And now it is time to say farewell to Ye Olde Blog, my most trusted and constant companion on this journey of hardship and adventure.
At the nine month mark, I see only a few possible outcomes of my year in Los Angeles. Either the city system will come through for me with a librarian job (full or part time) before the end of October, when my name drops off their list, or the system I'm currently temping with will offer me a permanent position, either in my neighborhood or on the coast. If I'm offered one of the librarian jobs in the Malibu region, I will move to the coast and enjoy breathing the cleaner air.
Barring those possibilities working out, I will return to Austin, an idea I'm increasingly warming to only because it will enable me to scale back on my expenses. Maybe not to the extent of that kooky, forest-dwelling failed actor in "Grizzly Man," but perhaps to a level where I can feasibly work part time, if I find a roommate and give up my car or share it with someone.
I saw the movie "11th Hour" last night and agreed with the central premise, which is that "you can never have enough of the things you don't really want." Or as the song "Express Yourself" so eloquently puts it, "Some people have everything/ and other people don't/ but everything don't mean a thing if it ain't the thing you want."
Along that vein, I think the central issue of our time is the corporate takeover of the planet and subsequent ownership of our lives. The economic game is rigged such that you have to work full time just to survive (and in a lot of cases a full-time job won't even cut it). In order to compensate for the loss of control over your life and time and a lack of community outside of work, you begin to desire "things," which in turn demand even more of your time and money. You also begin to require an unusually exciting life outside of work to make sitting in a cubicle for 40 plus hours a week worth it.
I think when you are young and have hope and the comfort of being surrounded by a peer group in the same boat, you can sustain the illusion that trading your waking hours for money is worth it and will pay off in the end. When you get older, and friends fall away, and you start to age, and romantic relationships don't live up to the hype, reality sets in, the rose petals fall from the eyes, and the idea of trading your life for empty promises begins to grate. I tried a new city to see if things might be different, but my time in Los Angeles has only reinforced those beliefs. The entertainment industry is, indeed, for the young. If I return to Austin, my focus will be on putting all the good free stuff that is under my control back in my life- sleeping in, reading, hanging out, and afternoon naps! Health insurance be damned.
On that note, I am now taking my bow, leaving my fate a mystery. Please leave comments if you have 'em.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Real O.C., Part II
I start work tomorrow and spent a good four hours (and about $18) today printing, photocopying, filling out, and faxing paperwork into the agency that got me the job. At least I'll have a break from all that for a few months.
I also had to fill out a state tax form for California. Ouch again.
I read the Los Angeles Times over lunch and came across an interesting article about pension problems and benefit cutbacks in O.C. entitled "O.C. supervisors raise current retirees' healthcare costs" by Christian Berthelsen. Some highlights:
Retirees decried the move as unfair, saying they spent decades as county workers with the promise of affordable medical coverage in retirement. It was the second time this month that supervisors agreed to reduce benefits of retired employees; two weeks ago, they voted to move forward with plans to roll back pensions for retired sheriff's deputies.
Overall, costs for active employees -- who are generally in better health and therefore better risks -- are expected to dip 18%, but rates for retirees are expected to increase 34%. Their rates will increase much more if they are members of health maintenance organizations such as Kaiser and Cigna. Of the county's 6,000 former employees, about 2,000 enrolled in those plans will see rate increases of between 72% and 95%, according to a county staff report.
For some, that could mean additional costs of as much as $7,000 a year -- with most of the county's retirees living on annual pensions of less than $25,000. One retiree, Norma Roberts of Costa Mesa, said her monthly out-of-pocket expense would increase from $286 to $783 under the new rates.
I also had to fill out a state tax form for California. Ouch again.
I read the Los Angeles Times over lunch and came across an interesting article about pension problems and benefit cutbacks in O.C. entitled "O.C. supervisors raise current retirees' healthcare costs" by Christian Berthelsen. Some highlights:
Retirees decried the move as unfair, saying they spent decades as county workers with the promise of affordable medical coverage in retirement. It was the second time this month that supervisors agreed to reduce benefits of retired employees; two weeks ago, they voted to move forward with plans to roll back pensions for retired sheriff's deputies.
Overall, costs for active employees -- who are generally in better health and therefore better risks -- are expected to dip 18%, but rates for retirees are expected to increase 34%. Their rates will increase much more if they are members of health maintenance organizations such as Kaiser and Cigna. Of the county's 6,000 former employees, about 2,000 enrolled in those plans will see rate increases of between 72% and 95%, according to a county staff report.
For some, that could mean additional costs of as much as $7,000 a year -- with most of the county's retirees living on annual pensions of less than $25,000. One retiree, Norma Roberts of Costa Mesa, said her monthly out-of-pocket expense would increase from $286 to $783 under the new rates.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
The Financial Review
I've spent a happy 4th this morning "running the numbers." I've decided the decision deadline on "should I stay or should I go" is November 1st. I don't want to keep temping full-time until then, but it would definitely help if I could find a long-term, part-time temp gig that would allow me to be available for interviews or for subbing at the library.
If I still haven't found a good job by November, I'll have to decide if I like L.A. enough to keep looking for jobs and/or waiting on the library, knowing if I take a position after that point I'll be committing to at least a second year of living here. My car insurance payment will be coming up in January, and it'll cost me twice as much if I stay on. My condo won't be available until June 1st, so I'd have to move back home to Houston or in with a roommate in Austin if I do leave. It should be easy to find someone to drive back with me around Thanksgiving if I decide to head back.
In the meantime I'm going to get back out there socially, which equates to more dating, as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot else going on here at this age, and I've done the research.
On Tuesday I have an interview with an association related to the entertainment industry that could be considered a prestigious place to work, although it might be on the senior citizen side. The job as initially described to me sounded like event planning, but in actuality it's formatting contracts, and it only pays in the high 20s. The workplace will have to seem like a barrel of laughs for me to be interested.
I looked back over my temping jobs, and yes indeed, anything that could even remotely fall under the entertainment umbrella paid the lowest temp wages, about $11 an hour. I did get called last week about a temp receptionist position paying $16 an hour at a news studio in Santa Monica (another "entertainment" position), but I was already in a temp job, and frankly that offer wasn't that appealing either. I don't mind starting at the bottom rung, but it needs to be on a ladder I want to climb! The Big Important Talent Agency job that was floated by me so many months ago only paid in the high 20s, but it was in the story department (up my alley), was a short commute, and the contacts would have been invaluable. The cruiseline job paid similarly low at 30k, but it seemed fun, and I got a free cruise! But those jobs didn't come through.
I've also checked out some other library systems in L.A. and no dice as far as openings.
If I still haven't found a good job by November, I'll have to decide if I like L.A. enough to keep looking for jobs and/or waiting on the library, knowing if I take a position after that point I'll be committing to at least a second year of living here. My car insurance payment will be coming up in January, and it'll cost me twice as much if I stay on. My condo won't be available until June 1st, so I'd have to move back home to Houston or in with a roommate in Austin if I do leave. It should be easy to find someone to drive back with me around Thanksgiving if I decide to head back.
In the meantime I'm going to get back out there socially, which equates to more dating, as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot else going on here at this age, and I've done the research.
On Tuesday I have an interview with an association related to the entertainment industry that could be considered a prestigious place to work, although it might be on the senior citizen side. The job as initially described to me sounded like event planning, but in actuality it's formatting contracts, and it only pays in the high 20s. The workplace will have to seem like a barrel of laughs for me to be interested.
I looked back over my temping jobs, and yes indeed, anything that could even remotely fall under the entertainment umbrella paid the lowest temp wages, about $11 an hour. I did get called last week about a temp receptionist position paying $16 an hour at a news studio in Santa Monica (another "entertainment" position), but I was already in a temp job, and frankly that offer wasn't that appealing either. I don't mind starting at the bottom rung, but it needs to be on a ladder I want to climb! The Big Important Talent Agency job that was floated by me so many months ago only paid in the high 20s, but it was in the story department (up my alley), was a short commute, and the contacts would have been invaluable. The cruiseline job paid similarly low at 30k, but it seemed fun, and I got a free cruise! But those jobs didn't come through.
I've also checked out some other library systems in L.A. and no dice as far as openings.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Happy Anniversary to Me
Today marks my three-month anniversary in Los Angeles.
Last week, during my adjustment to the new job, I pondered whether I would choose, if I were able to do so, to snap my fingers and be back in my hobbit hole in Austin, at the old job, with this move to California having been nothing but a dream. I would say it was a toss-up. It's definitely been an exhilirating change, but I'm already worried about having lost the nice benefits I had at my old job. I'm also down about 10k, which in the large scheme of things is not that bad, but, considering my current salary and cost of living, I will have lost a lot more money than that by the end of the year.
Since I held onto my condo in Austin, I feel like I have one foot still there, and I'm not sure if having that "escape hatch" is such a good thing. From a practical stanpoint, yes, but maybe not from a psychological standpoint.
I have a date today and some flirtation possibilities at work, but out of the eight dates I've been on since moving here, I suspect that three of them were gay. Almost 50%! Not so encouraging.
I've also been overcome with anxiety and insomnia. For the most part, it's not conscious anxiety; I'll be happily watching Entourage, not a conscious concern in my head, only to turn off the TV and then lie in bed, completely unable to fall asleep. I just think it's unnerving to any human being to move to a new city without family or tight connections there. And I have a bunch of problems to solve that, when taken together, have led to an "overload on the system."
I've been exercising like a fiend as a way to cope. One of my yoga teachers, who looks like Frank Black (if you can imagine), said yesterday that L.A. is the "yoga capital of the world," with more yoga instruction than any other city. Or something like that.
As a positive effect of all this stress, I've lost about ten pounds.
I talked to a couple of Austin friends this week, and they mentioned the same old events that were attended by the usual suspects, and it didn't make me want to return. So I guess I just need to have faith that my new life here will fall into place somehow.
Last week, during my adjustment to the new job, I pondered whether I would choose, if I were able to do so, to snap my fingers and be back in my hobbit hole in Austin, at the old job, with this move to California having been nothing but a dream. I would say it was a toss-up. It's definitely been an exhilirating change, but I'm already worried about having lost the nice benefits I had at my old job. I'm also down about 10k, which in the large scheme of things is not that bad, but, considering my current salary and cost of living, I will have lost a lot more money than that by the end of the year.
Since I held onto my condo in Austin, I feel like I have one foot still there, and I'm not sure if having that "escape hatch" is such a good thing. From a practical stanpoint, yes, but maybe not from a psychological standpoint.
I have a date today and some flirtation possibilities at work, but out of the eight dates I've been on since moving here, I suspect that three of them were gay. Almost 50%! Not so encouraging.
I've also been overcome with anxiety and insomnia. For the most part, it's not conscious anxiety; I'll be happily watching Entourage, not a conscious concern in my head, only to turn off the TV and then lie in bed, completely unable to fall asleep. I just think it's unnerving to any human being to move to a new city without family or tight connections there. And I have a bunch of problems to solve that, when taken together, have led to an "overload on the system."
I've been exercising like a fiend as a way to cope. One of my yoga teachers, who looks like Frank Black (if you can imagine), said yesterday that L.A. is the "yoga capital of the world," with more yoga instruction than any other city. Or something like that.
As a positive effect of all this stress, I've lost about ten pounds.
I talked to a couple of Austin friends this week, and they mentioned the same old events that were attended by the usual suspects, and it didn't make me want to return. So I guess I just need to have faith that my new life here will fall into place somehow.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Money Matters, Part II
I'm hoping this blog will be helpful to people contemplating a move. To that end, I advise having some serious bank saved up before moving, especially if you are heading for one of the coasts. Moving and it's associated costs will run around 5-7k, and then there is the likelihood of being without a job for months on end. Even with temping full-time I will be partially living off savings. Of course, there is always the possible cost of having to move back home... I planned well financially, but I'm also kind of old to be making a move cross country.
I try to keep all this in perspective by considering that some people spend 30k on a wedding (an expense it appears I will be avoiding) or 12k on annual daycare for an infant.
This temp job has helped rein in the spending. Now when I consider purchasing something, I think along the lines of "that ticket is the equivalent of two hours of temp work" or "that shirt will cost me four hours at my temp job." It really brings it home. Since I have limited time to cook, I eat a lot of hot meals at Whole Foods, and I've become skilled at weighing the box in my hands and keeping it within the $5-$7 range. Due to all the stress of moving, I've lost a good five pounds, and hopefully I'll keep it off, since food costs are outside the budget.
Oh, that brazen hussy L.A. I'm loathe to spend money on her until she starts putting out. You've got to give to get, baby!
Lucky for me, I am not a professional good-looking person, unlike my roommate. Looking good is a part-time job for her; it's unbelievable the amount of time and money that goes into it. As befitting my amateur status, the requirements are lower, and there is a 15-20 lb. leeway. The day I start spraying on self-tanner... okay I don't want to think about it.
I try to keep all this in perspective by considering that some people spend 30k on a wedding (an expense it appears I will be avoiding) or 12k on annual daycare for an infant.
This temp job has helped rein in the spending. Now when I consider purchasing something, I think along the lines of "that ticket is the equivalent of two hours of temp work" or "that shirt will cost me four hours at my temp job." It really brings it home. Since I have limited time to cook, I eat a lot of hot meals at Whole Foods, and I've become skilled at weighing the box in my hands and keeping it within the $5-$7 range. Due to all the stress of moving, I've lost a good five pounds, and hopefully I'll keep it off, since food costs are outside the budget.
Oh, that brazen hussy L.A. I'm loathe to spend money on her until she starts putting out. You've got to give to get, baby!
Lucky for me, I am not a professional good-looking person, unlike my roommate. Looking good is a part-time job for her; it's unbelievable the amount of time and money that goes into it. As befitting my amateur status, the requirements are lower, and there is a 15-20 lb. leeway. The day I start spraying on self-tanner... okay I don't want to think about it.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Money Matters
And it's mattering more and more.
For those considering a move to L.A., the biggest expenses seem to be car insurance and rent. Car registration was just a little over a hundred bucks, but my car insurance more than doubled, and my rent-controlled apartment, roommate included, is still several hundred dollars more per month than I would be paying in Austin to live alone. By New York standards, though, my apartment is palatial, and it's in a great location.
As far as the car insurance, I checked with several carriers, and they were all around the same price. In fact, I spent about an hour filling out a Progressive application online and was thrilled to find out that it would only cost $1000 to insure with them. Then I realized that the $1000 quote was a six-month, not an annual, price.
Gym dues are very reasonable, and although I think food is more expensive, there are far more cheap but healthy dining options than in other American cities.
Between the beach, the mountains, and all the hiking within the city, there's also lots of free recreation to be had.
For those considering a move to L.A., the biggest expenses seem to be car insurance and rent. Car registration was just a little over a hundred bucks, but my car insurance more than doubled, and my rent-controlled apartment, roommate included, is still several hundred dollars more per month than I would be paying in Austin to live alone. By New York standards, though, my apartment is palatial, and it's in a great location.
As far as the car insurance, I checked with several carriers, and they were all around the same price. In fact, I spent about an hour filling out a Progressive application online and was thrilled to find out that it would only cost $1000 to insure with them. Then I realized that the $1000 quote was a six-month, not an annual, price.
Gym dues are very reasonable, and although I think food is more expensive, there are far more cheap but healthy dining options than in other American cities.
Between the beach, the mountains, and all the hiking within the city, there's also lots of free recreation to be had.
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