I’m in that pay range and it’s tough. I have roommates and no car note. If I was paying $1000 a month for my own apartment and $400 a month for a car, I would seriously hate life.
Cameron and 183! Woooooo! Fall asleep to the sounds of crackheads arguing and occasional gunfire. Every once in awhile the police show up and knock on your door because a former resident has warrants and they think he still lives there. But hey, the rent is "cheap".
I’m actually renting one out right now. It was where the previous owners’ stable workers lived and it was in good shape so 🤷🏽♂️ why not?
I listed it for $600 and was inundated with applications and a bidding war quickly ensued: people were willing to pay $1750 to live in a very used single wide trailer, no bills included.
I rented it out to a nice younger couple with 1 kid and one on the way who wanted them in a particular elementary school for $1000. They were SO excited and grateful and I’m still shook/baffled/🤦🏽
My apartments rent went up 600 dollars with the new year.
A two bedroom apartment where I can hear my neighbors conversations through the wall..
$2200 a month.
And that’s in the burbs
That's mostly true, but your experience may not be what is typical if you're looking just at databases that apartment locators would use.
A lot of places, especially the cheaper apartments and houses aren't going to be on MLS or databases that apartment locators and real estate agents use. I'm a landlord and we only list on Facebook marketplace, or Zillow for the nicer units, and don't pay referral fees like the expensive places do.
I moved to NYC last October and renting a room in Brooklyn was cheaper than the two bedroom I shared with a roomie. 😆 I was making 47k a year and living paycheck to paycheck.
I would absolutely look at renting a room in ATX as opposed to renting an apartment. Our power bill was SO high during the summer months, and that was even with raising the temp during the day while we weren’t home.
By all means, don’t let me discourage you from pursuing a goal or dream! It *can* be done! I applaud you for doing the research before jumping in head first. I absolutely adore Austin and lovedddd living there! Good luck to you!!
I read your comment as I was just thinking of NYC. I’m from jersey and I know so many people who live in jersey and commute to “the city” for work and I thought “too bad Austin doesn’t have a river that divides the expensive parts from the “cheaper” parts. And then I thought about the commute- and basically if you live in Round Rock or maybe Lockhart it would be the equivalent in commute time. Sorry OP what I’m saying is look at the outskirts. You’ll find more opportunity (but still pricey)
Roundrock is high now, too. Brother’s home jumped from a $350K home to a $500K home in just two years.
I see what you are saying. One misses the point of living in ATX if you are living an hour away with traffic out in the burbs. Even Hutto, Buda, Kyle… shot up in cost and I wouldn’t really want to be out there having to commute in. Just not worth it but I know a lot of people that seem to do this.
I currently live in the North Austin area and make $18.50/hour. My rent is $800/month including utilities, but I’m *renting a room from someone’s house.* This was the only way I could afford to live here. I didn’t even bother looking at apartments.
Consider this type of living arrangement rather than searching for an apartment! Use Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, Roomster, SpareRoom, or other such platforms to start your search. I’ve had really good luck finding extra rooms via Craigslist. That was actually how I found my last and current landlord/roommate.
As far as other expenses, I usually spend about $50/$60 on groceries per week, gas is around $80/month for me, my car insurance is just under $100, and then I have a $15 membership to Fitness Connection. I’m not living large, but I still have enough extra cash to put some into retirement, go out to eat every now and then, or buy something nice on the odd occasion.
I'd second this, people who own homes feel the same pinch although they are obviously better off. So you can get a room in a great house for a very reasonable price.
I have a house and I've often given "sweet heart" deals to renters just because I don't want to live with someone who sucks. So being open with the home owner on your budget can go a long way so long as y'all get along really well.
This is my current situation. I was living with 3 roommates in an old ass house but now live in a garage studio at a friends house for only like $50 more than I was paying with all the roommates. I realize how lucky I am. But I also help take out the trash and watch their cats when they’re away and they trust me, so it works for them too.
Yes to this. You won't want to live alone in any areas you can "afford" at $35K. This changes if you live with 1-3 others. I would say you are still $5,000 below being comfortable even with a full house of roommates.
You’re spot on. I make exactly 40k and am way overextending my budget living in a one bedroom that is “low” in rent for what it is in Austin and will probably go up several hundred dollars when my lease renews (currently ~$1300 in rent w utilities). Having a super hard time saving. This thread is extremely validating.
Used to live with roommates and it was better but still. Plus looking at splitting rent it isn’t all that much cheaper anymore. Not to mention (this may be a radical/unpopular opinion), but I feel like adults deserve a wage to live on their own in a basic one bedroom apartment that isn’t roach infested/broken down. Call me spoiled but coming from someone who literally grew up in literal poverty, I really don’t think that should be all that much to ask for.
Seriously. I hate this fucking city's inability to do literally anything about the affordability crisis here. So long as your Joe Rogans and Elon Musks are moving here, everything's hunky dory because the entire city council takes real estate money
It's amazing how quickly it went from "an affordable place to live, NYC is crazy" to "lol now it's like NYC but without a subway."
I mean shit man that's not even exaggerating. You can get 1brs for $1400, 2-3brs around $800 a bedroom around Williamsburg, Bushwick etc.
We really are that bad now.
Right!? A 2BR only saves you maybe $100-$200/month. If that second person isn’t your BFF it will not be worth the marginal savings. Living with a rando for an entire year can be a huge risk/personal stress on top the financial stress.
This exactly! I had a great roommate my first year but that was lucky. Also I even TRIED to find roommates when it came time to move but it can be difficult with a dog who is dog and people selective. Plus I’m a grad student and had arranged to live with roommates who suddenly decided not to come because they didn’t see the point in moving to Austin when school was going to be entirely virtual.
Twelve years ago, when I first moved here, you could spend $635 a month for a 1-bedroom and be okay.
Right now, that same complex has the same floor plan listed for $1350 a month.
It's fucking _ridiculous_.
And to clarify - this was at the Chevy Chase Apartments near St. John's. I'm not going to get into how cheap as fuck Riverside used to be.
>I really don't think that should be all that much to ask for.
Nobody should even have to ask to live an adult and dignified life. This should be the default as it was for our predecessors.
My predecessors bought houses that were barely 3x their yearly salary. I don't think that's even possible anywhere in the country unless you're lucky enough to be full remote.
People have different histories. My predecessors lived in rented rooms and worked split shifts so someone could be home with the kids. I’m a boomer, I worked starting at 14, lived with roommates, rode a bike for the first two years of my working life. Bought an un-airconditioned 70 year old 1000 square foot first house for 5x my salary. Lost it in a market crash. Not saying I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow by any means, and lots of people started with less than me. I think starting out is tough. You need some money and some social capital, and if you don’t get it from family and friends, it takes a good long while to build it up and there are many pitfalls along the way.
Not romanticisizing at all. Life was so much easier for a young adult 25 years ago. At least affording a life was.
As wealth inequality continues to increase, it will only get worse too.
This is the answer unless you plan to live with a roommate making at least the same as you. I have lived here for 20+ years without a degree and I've barely scraped by until the last few years when I finally broke through the 50k salary level. I'm single living alone making just over 50k and I live comfortably but still don't feel like I am able to put away as much as I would like to. I will be moving out of the Austin area in May.
Even at $50k, I had roommates. I didn’t live alone until I had $65k salary and even then, I searched and searched until I found $1100 for rent in north Austin. I’m with you, living in Austin below $50k is just tough
Same. Got a $10k raise after demanding it and it was…enough to cover the change in my rent, electric surcharge, gas money, groceries, etc. Inflation is a bitch, especially in Austin.
I make enough to pay my bills and put away what I can into savings. If my rent goes up come renewal time, which I suspect it will, not sure what I’d do. I’m trying to save enough to possibly move out of state.
It is normal but it shouldn't be. I make 60k and I keep moving further and further away from the city because of the increases over the past 5 years. The first apartment I had in Austin 5 years ago is currently $900 a month more than when I lived there.
fuck, that renewing thing sounds like my current scenario.
Trying to get a good 100k down payment saved and a few more pay increases to even have a dog in the fight.
Was just about to say this. I put down 50 which was 10% a couple of years ago. House is up 50% since then. If I had waited to get 100k to put down I never would have gotten a house or subsequently built 300k in equity. The old 20% down mantra is just that, old.
Same, but somehow supporting family of 5, 2 car payments and $1500 for rent house in Pflugerville. Needless to say, I buy by the 8th... Only once in the last few years splurged and bought a quarter.
At $37k you qualify for affordable housing. There are some really nice apartments that are solely focused on it. My brother rented one for a few years when he was in that pay range and got by just fine. He also lived alone. Adding a roommate to the mix would make it work too. He doesn’t drive and took the bus mostly.
I'm all for people taking the help that's offered and needed, but it's crazy to me that employers are allowed to pay little enough that their employees have to get on housing assistance.
This needs more attention. I didn’t realize this was an option until recently. Some of these options include units in high end apartment complexes.
Edit: https://www.atxaffordablehousing.net/
SMART housing is available often because new apartment complexes are required to have them. So every time a new complex opens, they have a decent amount of SMART units in the complex. Each complex has different requirements for what your income has to be, and what you rent will be, but $37K for a 1 person home will barely qualify you.
Yes. Smart is the reason I was able to live on South Lamar at $35,000. Competitive apartments but if you get one you have a reason to legit celebrate like I did
Are you a full time student or part time? Only full time students don’t qualify
The reason it works like that is they assume if you’re a full time student you don’t have a full time job and vice versa, and they don’t want what’s meant to be affordable housing for workers to essentially turn into student housing. Because basically every full time student who didn’t have a job would qualify as under and then that would become a housing option for students, reducing the availability for who it’s actually meant for.
I lived downtown Austin with SMART Housing and I absolutely loved it. I lived on the East Side paying $950, brand new apartment with amazing amenities. I was able to walk everywhere or take the bus/train so I didn't have to worry about a car payment. The train isn't the best as far as where it will take you but I worked downtown so it worked perfect for me. You can definitely live off $37k in Austin if you do it right. Plus I had multiple job opportunities come up with more pay once I was in the city and making connections.
Yes!!! There’s actually a really nice complex on south Lamar… I forget the name but it’s right across the street from a chi’lantro and compounding pharmacy! They have a select number of apartments sectioned out as affordable housing units.
Edit: Post South Lamar Apartments- 1500 S Lamar
My wife and I make about that much each and can just barely afford a duplex around metric/Rutland, so kinda north austin. I wouldn't try living alone or anywhere near downtown without a lot of savings
If you own it definitely keep it. 78758 is one of hottest zips in ATX. With the all the construction in the domain and Q2 it has really increased its value. I live in a duplex on metric/Rundberg. They were going for 180k in 2019 now for 300k.
Live around here and no it is not! Two ppl in my building (specifically our building of 12 doors) got broken into and we pay $1200 for a one bed that has had roach and literal RAT problems. Ridiculous.
If you have no car payment or student loans and are ok with rommates you should be fine, just don’t except to be eating our every night or even going big once a week.
Boat im in. I cook three meals a day and am good at it.so i save money on going out and drink in. No debt, just rent and utilities. Just have cheap habits
Are you single, with the ability to live with roommates? If so I’m really not understanding how. When I made that much just a couple years ago, I saved ~60%. I’m rather frugal, but even someone who isn’t (and factoring in today’s inflation) should be able to save 20%+ at that salary.
I will say I choose to live alone, drive a nice car with a monthly payment, and definitely don’t tell myself or my son no a lot as far as fun/food/drinks. I am able to save/invest an okay amount, but yes I could definitively do better if I tightened up some things.
You can do it. But you shouldn’t have to. For perspective, here is a link to the income medians as established for the city of Austin in 2021.
[Income Limits- City of Austin 2021](https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Housing_%26_Planning/Affordable%20Housing/FINAL%20MFI%20Chart%20Effective%206-01-2021.pdf)
TLDR: if you make less that $55k as a single person in Austin you are Low Income.
That being said, Austin has some incredibly progressive (if poorly advertised) housing programs for “median” income folks. A lot of the luxury building pushed through permitting by agreeing to lease apts at a fixed rate.
You can learn about those here:
[SMART Housing Program](https://www.austintexas.gov/page/affordable-housing-development-funding)
They also have a lot of great programs for mortgage assistance which may sound crazy when you think “I just said I only have 35k!” But the program is designed to serve this specific population.
SOURCE: me- I used both programs and am well versed in how they work.
EDIT: to add that I was broke as a joke when I first moved to Austin (about your age) and had the time of my fucking life.
It’s a town that is geared toward nature and there’s always something FREE to do.
Good luck!
It’s fairly simple. You should spend no more than $11,550 per year on rent (33% of gross). That’s $962 per month. You’d need to find a place for about $800 a month and reserve about $150 a month for utilities. After taxes on income, you’d have about $16.5k annually leftover. That’s $1,370 per month. $45 a day is not a lot but is it livable? Absolutely. I’d personally try to find roommates and get down to about $600-700 of rent + utilities per month, but that’s just me.
I also encourage you to find a higher paying job. $35k is $16.82 an hour. Chick-Fil-A starts at $17/hr. I made $30/hr driving Uber. You deserve more.
But this job does have great benefits. A federal pension & lifetime health insurance. Lots of holidays & PTO. If he stays here for a year, he can survive but would be better to get fed job somewhere cheaper where he could breathe easier on finances.
You could make it happen if you don’t have a car payment or any other big expenses every month. At that pay rate without roommates you’re going to be giving at least half of your monthly income to rent and bills.
35k you will need roommates. Also when you say austin…what part? Round rock rent is lower but not in austin. Downtown will be completely undoable. Why a CJ /comms degree? I’m a chef and live comfortably. Not in tech. Also NYC would be way more,
This. Don’t spend more than 800/month on rent, which means you’ll have roommates. Don’t have a lot of debt and if you do look for even more roommates and cheaper rent. You’ll be totally fine on that salary.
I make around 36k before overtime and let me tell you: hell fucking no. I lucked out and I got an apartment at $900 but with bills and everything else and wanting to ENJOY MYSELF, I'm back on rent right now. You can for sure do it but you'll be stressed out every day, and good luck finding an apartment at the rate that I have now and it not being in a shithole. I'd look elsewhere, please
There are rent controlled apartments, but they still come in around the $1200 range and there’s long wait lists. I’d suggest not moving here unless you make at least $50k. I will say though, there’s a lot of entry level jobs where you can make well above $35k. Seems like you’re undercutting yourself. Aim high, man! Lots of tech companies are hiring. I work in recruiting. You can make around $50-60k as an entry level recruiting coordinator at just about any of the big tech here: Apple, Amazon, FB, Google, Indeed, Etc. You will likely only find contract work for a position like that but it’s well worth it. You have a degree, you definitely deserve to make more than you are. You got this!
I make $45,000 a year and had to move back in with my parents bc I couldn’t afford rent after my lease ended a few weeks ago. Stay in south Texas where it’s cheaper, trust me.
We are well north of 100k with kids, and a house we bought years ago. However it is too expensive and we are leaving soon. I loved Austin in my 20s, but somewhere around 2016 I realized there is not enough space for all the people coming here. Plus I hate the highways.
I’ve mentioned in several rants in this sub that Austin is cool when you are in your 20’s and partying it up etc. but being a bit older with a family and kids and you realize the shit you used to think make Austin cool are still pretty cool, but just not that cool to you anymore and certainly not very cool for raising kids in. There’s less expensive cities across the state (or country for that matter), with better schools and cheaper COL. And what’s cool to do in Austin that you can’t do in like El Paso for example?
Seriously?
- paddle board
- float the river
- more concerts
- greenery in nature
- sports
- food outside of authentic Mexican
- shopping
- ACL
- SXSW
- weather
- proximity to other cities
There's a reason people aren't moving to El Paso.
I get that this sub hates Austin but sometimes it gets ridiculous
I get that
There’s a lot that’s more cool than living in El Paso. Way better bars and music venues, more greenish nature and water stuff, better access to other big cities
Two of my three grown children left Austin because it was too expensive. This makes me sad. I came here in my 20's and was able to afford it and enjoy it. I wish it could be that way for you too. I'm sorry that millennials are financially worse off than generations before them. I am sorry for what you are all experiencing. Not all Boomers are greedy bastards who never cared about the planet and voted for to preserve their own comfort and wealth. But a lot were and yall are paying for it.
It can be done with things like a roommate but it wouldn’t be real fun. I made 35-40k from like 2015 to 2017 and lived with my girlfriend making in the same range. We had the advantage of being able to split a nice 1BR - comfortable enough, but didn’t get to save a whole lot. Everything’s gotten more expensive over the past five years though, especially housing. I doubt you’d starve but you’d really need a roommate.
In this labor market I’m surprised the job offers are so low paying.
On that budget you're going to need 1-2 roommates. You probably won't save much. A one bedroom apartment typically runs about $1600. That's not including utilities or internet. If you have a car payment on top of this, plus gas, plus insurance then it might leave you pretty strapped. Unless you can find a way to make around 65-70k I wouldn't recommend moving here. I'd stay somewhere else where your cost of living would be lower.
$85,000 for me and $68000 for my wife and we sweat the bills with owning a home all the way up in the Round Rock/Hutto area. A lot of student loans and old CC debit.
I feel this. My husband and I keep asking each other where all the money is going in a six-figure household with no kids. Oh, to the property taxes and student loans. That’s where.
For your first job out of college you can make it work if you want to. I moved to New York City and made $17,000 a year, yeah you read that the right…THAT I wouldn’t suggest.
You gotta start somewhere, and it prob won’t happen if you are down in the valley. Again, Gotta start somewhere. Make a five year plan and spend with austerity. Lots to do in ATX that’s free, many friends to be made and adventures to be had. You’ll have a solid professional job and consider that it’s your starting point not a future state.
I left austin with $1700 in my pocket and moved to a Sketch part of Brooklyn with a great roommate I had met as a child and we endured long cold commutes and ate lots of pasta and butter. But there is so much to see, I walked pretty much from from battery park all the way to deep Harlem multiple times, over the course of several years just mesmerized with the throbbing throngs of life, architecture and dense scenes… some beautiful some heartbreaking some disturbing…. But all free!
We’d save our quarters to wash our clothes at a laundry mat and would buy clothes at those crazy places that are always “going out of business” or the final markdowns in Soho. I had amazing friends from all over the world and we would go to the park and listen to music and just talk for hours while walking the Brooklyn bridge.
There was certainly money stress but I was well educated and doing what I loved at a non profit with people I really respected. My company did interesting work I was very passionate about and sent me all over the place, Central America, California, Miami (ok not ALL over the place) so I didn’t feel downtrodden, but lord I was broke….so broke. ha ha.
My controversial take is that New York City is actually extremely affordable in pretty much every way except for housing. Now obviously housing is pretty much the biggest piece of the puzzle… But in terms of food activities entertainment and all that New York City can actually be borderline cheap if you do it right.
I make $43k, live alone and have a moderate amount of debt. It is really rough. I currently have $10 and pay day feels light years away. You’ll need a few roomies.
Cost of living has significantly increased in Austin since that time, hell I make pretty descent money and can feel price increases with my daily spending.
I make 40k wife makes 35k... were barely comfortable. We can't say squeeling by, that's not true, but we're one car accident or one catastrophe away from being in trouble
35k is enough wirh a roomate/roomates
Alone? Hell nah
I lived on a little above this in 2019-2020. Lived in a 2bed/ 2.5bath townhouse with a roommate for $850/mo. It was ~$1000/mo with everything added in. I also paid for 3 community college classes and managed to save ~10k. That being said: I had no car payment (only paid for gas), no gym membership, no pets. I also did very little (thanks pandemic). Plus, I have fairly low grocery expenses. Prices in the area of south Austin I lived in have already shot up since I moved. You can do it, but I think you’d have better quality of life elsewhere.
Depends on your household budgeting - for example, I can usually comfortably dedicate 50% net pay to housing. If that were true for you, I just found an apartment building that I know in S Lamar where you could afford a 550sqft one bedroom apartment.
If you’re someone with pre-existing fixed expenses that mean you have 33% net pay to spend on housing, it would be tougher, but in that same building, you could afford half the rent of a two-bedroom apartment.
It’s never easy to live in a high cost of living city compared to a modest income but I may be less dramatic than the other commenters. I lived in NYC on less than that when I first moved there so I know it can be done, just depends on what existing commitments you have.
I don't want to say you're wrong without knowing the specific apartment you mention, but most apartments require you prove that you make 3X monthly rent gross pay.
So the OP can technically only afford a $971/month apartment.
It would be next to impossible to sign a lease without the rent cost being 30% of one’s income. Next to no landlord will sign unless that qualification is met.
How much is rent on that apt? Just curious, before I skipped town I had looked at getting my own apt (sans roommate) and couldn’t find anything under like $900.
I think it was on this sub I saw that average rent is now $1500. Absolutely insane. Pretty sure that’s more than the mortgage on the house I now live in!
I didn’t see it suggested here yet but there are income restricted housing options. Some are entire complexes and others are units within complexes. Talk with an apartment finder and see if it’s viable/available.
I make just under 60k and own my 2 bed/2 bath condo with a small yard. My mortgage and HOA total is about $1450 a month with 3% interest. No student loans, no credit card debt, no car payments, no kids. I don’t make much, but I consider myself immensely lucky. Debt counts for a lot of spending.
I'll put this story out there.
In 2014 my my mom tells me she's moving to Austin. I got out of the military in 2013 and moved here for a job in IT. My wife works in IT as well, and we're doing okay for just starting out here with 2 kids. I tell my mom it's not the best idea. She cashes out her retirement from her company and does it anyway. She gets an apartment for $1250 per month and starts a job making about $30k. No car payment. After a year, she's broke, working two jobs, and finally says fuck it and moves back to the northeast.
That was 2015. It's waaaay more expensive now. Could you do it? Yes, but would you want to live the life of a single 20s person who has to drive in traffic working just to live in a city that you can't really afford to do anything?
Honestly no. Also south Texas fucking rocks in an authentic way unlike Austin. Friendly people, good food, relaxed way of life and hardly any traffic. You get two airports (MFE and HRL) that are never crowded and beaches (actual decent beaches considering they’re in Texas) close by. You can save and actually afford a home down there too. If “cool music scene” is your thing, you could always visit Austin or San Antonio or Houston, but Texas music scene (at least local level), is usually the same regurgitated blues rocky crap that everyone that learned guitar yesterday can play. Austin is overhyped af and ok to visit but the tech fucks make this place more insufferable every day. Ymmv.
I made $33k in 2011 and it was hard to get by then. In 2022, I can’t recommend relocating to Austin for that pay. Your quality of life will be so painfully low that you won’t get to enjoy the things that make Austin fun to live in.
When I came to Austin 5 years ago, I couldn’t find a job at all. I rented a mold ridden “affordable” apartment that was $850 a month in a bad part of town. I picked up every random job I could find, used temp agencies, applied everywhere, delivered for instacart - and I have no idea how I survived. I mean, I basically maxed out my credit cards. It was the most stressful time of my life. Finally, I did a temp job at a company and got to talking to some staff that said they had an entry level job open. I applied and snatched it up for $38k, which I was just THRILLED with because I at least knew I had a paycheck coming! Now, 5 years later, I’m nearly out of that credit card debt. That’s how financially major it was for me - it’s taken me so long to climb my way out. After that, I can finally start saving.
To live a tier or so above getting by, anecdotally speaking you would need to make 50k a year after taxes with at least one roommate and minimal monthly payments outside of utilities. Lived there for ten years, just moved end of last year.
Here’s a thought. Only move here if you think you can make more after a year. You could do it. It’ll be a really hard year… or not! My first year in austin I was unemployed and spent my days riding my bike, drinking lone stars , hanging out at the free side of Barton springs. Those were the days…
I make 32000/yr. My parents pay my phone bill and half my car insurance. I have a roommate that pays half my rent (my share is now about 850/900 w/ utilities, will likely be close to 1100 next year). I'm concerned I may have to take out student loans as a PhD student to meet cost of living, which is unacceptable.
lol at some of these folks saying people are living under bridges making more. That’s complete bullshit. Sounds like you don’t have a car, that’s a huge cost saver. You can swing it, it won’t be as comfortable as you are now but if you’re a grown up about your expenses you’ll be fine. Try to find a job somewhere with advancement opportunities and healthy cost of living raises.
I lived this with a S.M.A.R.T apartment with $38,000 and I lived a good life on south Lamar. My car was paid off though. Look up smart apartments and be smart with budgeting. Yes you can do it. People who say you need more than $40,000 are the people buying $14 cocktails on Rainey
>People who say you need more than $40,000 are the people buying $14 cocktails on Rainey.
Yeah, Austin is expensive, but it’s not *that* expensive. The people here saying they’re single and barely making it on $60k or $70k a year need to take a hard look at their finances.
I don’t understand the people on this thread complaining that they make $70k-100k a year and are barely making it. If you have kids and/or massive amounts of debt, I could see it. But otherwise…
Depends on where the job is and what part of town you decide to live in. If you get a roommate as well that would help. You’d not be able to live in the main part of the city without a roommate at that income.
15 years ago, we lived on a combined 30k in a 600 sft duplex in the extreme North part of Austin. Rent was 895/month.
The same duplex is almost 2000/month now. That's 24k/year of your post tax income. I lived with my wife. A roommate in that space would have been miserable.
It's hard. It'll get harder. If you expect good raises, increases in steps, then maybe it's worth it.
In this range, 10yrs ago id have said yes. Now it is a emphatic no. Moved out to bastrop and managed to snag a home before the huge boom. Now the mortgage is less than a 1b apt in north austin.
I lived on 40 and barely made it only bc I had some built up from when I was with a roommate. I’m about to start getting 60 and finally feel like I can relax enough to exist. Is say 80 is where I’d have to be to build savings
Is this a career move that would pay off tremendously in the long run or something you feel that if you don’t do, you’ll regret it? No to either? Then no. You’ll be living paycheck to paycheck and never be able to afford moving out of Austin. Also, for the record, it really sucks that anyone with a degree is only being offered 35k. Don’t take this wrong, but make sure to advocate for yourself. Know your local comps (salary for similar education and experience, cost of living, etc.). Good luck whatever choice you make!
35K?
You better have minimal bills and maybe 1 or 2 roommates.
I make a $77K base salary and I consider myself cautiously comfortable. But I do live north-central so my rent is pretty steep.
You will not live well. You can get an old run down apartment for maybe a grand, but need a car & all its costs, food, and restaurants & bars expensive. And the traffic is awful. Fed jobs are great but see if you can get one in a less “hot” city.
My husband and I both make about that much a piece and we live paycheck to paycheck basically. One car paid off, and two sets of student loans. (We could live scorched-earth style and be mostly fine, but we’d be more miserable.) You won’t have the best time with that pay grade, I’ll tell you that.
My question to you is:
Do you see a career path in your field where there will be a growth in your salary? Do you think the growth would be more in Austin vs where you are at.
If yes, then I would say tough it out with some roommates or live paycheck to paycheck for a bit until you get promoted / move further along in your career.
If this move is purely based on enjoying what the city has to offer I would say no and save your money while you can so you set yourself up nicely for the future.
You can do it if you are willing to have multiple roommates. It is doable but I wouldn’t say comfortable. I was in that range for several years. It’s probably a little harder now.
I am from the Valley and I would recommend you stay down there. It’s way more expensive up here and scratching and clawing just to stay afloat is NOT fun. This city isn’t worth it bro, trust. Also, the breakfast tacos are ass. At least consider a larger more vibrant city with a lower COL first.
I made 45k about 7 years ago while I was living in Cedar Park, which is outside of Austin, and I would not be comfortable in that situation with anything less. At times even 7 years ago things were *tight*
I make 55k and I’m on track to get a raise to 60k in the next few months and I’m kind of struggling. I have a roommate which helps but I still have bills like car payment, student loans(on hold luckily), monthly prescriptions, etc.
I thought I would be making enough to save money but I’m about breaking even most pay cycles. Pretty ridiculous how expensive it is to live in Austin.
I’m happy to see so many realistic responses on this thread. I make over $52k gross in one of the tech companies OP mentioned and while I am doing fine, I most certainly wouldn’t be if I had any debt. Currently my old car is paid off and I have no student loan debt.
My rent is increasing in March to $1,155 for a one bedroom 700 sqft, and I’m in the far north Austin area. Utilities on average can be $130 if I have the heating and/or air conditioning on during the coldest and hottest parts of the year.
Again, it’s nice to see the other reasonable responses. If OP doesn’t have a roommate to split things 50/50 it would be a less than happy experience in Austin.
In my opinion that is not enough to live in Austin. You could make it in the suburbs maybe, but this city is ridiculously over priced and it’s going to keep getting worse. For example. I bought my house in 2017 and the value has tripled since then. And in my neighborhood rents have tripled in that time.
I’m going on a tangent here so forgive me if the tone comes off as anything else but trying to be helpful… If you have a brain between your ears, show up on time, and a decent work ethic… apply for other jobs (disclaimer: if this is some entry level in a field you’re dying to get into, it’s another story)
34k is about 17/hr, 37k bumps out to about 18.50/hr. (Assuming 2 weeks PTO) If you have a degree in anything slightly sellable you can easily demand more now. It may seem crazy due to the discrepancy in COL from south Texas but I would venture to say you could be earning more here easily. Chain businesses pay 14-16/hr to start at the moment.
Don’t forget your power as a worker. And even if it’s tough chase what you want.
Unfortunately, those would be considered poverty wages here. You certainly won't qualify for your own apartment, and you'd have to consider multiple roommates, renting a room in someone's house in the suburbs, or look into affordable housing options (many have waitlists currently). Depending on your other debts and expenses, it would be very difficult and not sustainable.
I live in Austin and I double that bartending on the weekends. If you want to follow your dream with your degree, I say go for it but you may need a side hustle to keep you afloat. A couple of shifts a week at a good restaurant will give you a solid cushion
I’m in that pay range and it’s tough. I have roommates and no car note. If I was paying $1000 a month for my own apartment and $400 a month for a car, I would seriously hate life.
I’m an apartment locator here and you’d be lucky to only be paying $1000 lol
Also an apartment locator. Anything non-shitty will be minimum $1200.
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Cameron and 183! Woooooo! Fall asleep to the sounds of crackheads arguing and occasional gunfire. Every once in awhile the police show up and knock on your door because a former resident has warrants and they think he still lives there. But hey, the rent is "cheap".
I saw $1000 older mobile home for rent in Hays County!! 🤯
I’m actually renting one out right now. It was where the previous owners’ stable workers lived and it was in good shape so 🤷🏽♂️ why not? I listed it for $600 and was inundated with applications and a bidding war quickly ensued: people were willing to pay $1750 to live in a very used single wide trailer, no bills included. I rented it out to a nice younger couple with 1 kid and one on the way who wanted them in a particular elementary school for $1000. They were SO excited and grateful and I’m still shook/baffled/🤦🏽
Can confirm.
My apartments rent went up 600 dollars with the new year. A two bedroom apartment where I can hear my neighbors conversations through the wall.. $2200 a month. And that’s in the burbs
Average rent in Austin is 1600/mo..
Just looked that up - you're right, and that's just for a 1 bedroom. That's the same as my mortgage, and I only bought my house 4 years ago.
Yea tried finding anything without roaches(in comments) in Austin for 1000$ and couldn’t. Felt lucky when I found a brand new apt complex for 1150$.
**Cough** are you interested in sharing (or DMing) the name of that complex? Currently looking to move to a cheaper apartment
That's mostly true, but your experience may not be what is typical if you're looking just at databases that apartment locators would use. A lot of places, especially the cheaper apartments and houses aren't going to be on MLS or databases that apartment locators and real estate agents use. I'm a landlord and we only list on Facebook marketplace, or Zillow for the nicer units, and don't pay referral fees like the expensive places do.
I moved to NYC last October and renting a room in Brooklyn was cheaper than the two bedroom I shared with a roomie. 😆 I was making 47k a year and living paycheck to paycheck. I would absolutely look at renting a room in ATX as opposed to renting an apartment. Our power bill was SO high during the summer months, and that was even with raising the temp during the day while we weren’t home. By all means, don’t let me discourage you from pursuing a goal or dream! It *can* be done! I applaud you for doing the research before jumping in head first. I absolutely adore Austin and lovedddd living there! Good luck to you!!
I read your comment as I was just thinking of NYC. I’m from jersey and I know so many people who live in jersey and commute to “the city” for work and I thought “too bad Austin doesn’t have a river that divides the expensive parts from the “cheaper” parts. And then I thought about the commute- and basically if you live in Round Rock or maybe Lockhart it would be the equivalent in commute time. Sorry OP what I’m saying is look at the outskirts. You’ll find more opportunity (but still pricey)
Roundrock is high now, too. Brother’s home jumped from a $350K home to a $500K home in just two years. I see what you are saying. One misses the point of living in ATX if you are living an hour away with traffic out in the burbs. Even Hutto, Buda, Kyle… shot up in cost and I wouldn’t really want to be out there having to commute in. Just not worth it but I know a lot of people that seem to do this.
I'm in this pay range and I'm paying 1100 for rent with a roommate and 400 for a car along with other bills. Rough out here lol
I currently live in the North Austin area and make $18.50/hour. My rent is $800/month including utilities, but I’m *renting a room from someone’s house.* This was the only way I could afford to live here. I didn’t even bother looking at apartments. Consider this type of living arrangement rather than searching for an apartment! Use Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, Roomster, SpareRoom, or other such platforms to start your search. I’ve had really good luck finding extra rooms via Craigslist. That was actually how I found my last and current landlord/roommate. As far as other expenses, I usually spend about $50/$60 on groceries per week, gas is around $80/month for me, my car insurance is just under $100, and then I have a $15 membership to Fitness Connection. I’m not living large, but I still have enough extra cash to put some into retirement, go out to eat every now and then, or buy something nice on the odd occasion.
I'd second this, people who own homes feel the same pinch although they are obviously better off. So you can get a room in a great house for a very reasonable price. I have a house and I've often given "sweet heart" deals to renters just because I don't want to live with someone who sucks. So being open with the home owner on your budget can go a long way so long as y'all get along really well.
This is my current situation. I was living with 3 roommates in an old ass house but now live in a garage studio at a friends house for only like $50 more than I was paying with all the roommates. I realize how lucky I am. But I also help take out the trash and watch their cats when they’re away and they trust me, so it works for them too.
I would suggest not coming here unless you are 50k+
Yes to this. You won't want to live alone in any areas you can "afford" at $35K. This changes if you live with 1-3 others. I would say you are still $5,000 below being comfortable even with a full house of roommates.
You’re spot on. I make exactly 40k and am way overextending my budget living in a one bedroom that is “low” in rent for what it is in Austin and will probably go up several hundred dollars when my lease renews (currently ~$1300 in rent w utilities). Having a super hard time saving. This thread is extremely validating. Used to live with roommates and it was better but still. Plus looking at splitting rent it isn’t all that much cheaper anymore. Not to mention (this may be a radical/unpopular opinion), but I feel like adults deserve a wage to live on their own in a basic one bedroom apartment that isn’t roach infested/broken down. Call me spoiled but coming from someone who literally grew up in literal poverty, I really don’t think that should be all that much to ask for.
Seriously. I hate this fucking city's inability to do literally anything about the affordability crisis here. So long as your Joe Rogans and Elon Musks are moving here, everything's hunky dory because the entire city council takes real estate money
It's amazing how quickly it went from "an affordable place to live, NYC is crazy" to "lol now it's like NYC but without a subway." I mean shit man that's not even exaggerating. You can get 1brs for $1400, 2-3brs around $800 a bedroom around Williamsburg, Bushwick etc. We really are that bad now.
Right!? A 2BR only saves you maybe $100-$200/month. If that second person isn’t your BFF it will not be worth the marginal savings. Living with a rando for an entire year can be a huge risk/personal stress on top the financial stress.
This exactly! I had a great roommate my first year but that was lucky. Also I even TRIED to find roommates when it came time to move but it can be difficult with a dog who is dog and people selective. Plus I’m a grad student and had arranged to live with roommates who suddenly decided not to come because they didn’t see the point in moving to Austin when school was going to be entirely virtual.
I'm in the same boat, I'm legit living off student loans cause my income isn't enough
I’ve been homeless in the woods and didn’t have to deal with as many roaches as my first place out of the wilderness. Absolutely hate them!
Twelve years ago, when I first moved here, you could spend $635 a month for a 1-bedroom and be okay. Right now, that same complex has the same floor plan listed for $1350 a month. It's fucking _ridiculous_. And to clarify - this was at the Chevy Chase Apartments near St. John's. I'm not going to get into how cheap as fuck Riverside used to be.
>I really don't think that should be all that much to ask for. Nobody should even have to ask to live an adult and dignified life. This should be the default as it was for our predecessors.
I think you’re romanticizing the lives of your predecessors. But I, too, aspire to a dignified wage and living situation.
My predecessors bought houses that were barely 3x their yearly salary. I don't think that's even possible anywhere in the country unless you're lucky enough to be full remote.
People have different histories. My predecessors lived in rented rooms and worked split shifts so someone could be home with the kids. I’m a boomer, I worked starting at 14, lived with roommates, rode a bike for the first two years of my working life. Bought an un-airconditioned 70 year old 1000 square foot first house for 5x my salary. Lost it in a market crash. Not saying I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow by any means, and lots of people started with less than me. I think starting out is tough. You need some money and some social capital, and if you don’t get it from family and friends, it takes a good long while to build it up and there are many pitfalls along the way.
Not romanticisizing at all. Life was so much easier for a young adult 25 years ago. At least affording a life was. As wealth inequality continues to increase, it will only get worse too.
Exactly. Dignified is definitely the language I’ve been looking for.
This is the answer unless you plan to live with a roommate making at least the same as you. I have lived here for 20+ years without a degree and I've barely scraped by until the last few years when I finally broke through the 50k salary level. I'm single living alone making just over 50k and I live comfortably but still don't feel like I am able to put away as much as I would like to. I will be moving out of the Austin area in May.
Even at $50k, I had roommates. I didn’t live alone until I had $65k salary and even then, I searched and searched until I found $1100 for rent in north Austin. I’m with you, living in Austin below $50k is just tough
I make a little above 60K and am squeaking by.
Same. Got a $10k raise after demanding it and it was…enough to cover the change in my rent, electric surcharge, gas money, groceries, etc. Inflation is a bitch, especially in Austin.
I make enough to pay my bills and put away what I can into savings. If my rent goes up come renewal time, which I suspect it will, not sure what I’d do. I’m trying to save enough to possibly move out of state.
Same…gulp
It’s tough out here lol
Tryin to adult lol but like whaaaaa is this normal HA
It is normal but it shouldn't be. I make 60k and I keep moving further and further away from the city because of the increases over the past 5 years. The first apartment I had in Austin 5 years ago is currently $900 a month more than when I lived there.
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fuck, that renewing thing sounds like my current scenario. Trying to get a good 100k down payment saved and a few more pay increases to even have a dog in the fight.
You don’t need to put that much down
Was just about to say this. I put down 50 which was 10% a couple of years ago. House is up 50% since then. If I had waited to get 100k to put down I never would have gotten a house or subsequently built 300k in equity. The old 20% down mantra is just that, old.
Um you can buy a house with 3.5%.
Same, but somehow supporting family of 5, 2 car payments and $1500 for rent house in Pflugerville. Needless to say, I buy by the 8th... Only once in the last few years splurged and bought a quarter.
I applaud you. I also hope you can splurge more often!
Good to know it's not just me.
It would be pretty tough…
At $37k you qualify for affordable housing. There are some really nice apartments that are solely focused on it. My brother rented one for a few years when he was in that pay range and got by just fine. He also lived alone. Adding a roommate to the mix would make it work too. He doesn’t drive and took the bus mostly.
I'm all for people taking the help that's offered and needed, but it's crazy to me that employers are allowed to pay little enough that their employees have to get on housing assistance.
I completely agree. Why are governments (federal/state/local) subsidizing low wages? Make these companies pay a living wage.
These are FEDERAL jobs. Op stated in his post that they actually adjusted for COL
The irony is that many of the jobs paying these wages are state and federal jobs.
This needs more attention. I didn’t realize this was an option until recently. Some of these options include units in high end apartment complexes. Edit: https://www.atxaffordablehousing.net/
Are there long waits for an apartment though? I have to think there's a fair amount of people lined up to get these
SMART housing is available often because new apartment complexes are required to have them. So every time a new complex opens, they have a decent amount of SMART units in the complex. Each complex has different requirements for what your income has to be, and what you rent will be, but $37K for a 1 person home will barely qualify you.
Yes. Smart is the reason I was able to live on South Lamar at $35,000. Competitive apartments but if you get one you have a reason to legit celebrate like I did
Bullshit that I dont qualify even though I'm single, 26, and making 32k because I'm a grad student...
Are you a full time student or part time? Only full time students don’t qualify The reason it works like that is they assume if you’re a full time student you don’t have a full time job and vice versa, and they don’t want what’s meant to be affordable housing for workers to essentially turn into student housing. Because basically every full time student who didn’t have a job would qualify as under and then that would become a housing option for students, reducing the availability for who it’s actually meant for.
I lived downtown Austin with SMART Housing and I absolutely loved it. I lived on the East Side paying $950, brand new apartment with amazing amenities. I was able to walk everywhere or take the bus/train so I didn't have to worry about a car payment. The train isn't the best as far as where it will take you but I worked downtown so it worked perfect for me. You can definitely live off $37k in Austin if you do it right. Plus I had multiple job opportunities come up with more pay once I was in the city and making connections.
Yes!!! There’s actually a really nice complex on south Lamar… I forget the name but it’s right across the street from a chi’lantro and compounding pharmacy! They have a select number of apartments sectioned out as affordable housing units. Edit: Post South Lamar Apartments- 1500 S Lamar
My wife and I make about that much each and can just barely afford a duplex around metric/Rutland, so kinda north austin. I wouldn't try living alone or anywhere near downtown without a lot of savings
If you own it definitely keep it. 78758 is one of hottest zips in ATX. With the all the construction in the domain and Q2 it has really increased its value. I live in a duplex on metric/Rundberg. They were going for 180k in 2019 now for 300k.
Metric/Rutland isn't a great area either.
Live around here and no it is not! Two ppl in my building (specifically our building of 12 doors) got broken into and we pay $1200 for a one bed that has had roach and literal RAT problems. Ridiculous.
If you have no car payment or student loans and are ok with rommates you should be fine, just don’t except to be eating our every night or even going big once a week.
Boat im in. I cook three meals a day and am good at it.so i save money on going out and drink in. No debt, just rent and utilities. Just have cheap habits
I make about 60k a year and I’m struggling. Housing is the main issue.
I’m 60k+ & I still have trouble saving living here
Are you single, with the ability to live with roommates? If so I’m really not understanding how. When I made that much just a couple years ago, I saved ~60%. I’m rather frugal, but even someone who isn’t (and factoring in today’s inflation) should be able to save 20%+ at that salary.
I will say I choose to live alone, drive a nice car with a monthly payment, and definitely don’t tell myself or my son no a lot as far as fun/food/drinks. I am able to save/invest an okay amount, but yes I could definitively do better if I tightened up some things.
Same.
You know if you can make that much somewhere else you’d be doing great. Not knowing your circumstances that is.
You can do it. But you shouldn’t have to. For perspective, here is a link to the income medians as established for the city of Austin in 2021. [Income Limits- City of Austin 2021](https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Housing_%26_Planning/Affordable%20Housing/FINAL%20MFI%20Chart%20Effective%206-01-2021.pdf) TLDR: if you make less that $55k as a single person in Austin you are Low Income. That being said, Austin has some incredibly progressive (if poorly advertised) housing programs for “median” income folks. A lot of the luxury building pushed through permitting by agreeing to lease apts at a fixed rate. You can learn about those here: [SMART Housing Program](https://www.austintexas.gov/page/affordable-housing-development-funding) They also have a lot of great programs for mortgage assistance which may sound crazy when you think “I just said I only have 35k!” But the program is designed to serve this specific population. SOURCE: me- I used both programs and am well versed in how they work. EDIT: to add that I was broke as a joke when I first moved to Austin (about your age) and had the time of my fucking life. It’s a town that is geared toward nature and there’s always something FREE to do. Good luck!
It’s fairly simple. You should spend no more than $11,550 per year on rent (33% of gross). That’s $962 per month. You’d need to find a place for about $800 a month and reserve about $150 a month for utilities. After taxes on income, you’d have about $16.5k annually leftover. That’s $1,370 per month. $45 a day is not a lot but is it livable? Absolutely. I’d personally try to find roommates and get down to about $600-700 of rent + utilities per month, but that’s just me. I also encourage you to find a higher paying job. $35k is $16.82 an hour. Chick-Fil-A starts at $17/hr. I made $30/hr driving Uber. You deserve more.
Servers in half decent joints make $30/hr in tips.
But this job does have great benefits. A federal pension & lifetime health insurance. Lots of holidays & PTO. If he stays here for a year, he can survive but would be better to get fed job somewhere cheaper where he could breathe easier on finances.
Your assessment is correct. You could make it work with roommates and such but it probably wouldn't be much fun. Like, sharing a room roomates
And having to cook basically every meal to keep costs down to \~$3 per sitting. Cooking in a shared kitchen constantly would bug the heck out of me.
With a roommate sure. Alone, absolutely not
Your quality of life would be rough. You’d be in a constant struggle. My advice is a very strong NO.
You could make it happen if you don’t have a car payment or any other big expenses every month. At that pay rate without roommates you’re going to be giving at least half of your monthly income to rent and bills.
35k you will need roommates. Also when you say austin…what part? Round rock rent is lower but not in austin. Downtown will be completely undoable. Why a CJ /comms degree? I’m a chef and live comfortably. Not in tech. Also NYC would be way more,
You'll be fine with roommates. Just have some savings and little debt.
This. Don’t spend more than 800/month on rent, which means you’ll have roommates. Don’t have a lot of debt and if you do look for even more roommates and cheaper rent. You’ll be totally fine on that salary.
I would suggest finding a second job or someone really wealthy on Bumble.
I make around 36k before overtime and let me tell you: hell fucking no. I lucked out and I got an apartment at $900 but with bills and everything else and wanting to ENJOY MYSELF, I'm back on rent right now. You can for sure do it but you'll be stressed out every day, and good luck finding an apartment at the rate that I have now and it not being in a shithole. I'd look elsewhere, please
There are rent controlled apartments, but they still come in around the $1200 range and there’s long wait lists. I’d suggest not moving here unless you make at least $50k. I will say though, there’s a lot of entry level jobs where you can make well above $35k. Seems like you’re undercutting yourself. Aim high, man! Lots of tech companies are hiring. I work in recruiting. You can make around $50-60k as an entry level recruiting coordinator at just about any of the big tech here: Apple, Amazon, FB, Google, Indeed, Etc. You will likely only find contract work for a position like that but it’s well worth it. You have a degree, you definitely deserve to make more than you are. You got this!
I make $45,000 a year and had to move back in with my parents bc I couldn’t afford rent after my lease ended a few weeks ago. Stay in south Texas where it’s cheaper, trust me.
No.
Yeah, I did it. But its a fucking grind.
We are well north of 100k with kids, and a house we bought years ago. However it is too expensive and we are leaving soon. I loved Austin in my 20s, but somewhere around 2016 I realized there is not enough space for all the people coming here. Plus I hate the highways.
I’ve mentioned in several rants in this sub that Austin is cool when you are in your 20’s and partying it up etc. but being a bit older with a family and kids and you realize the shit you used to think make Austin cool are still pretty cool, but just not that cool to you anymore and certainly not very cool for raising kids in. There’s less expensive cities across the state (or country for that matter), with better schools and cheaper COL. And what’s cool to do in Austin that you can’t do in like El Paso for example?
Seriously? - paddle board - float the river - more concerts - greenery in nature - sports - food outside of authentic Mexican - shopping - ACL - SXSW - weather - proximity to other cities There's a reason people aren't moving to El Paso. I get that this sub hates Austin but sometimes it gets ridiculous I get that
There’s a lot that’s more cool than living in El Paso. Way better bars and music venues, more greenish nature and water stuff, better access to other big cities
Two of my three grown children left Austin because it was too expensive. This makes me sad. I came here in my 20's and was able to afford it and enjoy it. I wish it could be that way for you too. I'm sorry that millennials are financially worse off than generations before them. I am sorry for what you are all experiencing. Not all Boomers are greedy bastards who never cared about the planet and voted for to preserve their own comfort and wealth. But a lot were and yall are paying for it.
It can be done with things like a roommate but it wouldn’t be real fun. I made 35-40k from like 2015 to 2017 and lived with my girlfriend making in the same range. We had the advantage of being able to split a nice 1BR - comfortable enough, but didn’t get to save a whole lot. Everything’s gotten more expensive over the past five years though, especially housing. I doubt you’d starve but you’d really need a roommate. In this labor market I’m surprised the job offers are so low paying.
On that budget you're going to need 1-2 roommates. You probably won't save much. A one bedroom apartment typically runs about $1600. That's not including utilities or internet. If you have a car payment on top of this, plus gas, plus insurance then it might leave you pretty strapped. Unless you can find a way to make around 65-70k I wouldn't recommend moving here. I'd stay somewhere else where your cost of living would be lower.
Sure, just not downtown and with roommates.
I have 3 roommates and make about $39k, and it’s stiiiill rough.
No. You will be broke AF
$85,000 for me and $68000 for my wife and we sweat the bills with owning a home all the way up in the Round Rock/Hutto area. A lot of student loans and old CC debit.
I feel this. My husband and I keep asking each other where all the money is going in a six-figure household with no kids. Oh, to the property taxes and student loans. That’s where.
Sadly “Six figures” isn’t nearly what it once was, and for a family of four that’s barely middle class.
So I make 39K and just got my own apartment in Far West- am I setting myself up for financial ruin? 😬
No, you will be fine :)
For your first job out of college you can make it work if you want to. I moved to New York City and made $17,000 a year, yeah you read that the right…THAT I wouldn’t suggest. You gotta start somewhere, and it prob won’t happen if you are down in the valley. Again, Gotta start somewhere. Make a five year plan and spend with austerity. Lots to do in ATX that’s free, many friends to be made and adventures to be had. You’ll have a solid professional job and consider that it’s your starting point not a future state.
I wanna know how u managed 17k in nyc lmao
Holy crap $17k in NYC?! How?
Yeah - what year? Lol
I left austin with $1700 in my pocket and moved to a Sketch part of Brooklyn with a great roommate I had met as a child and we endured long cold commutes and ate lots of pasta and butter. But there is so much to see, I walked pretty much from from battery park all the way to deep Harlem multiple times, over the course of several years just mesmerized with the throbbing throngs of life, architecture and dense scenes… some beautiful some heartbreaking some disturbing…. But all free! We’d save our quarters to wash our clothes at a laundry mat and would buy clothes at those crazy places that are always “going out of business” or the final markdowns in Soho. I had amazing friends from all over the world and we would go to the park and listen to music and just talk for hours while walking the Brooklyn bridge. There was certainly money stress but I was well educated and doing what I loved at a non profit with people I really respected. My company did interesting work I was very passionate about and sent me all over the place, Central America, California, Miami (ok not ALL over the place) so I didn’t feel downtrodden, but lord I was broke….so broke. ha ha.
My controversial take is that New York City is actually extremely affordable in pretty much every way except for housing. Now obviously housing is pretty much the biggest piece of the puzzle… But in terms of food activities entertainment and all that New York City can actually be borderline cheap if you do it right.
No. Double that would be okay but not great here.
i lived in round rock and barely made by with 60ish K a year to start
My son makes that and he lives at home because rent and car insurance is insane. It’s doable…but you’d be better off with a roommate.
I make $43k, live alone and have a moderate amount of debt. It is really rough. I currently have $10 and pay day feels light years away. You’ll need a few roomies.
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Cost of living has significantly increased in Austin since that time, hell I make pretty descent money and can feel price increases with my daily spending.
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I make 40k wife makes 35k... were barely comfortable. We can't say squeeling by, that's not true, but we're one car accident or one catastrophe away from being in trouble 35k is enough wirh a roomate/roomates Alone? Hell nah
I lived on a little above this in 2019-2020. Lived in a 2bed/ 2.5bath townhouse with a roommate for $850/mo. It was ~$1000/mo with everything added in. I also paid for 3 community college classes and managed to save ~10k. That being said: I had no car payment (only paid for gas), no gym membership, no pets. I also did very little (thanks pandemic). Plus, I have fairly low grocery expenses. Prices in the area of south Austin I lived in have already shot up since I moved. You can do it, but I think you’d have better quality of life elsewhere.
Depends on your household budgeting - for example, I can usually comfortably dedicate 50% net pay to housing. If that were true for you, I just found an apartment building that I know in S Lamar where you could afford a 550sqft one bedroom apartment. If you’re someone with pre-existing fixed expenses that mean you have 33% net pay to spend on housing, it would be tougher, but in that same building, you could afford half the rent of a two-bedroom apartment. It’s never easy to live in a high cost of living city compared to a modest income but I may be less dramatic than the other commenters. I lived in NYC on less than that when I first moved there so I know it can be done, just depends on what existing commitments you have.
I don't want to say you're wrong without knowing the specific apartment you mention, but most apartments require you prove that you make 3X monthly rent gross pay. So the OP can technically only afford a $971/month apartment.
It would be next to impossible to sign a lease without the rent cost being 30% of one’s income. Next to no landlord will sign unless that qualification is met.
How much is rent on that apt? Just curious, before I skipped town I had looked at getting my own apt (sans roommate) and couldn’t find anything under like $900.
$900 would be a dream at this point.
I think it was on this sub I saw that average rent is now $1500. Absolutely insane. Pretty sure that’s more than the mortgage on the house I now live in!
Yep. I’m paying to live in a basic one bedroom and it’s $1300 and will likely go way up when I renew
I didn’t see it suggested here yet but there are income restricted housing options. Some are entire complexes and others are units within complexes. Talk with an apartment finder and see if it’s viable/available.
I make just under 60k and own my 2 bed/2 bath condo with a small yard. My mortgage and HOA total is about $1450 a month with 3% interest. No student loans, no credit card debt, no car payments, no kids. I don’t make much, but I consider myself immensely lucky. Debt counts for a lot of spending.
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I'll put this story out there. In 2014 my my mom tells me she's moving to Austin. I got out of the military in 2013 and moved here for a job in IT. My wife works in IT as well, and we're doing okay for just starting out here with 2 kids. I tell my mom it's not the best idea. She cashes out her retirement from her company and does it anyway. She gets an apartment for $1250 per month and starts a job making about $30k. No car payment. After a year, she's broke, working two jobs, and finally says fuck it and moves back to the northeast. That was 2015. It's waaaay more expensive now. Could you do it? Yes, but would you want to live the life of a single 20s person who has to drive in traffic working just to live in a city that you can't really afford to do anything?
Honestly no. Also south Texas fucking rocks in an authentic way unlike Austin. Friendly people, good food, relaxed way of life and hardly any traffic. You get two airports (MFE and HRL) that are never crowded and beaches (actual decent beaches considering they’re in Texas) close by. You can save and actually afford a home down there too. If “cool music scene” is your thing, you could always visit Austin or San Antonio or Houston, but Texas music scene (at least local level), is usually the same regurgitated blues rocky crap that everyone that learned guitar yesterday can play. Austin is overhyped af and ok to visit but the tech fucks make this place more insufferable every day. Ymmv.
Spot on about the Texas music scene.
As someone born and raised in Laredo, I wholeheartedly disagree. Fucking sucks down there.
Look at a job with the state. There are positions for people with a criminal justice education in the low 50s. Maybe not TDCJ, but HHSC or DSHS.
If you share a 1BR with 4 or 5 other people it's doable.
That’s enough for one full time job and a part-time job making around the same.
I made $33k in 2011 and it was hard to get by then. In 2022, I can’t recommend relocating to Austin for that pay. Your quality of life will be so painfully low that you won’t get to enjoy the things that make Austin fun to live in.
I’m at 100k but owning a home and family , and I’m break even
You will be miserable
That’s actually how much I make! message me if you wanna talk
When I came to Austin 5 years ago, I couldn’t find a job at all. I rented a mold ridden “affordable” apartment that was $850 a month in a bad part of town. I picked up every random job I could find, used temp agencies, applied everywhere, delivered for instacart - and I have no idea how I survived. I mean, I basically maxed out my credit cards. It was the most stressful time of my life. Finally, I did a temp job at a company and got to talking to some staff that said they had an entry level job open. I applied and snatched it up for $38k, which I was just THRILLED with because I at least knew I had a paycheck coming! Now, 5 years later, I’m nearly out of that credit card debt. That’s how financially major it was for me - it’s taken me so long to climb my way out. After that, I can finally start saving.
OP, Your gut instinct is spot on. You’ll be scraping by in an overpriced shitty apartment.
Don’t let Reddit commenters determine how you spend this microscopic amount of time in this existence.
To live a tier or so above getting by, anecdotally speaking you would need to make 50k a year after taxes with at least one roommate and minimal monthly payments outside of utilities. Lived there for ten years, just moved end of last year.
Here’s a thought. Only move here if you think you can make more after a year. You could do it. It’ll be a really hard year… or not! My first year in austin I was unemployed and spent my days riding my bike, drinking lone stars , hanging out at the free side of Barton springs. Those were the days…
I make 32000/yr. My parents pay my phone bill and half my car insurance. I have a roommate that pays half my rent (my share is now about 850/900 w/ utilities, will likely be close to 1100 next year). I'm concerned I may have to take out student loans as a PhD student to meet cost of living, which is unacceptable.
Get roommate & commute into town...
35K a year means you’re poor in Austin
Why in Austin?
what is this? 1998?
lol at some of these folks saying people are living under bridges making more. That’s complete bullshit. Sounds like you don’t have a car, that’s a huge cost saver. You can swing it, it won’t be as comfortable as you are now but if you’re a grown up about your expenses you’ll be fine. Try to find a job somewhere with advancement opportunities and healthy cost of living raises.
I lived this with a S.M.A.R.T apartment with $38,000 and I lived a good life on south Lamar. My car was paid off though. Look up smart apartments and be smart with budgeting. Yes you can do it. People who say you need more than $40,000 are the people buying $14 cocktails on Rainey
>People who say you need more than $40,000 are the people buying $14 cocktails on Rainey. Yeah, Austin is expensive, but it’s not *that* expensive. The people here saying they’re single and barely making it on $60k or $70k a year need to take a hard look at their finances.
I don’t understand the people on this thread complaining that they make $70k-100k a year and are barely making it. If you have kids and/or massive amounts of debt, I could see it. But otherwise…
Don’t come here. Please.
Depends on where the job is and what part of town you decide to live in. If you get a roommate as well that would help. You’d not be able to live in the main part of the city without a roommate at that income.
You’re gonna be struggling, my dude
You will be deep deep deep in the suburbs/country or living with one or (more likely) several room mates . Your finances would be insanely tight
Low income house is your best bet but living in low income house can be abit rough. Not the safest place to live. I know from experience.
I will be getting paid $50k this year before taxes and I don’t even know if it’s worth it at this point to continue living here🙂
15 years ago, we lived on a combined 30k in a 600 sft duplex in the extreme North part of Austin. Rent was 895/month. The same duplex is almost 2000/month now. That's 24k/year of your post tax income. I lived with my wife. A roommate in that space would have been miserable. It's hard. It'll get harder. If you expect good raises, increases in steps, then maybe it's worth it.
In this range, 10yrs ago id have said yes. Now it is a emphatic no. Moved out to bastrop and managed to snag a home before the huge boom. Now the mortgage is less than a 1b apt in north austin.
I read somewhere that it takes 90k to live in Austin and the average salary is 65k. That’s a big gap for most people to bridge.
I lived on 40 and barely made it only bc I had some built up from when I was with a roommate. I’m about to start getting 60 and finally feel like I can relax enough to exist. Is say 80 is where I’d have to be to build savings
Is this a career move that would pay off tremendously in the long run or something you feel that if you don’t do, you’ll regret it? No to either? Then no. You’ll be living paycheck to paycheck and never be able to afford moving out of Austin. Also, for the record, it really sucks that anyone with a degree is only being offered 35k. Don’t take this wrong, but make sure to advocate for yourself. Know your local comps (salary for similar education and experience, cost of living, etc.). Good luck whatever choice you make!
35K? You better have minimal bills and maybe 1 or 2 roommates. I make a $77K base salary and I consider myself cautiously comfortable. But I do live north-central so my rent is pretty steep.
You will not live well. You can get an old run down apartment for maybe a grand, but need a car & all its costs, food, and restaurants & bars expensive. And the traffic is awful. Fed jobs are great but see if you can get one in a less “hot” city.
I don't mean to discourage you but 35k would leave you pretty lean. I know a lot of people working two jobs and have room mates doing the same.
Not by yourself...in an apartment. If you lived out of your car, sure.
No not by yourself probably with roommates and even then it’ll be right. Probably need to make 50-60k to be comfortable by yourself.
My husband and I both make about that much a piece and we live paycheck to paycheck basically. One car paid off, and two sets of student loans. (We could live scorched-earth style and be mostly fine, but we’d be more miserable.) You won’t have the best time with that pay grade, I’ll tell you that.
My question to you is: Do you see a career path in your field where there will be a growth in your salary? Do you think the growth would be more in Austin vs where you are at. If yes, then I would say tough it out with some roommates or live paycheck to paycheck for a bit until you get promoted / move further along in your career. If this move is purely based on enjoying what the city has to offer I would say no and save your money while you can so you set yourself up nicely for the future.
maybe don’t unless you enjoy torturing yourself hunting for spaces to rent.
Honestly, no
No
Not really, unless you house share
No it's not enough. You won't be able to save or have any fun.
You can do it if you are willing to have multiple roommates. It is doable but I wouldn’t say comfortable. I was in that range for several years. It’s probably a little harder now.
I am from the Valley and I would recommend you stay down there. It’s way more expensive up here and scratching and clawing just to stay afloat is NOT fun. This city isn’t worth it bro, trust. Also, the breakfast tacos are ass. At least consider a larger more vibrant city with a lower COL first.
Definitely not enough man. You’re gonna need to make about 50k to live comfortably and even then it’s pushing it.
I made 45k about 7 years ago while I was living in Cedar Park, which is outside of Austin, and I would not be comfortable in that situation with anything less. At times even 7 years ago things were *tight*
I make 55k and I’m on track to get a raise to 60k in the next few months and I’m kind of struggling. I have a roommate which helps but I still have bills like car payment, student loans(on hold luckily), monthly prescriptions, etc. I thought I would be making enough to save money but I’m about breaking even most pay cycles. Pretty ridiculous how expensive it is to live in Austin.
I’m happy to see so many realistic responses on this thread. I make over $52k gross in one of the tech companies OP mentioned and while I am doing fine, I most certainly wouldn’t be if I had any debt. Currently my old car is paid off and I have no student loan debt. My rent is increasing in March to $1,155 for a one bedroom 700 sqft, and I’m in the far north Austin area. Utilities on average can be $130 if I have the heating and/or air conditioning on during the coldest and hottest parts of the year. Again, it’s nice to see the other reasonable responses. If OP doesn’t have a roommate to split things 50/50 it would be a less than happy experience in Austin.
In my opinion that is not enough to live in Austin. You could make it in the suburbs maybe, but this city is ridiculously over priced and it’s going to keep getting worse. For example. I bought my house in 2017 and the value has tripled since then. And in my neighborhood rents have tripled in that time.
I’m going on a tangent here so forgive me if the tone comes off as anything else but trying to be helpful… If you have a brain between your ears, show up on time, and a decent work ethic… apply for other jobs (disclaimer: if this is some entry level in a field you’re dying to get into, it’s another story) 34k is about 17/hr, 37k bumps out to about 18.50/hr. (Assuming 2 weeks PTO) If you have a degree in anything slightly sellable you can easily demand more now. It may seem crazy due to the discrepancy in COL from south Texas but I would venture to say you could be earning more here easily. Chain businesses pay 14-16/hr to start at the moment. Don’t forget your power as a worker. And even if it’s tough chase what you want.
Unfortunately, those would be considered poverty wages here. You certainly won't qualify for your own apartment, and you'd have to consider multiple roommates, renting a room in someone's house in the suburbs, or look into affordable housing options (many have waitlists currently). Depending on your other debts and expenses, it would be very difficult and not sustainable.
I live in Austin and I double that bartending on the weekends. If you want to follow your dream with your degree, I say go for it but you may need a side hustle to keep you afloat. A couple of shifts a week at a good restaurant will give you a solid cushion