Enough money for a good life? (San Jose, Palo Alto: apartments, rent, car insurance)

[KayolI]

Hey guys,

i am 21 years young and will move to San Jose, from Europe, in a couple of weeks.

I've got a job offer of 95k p.a. and wanted to know what you think.
Will it be enough for one person to have a good life? shopping/nightlife/housing?

I have found a couple of apartments for around 2000 USD p. Month.
how much money would you calculate for living etc?

Thanks

[bigdumbgod]

What's "good?" Not always an agreed-upon objective, especially in an expensive place like this. But at least you'll have something left over to enjoy after you've paid your rent if you're in SJ, as opposed to SF.

[Billy Millennium]

If I read that correctly; you are a 21 year old who will be making 95K per year.

If you are only supporting yourself; you'll be more then fine.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by Billy Millennium

If I read that correctly; you are a 21 year old who will be making 95K per year.

If you are only supporting yourself; you'll be more then fine.

yeah, per annum. it seems to be the going wage for 21 year olds in san jose. scary!!

[vrhunski]

Well that odd ....

[vrhunski]

Originally Posted by KayolI

Hey guys,

i am 21 years young and will move to San Jose, from Europe, in a couple of weeks.

I've got a job offer of 95k p.a. and wanted to know what you think.
Will it be enough for one person to have a good life? shopping/nightlife/housing?

I have found a couple of apartments for around 2000 USD p. Month.
how much money would you calculate for living etc?

Thanks

With that salary I would move to Palo Alto, Ca. I am from Europe too and trust me only Palo Alto, CA looks similar to Europe and You will feel very nice there. Look to be close to University Ave and Rail. (that location is perfect). You will spent more on housing but trust me that is right thing to do.

[KayolI]

Thanks guys.

Its right, I am 21 years young and got this offer. But it seems to be the average.
I have read about more people making 85-110k ^^

Could someone please give an example of how much he/she spends on food etc . Per month?

Thx

[roadwarrior101]

You may want to live in the city and take Caltrain down to SJ every day for work. The commute isn't ideal (I did it for a couple years). However, while the Silicon Valley is great for raising a family, its not ideal when you're young and single. You'll find yourself going up to the city regularly anyway for the dating/nightlife scene.

If you're making $95k ($8k/month), you're probably looking at about $5k/month after taxes. You'll be spending $2k/month in rent, probably another $200-300/month on utilities, possibly a few hundred per month on a car payment and/or a couple hundred a month in a Caltrain pass (may be partially subsidized by your company). You'll be looking at about $100/month in car insurance, a few hundred per month in food, a few hundred per month in entertainment expenses, a couple hundred per month in clothes, maybe a couple hundred per month in misc. (haircuts, toiletries, gym, etc, etc). You may also be putting some away for retirement savings and/or an emergency fund. Bottom line, it is doable, but you probably won't have much disposable income when all is said and done.

[fashionguy]

You'll need at least 2500$ to find something in downtown Palo Alto and those are not the nice ones. The rent of downtown Palo Alto is very similar to some areas of SF such as SOMA.

That said, with my limited experience, Europeans do hate suburban sprawl more and most of them live in the City or downtown Palo Alto.

Originally Posted by vrhunski

With that salary I would move to Palo Alto, Ca. I am from Europe too and trust me only Palo Alto, CA looks similar to Europe and You will feel very nice there. Look to be close to University Ave and Rail. (that location is perfect). You will spent more on housing but trust me that is right thing to do.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by vrhunski

With that salary I would move to Palo Alto, Ca. I am from Europe too and trust me only Palo Alto, CA looks similar to Europe and You will feel very nice there. Look to be close to University Ave and Rail. (that location is perfect). You will spent more on housing but trust me that is right thing to do.

Palo Alto is awfully pricey in an already expensive area. The OP is only 21. I would recommend he/she live somewhere cheaper until he/she gets to know the area better. Otherwise, the OP puts him/herself in danger of being on that treadmill where you have unrealistic expectations and you end up spend everything you make, despite having a good income.

I totally understand the hate for suburban sprawl. I'm a native born American and I hate it, too....but it's not like you can live in Palo Alto car free. You still have to deal with the sprawl of this area even in you live in P.A.