Hope you will be able to help me and I am sorry but another post on relocation… (San Jose: apartment, rental)

[mouradusa]

Hi,
Hope you will be able to help me and I am sorry but another post on relocation…
So I may be moving from Long Island (LI) to CA (close to Palo Alto).
I am looking for a safe area. I need TO RENT a single family house for a family of 5 (couple + 15 yrs, 10-10 yrs kids). So we care about school districts. Being able to walk or bike to places or trails and shopping for that type of thing in the area would be a great (if possible).
My actual salary is around 150K annual. We are right now renting a 4bdr 3.5 bathrooms 2000 sqrft + basement and a small garden for 3.5k/month in a small village in LI. We would like to rent a house close to "downtown" meaning close to some activities. (shop, restaurants etc ..). I've been recommended at something around Mountain View, Sunnyvale or Redwood City and San Carlos, San Mateo / Redwood City / Palo Alto, Burlingame area .
• First question: what increase do I need (or require) to have the same life from LI to CA.
• Second important question : What areas would you suggest? I can make a 30 minutes commute (45 minutes if it’s worth the place for my family)
• Third question : I looked at TRULIA and Craigslist find few things at around 5k/month (43% increase) but I have no clue about REAL commute distances and school quality (Middle and High school) (for example San Jose – Palo Alto or Evergreen – Palo Alto or Willow Glen – Palo Alto even Fremont-Palo Alto).
• Is the ~ (1.5 k *12 months = 18 k) rental increase would be most likely sufficient to make up the cost of living difference from LI to CA (What about grocery, car insurances etc ..)
Thanks in Advance for your help (and sorry if these questions have been answered previously).

[Chuck5000]

We see a lot of posts like yours. If you have an income of 150k household, and you need to support 5 people...if you do make the move, be prepared to take 2 or 3 steps down in house size/quality compared to Long Island, and increase your commute expectations to 75 to 90 minutes door-to-door.

Do a search for "long island" and "bay area" both in quotes and you'll see many of my comments comparing the two. I cite LI as an example of a suburban area near a major city with many towns with good suburban schools that has home values literally half of the Bay Area. Good schools out here are much less common.

Commute tool: go to maps.google.com on your computer (not your phone), click on the directions arrow, and look for the tool where you can plug in point to point commuting times.

I think if you want to match the house size you're renting now, in a good school district, I think that 5k number is right for Redwood City or San Mateo , but probably higher..in a town with a top tier school district. In Palo Alto, I can tell you 5K/month gets you a 1500 sq ft 2 bedroom house with no basement that is run down. I'd guess Burlingame is 30% less for a home of the same size.

Use greatschools.org to get a sense of what districts are good.

It's hard to get your mind around how expensive the entire region is here. Think Manhattan.

Unless this job is a very big game changer for your career, a job you can't gete on the East Coast, or unless you want to reunite with relatives out here and that's important to you, the move will probably be a bad financial choice for you.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Craigslist is the main website used by landlords in the Bay Area. I retired from an apt mgr job in Santa Clara 2 years ago.

So, what you see on Craigslist as far as prices, etc., is reliable.

It's a very expensive area. Is it worth it to you? Well, keep in mind that the weather is fantastic. It's never humid, never too hot, and never too cold. And there are a ton of things to do as far as recreation goes, inside and out.

So, you have to decide if the premium is worth it to you. I've lived in humid weather, snowy weather, super hot weather, and I can tell you that if there was any way I could afford to live in the SF Bay Area now that I'm retired, I would. I grew up in the East Bay Area, moved to WA then to TN, to Mexico and back. I'm in far north CA because it's the closest thing I could come to the Bay Area that I could afford.

My point is, in my opinion, the weather is worth the extra cost. Good luck to you, and welcome if you decide to move here.

[mouradusa]

Hi Chuck5000

First thanks a lot for the reply, lot of interesting information.
I am hoping to get a higher salary moving from LI to the Bay area. My actual salary is around 150K annual.
what increase do I need (or require) to have the same life from LI to CA?
Is the ~ (1.5 k *12 months = 18 k) rental increase (gross will be around 35k) would be most likely sufficient (annual salaray around 185-190k) to make up the cost of living difference from LI to CA (What about grocery, car insurances etc ..)
Thanks

[CC12345]

In my experience, the main difference is the housing cost. As long as you're covered there, other expenses are about the same.

Just make sure that you also ask for enough that your monthly income is at least 3x rent. Most landlords won't rent to you unless you meet that criteria. So what you're looking for is probably around 5k/month. Times three, times 12 months is 180k/year minimum. I'm the price range you're looking at, these calculations yield about the same numbers, but if you start looking at more expensive places, make sure you check both.

[ny789987]

Sounds like you are going to hop out of the frying pan and jump into the fire.

[Chuck5000]

Those cost of living calculators are all wrong re: the Bay Area, I don't know why, I think it's because they don't consider school availability and home size. I think you will need anywhere from 250k to 300k to duplicate your life within at 75 minute door to door commute of either Silicon Valley or SF. If you want to live within a 45 min commute, you'd need over 400k.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Those cost of living calculators are all wrong re: the Bay Area, I don't know why, I think it's because they don't consider school availability and home size. I think you will need anywhere from 250k to 300k to duplicate your life within at 75 minute door to door commute of either Silicon Valley or SF. If you want to live within a 45 min commute, you'd need over 400k.

I agree. You really need at least double the household income to keep your Long Island lifestyle. We do not have any nice burbs like NYC at a similar price point. Ours are about 3x more and not as good. We are also decentralized so there are not many commute options.

Unless you have a really compelling reason to come to The Bay, it is really better to stay put if you have a family.

[vigueur2014]

My aunt rents a two bedroom apartment in Foster City, for 3800 a month. It has a pool and rec center, but it's next to a mall. There is a house a couple blocks from my house, it's a 4 bedroom 3 bath, and the rent is 6800 a month. It's not listed on Craigslist, lmk, I can hook you up....Redwood Shores

[dburbs1975]

you can rent a 3 bed in mountain view/palo alto in the 5K range, not new finishes though, but it can be done. the price differential between a modernized home and an old finish home IMHO is not at all worth it for a rental.