contractor moving to sa from bay area,good idea????? (Center: to rent, car insurance) - San Antonio - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

paul the painter · 10-30-2007, 10:12 PM

i am a california state licensed contractor 'paint and drywall' and i am moving to the san antonio area in dec. due to the fact that i dont see myself being able to afford my own house in san jose.....how are the trades out there are they booming or are they cutthroat does the fact that its so close to mexico come into play with the incomes of contractors????

firstclassflyer · 10-30-2007, 10:15 PM

Good news- Plenty of work
Bad news- Pay is not what you're used to.

paul the painter · 10-30-2007, 10:20 PM

well from the looks of it im only spending half the amount to rent and 20% to buy.....

firstclassflyer · 10-30-2007, 10:59 PM

True...but everyday items are not any cheaper. The obvious things that are cheaper are: Housing and gas.

Other things are more. My auto insurance went up, homeowners too... a lot since moving from San Diego County. Energy costs are more. Long , hot summer doesn't help with this.

The taxes, don't get us started!!!

paul the painter · 10-30-2007, 11:17 PM

so a bad idea?i was looking and i could pick the same house up for about ten percent of what one would cost in the bay area and i thought there are no state taxes and no workers comp on employees is that true????i know the property taxes are more but aint it only like a percent which in fact on the average you still pay more in san jose?

firstclassflyer · 10-30-2007, 11:25 PM

I didn't say that. I think you should spend some time researching. A lot of time.
Job,weather (floods,ice, long hot summer), schools, culture and even FOOD are all different here. You need to consider the big picture.
The best advice I can give you is..... rent for 6-12 months. This way you get to know the city and will be able to choose the best place FOR YOU.

We are all here to help...should you have any questions. There are a lot of very informative locals as well.

Speaking of NorCal...I'm currently at the Hilton San Jose/Convention Center.....did you feel that quake earlier??? This place was rockin' !! 5.6 on the Richter scale !!

That's the biggest one I've felt...even after living in SoCal for 5 years.

Don't have to worry about those in SA.

Some Californians come here and like it...some hate it. We have both types here on this board. if you have an open mind, you will be OK>
Remember, this is a very big military town...very conservative...the opposite of most Californians.

paul the painter · 10-30-2007, 11:35 PM

yes i felt the quake i was actually on my computer checking out san antonio on a site said it gets more rain on average in summer than in the winter months is this true????

paul the painter · 10-30-2007, 11:39 PM

..........

firstclassflyer · 10-30-2007, 11:41 PM

We have gotten over 45 inches of rain this year (our normal is 26-27 inches)and we have 2 months left !! Yeah...it rains. You have to be careful of the flood areas too. There are signs around town that say. "Turn around, don't drown" to stop people from trying to cross flooded out roads.

The humidity and bugs will bother you when you first get to SA. Coming from SoCal.. I was used to low humidity and virtually no bugs.

I have already seen near my house: lizards, fire ants, a scorpion and a toad.
I've also had 3 wasp nests on the house...and we exterminate every quarter.
Neighbor says he's only seen one snake in 4 years...not too bad.

Never been to Ricks Cabaret. I have a wife and small baby...travel a lot on business and spend the rest of my time with them.

wCat · 10-31-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul the painter

i am a california state licensed contractor 'paint and drywall' and i am moving to the san antonio area in dec. due to the fact that i dont see myself being able to afford my own house in san jose.....how are the trades out there are they booming or are they cutthroat does the fact that its so close to mexico come into play with the incomes of contractors????:confused:

I'm in the design business and have worked with a lot of paint contractors.....some by my choice, and others by clients or contractor's choice. There is plenty of work, but right now things are slow. And yes, you will have to compete with a lot of various levels of skill and wages.

There are a lot of great talented contractors that have immigrated from Mexico...and many subs that are on work visas or are undocumanted. Some people don't care. Personally, I prefer to contract painters who have good references and pay taxes.

A lot of them will cut corners and not tape off or do proper prep work. I have heard it all, "that it's a skill" to cut in trim and corners by hand......and it is a skill, that not all of them have. I prefer to pay someone more who takes the time to prep surfaces properly and tape off doors and trim because it always pays off in the end and with a more professional product. If that's your style, some customers may not understand, and you have to do a hard sell to compete with cheaper quotes that take short cuts etc. In other words, sometimes the bottom line is some areas have gotten used to "cheap labor"....and it's hard to compete with.

Compared to San Francisco, it's very humid here, and you'll have to adjust to how that effects your work schedule. This past year has been very rainy....and overall, the weather is more unpredictible than San Fran.

You're correct that there are no state income taxes, but you'd have to talk to a local CPA about workers comp. It all depends on how you set up you business.

I can't respond to firstflyer's comments about car insurance, because it can vary from county to county and even by metropolitan areas......and San Diego vs San Fran might be significantly different as well. Overall, car insurance is not overly inflated as it is in some other areas of the county.

Property taxes seem to be the biggest complaint....you can check out the Bexar County Appraisal District website for more info on that.

Good luck!