you aren't in Kansas anymore -- question on $$ & time (commute) (Fremont: for sale, condo)

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by mrzod

Is $130K with a family of 4 enough to live in Palo Alto? Seriously?

No, but it would be enough to live in one of the cheaper cities like Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, etc. MV is pretty nice and you have access to things like Trader Joe, Whole Foods, and a pretty good performing arts center. Schools are also very good in Mountain View.

[Evergreen7276]

It's pretty sad when 130k isn't enough to live on.

[sjh]

It takes A LOT of looking, IMHO. If your company offers a relo package that includes temporary housing I would encourage you to take the time to find a place.


Thanks. I know they offer something, just not sure yet. Honestly... this whole move seems somewhat unrealistic, given the COL. I'm not sure how you guys do it!

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by mrzod

Is $130K with a family of 4 enough to live in Palo Alto? Seriously?

I have a friend living in Palo Alto with his wife and two little kids. They aren't extravagant, but aren't completely frugal either. With an annual gross of $200K, I doubt that they are saving much more than $20K/year including retirement (e.g. 401k, etc).

[AA702]

I use to live in Sunnyvale (Fair Oaks/El Camino Real). Use to work in Palo Alto off embarcadero/El Camino. Took me 20 mins if you go the right speed (timed lights). Sunnyvale is a nice city you might want to look at. My rent at the time was $3000 to rent a 3 bedroom house, which I split 3 ways with room mates. This was late 90's, so I am not sure what the rents are going for now.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by mrzod

Is $130K with a family of 4 enough to live in Palo Alto? Seriously?

What would your spouse be doing? 130K is probably tight for a family of 4, but with just a little more it can be comfortable, the ages of the children also make a difference. Assuming your spouse is only earning $50K/yr you should be able to comfortably live on $180K/yr combined. On the other hand though if both children are the age where they need to go to day care, it makes little sense for your spouse to work unless they earn $60K/yr or above.

If you're hoping to live on just one income at $130K, I think you could be comfortable in a place like Fremont, depending on when you go to work it will be less than 30 minutes to Palo Alto.

[SFBAguy]

Originally Posted by sjh

Well, I'm close to an offer from a tech co. in Palo Alto, the pay would be $130k or so. Family of 4. Our main activities are being outside/active... though we do enjoy cheap eats.

I would get a 30-40% increase in salary, but depending on which calculator I use that's either just enough, or not anywhere close.

The other issue is commute times... Google says I can drive from Palo Alto to San Jose in 15-20 minutes, but other people have said that's not even close to realistic. Right now I can get anywhere in Wichita in 15 minutes, MOL.

I know I'll have to take a hit on the commute, but I refuse to spend more than 30 minutes in a car (one-way). Also, how big of a hit would the salary be?

I've already been through all the web calculators, I'm mainly interested in personal experiences here.

tia.

You also want to add Los Gatos and Saratoga to those areas your considering.
(I know your not asking for the below info but I just want to let you know)

You should avoid East San Jose(ESJ)as it's the poorer part of the city. It's not as bad as other rundown areas in other parts of the country but there's a lot of quality of life issues and most crime in San Jose happens here but there are a lot of areas in other cities that are much worse but you should still avoid that area. Quality of life issues in ESJ: Litter, crime, gangsters with loud music from their cars, loud parties, illegal immigrants, horrible schools, ugly and poorly maintained housing, litter, traffic, overcrowded houses, and shopping carts littered all over the place
There are only three neighborhoods that are nice which is East San Jose but not considered ESJ to many and those are East Foothills(but you have to go though the ghetto to get there and the schools are bad),Evergreen, and Berryessa. The latter two I'll explain below.
Berryessa: Probably the most preferable of the two. Diverse, clean, great schools, and low crime (though next to the bad parts which you might end up shopping in) It is near the Milipitas but not sure of it's boundaries.

Evergreen(I lived in this area): Western Evergreen does has some issues and is lower middle class and not as good schools. Eastern Evergreen which is near the hills and does have good schools for elementary and middle school but the high school (Evergreen Valley High School) is bad even though it's very new.(Info is from parents and students reviews on Great Schools) There are a lot of fights there, horrible teachers, bullying, and lack of disrespect among most students. From what I heard there is racism that targets Whites and Blacks in this school. East Evergreen is heavily Asian and isn't diverse which might make your kids feel uncomfortable unless your Asian yourself. Housing in East Evergreen is new but ugly McMansion cookie-cutter tract housing. The Country Club is the only good place and is diverse but is very expensive.

Evergreen Commute: It will be bad and is far from Palo Alto.
Shopping in Evergreen isn't good so you'll have to often drive out of Evergreen for shopping. There's just the basic shops and that's it.
Also avoid East Palo Alto(different city but it's east of Palo Alto), some areas around Monterey Road, and the Seven Tress Boulevard area.

Hope all the info helps.

[Evergreen7276]

Evergreen is the nicest part of San Jose.

[esmith143]

Wouldn't it be possible to find something livable and affordable up along the 84 towards La Honda?

[SFBAguy]

Originally Posted by Evergreen7276

Evergreen is the nicest part of San Jose.

Evergreen is ok, but it's all suburban sprawl, and while the schools are good(except for EVHS but I'm not sure about Silver Creek High School), you also have the traffic that plagues the area. West SJ is better because of the better schools, nicer housing, proximity to shopping, less traffic, and far from the ghetto.