# Why I'm f@wked in CA **URL:** \ **Category:** PittSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [April 18, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-im-f-wked-in-ca/196934 "2008-04-18T13:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 8
**Author:** ![bics56](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@bics56](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/bics56)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-im-f-wked-in-ca/196934/8 "2008-04-20T06:54:47Z")
> [@FS:04 Yamaha Raptor 660](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fs-04-yamaha-raptor-660/35960/15): > > If he makes $100k he should be able to buy a $300k house FWIW. Unless that is, he has a lot of extra expenses (multiple car payments, hookers, blow…). > > The town I lived in until about a year ago (Gilroy) is a 45 minute drive to my office w/o traffic. Peak commute hours, it can easily double. Housing is cheaper there, I could probably get a nice place in the 400s. To get into the 300s I’d have to be about 2hours away from my office w/o traffic, but out some of the worst rush-hour freeways in the world. I had thought about buying something out that way, in a particular a town where they’re about to build a giant multi-function motorsports complex in the next few years. > > But I’m not commuting 4+ hours/day. So I figured I’d crash at my Parents’ place mon-thurs nights. But do I really want to get into a mortgage for a place I’ll be at just on the weekends in the Central Valley (hot, land-locked, nothing to do, nowhere to go)? Maybe, we’ll see. > > -TJ He said he can “afford” a house for $300+K…(btw that is for a very avg home, somewhat nicer ones run like $400-$500K) but he would be pretty much house poor. Figure is you make $100K/yr after taxes and 401K you will take home roughly $2,000 every 2 weeks. Then a mtg on a $325K house is roughly $2K/month…then add in real estate taxes and other basic household expenses…and 3/4 your take home goes tot he house alone…then add in other expenses and next thing you know you are living paycheck to paycheck. Now for a married couple with a combined income of like $150+K then it would be realistic. What you explained sounds a lot like what people do to live in certain parts of CA. From what I hear it is not uncommon to commute 1.5-2 hours each way. I never understood why people would want to live in a place where the cost of living makes it where you have to make $300K/year to live somewhat comfortable. It sounds like you need to stay with the parents and bank a ton of $ and have a huge down payment…where you can keep your payments at a point where you can live and still have some fun. Whatever you do, good luck!! --- _[View the full topic](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-im-f-wked-in-ca/196934)._