Is 86K a year after taxes decent for a family of four in Oside, Encinitas, or Carlsbad? (San Diego: apartments, foreclosures)

[dweej]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

Plus that would make me a resident, and I would have to start paying CA State Income Tax.

Perhaps someone will correct me on this, but I believe that any income you make when you are an employed resident on CA, regardless of where you make that income, is taxable by the state of CA. This is probably to prevent the Hollywood folks from claiming that their income made shooting in other places in the world is not taxable. Again, I hope I'm wrong for your sake, but I would do a little more research if I were you. 9.5% of taxable income can turn into a big chunk, especially if you don't own property to take the tax deductions.

[rongermy007]

Originally Posted by dweej

Perhaps someone will correct me on this, but I believe that any income you make when you are an employed resident on CA, regardless of where you make that income, is taxable by the state of CA. This is probably to prevent the Hollywood folks from claiming that their income made shooting in other places in the world is not taxable. Again, I hope I'm wrong for your sake, but I would do a little more research if I were you. 9.5% of taxable income can turn into a big chunk, especially if you don't own property to take the tax deductions.

But I won't be an employed CA resident. I will be a TX resident who happens to be working part of the year in CA. The company I work for now is in Louisiana, but I am a TX resident. Therefore I pay no income tax to the state of Louisiana. The state where your primary residence is the state who you owe your state income tax to. That way people don't get triple taxed. ie;paying federal, and two states income tax.
And even if it does work out that way I estimated my 86000 after taxes as if I were filing single, claiming no deductions. My actual salary before taxes is around $125,000 a year. After reading your post I went back and did my estimation again and figured my fed taxes with all my normal deductions, then I did the 9.5% CA income tax and damned if I didn't come out at MORE than $86,000 a year! Its not that I don't wanna pay taxes. I have no problem paying taxes. Its just that CA has such high income tax to pay for so many social programs,( which being a Libertarian I am strongly against) that the state Govt is bankrupt, so I am against paying my hard earned money into a system that pays for financial incompetence perpetrated by people I didn't elect from a time when I wasn't even a resident. It would be like getting married and then your wife expecting you to pay off her brother's bad credit card debt just because you married her. The Uber-Liberal-Socialist Bleeding Hearts you guys have in the northern part of the state have bankrupted your state, and I dread having to pay off all that debt....

[dweej]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

I have no problem paying taxes. Its just that CA has such high income tax to pay for so many social programs,( which being a Libertarian I am strongly against) that the state Govt is bankrupt, so I am against paying my hard earned money into a system that pays for financial incompetence perpetrated by people I didn't elect from a time when I wasn't even a resident. It would be like getting married and then your wife expecting you to pay off her brother's bad credit card debt just because you married her. The Uber-Liberal-Socialist Bleeding Hearts you guys have in the northern part of the state have bankrupted your state, and I dread having to pay off all that debt....

As a former Texas resident, I am with you 100% on all of this. Good luck in whatever you choose!

[ilovesoup]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

Just curious. I've been offered a job making roughly 86K a year after taxes. Thats double what I make now in TX.
My wife is skeptical about moving to SoCal because she works in the Apt. industry and has alot of people moving in from Southern CA that tell her that economically CA sucks. Plus the news is saying the same thing.

Right now we live in a 3 Bd/2 Bth house in a decent (not upscale decent, but blue collar decent) neighborhood. I can actually leave my house and cars unlocked at night with no fear at all and the schools are pretty good, but not "Great"
She is absolutely dead set against moving to CA if our quality of life will be diminishing even one bit. Keeps trying to convince me that its a bad decision to take the job.
So my question is. If we were to move to Oceanside, Carlsbad, or San Clemente how would our quality of life be?
ie; what are groceries, gas, toiletries/sundrys, etc. like.
What type of life could we have on 86K (after taxes) a year?
I would really appreciate some feedback.
Thanks.

Just pitching in a little. We relocated from the PNW to Carlsbad two months ago despite comments about the economy. The quality of life here is great however we have a high level of income to support us. We considered parts of Oceanside but needed better schools so we choose Carlsbad. If the move is just for you and your wife, you will get more for your money in Oceanside however you will need to be more careful about choosing a neighborhood. You will have the same access to the lifestyle and amenities the higher priced cities offer.

It will probably be sticker shock here at first but really, an opportunity to live near the beach with a wonderful climate and friendly folks..go for it! Hesitation breeds indecision)

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

...The state where your primary residence is the state who you owe your state income tax to. That way people don't get triple taxed. ie;paying federal, and two states income tax...

It's each individual state that makes the rules. And while your analysis is quite reasonable and fair, the state of California is not always quite reasonable and fair. They are trying to get as much tax as they can. I have heard of situations where California taxed income by a non-California resident with absolutely no regard to the fact that it resulted in double taxation.

So be sure to check with someone who is well-versed in California tax law before you think you won't be subject to double state tax payments.

[revelated]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

I said 86K but if my wife transfers with her company (Archstone Properties) She will be working too.
Not sure what leasing agents make in SoCal though. I would imagine its gotta be more than she makes now which is about 22K after taxes. Anybody know what apt leasing agents make there?
Oh and before someone says it. We don't wanna live in an apartment complex. We have 2 dogs that need a yard, so living where she works is out of the question, even though we'd get a 25% discount on rent. (Archstone is overpriced anyways and the closest one she could transfer to is in LaJolla I think.)

Never will understand that. People who work at apartment management complexes never live in apartment complexes even though they get deep discounts on, if not free, apartment units. Makes absolutely no sense to me. But whatever.

I don't know exact salary for a leasing agent. But with minimum wage what it is, she'd likely make a little more than that. That's not really a concern - combined your income is more than enough, but what really gets me is why you won't maximize that income, even if temporarily, by living in Archstone for the discounts. Do that for a couple of years, stack chips, then buy a house when you've got a nest egg?

Call me biased but I say renting a house is a bad idea out here. There is just too much risk of something happening - some day some guy shows up at your door with a foreclosure notice because the owner hadn't been paying the mortgage even though they took your money - too much chance.

[Pug Life]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

As long as you plan on renting you will be fine, if you want to buy a house, probably not. I don't know if I would advise leaving your cars and house unlocked anywhere in SoCal, though.

I live in a pretty urban neighborhood and I've frequently (accidentally) left my car or house doors unlocked without a single problem.

It's far better than New Orleans where I had crackheads literally knocking on my front door at 2am asking to get inside to "look for something they left in the attic".

San Diego is an expensive city, and 85k will be okay, but not great in our expensive market. If you've already paid off your cars and your kids are young, it's probably enough to live well. But if you're making car payments and you are worried about paying for college, it may not be enough.

Remember, California also has higher taxes than Texas, Texas is a very cheap place to live, California is very expensive.

That being said, the weather and the # of activities available for kids in San Diego is really spectacular. And if your kids are baseball players, there's really no better place to be than North County San Diego. It's the middle of November and it's 72 and sunny outside with a slight breeze...and it was like that in June and it will be like that in March.

[bestwest]

I see. So you're planning to move to CA, not really be a CA resident, not pay CA income taxes. But you will drive on our roads, use our services, call our Sheriff's dept if needed, if you have an emergency you'll call our 911 services. Your kids will be in our schools, you'll go to our beaches, and when you and your kids go to our beaches, our lifeguards will come rescue them when they can't handle the waves. But you're not really residents. That's dishonest. Please stay in Texas.

[loveautumn]

I believe if you have income from California, you will have to pay California income taxes....you think the great state of California would let people get away with that? It's like people who live in NH (with no state tax) and work in Massachusetts have to pay MA state taxes.

[Pom]

Nonresident Withholding

Withholding on domestic nonresidents with California source income

We administer withholding laws pertaining to domestic nonresident payees when any of the following is true:

• Payee provides services in California. Compensation is considered earned where the payee performs the services.
• Payee receives California source income that includes, but is not limited to:
  • Leases
  • Rents
  • Royalties
  • Winnings
  • Payouts

Nonresident payees are subject to withholding on California source income regardless of where they live, enter into a contract, or receive payment.