenant doesn't pay, you won't thing it's a good time to own rental property.
I wouldn’t consider relocating to the Bay Area for anything less than 500-600k. But that’s just me.
Keep in mind these are averages that are skewed by high-priced luxury skyscraper apartments. The reality is that you can get an apartment for perhaps $1500 with a corresponding much lower income than $216,129 salary. That having been said, one of my daughters was renting a one-bedroom apartment in an upscale area of SF for about $1600, and when she and her husband moved a couple years ago for larger quarters, the former apartment was hiked to over $2300 for the new tenants. So yes, rents are increasing dramatically.
My son is an intern this summer in Palo Alto. He is renting a shed in someone’s backyard. It has a bedroom, a bathroom, and one other room for combined living/kitchen space. He has electricity, no AC, and only a hot plate and mini fridge. He says it is about 450 square feet.
Rent is $1200 per month. Thank goodness his employer’s living allowance is $1700 per month so he has money for food and transit. Thank goodness he got a real degree so he has an internship with good pay and a housing allowance.
But he lives in a shed.
(He is going back for a Master’s which is why this is just a summer internship).
When I moved to San Francisco in 1968 I shared an apartment with a friend. We paid $165 a mont on Nob Hill and could jump on the cable car for a quarter to get to work. Can’t even buy dinner for two for that now, I bet.
Hey, some of the most valuable companies in the world came out of shed’s/garages in Palo Alto. I’m sure your son is on a great path.
I know an instructor at UC Berkeley who is homeless.
He has a friend who lets him sleep in an office suite at night.
He has to roll up his sleeping bag and get out before 7 am.
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