LAX base
12-03-2019, 11:35 PM
#21
Line holder
Joined APC: Mar 2014
Position: LAX right seat
Posts: 36
Originally Posted by ipdanno
Brother or Sister, welcome aboard!
Don’t move back to SoCal. The taxes and the massive problem with the Unfunded Pension/Retiree Healthcare Mandates are going to wreck the people earning an income in Kalifornia. You’ve garnered a fantastic job that can fund your retirement and your leisure lifestyle. Don’t give it to The Man. Move to Texas, with no State Income taxes. Yes, property taxes can bite you, but still keep more of your money working for you and you’rn. Be a domicile family. Drive to work comfortably. For Midway, avoid Illinois for many of the same reasons; choose Indiana or Wisconsin.
Welcome aboard!
Don’t move back to SoCal. The taxes and the massive problem with the Unfunded Pension/Retiree Healthcare Mandates are going to wreck the people earning an income in Kalifornia. You’ve garnered a fantastic job that can fund your retirement and your leisure lifestyle. Don’t give it to The Man. Move to Texas, with no State Income taxes. Yes, property taxes can bite you, but still keep more of your money working for you and you’rn. Be a domicile family. Drive to work comfortably. For Midway, avoid Illinois for many of the same reasons; choose Indiana or Wisconsin.
Welcome aboard!
12-04-2019, 04:26 AM
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 459
I moved to the beach when I was 25 and single. It was as close to being a rockstar as it gets. Even the internet would get offended with my tales of debauchery. It was an absolute blast.
Bailed out of SoCal after nearly 2 decades. Growing up a bit and having a family changed my entire perspective on the place. Glad to have experienced it but glad to be out.
Bailed out of SoCal after nearly 2 decades. Growing up a bit and having a family changed my entire perspective on the place. Glad to have experienced it but glad to be out.
12-06-2019, 05:10 PM
#24
On Reserve
Joined APC: Oct 2019
Posts: 23
Originally Posted by 4thLevel
Never have so many been so proud over so little.
Sure, California is cooler than Texas. But I can live in a nice (dare I say almost-walkable) central Dallas neighborhood with fabulous restaurants for the same cost of a tract home surrounded by strip malls in San Bernardino.
That’s why a lot of us choose to live here.
12-06-2019, 06:33 PM
#25
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Oct 2019
Posts: 4
Thanks to everyone who's replied... I appreciate the help. So far I've learned you shouldn't live in Illinois or Cali and don't drop a deuce in the forward lav. All solid advice. Would anyone out in LA like to share their experiences at the base and/or how the whole etops thing works out there for those of use who grew up on the left coast and are incompatible with humidity? Hearing that it is going very junior is encouraging. Thanks again.
12-06-2019, 07:40 PM
#26
On Reserve
Joined APC: Feb 2017
Position: Just off the islets of langerhans
Posts: 10
Base is great, there are affordable alternatives for crashpads, etc there. It is fairly junior and becoming more so on the bottom half of the list.. Top half doesnt move much, if at all (few trickle in every few months more senior, but its growing, so relative stays roughly the same.) The etops flying is much less than oakland, but it is increasing each month or so. The etops/non mix is probable like 25% etops, but you can get several hawaii trips per month even junior with a little time spent trading. The LAX base is one of the better ones for sure and I am a commuter. feel free to pm me for more details if so desired.
12-07-2019, 06:01 AM
#27
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2015
Posts: 104
Everywhere has its Pro’s & Con’s. It has always been surprising to me how much people like to point out the fallacy of where a Pilot chooses to live. I have many years under my belt in places like Austin, Orlando, Houston, Cleveland and Chicago. And guess what? Weather wise, THEY ALL SUCK for at least part of the year but they also have some great redeeming qualities about them. West Coast is my favorite place to overnight and when then kids are out of the house Im headed to the mountains. It’s not where you live, It’s how you live. Not sure if any of this helps with the original post but welcome and good luck!
12-07-2019, 09:12 AM
#28
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,545
I was born and raised in Texas and am now living in base in LA for United. I made about 200k and paid about 11k in CA state income tax. It’s always amazing to me the feats that pilots will go through to avoid what ends up being such a small amount of money (living in a less desirable area, commuting in the day before/day after a trip, paying for crash pads, paying for hotels, putting miles on their cars, burning gas, spending less time at home, not being able to pick up more flying because they are busy commuting, etc....)
It’s the best kept secret in the airline industry. Live in base in a more desirable base, hence more expensive, hence typically a junior base. Fly one extra day per month and it more than makes up for the extra cost of living in a more desirable base. In the end, you’ll actually spend less time away from home because you don’t have to put up with commuting every week. Or fly on a more senior airplane making more money because it’s more junior in a more desirable base. I take home more money than equivalent seniority pilots who are based in IAH because I’m on a more senior airplane flying better trips.
Avoiding a more desirable base because of it’s higher cost of living reminds me of the people who drive around to save a few pennies on a gallon of gas. Sure it might save you $1 on your tank of gas, but you pay for it with the wear and tear on your car, not to mention the value of your time.
When you make what we make, a few thousand a year in extra cost of living doesn’t even register on my quality of life. Commuting, being away from home, flying less senior airplanes and trips, working weekends and holidays, etc... does. You only live once. Live where you want to live.
It’s the best kept secret in the airline industry. Live in base in a more desirable base, hence more expensive, hence typically a junior base. Fly one extra day per month and it more than makes up for the extra cost of living in a more desirable base. In the end, you’ll actually spend less time away from home because you don’t have to put up with commuting every week. Or fly on a more senior airplane making more money because it’s more junior in a more desirable base. I take home more money than equivalent seniority pilots who are based in IAH because I’m on a more senior airplane flying better trips.
Avoiding a more desirable base because of it’s higher cost of living reminds me of the people who drive around to save a few pennies on a gallon of gas. Sure it might save you $1 on your tank of gas, but you pay for it with the wear and tear on your car, not to mention the value of your time.
When you make what we make, a few thousand a year in extra cost of living doesn’t even register on my quality of life. Commuting, being away from home, flying less senior airplanes and trips, working weekends and holidays, etc... does. You only live once. Live where you want to live.
12-07-2019, 04:18 PM
#29
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2015
Posts: 631
Originally Posted by iahflyr
I was born and raised in Texas and am now living in base in LA for United. I made about 200k and paid about 11k in CA state income tax. It’s always amazing to me the feats that pilots will go through to avoid what ends up being such a small amount of money (living in a less desirable area, commuting in the day before/day after a trip, paying for crash pads, paying for hotels, putting miles on their cars, burning gas, spending less time at home, not being able to pick up more flying because they are busy commuting, etc....)
It’s the best kept secret in the airline industry. Live in base in a more desirable base, hence more expensive, hence typically a junior base. Fly one extra day per month and it more than makes up for the extra cost of living in a more desirable base. In the end, you’ll actually spend less time away from home because you don’t have to put up with commuting every week. Or fly on a more senior airplane making more money because it’s more junior in a more desirable base. I take home more money than equivalent seniority pilots who are based in IAH because I’m on a more senior airplane flying better trips.
Avoiding a more desirable base because of it’s higher cost of living reminds me of the people who drive around to save a few pennies on a gallon of gas. Sure it might save you $1 on your tank of gas, but you pay for it with the wear and tear on your car, not to mention the value of your time.
When you make what we make, a few thousand a year in extra cost of living doesn’t even register on my quality of life. Commuting, being away from home, flying less senior airplanes and trips, working weekends and holidays, etc... does. You only live once. Live where you want to live.
It’s the best kept secret in the airline industry. Live in base in a more desirable base, hence more expensive, hence typically a junior base. Fly one extra day per month and it more than makes up for the extra cost of living in a more desirable base. In the end, you’ll actually spend less time away from home because you don’t have to put up with commuting every week. Or fly on a more senior airplane making more money because it’s more junior in a more desirable base. I take home more money than equivalent seniority pilots who are based in IAH because I’m on a more senior airplane flying better trips.
Avoiding a more desirable base because of it’s higher cost of living reminds me of the people who drive around to save a few pennies on a gallon of gas. Sure it might save you $1 on your tank of gas, but you pay for it with the wear and tear on your car, not to mention the value of your time.
When you make what we make, a few thousand a year in extra cost of living doesn’t even register on my quality of life. Commuting, being away from home, flying less senior airplanes and trips, working weekends and holidays, etc... does. You only live once. Live where you want to live.
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