Overview

Surviving any city on a graduate student’s salary (~$13/hour) can be a daunting task. Surviving Los Angeles on a graduate student’s salary is nearly impossible without carefully budgeting your money, or (as I prefer to do) strategic shopping. While Los Angeles may be one of the most expensive cities in the United States, it is also one of the most diverse, and as such provides countless options for essentially every purchase at a wide range of prices and quality. By choosing the appropriate restaurants, grocery stores, shops, websites, and the like, you can learn to live in comfort with relatively low cost.