I've paid more rent living in California than ever before, but I'm not sorry I moved here
- I moved from the midwest to Santa Barbara, California in August 2018.
- I was shocked to discover my rent would more than double - from $800 a month to $2,000 - but my salary was higher than ever, too.
- While I've loved living on the west coast and I have no problem making ends meet, I might be ready to leave Santa Barbara for someplace where I can accomplish my other financial goals.
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I've always been a bit of a wandering soul. Although I was born in Illinois and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, I spent a semester as a Disney intern in Orlando, Florida during my early college years. From there, I went to school and worked in Atlanta for a couple years, then lived in Virginia while serving on active duty in the military.
Although I've moved around quite a bit, I've never lived anywhere quite as expensive as my current residence of Santa Barbara, California. Since moving here over a year ago, I admit I've had some sticker shock. Here's what it's been like to transition to a new town with such a high cost of living.
From the midwest to Santa Barbara, California
The opportunity to move to California came about while I was searching for jobs after graduating with my BA in communications last May. I had recently visited family in California and fallen in love with the amazing weather and relaxed atmosphere. Plus, the west coast was the only part of the United States I had never lived in, so I figured why not give it a try?
Things worked out in my favor and I was offered a position working in communications at a nonprofit in Santa Barbara. I admit I didn't know much about the town, other than it was a couple of hours outside of the Los Angeles area. I started doing some research and began to have second thoughts once I looked through apartment listings.
My rent was going to double
Up until that point, the most I'd ever paid for rent was around $800. However, the starting price for a standard one-bedroom in Santa Barbara was double that at over $1,600. Not only that, but the housing market in a coastal city is pretty hot. A listed property can be claimed by an interested renter in a matter of hours.
Coming from a place where you can take a day or two to think things over when choosing a new home, this "first come, first served" renter's market was a bit intimidating for me.
Still, I had some savings set aside and the new job had offered a relocation stipend. With that in mind, I pushed past my doubts and continued with plans to make the move.
I moved to Santa Barbara in August 2018 and managed to secure housing just two days before starting the new job. Including utilities, the price for the new place came out to be around $2,000 a month. I still tear up a bit just writing that.
Aside from the price, though, it had everything I was looking for in an apartment: spacious, in a quiet neighborhood, with a private parking space, just minutes away from the new job, and came with a washer and dryer included.
Because I was making such a big move, I wanted most aspects of my housing to be as convenient as possible, and this place checked all the boxes.
My paycheck was higher than it had ever been
While the downside of a town with a high cost of living is the expensive rent, the upside is that salaries tend to be higher (in some cases).
My job started off at $60,000, which was more than I had ever made anywhere else I'd lived. Even after paying rent and other monthly expenses, I still had enough to put money in savings and contribute to a retirement plan. For me, that made the trade-off of paying more for housing a little more manageable.
I also realized that while my physical location had changed, my money-management habits were still the same. Before moving to California, I paid off my car and most of my credit card debt and was slowly starting to chip away at my student loans. While I enjoyed going out to restaurants or movies a few times a month, I was very intentional about spending and staying within my budget.
All of these factors helped me to adjust in a way I don't think I would have if I had tons of other financial obligations in addition to paying more than double in rent.
I might be ready to leave Santa Barbara, but not because I can't afford it
On that same note, those factors are what helped me feel comfortable enough to transition from my job to freelancing a few months ago. I now have more flexibility with my hours and, of course, location. Because of that, I find myself thinking about making another move in the near future. (There's that wandering soul coming into play again.)
Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, but there are other financial goals I'd like to accomplish, and I know I can accomplish them sooner if I'm not spending $2,000 a month in rent.
Still, I don't regret my decision to move to the west coast. It showed me that, while it takes some adjusting, living in an expensive city can be done, even when you're accustomed to the lower cost of living in the midwest.
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