How much can I afford to pay in rent?

[Blarg]

California prices really are insane.

You can get by on spending a hell of a lot less than $2k a month, but you have to accept living in neighborhoods you don't want anything to do with, and maybe where the people don't want anything to do with you either.

There are actually a lot of city programs enabling very low cost mortgages, and community colleges offering courses on how to get those low mortgages. Friend of mine did that; smart girl.

But nobody without money is moving into nice neighborhoods anytime soon. It's a long process. Still, compared to paing rent, it rarely loses money. The nightmare stories I've heard my friends tell me usually count as nothing compare dto what they would have spent paying rent.