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

[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.

[f_m]

Well, you should look on Craigslist to see what rentals cost. Here's a pretty nice looking Oceanside house, not sure about the area. I would say the rental market is pretty good for houses in CA because most people don't want to sell if they don't have to because the values are lower than they were a couple years ago, so they would likely rent out. Apartment rentals are a different thing.

GORGEOUS REMODELED RANCHO DEL ORO HOME

Cost of food is somewhat more, but you have a lot more options for farmer's markets which can be better deals, you can visit farms directly if you want to buy there. Utilities aren't too bad if you don't need A/C much, heating isn't so bad either. Water may cost you more than electric. Gas is about $3 gallon.

Insurance and car costs might be a little more. Although if you are from a Hurricane area, the insurance may not be much different. The main thing is the attractions are mainly free and relatively easy to park at, the beach, bay, Balboa Park, hiking trails, etc...

If you have a job, the fact is, a down economy brings more options to get bargains.

[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.

[sumukru]

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed Here's a cost of living calculator. It may give you a better idea of housing/food/transportation etc.

We rented our entire 5+ years in SoCal. I'd advise you to rent too.

As for areas: Carlsbad is very family oriented. In my honest opinion, it's got a lot going for it in terms of location, but is too cookie cutter (aka bland) for my liking. That opinion *is* coming from someone that really likes 100+ year old homes, so take my opinion for what it is worth.

[Snort]

Where in Texas do you live currently and where would this new job be? Given that traffic can be pretty bad on the I-5, you'd probably be better off living near where you work.
The reason why I ask about TX is because I know the state pretty well and could give you an idea on how different living in socal would be for you.

[Snort]

OK, saw your other post on this forum. Dana Point, San Clemente, Carlsbad. You should be quite happy with any of these three and within decent range of your commute.

[rongermy007]

Originally Posted by Snort

Where in Texas do you live currently and where would this new job be? Given that traffic can be pretty bad on the I-5, you'd probably be better off living near where you work.
The reason why I ask about TX is because I know the state pretty well and could give you an idea on how different living in socal would be for you.

Austin... South Austin to be exact.
Hook 'em Horns!

[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.)

[rongermy007]

"Well, you should look on Craigslist to see what rentals cost. Here's a pretty nice looking Oceanside house, not sure about the area. I would say the rental market is pretty good for houses in CA because most people don't want to sell if they don't have to because the values are lower than they were a couple years ago, so they would likely rent out. Apartment rentals are a different thing." f_m

Yeah, been doing that. We've got a decent idea what rents are like. And I would imagine they will be dropping more as time goes on and property values keep going down.
I was checking out a real estate forecast page and they were saying that even in nice neighborhoods if an idiot bought more house then he could afford because he got an ARM loan and he gets foreclosed, the the bank sells it for 100K to 200K less than it was valued at and the value of the other properties begins dwindling and collapsing as well. Apparently this is happening all over the place in SoCal. So even people who didn't buy more house than they could afford are getting screwed because their mortgage is worth more than their house is.... Bad situation all around. So I won't be buying anything in the near future. (Plus that would make me a resident, and I would have to start paying CA State Income Tax. I plan on keeping my TX residency, where we have NO state income tax, seeing as how I will only be working 7 months out of the year there in CA. My dad did it for years. But then of course we still lived in TX and he rented and Apt in San Jose with one of his co-workers. I plan on keeping my cars registered in TX to. Insurance will be lower. heh. My wife would have to pay income tax though. That sucks. Our money going to bail out your state Govt.'s financial ineptitude...

[JohnAlt]

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.

Don't even consider it. Didn't you know that to not live in poverty here you have to be rich? Bus boys make more than that in San Diego.

Seriously, 86k after taxes is a nice income anywhere, even here. And you needn't rent. There are many great neighborhoods affordable to you.

I think some of the posters here think it's still 2005, before the bubble burst.