Stockton (San Jose, Sacramento, Livermore: to rent, day care, house)

[cmyguard]

My boyfriend and I are having a really hard time deciding where to live. I currently live in San Jose, CA and he lives in Stockton. I am currently pregnant with our first child due in December. I currently work at a non profit making 46,000 a year. My bf just opened his own business in April...the catch right now is deciding where we are going to live. In San Jose my rent right now for a one bedroom is $1445 per month and the rent for a house in stockton, in the lincoln area for a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath house is cheaper. We cannot afford daycare for the baby...as it is $1200 per month for part time day care. I have looked at Livermore as an option, but gas for both of us commuting 80 plus miles a day would be $1000 per month in gas....so the struggle is where to live. My parents say that I would be moving away from my support systerm, so basically I am trying to figure out the best of life for me, boyfriend and unborn child. In San Jose the housing market is great, but there is no way we can afford to rent a house....so I am considering moving to Stockton, strictly for the cost of living to specifically the Lincoln area...any input or ideas would be greatly appreciated...

thanks

[radraja]

San Jose is considered the nicer of the two cities and is probably a more attractive place to live.

BUT - I think staying together is probably the most important thing here.

Since your parents want you to stay by San Jose, would it be possible to stay with a relative for awhile until you can better afford housing? If so, that's a solid option. If not, Stockton would probably be more practical.

Or...if you want someplace more affordable than San Jose, but with more opportunity than Stockton, you could try maybe Sacramento. The commute from Sacramento to Stockton is a lot shorter than the commute from San Jose to Stockton. So boyfriend could keep his store.

[Rocks4]

Don't move to Stockton. Most of it's areas are really run down; it resembles a third-world country also. You won't be able to do simple things like shopping or going to the bank without seeing hostile thugs in the car next to you, and you will stick out like a sore thumb amongst the illegal Mexicans if you drive anywhere but the North side.