RELOCATING PLEASE HELP (last thread had the wrong city name) (Fresno: rentals, health insurance)

[Adriatica]

Originally Posted by Shaft

Oh I see
Is Mould MAking in High demand in these areas. Also know as Tool Makers ect... A poster asked about moving from canada to arvin as if that would be highly strange and unheard of to do.

45,000 in usa from what i can tell by the posts is a good living. Where I am comparing 65 000 where I live now is just making it. This is why I am a little confused at the cost of living.

No clue about mould making, sorry.

45,000 is a good living in this area you're discussing, not everywhere in the US. In some places it would be a fortune and in other places, it would mean you're broke. Just depends. But in the Bakersfield area, it's not too bad. Just clarifying.

[Shaft]

LOL at Mould Making or Mold Making as its spelt in the states. It is a very Popular skilled trade here.

[Franklyn]

Shaft, Thanks for sticking around and clarifying your questions. I knew you'd get some interesting responses. I'm going to disagree a little with some of the responses - based on my perspective.

Imo that beginning salary range should not be high enough by itself to induce your family to move from Toronto to a small town in the lower San Joaquin valley. There may be other factors and those could be very decisive, but there are differences in the two cultures. Many of my Canadian friends living in Cali will never leave. They love it. But a few others come for awhile and then want to return home. I would recommend having some type of "escape plan" in place in the event you decided within a couple of years you missed Toronto too much and needed to return - but could not afford to do so. Just to be prepared. Or to use for college education purposes later, whichever.

If that salary comes with good health insurance and other benefits - has some type of upward mobility plan attached - and is from a firm with a good history of going after the best employees and taking good care of them [which any really smart profit-making company now does] that could be a big plus. Also, [not for answering here] which industry or industries does the firm service? Agriculture? Automotive? Aeronautics? IT? In other words what is that particular company's prospects for the future? Those are factors in just how "secure" a job with this company might prove to be.

There are lots of youth sports activities in that area, and kids from other cultures sometimes have great fun with them because they've acquired skillsets in some sports that local kids have less exposure to. Sometimes. But, alas, there's not much call for hockey - either field or ice.

A good household manager could live fairly comfortably in the Arvin area for $45K per year, but any less might prove troublesome. Best wishes. And it is definitely not f--l--a--t once you travel very far out of the small cities in the valley.

Cheers

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by Franklyn

If that salary comes with good health insurance and other benefits

Good point, many forget that health care is not always a benefit.

Originally Posted by Franklyn

There are lots of youth sports activities in that area, and kids from other cultures sometimes have great fun with them because they've acquired skillsets in some sports that local kids have less exposure to. Sometimes. But, alas, there's not much call for hockey - either field or ice.

The closest youth ice hockey league would be in Bakerfield at the Ice Center. Although Bakersfield has the ECHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks I don't think the youth teams are high level, but I may be wrong.

[california5]

Originally Posted by Adriatica

(although I might avoid KB homes as I hear they have quality problems).

I live in one of the KB homes, the issues are minor and KB has taken care of them every time.

[Shaft]

This is so stessfull. Thankyou all for your responses. You have been alot of Help.

Franklyn - Torornto is a huge city (scary LOL) and very expensive to live in. I am from Windsor (4 hours away) a smaller city but still expensive. I had a hard time moving to the city of Windsor. I am used to small towns with a population of 30 000 people.

I just found out too that working checks in the USA only get taxed 12% is that true?
If so that is crazy our taxes are betwee 24-32%off your gross icome before it even hits your hands. I am asking this because it would seem to me that cost of living is alot cheaper.

The Job is in Arvin but we were told not to live in Arvin itself.

Ahhh Health Insurance too. I am used to going to the doctor or emergency and never seeing a bill for it. I have had 4 children and Have no idea how much it even costs to have a baby. I pay a dollar for any prescription, and have yearly eye and dental visits up to 3 times a year ect.....

In the states I know its different. What would be a good Health Plan? Do you have to pay money when you go to the doctor upfront?

[Shaft]

There was a site that was given that compared the cost of let say Detriot , Mi vs Techapia, CA and it said it was 49% higher cost to live in techapia CA. Is there a site I can get the same comparison from Windsor, on to Techapia,ca to see the percentage difference? I have looked and looked but I can't find one. Does anyone else Know of a site.

Kern County is that in Bakersfield or outside of Bakersfield? Not knowing the area at all is confusing. Techapia is that a completely seperate town than Kern County or in Kern County? What is Frenso? Is that a city aswell?

[Shaft]

Originally Posted by california5

I live in one of the KB homes, the issues are minor and KB has taken care of them every time.

I looked at one of the homes and they are very nice. What problems have you had?

[california5]

Kern county is the county that both Bakersfield and Tehachapi are in. We have a lower sales tax than most other counties.
In the states, we pay state and federal tax on our incomes and then sales tax (7.25%) on purchases. I think it comes out much less than your PST and GST. ( I lived in Canada for a few years). The percentage taken out depends on what you earn.....Tax Brackets (Federal Income Tax Rates) 2000 through 2008
With four children you should definitely come out ahead here on the taxes.
With most insurance you do have to pay out of pocket for visits. We have Kaiser and pay up to $20 for prescriptions and $10 per visit. I paid $10 when I had my baby in the hospital.

[california5]

Originally Posted by Shaft

I looked at one of the homes and they are very nice. What problems have you had?

Ours was built during the housing boom, when quality workers were harder to find, so we had more issues than usual. This is our second KB home, our first had no problems.
In this one, we had paint issues and the carpet was discolored and workers had tracked caulking on it. The stain on the kitchen cabinets didn't match so they replaced them. We had a roof leak too. All of the issues were taken care of (all of the carpet was replaced) promptly with no cost to us.
The thing with the new KB's now is that they are priced nearly $100k less than they were just a year or so ago. There are also a lot of homes that are bank owned and selling cheaper. On my street alone there are 4 vacant homes. Sad for those who lost, but good for someone wanting to purchase.