Living Low Cost in Los Angeles

While 'project mayhem' may not be in your immediate future, you don't have to look far to start feeling a little like Tyler Durden.

As you might imagine. Living in a tent has advantages and numerous disadvantages. Its cheap, it simplify and you feel like you just dropped out of a frame of Fight Club while you glance around your office thinking, "none of these pansys live in a tent". Beyond that its just plain roughing it.

Angelenos may associate the Palos Verdes Peninsula with high price real estate, grand sea vistas, and Trump National Golf Course. Palos Verdes ('PV' or simply ‘the hill’) has been the quiet conservative refuge for the 'pony club' set since the 60s. In PV the condos go for $1000 a square foot and the peninsula grocery store is packed with $100k whips.

I’ve decided to cut the prim and proper city down to size by tenting it long term. Well, I'm not on a crusade or anything. I'm just looking to save a buck, but I don't mind putting a political bent on it. Two thing are for sure, the neighbors don't like it and feeling a little bit 'Fight Club' is intoxicating.

Living in LA can be expensive, especially if you’re surviving on your blog’s non existent income. Most of the folks at my office are paying between $900 and $1200 a month for their modest South Bay digs. And that only covers there part of the rent. All of them are sharing apartments or houses with groups of people. It’s the way things are done in Los Angeles. No one likes it, but everyone deals with it.

I’m no longer playing the game that way. Loyal ManyDigit readers may remember my visit to meet Jay Shafer, modern father of the Tiny House revolution. I really wanted to do something like that. Live simply and save my money for other things, like travel, and paying down credit card debt.

While camping in Colorado last month I had a revelation, I should just live in my tent. Most of my ideas go no where. I just talk about them with my friends once then they fade into the darkness. This time the stars seemed to be aligning correctly. The lease on my high priced LA apt. was coming to an end so I poked around to find someone who would be willing to sublease a camping space to me. Half jokingly I placed an add on craigslist.com, and in two days I had a deal worked out with a leaser in Palos Verdes. For $150.00 plus utilities a month I could have his patio/backyard and use of his bathroom and kitchen.

In a marathon effort, I got rid of nearly all of my furniture, I kept my clothes, my laptops, my camping gear and I moved in.. err out. I’ve been living the good life for 2 weeks now and I think I could do in indefinitely.

I’ll be writing some more about the new lifestyle I’ve discovered over the coming days and months, so check back. I will say this; the lady next do waters her garden every morning at 5:50am and inadvertently gives me and my positions a good watering down- a challenge that I’m learning to deal with.

You might ask what I’m doing with the grand a month I’ve been saving. The answer is “Whole Foods”. I’ve been eating like a king.