Can a family of four live in San Jose on a $65K income? (San Francisco: for sale, foreclosure)

[mazerunner]

In my current situation, I'm way out on the other side of the country in the Southeast. I make $52K. My wife works too for about half of my salary and we live fairly comfortably, though we live in an apartment that is too small and though I have a job that I strongly dislike. I figure we'll burn through $10K just to move our stuff cross country. If it's not going to be worth it because we'll be living in a shoebox, then we might as well stay put. I'll talk with my wife tonight and see what she thinks.

I knew the Bay Area would be expensive, but I didn't think it would be PROHIBITIVELY expensive. That caught me by surprise. We have very good credit and not a lot of debt, but even that doesn't seem to be enough for San Jose life.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

He has 2 kids, not 4, but your statement still applies even with 2 kids.

Oops, I misread the OP. But yes, it's still not enough money.

[bentobox34]

Looks like you have already gotten several good responses and seem close to a decision, but I will throw in my 2 cents. I have a somewhat similar situation to you, earning low-70s at a government job in the San Jose area, with similar student loan debt, with a family of three and no dog (we opted for cats instead). Also my wife is a grad student and eared about 12k last year from teaching fellowships so our total income was in the 80s. So with about 20k more, one less child, and easier pets to find rentals with:

- We live in Oakland and I commute about 3 hrs/day roundtrip
- We in a 1 bedroom apartment and have 1 car
- It's pretty much impossible to save money

If it wasn't for the promise of promotion, the generous public employee retirement & medical benefits, and the hope that my wife will actually make money some day, this situation would not be worth it to us.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by bentobox34

Looks like you have already gotten several good responses and seem close to a decision, but I will throw in my 2 cents. I have a somewhat similar situation to you, earning low-70s at a government job in the San Jose area, with similar student loan debt, with a family of three and no dog (we opted for cats instead). Also my wife is a grad student and eared about 12k last year from teaching fellowships so our total income was in the 80s. So with about 20k more, one less child, and easier pets to find rentals with:

- We live in Oakland and I commute about 3 hrs/day roundtrip
- We in a 1 bedroom apartment and have 1 car
- It's pretty much impossible to save money

If it wasn't for the promise of promotion, the generous public employee retirement & medical benefits, and the hope that my wife will actually make money some day, this situation would not be worth it to us.

This is a perfect example of the rat race/treadmill we have in the Bay Area for people raising kids.

[justinbro2002]

$65K doesn't go far in the San Jose or the Silicon Valley but there are 10's of thousands of families living in the area that find a way to make it happen. You will be looking at a small apartment in a less desirable area. $400k for a house isn't going that far either maybe a condo or an old dated home in a bad neighborhood. If you want to do this and have a comfortable home in a decent area you are looking at commuting over an hour each way and living in the east bay along the 880 corridor somewhere like Hayward where you can buy a decent house for under $300k.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by justinbro2002

$65K doesn't go far in the San Jose or the Silicon Valley but there are 10's of thousands of families living in the area that find a way to make it happen.

They pack about a dozen of their extended family under one roof. Not the most desirable of living situations.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by mazerunner

In my current situation, I'm way out on the other side of the country in the Southeast. I make $52K. My wife works too for about half of my salary and we live fairly comfortably, though we live in an apartment that is too small and though I have a job that I strongly dislike. I figure we'll burn through $10K just to move our stuff cross country. If it's not going to be worth it because we'll be living in a shoebox, then we might as well stay put. I'll talk with my wife tonight and see what she thinks.

I knew the Bay Area would be expensive, but I didn't think it would be PROHIBITIVELY expensive. That caught me by surprise. We have very good credit and not a lot of debt, but even that doesn't seem to be enough for San Jose life.

Based on your personal info., I'd say you're much better off where you are now, even if you hate your job.

The Bay Area really is prohibitively expensive, especially when kids are part of the picture.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Live out in the boonies and commute then commute some more. Los Banos. Tracy.

Good luck.

ACE Train ... learn it.

[easybay]

Live out in the boonies and commute then commute some more. Los Banos. Tracy

Move to Texas - forget California.............

[80skeys]

I'm sure there are families living here that make $65k or less. It all depends on how big of a house you want and where you want to live. For renting, I pay $1900 /month for a 950 sq ft two-bedroom apartment in what I consider to be a nice, quiet, pretty neigbhborhood in Sunnyvale. In Sunnyvale, a standard two or three bedroom house at about 1300 sq feet with a small yard will sell for about $750k. My understanding is that smallish houses in the East Bay (places like Castro Valley) sell for $350k. Also the town of Morgan Hill (20 miles south of San Jose) is substantially cheaper.

Basically compared to the rest of the country, two things are expensive here: housing and anything having to do with automobiles (mechanics, gasoline prices, registration, etc.) You can expect everything else to be the same prices as what you're used to and that includes restaurants, food, utilities, shopping, etc.