Is $170K really not enough? (San Diego, San Francisco: condo, day care, houses)

[cobmw]

From personal experience I'd have to say that most of the people I know who make $170K/yr (and live in OC) are living in $1.25+ mil houses or are lusting after one. True that many of them bought their houses long ago. A $500K, 1800 sf house? Did that when I was just starting out and earnig much, much less and with no kids. If that's how you've got to live just to stay in California then I don't see the fun in it.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by cobmw

From personal experience I'd have to say that most of the people I know who make $170K/yr (and live in OC) are living in $1.25+ mil houses or are lusting after one. True that many of them bought their houses long ago. A $500K, 1800 sf house? Did that when I was just starting out and earnig much, much less and with no kids. If that's how you've got to live just to stay in California then I don't see the fun in it.

And its not like that $1.25M house is in Newport Coast with an ocean view either. Its just a nicer Huntington Beach 30 year old tract house with remodeled kitchen and bathrooms.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by bm22

One major upside of living in a beach town is that you don't really need to leave town much or spend a lot of money to enjoy life.

Originally Posted by JakeDog

Remember if you live in Texas or a similar state a lot of your money will be spent on vacations to maintain your sanity.

Is this really true-- or are there just certain types of people who don't feel the need to go places, no matter where they live? Are you guys trying to tell me that Californians don't go on vacations? I find that a little hard to believe. Or is living next to the ocean really THAT fulfilling? I know that here in the Phoenix area, I feel a constant desire to go exploring on the weekends up north-- Flagstaff and Sedona, especially. I love taking road trips to San Diego, Las Vegas, and Colorado (where I'm from). The good thing about "inland" western cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Albuquerque is it's relatively easy to get out of town and drive to a completely different landscape-- even if it's just a day trip. Not to mention airplanes (I personally hate flying, but it opens up the whole world to travel). Are Californians really so "sane" that they don't need to spend money on vacations?

[slang75]

Originally Posted by JakeDog

Compared to SF, NY, Boston, and LA, Orange County is relatively cheap

I'm tired of people comparing OC to world class cities. OC is a string of freaking huge boring suburb. I'm not saying that's a bad thing...if you're into it. I'm just saying that it's such a cheap shot to use 3 of the best cities (and LA) in the US to compare against an entire county of suburbs. If you want make a comparison use Westchester, Marin or San Mateo county. To compare OC to these cities is really-really stretching.

[eminent]

your budget seems to be well in the range of affording atleast a condo. my advice would be to truly figure out if you can buy.(tax write offs) the market in areas of huntington can be very attactive, especialy now. as a developer, one of my main selling points to potential buyers is to make my projects affordable (i.e. about what they are paying for rent) 170K depending on your credit sounds sufficient. let me know if you need any help. Moderator cut: soliciting and or advertising not allowed per site TOS

[savannah11]

First of all, thanks to everyone for their replies. A lot of you reassured me. My husband and I are financially conservative and from what I read it seems we'll do just fine.

Originally Posted by cobmw

What is $170K after California's stiff, progressive tax rate? Lets see, $170K is $15K/mo. That's about $10K/mo after taxes? (help anyone?) Now if you have the smarts to earn $170K/yr you are probably used to a fairly good lifestyle. So lets shop for a house. In any good neighborhood in Irvine, Laguna Hills, Tustin, etc, expect to pay $1mil to $1.5mil. Lets use $1.25mil. With $250K down (20%) that will give you a mortagage of $6000/mo. Add $1000/mo for property taxes and $750/mo for pool upkeep and utilites (electrical rates are steeply progressive in CA - water also?). That leaves you around $2K/mo to live on. Forget about sending Johnny to a private school to avoid the terrible California school system.

I know that I'm going to get slammed by those who say that they don't know of anyone who lives like this. I know lots of people who live like this. We did. The $1.25 mil house is not a mansion. Just a nice house in a nice south Orange County area. Taxes eat up much of the rest. You'll find the same thing happens to you if you ever get to this level.

I have to admit this post, along with a few others discussing home sizes and prices, made me laugh a little. It is true that there are a lot of people who live this way. I've seen some of my friends do it. We do not. For 3 years we have rented a 2 bedroom 1100 sqft apartment, and the past 9 months have been with a baby. (It probably would have been smarter to buy but we knew a relocation was in our future and didn't know exactly when). I am not planning on having a litter of children so a 1300 sqft home sounds just fine to me.

[JakeDog]

Originally Posted by cobmw

From personal experience I'd have to say that most of the people I know who make $170K/yr (and live in OC) are living in $1.25+ mil houses or are lusting after one. True that many of them bought their houses long ago. A $500K, 1800 sf house? Did that when I was just starting out and earnig much, much less and with no kids. If that's how you've got to live just to stay in California then I don't see the fun in it.

Ok, whatever floats your boat. My grandfather was the president of a company and raised his kids in a 1200 sq foot home. I know lawyers that earn more than $500K that raise their children in 2000 square foot homes. If all you want is boring square footage in a boring area, then California isn't your cup of tea. Of course people in California go on vacation, that wasn't my point. It's just hard to overstate just how boring many states are. If you don't like OC, that's fine. But people on this board are being absurd in my opinion about overstating the costs and the expectations.

[Lookout Kid]

How is the "OC" any more interesting and exciting than any other group of boring suburbs with tacky houses? It is NOT worth it.

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by JakeDog

Ok, whatever floats your boat. My grandfather was the president of a company and raised his kids in a 1200 sq foot home. I know lawyers that earn more than $500K that raise their children in 2000 square foot homes. If all you want is boring square footage in a boring area, then California isn't your cup of tea. Of course people in California go on vacation, that wasn't my point. It's just hard to overstate just how boring many states are. If you don't like OC, that's fine. But people on this board are being absurd in my opinion about overstating the costs and the expectations.

Jakedog, I agree with you 100%. I agree with you about the overstating of costs and expectations. I guess "reality" (as we see it) differs for each of us for various reasons. We have a large family and are raising our kids in a 1800 square foot home (not enough bedrooms), but plenty of space otherwise. Both husband and I are professionals; he is a pharmacist, I'm a former accountant, have been running my own business since 1999. In my line of work, California is #1 in sales (I'm in marketing and sales). For me, it would be a smart business move. For my own health as well as my family's health, a good climate is important. Most of my friends live in CA and get along well. The only reason why I would make a move is for more opportunity, better weather, and having friends that I know that live there. Moving to tiimbucktoo because the square footage pricing is low does NOT appeal to me whatsoever. I know people complain about rudeness, fake people, fake money, snobbiness, etc., but truthfully, that is everywhere. I realize that the high cost of housing in CA is a reality and that variable is driving many people elsewhere. Thankfully, prices seem to be stabilizing and will continue to do so. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season no matter where you are.

[JakeDog]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

How is the "OC" any more interesting and exciting than any other group of boring suburbs with tacky houses? It is NOT worth it.

It just depends on your personal tastes. if surfing and good weather are important to you, it is worth it. And it is only a $100K more on average per boring tacky house compared to similar suburbs in Portland/Seattle which has far worse weather. And compared to the tacky homes in the East Bay of SF it is almost half as cheap.