Uni Grad considering moving Montreal to SD 65K job Unsure (San Diego: rent, student loans)

[adjnor]

Hello Everybody,

I just graduated from university last June, computer Science degree, and I have done multiple skype interviews + an on-site interview this week (Monday-Tuesday) in San Diego (was paid the flight and hotel) with a software startup with which there is a pretty high chance I will be offered a 65K position.

I do not have any student loans, would be living alone, I don't spend much but of course occasionally eat out, go to some event etc. I do not have a car nor a driving license. I love the beach and the sun, but to be honest at this point in my life I don't see myself spending that much time at the beach, I would rather like meeting people and mingling, but why not both of course. A major factor in me wanting to move is the population. More specifically, when I came to San Diego, although it was for a very short amount of time, I got a general impression that it would be a great place to visit, for vacation, or a great place to raise a family. But I just didn't see many people at all that would be around my age, young adults, and I felt as though I might get a bit bored living there. However how can I judge after staying such a short amount of time in SD? So here I am asking insight from people who actually live there.

First salary is a big deal of course, so do you guys think a 65k job would be good to live in SD? I would really want to save at least 1500$ per month, up to 2000$ if possible. The rent is what seems to be crazy expensive, and considering I don't have a car nor a driving license, if I live too far from my job getting there could be a pain. It's pretty much downtown near Columbia street / Broadway. The sunshine tax also seems to eat quite a bit of money and ultimately I don't really know out of 65K what I would actually be getting, if someone could help enlighten me.

Second is I love languages and I often go to language exchanges here in Montreal. I especially like to practice Japanese, Korean, and to some extent Chinese. I would love to practice my spanish too but I'm sure that won't be a problem. However I am unsure about Korean and Japanese, if it wouldn't be too hard finding people with who to practice with. Do you think Japanese, Korean people are rare in SD? I heard Chinese quite a bit when I was there so I'm guessing that would be ok.

So that's about it, I would appreciate any insight / help I could get. If I don't take the offer (in case the offer is made that is), I could stay in Montreal and work there, or move to Toronto, or even elsewhere maybe Sydney, Singapore... Point is there are quite a few things I could be doing but right now what I need to decide is whether I would choose to accept the SD offer if I get it.

Thank you

[Cardiff Kook]

65k is plenty to live on for a single person. Will you be able to save 1.5-2k per month? Probably not. There are tradeoffs and sacrifices made by many people living in SD. Only you can decide if its worth it. Good luck.

[adjnor]

Thank you for your reply.

I wonder how much I would be able to save then? Bare minimum for me would be 1k per month

[someguy10]

If you put $15K/year into a 401(k) (pre-tax -- reducing your taxable income), you'll probably pay around $8k in income taxes. I'd suggest setting aside at least $500/mo after tax for liquid emergency savings. So that's a total of $1,750/mo savings and $3K/mo for everything else. I think it's doable for a young single guy if you don't have to keep up with the Jones.

Where is the potential job? As you'll see if you read this forum, you'll probably want to live close to your job and its location will affect your housing costs.

BTW, you are very smart to start saving right out of school. I recommend you make that a #1 priority -- if you can't make the numbers in SD work while saving, don't do it.

[adjnor]

Thank you for the breakdown, really helpful!

The potential job would be on 1133 Columbia street, so living nearby would be quite expensive I'm afraid. However I'm fine with living in a studio, so maybe I could find something relatively affordable?

And thanks yeah, I don't want to be living check to check so if I'm not able to save a good amount I feel like it's not worth it.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

If you can deal with roommates you can save a ton of dough as that will be your biggest expense.

[sfosyd]

The salary is fine, no worries about that as a single person even in the area your job is in. The taxes will also be significantly less in San Diego versus Montreal so you will save money there.

Montreal is an amazing city especially in the summer and San Diego cannot compare at all in terms of the "joie de vivre" of the city. However, the weather in the winter makes up for that, having many days in January where it is 22 degrees Celsius is incredible. If you get a place close to your work, you can walk or bike to work. That is what I recommend. Personally, I live in NYC most of the time and I hate the car culture of San Diego so I avoid it. Live close to your work, don't get a car and you will love life. Getting a car, dealing with the freeways, and living in a souless area (San Diego has SO many of these) will just make you miserable. The culture is not even close to NYC or Montreal by a long shot but the weather goes a long way towards making that palatable...

[LuvSouthOC]

Paging Nightsparrow...

You will need a visa and work authorization to live and work here. You know this, right?

[sfosyd]

Uh...the company flew him or her out from Montreal and was obviously aware of the visa issues...

[adjnor]

I've had roomates in the past and I would definitely much rather live alone, but it could be an option depending on the person, something I'll have to look into.

sfosyd, what you mention about the joie de vivre and the culture that is not even close to NYC or Montreal is what really makes me doubt whether or not I should go for it. It seems like salary wise what I would be getting is pretty good so no problem there. But I love the fact that I can meet many people from different countries, different backgrounds, and there are a lot of people around my age here in Montreal, whereas when I went to San Diego I couldn't see as much "life" with people around my age hanging out. The weather of course is a big deal but I actually don't mind the winter in Montreal and although I would definitely appreciate the sun and beach in San Diego, at the end of the day if it's hard for me to meet people around my age with similar interest it's going to be hard to enjoy my free time there. Anyway I'm sure if I move to SD I would be able to make some friends but what you said makes me feel as though I could get a bit bored in SD.

For the visa my employer is aware of the issue of course, I would get an H1B1 most likely.