Anyone who has recently searched for rentals in LA knows this.

When you open a real estate app and enter "2-bedroom, under $3,000 a month," the search results noticeably decrease.

Decent homes are quickly rented out, and many of the remaining listings have photos that don't match reality. At this point, it feels less like house hunting and more like a treasure hunt.

Koreatown is no longer considered a "value neighborhood." A studio apartment now typically costs between $1,800 and $2,200 a month.

If you're looking for an apartment with an extra room, it's common for the rent to exceed $3,000. In the past, people would say, "Just hold on a little longer, and you'll save enough to buy a house," but now, after paying rent, you have to worry about your bank balance.

Yet, some people still say,

"LA rents have dropped a bit, right?"

But does a drop from $3,300 to $3,100 suddenly make it affordable?

A $30 hamburger becoming $26 doesn't make it cheap.

The same goes for living expenses.

The cost of living index in LA is 163 when the national average is set at 100.

This means that living expenses are 63% higher than the national average. It's higher than Anaheim or Downey, but slightly lower than Irvine or Santa Monica. But honestly, is there any comfort for an average worker comparing Irvine and LA? Both are expensive.

Even grocery shopping starts with a sigh. A family of four using a Korean market should expect to spend around $1,000 to $1,400 a month on food. This is significantly higher than the national average. Even when buying in bulk at Costco, waiting for sales at Ralphs, and using coupons, you still find yourself questioning, "Is this right?" at the checkout.

Especially beef has become so expensive that memories of past sales on marinated short ribs at Gaju Market in LA feel like stories from another country. I used to grill frozen pork belly, but now that's just a memory. In the past, we would say we saved money by eating home-cooked meals, but now even home cooking isn't easy on the wallet.

Transportation costs are even more frustrating.

In LA, a car is not a choice but a necessity. The basic monthly cost for maintaining a car is around $700 to $900.

Plus, the time spent stuck in traffic, whether on the freeway or local roads, is an added burden.

Utilities are not kind either. With rising electricity, gas, and water bills, you should expect to pay around $200 to $300 a month, and if you run the air conditioning freely in the summer, your blood pressure might rise more than the heat when you see the bill.

This is why people are moving east. Covina, West Covina, Downey, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside....

More and more people are commuting an hour to find cities with slightly lower living costs.

It's an ironic life where saving on housing leads to spending more on gas and time.

Still, people can't leave LA.

There are jobs, Koreatown, hospitals, Korean food, and community.

In the end, paying high rent is like paying an "LA usage fee."

What's even more frustrating is that despite the high cost of living, it's likely to keep rising. Electricity rates are going up, insurance premiums are increasing, car registration fees are rising, and sales tax is also going up. Whenever it seems like one bill is going down, another one goes up. It feels as if the residents are not given a moment to catch their breath.

According to MIT data, a household with two adults and two children in LA needs an annual income of over $140,000 to maintain a basic standard of living.

And that's not even living lavishly; it's just to live normally.

Sometimes I wonder.

Is LA a city made for wealthy people to live in?

Or is it a massive system designed to keep ordinary people working endlessly to sustain the city?

One thing is clear: the cost of living in LA is rising steadily, year after year.