So how much does San Francisco (and surrounding) cost really vs Los Angeles when you consider the increased wages (San Jose: private schools, living)

[mayorhaggar]

The job market also generally sucks in LA so if you're looking for work then you're more likely to get a crap job with low pay. If you've had a job since before 2007 and are pretty secure in it, you're probably doing ok. Maybe.

[Radical347]

Have you checked out Salary website? They show the average salary for a given profession in a city, by number of years experience.

[04kL4nD]

That's around what I make, which is nothing great, but I just finished up grad school last year and I'm just starting out in my career.

Unless you want like 4 roommates, I would NOT advise you to live in SF. It's just too expensive to live a decent lifestyle on that salary

[AngusHsu]

Originally Posted by hgfed27

Okay, just to let you guys know, I'm an optician and I make $46,000 a year. AngusHsu, I believe the bankrate cost of living site that I used for part of my data uses ACCRA's cost of living data. I just want people's thoughts or educated guesses on whether finances will be a little tighter or a little looser in the Bay Area when it comes to salary vs cost of living.

Your research is impressive-an optician can make his money go much further in San Jose than in SF. My friends who live in the South Bay say comparable jobs pay higher and cost of living is lower, in line with your data.

The pay premium for engineers is very high in Silicon Valley- as much as 20% higher than in SF for the same job while much lower housing cost. I am not sure about other professions.

[thechoson]

Originally Posted by hgfed27

Okay, just to let you guys know, I'm an optician and I make $46,000 a year. AngusHsu, I believe the bankrate cost of living site that I used for part of my data uses ACCRA's cost of living data. I just want people's thoughts or educated guesses on whether finances will be a little tighter or a little looser in the Bay Area when it comes to salary vs cost of living.

Do you have a job lined up or confident that you can get a job? I did a search for "optician" in Indeed.com for San Jose and San Francisco and turn up 5 and 7 results, respectively.

If the job market for your position is not good, that obviously also reduces your negotiating power.

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by AngusHsu

Your research is impressive-an optician can make his money go much further in San Jose than in SF. My friends who live in the South Bay say comparable jobs pay higher and cost of living is lower, in line with your data.

The pay premium for engineers is very high in Silicon Valley- as much as 20% higher than in SF for the same job while much lower housing cost. I am not sure about other professions.

San Jose itself does have some surprisingly cheap areas (or at least it did a few years ago) but I think it's a bit misleading to say the South Bay is cheaper, many towns and neighborhoods down there have staggeringly high real estate costs, like a million at least for a crap shack. I think the issue is that property per square foot is cheaper there, and properties are bigger. So in SF a 1br would be really small, and in say Mountain View it would be bigger and more modern, but you'd pay similar rent. So you get more for your money but it's still pricy and you have to budget for a car to get around.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

San Jose itself does have some surprisingly cheap areas (or at least it did a few years ago) but I think it's a bit misleading to say the South Bay is cheaper, many towns and neighborhoods down there have staggeringly high real estate costs, like a million at least for a crap shack. I think the issue is that property per square foot is cheaper there, and properties are bigger. So in SF a 1br would be really small, and in say Mountain View it would be bigger and more modern, but you'd pay similar rent. So you get more for your money but it's still pricy and you have to budget for a car to get around.

^^This is very true^^ except for the "surprisingly cheap areas". I really don't think SJ has any such areas. Even East SJ, (the bad side of town) is only marginally cheaper than the rest of town...and your higher auto insurance rates (and more issues like car break ins and other QOL issues) would wipe out any savings in rent.

[kasuga888]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

The job market also generally sucks in LA so if you're looking for work then you're more likely to get a crap job with low pay. If you've had a job since before 2007 and are pretty secure in it, you're probably doing ok. Maybe.

What type of jobs are bad? This can't apply to all fields?

[luau]

In both areas, rent will be your highest monthly cost. Obviously you'd compare apples with apples; you don't want to compare Hunter's Point in SF with Beverly Hills in LA. But comparing 2 similar neighborhoods SF will be WAY more expensive. For example, I came from LA and was looking for an apartment in another nice area, this time in SF. I discovered that for what I pay for a studio in SF, I could get a 1 bedroom in LA of better quality.

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

^^This is very true^^ except for the "surprisingly cheap areas". I really don't think SJ has any such areas. Even East SJ, (the bad side of town) is only marginally cheaper than the rest of town...and your higher auto insurance rates (and more issues like car break ins and other QOL issues) would wipe out any savings in rent.

Has all of SJ had RE prices jacked up? I checked there a few years ago and it seemed like prices would be consistently lower in some areas, even around 2007 when the RE market was still pretty hot, but I can imagine they've floated up with the current tech boom.