View Full Version : Help for low-income people
Rainbow-Flame Mystic
12-22-19, 11:36am
Good morning, My name is Miguel.
I'm new to this forum and in a big
dilemma. I'm stuck in Los Angeles
and need help with housing. Most of
the jobs I can do are low-income
with the exception of computer-support.
It really sucks, I want to live frugally
but Los Angeles makes it next to
impossible. I was told I can rent a room
in someone else's home for $600/month;
but is that really sustainable? Or, I can be put
on the list for subsidized, low-income housing.
I was also told it might be best to
move out of Los Angeles, entirely?
_____
Here, were my
interests/strengths as far as a career:
- Barista at Coffee Bean ($1,900/month)
- Teacher's Assistant (no openings nearby)
- Math-Tutor (low-pay; all part-time jobs)
- Thai Massage-Therapy ($2,300/month)
- Computer Support ($2,500, work from home)
- Veterinary Assistant ($2,000/month, high burn-out rate)
Not really sure what career to pursue
either? What would you do if you were in my shoes?
Thank You
iris lilies
12-22-19, 11:47am
If I were you I would definitely get out of Los Angeles if living with a relative for greatly reduced rent is not an option.
Cost of real estate in Los Angeles, which you will pay in rent, is exorbitant. There is no logical reason for the average Joe to live there.
What family support do you have, both financially and socially? I assume you are Hispanic, so there are MANY Hispanic friendly areas in the United States where it doesnt cost ridiculous sums to live. Get out of L.A. I mean it.
Rainbow-Flame Mystic
12-22-19, 11:53am
My parents are well-off and support me in most
of my decisions; but we don't get along socially.
I have family in Phoenix, Arizona who may or
may not help me move there. I haven't asked them.
SteveinMN
12-22-19, 11:56am
Miguel, you've been asking a similar question in a few threads here. Not to sound hurtful or accusatory, but obviously there are elements to your choice that you're either unaware of or not disclosing here.
For instance, on your list of jobs, computer support clearly seems to pay the best. Yet there are undisclosed reasons you're not choosing it as a career. What are they? Is it a lack of direct people contact or the (excessive) reliance on performance metrics in that job? Something else? Barista -- what do you like about the job? Interacting with people? Making great coffee? Tips? What would a career in that field would look like -- do you eventually want to supervise people or maybe manage the store -- or a bunch of stores? If you don't tell us, we don't know.
Pretty much your entire list of jobs/interests points to lines of work in which you deal with people in a supporting or service role. In other words, you don't seem to be looking for work as a (solo) computer programmer or as a forest ranger or in sales. So that's a start on figuring out what you want to do for a career. You also probably don't need to be hung up on what one job you'll be doing for the rest of your career as the world of work does not work quite that way anymore. Our grandfathers went to work at the same desk or assembly line for their entire careers; those days are pretty much gone. Either you move up or you move that desk to another organization. No harm, no foul in either, but work has changed. You just have to know that career advancement in many fields changes exactly what you do on a daily basis. But if those responsibilities (managing staff, budgeting, etc.) are not of interest to you, then maybe that particular job is not where you want to start your career.
So, if you want our advice, talk to us. What is it you like about each of those jobs you've listed? What don't you like? What are your concerns about making that particular job a stepping stone to a career in that field?
For that matter, what is it about L.A. that you like? Don't like? If you made enough money, would you stay? Have you ever lived elsewhere? Would you choose a different line of work if it paid you enough money to stay in L.A.? Or would you be okay with moving elsewhere to pursue a better chance at the career you want?
Once you've got the answers to those questions, you'll have a better idea of what you want to do and where you want to do it. Right now I'd say a $600 room might be a good choice for someone who does not want to weigh themselves down with a lease or a bunch of possessions while he figures out his next move in life.
Teacher Terry
12-22-19, 11:59am
Would your parents loan you the money to move to a cheaper part of the country? I would research before asking and see if there are jobs and reasonable rent. For instance one of my son’s rents a decent apartment in Wichita Kansas and jobs are plentiful. Everything is cheap. If I was poor I would move there.
Rainbow-Flame Mystic
12-22-19, 12:23pm
Hi Steven. I picked those jobs because I like making others happy. Is that foolish of me?
I'm open to being a shift-lead or Assistant Manager at Coffee-Bean and was told that's
a pretty stable industry. Everyone likes tea and coffee. I'm just a simple person. I wish I could
be the neighborhood boy that serves novelty-items and makes others happy. That's my wish.
However, my brother said I can do better. He warned me, if the owner decides to close the store
tomorrow, I could be at risk for homelessness.
As far as computer-support, I looked on Indeed.com and Monster-com. There doesn't seem to
be a lot of job-openings in my area (San Gabriel Valley). I also thought I could work from home.
Again, not too many openings. I'm not good at time-management or multi-tasking so that's
also a concern. I've never had a professional-level job. It just thought I would be good at it since
I'm familiar with Calculus.
I live in a nice part of Los Angeles, but it's far too crowded. The streets are backed up
for five or six blocks. Not like it used to be. I like how we have many amenities nearby
- coffee-shops, parks, libraries etc.- but the traffic effectively ruins it. If I made enough
money, no I would not stay.
Yeah, I wish I could move to Arizona or Witchita, Kansas.
How does that work?!? Do I apply to a job there first,
and then get an apartment or what? I can't just check
myself into a homeless shelter and have them help me?
Thank You for all your help :-)
iris lilies
12-22-19, 1:00pm
Do you currently live with your parents?
If you do, I think the next step for being independent, if that’s what you wish to do, is indeed renting a room for $600. That is a good step because you won’t have the burden of maintaining an entire apartment. It’s a good way to get your feet wet at adult independent living.
You Ask if it is sustainable. Since you are probably very young and it’s hard for me to tell how old you are, anything you’re doing right now is short term.It doesn’t have to be sustainable long-term and in fact should not be.
Something to carefully consider is that living with your parents is a great financial opportunity to put your money elsewhere than rent.
Not everyone needs to go to college. But advanced training of some kind is the way to go. So you don’t get along with your parents very well but sometimes that is the price to pay to take advantage of their economic support. It is a sweet deal for a lot of young people to live with parents and go to college or trade school. Since you are a California resident isn’t college free for you?
I may be reading things into your situation, so apologies if that is the case.
Rainbow-Flame Mystic
12-22-19, 1:04pm
Yes, I do. Why? They are supportive of
me and kind most of the time. Advice?
iris lilies
12-22-19, 1:25pm
Yes, I do. Why? They are supportive of
me and kind most of the time. Advice?
I added to my answer, see above. ;)
ApatheticNoMore
12-22-19, 1:31pm
It's cheaper in Phoenix, I know someone who moved to a suburb of Phoenix, was working in the legal field, but couldn't find work in their field in the L.A. area after they lost their job (or anywhere close). They are now doing contract work related to their field there. It's a lot cheaper than the L.A. area. It's hot but you get used to it, use a lot of air conditioning.
Can you stay with family in Phoenix or anywhere else in the U.S. while you looked for work? That would be best. Otherwise I guess I'd look for work before moving, computer support, veterinary assistant, or teachers assistant might be promising (I'm not sure how much long-distance hiring they do for non-professional work, however if you get a local job at Coffee Bean it might open up opportunities to get a job at a Coffee Bean in another city). I mean I suppose you could stay in a motel or an Air B&B or something, in another city, and look for work, but you definitely need some money to do that and if you don't have any you can't, and it would get pretty expensive of course.
On the other hand, if you plan to stay in the L.A. area (and I'm here and plan to stay), you might have to accept that you might need to do a really long commute, it's better if you can get a job without a long commute of course or find affordable rent near where you work, but many people are doing really long commutes. Some people also move way out to far L.A. suburbs like San Bernadino for cheaper living. So something to look at. I knew a security guard who was always broke living in l.a. but did better out in the San Bernadino area, although this was 6 or so years ago and rents keep going up, so look on craigslist for rents. At least it's easy enough to look for work anywhere in southern California if you have a car, so maybe consider looking for a job in further flung places in southern california.
Please don't become homeless, we have too many homeless people already :(
SteveinMN
12-22-19, 4:01pm
Hi Steven. I picked those jobs because I like making others happy. Is that foolish of me?
Not at all! Many of us have had jobs or entire careers in which we helped people and/or made them happy. It's just useful for you to know that those are the kinds of jobs you've enjoyed the most.
I'm open to being a shift-lead or Assistant Manager at Coffee-Bean and was told that's
a pretty stable industry. Everyone likes tea and coffee. I'm just a simple person. I wish I could
be the neighborhood boy that serves novelty-items and makes others happy. That's my wish.
However, my brother said I can do better. He warned me, if the owner decides to close the store
tomorrow, I could be at risk for homelessness.
You share that risk for homelessness with probably 200 million other Americans. ;)
I'm guessing your brother wants what's best for you. Barista is a very transportable job these days; you can be one in pretty much any city of size. That's good. What's not so good is that it doesn't pay that well (unless tips from customers make a big difference for you). But lots of us got by in low-paying jobs if they met our expenses (and/or left enough time for us to work a second job or "side hustle"). Your brother is correct in that the owner of Coffee-Bean could close the store tomorrow. But the owner could do that even if you were an assistant manager or even the manager. That's a reason to be prepared financially. That may mean that you find another job that provides the majority of your income and your second job/side hustle is being a barista if you really enjoy it. That minimizes disaster in case the store closes and you and your fellow coworkers are all out looking for whatever barista openings exist near you.
As far as computer-support, I looked on Indeed.com and Monster-com. There doesn't seem to
be a lot of job-openings in my area (San Gabriel Valley). I also thought I could work from home.
Again, not too many openings. I'm not good at time-management or multi-tasking so that's
also a concern. I've never had a professional-level job. It just thought I would be good at it since
I'm familiar with Calculus.
I'm familiar with calculus, too, having spent some time in engineering school. Gotta say, in 30 years of working in IT, I rarely had use for it. But some areas of IT would. Support isn't likely one of them.
You would do yourself a favor by exploring more about computer support jobs. In my experience doing them, multi-tasking was essential. And, in a work environment in which your performance is rated by things like the number of tickets you open and close, time management is an important skill. If you cannot develop those skills, you probably should consider a different line of work.
Yeah, I wish I could move to Arizona or Witchita, Kansas.
How does that work?!?
It's easiest if you've managed to save up enough money to cover what you're likely to spend for a few months there: rent (including things like deposits on a room or apartment and the inevitable Target or Walmart run for things like dish soap and toilet paper), food, a phone, getting around (bus/Uber fare/bike/whatever), etc.
Many people renting apartments will require you to pay a month or two of rent up front as proof you won't just disappear on them -- and a security deposit, too. You'll get all that back in almost every situation, but it usually comes to many hundreds of dollars -- a shock to those just starting out on their own. You might want to wait on the apartment until you get a job so you can keep the commute manageable. To be frank, the kinds of jobs you're looking for right now are not the kind that hire people long-distance. You go to the place of work and fill out an application and wait. So being there is important, but, if you can help it, you don't want to commit yourself to picking an apartment and then commuting across town for your work because that just chews up your money and your time. If you know someone in a city in which you're interested, you could see about borrowing their couch for a week or two until you get work and know where you'll want to stay. That might help guide you to cities outside Los Angeles.
So, as iris lilies suggests, your best bet may be to live at home for a while, offering to pay your parents something toward your expenses, and saving as much as you can. Research jobs you might like to pursue as careers. Read up on those fields. Read the Web sites of newspapers in areas you might be interested in living. You can find walkable communities all over the country, though they're much cheaper either in the South or the Midwest. If you're thinking of going to school for either more vocational training or even a degree, use this time to figure out how you can pay for that and how having a certificate or degree might improve your chances to get the job you want.
You're really starting at a very basic level. Nothing wrong with that, either. But you have a few steps to take before you can fly.
If your desire is to help others would you be interested in non-profit work with housing included like the Peace Corps? If you happen to be bilingual you would bring a big plus to any organization that hires you.
mschrisgo2
12-22-19, 9:07pm
Hi Miguel. Of course I don’t know for sure how old you are, but your questions sound a lot like my grandson who just turned 21. He loves to be in the hectic mix of the coffee shop in the morning, and is working for one of the big chains, for a decent, by California standards, hourly rate. He has recently moved out of his moms house and is renting a room with kitchen and laundry privileges for $1000. He’s in the Bay Area. He also is looking at, What else? Both to make more $$$ and to give him some life direction, and fill his days. He’s looking at drawing anime- which he is very good at, just needs someone to pay him for it.
You mentioned a couple of things that could be fairly lucrative, and fit nicely with your coffee shop schedule. One of those is tutoring math. Look on Craigslist under jobs, education, and check out all the tutoring opportunities. Many require a college degree, but many do not, especially the higher levels of math. And quite frankly, there are not a lot of people who enjoy tutoring math, so math tutors often have more work available than they want to take. If there are better opportunities for “college student” enroll in a class or two. It can’t hurt and may help open doors for you.
I think the $600 is a reasonable rent, and while there is cheaper rent in other parts of the country, it is generally relative, meaning wages are lower too. Also, you likely will not have any personal support. I think it’s easier to learn to “adult” in a place you are familiar with. Try a few things, see what works. Best of luck to you, and let us know how it works out.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.