Feasibility of moving? (San Jose, Santa Clara: apartments, rental, car insurance)

[samirax4]

Okay so I am moving on to a third round of interviews for a position in Santa Clara. The salary would be the upper part of the 70s (around 77-79). The company already stressed that their intention was not to hire outside the area but thought I was a strong contender for it. So no relocation assistance. However, I still want to know if we could make it. I would be moving with my family (total of 7) but want to know if I could support us while my husband get's settled for work. I have read posts around here that is hard to make it with a salary in the 90s. So is it true? Now granted we know some things are twice as much there but which things are, outside of gas prices for your car (we are at $3.01) and a mortgage/rent (we are at $1300). Utilities now cost around $400/mo (gas, water, trash, cable/internet power being the biggest); car insurance $100; food various per a month but we try to keep it around $600. Now these expenses do not include our debits or a car loan as that is fixed no matter we we go. Any recommendation on area that would give us the same atmosphere of suburban Las Vegas.

TIA

[ccm123]

Santa Clara's cost of living is MUCH higher than Las Vegas. Much. much higher. If I read your post correctly, high 70K salary to support a family of 7? Is that correct?

The housing for one, is very expensive. At least 1800-2K for a decent 1 bedroom apartment. Low-mid 2K for 2 bedroom. If you have 7, I would think a 3 bedroom would be the minimum...

[jbunniii]

$75-80k would be fine if you were single, tight for a couple. For a family of 7, in my opinion it would be insane to try it unless you had no other choice. To finish ccm123's sentence, 3-bedroom apartments are comparatively few in number and quite expensive - an average one can cost nearly $3k/month depending on the neighborhood. For more space, look for a rental house, but that won't be any cheaper. And if you want a good school district, the prices will be even higher.

Maybe your husband can try to land a job here before you decide to move?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by samirax4

Okay so I am moving on to a third round of interviews for a position in Santa Clara. The salary would be the upper part of the 70s (around 77-79). The company already stressed that their intention was not to hire outside the area but thought I was a strong contender for it. So no relocation assistance. However, I still want to know if we could make it. I would be moving with my family (total of 7) but want to know if I could support us while my husband get's settled for work. I have read posts around here that is hard to make it with a salary in the 90s. So is it true? Now granted we know some things are twice as much there but which things are, outside of gas prices for your car (we are at $3.01) and a mortgage/rent (we are at $1300). Utilities now cost around $400/mo (gas, water, trash, cable/internet power being the biggest); car insurance $100; food various per a month but we try to keep it around $600. Now these expenses do not include our debits or a car loan as that is fixed no matter we we go. Any recommendation on area that would give us the same atmosphere of suburban Las Vegas.

TIA

First, congrats on the job!

Crunching numbers...you make let's say $78,000. To figure out how much rent you should pay based on your salary alone = $78,000 divided by 12 = $6500. Rule of thumb is you should make 3 x the rent, so $6500 divided by 3 = $2167.

I don't know how many bedrooms you would need, but a basic rule of thumb for occupancy limits is 2 people per bedroom plus one. You can probably get around this, based on if there are 3 boys who can share a room, etc., but let's just go with 2/bdr plus one for now. This would be 3 bedrooms.

So, 3 bedrooms minimum, maximum rent $2200. Here's a south bay search with those parameters on Craigslist:

I see a lot of options for South San Jose, which I have heard is really nice. I will let the San Jose experts chime in on that:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

So, it looks do-able and in a decent neighborhood. You will have a bit of a commute, but that's what you get here if you want affordable. Here, that equals commute.

Again, congrats!

[gnomatic]

There is also state income tax in California to account for.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Oh right, forgot to address cost of living.

I think your current bills will be similar here. Gas (for the car) is a little bit more. Here's a thread on electric/gas home usage bills in CA:

Poll: Californians - How much was your December PG&E Bill?

San Jose Gas Prices - Find Cheap Gas Prices in San Jose, California

If you get a Costco membership, you can fill up the gas tank in Santa Clara at the Costco on Coleman.

Car insurance might be more. Not sure on that one.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I see a lot of options for South San Jose, which I have heard is really nice. I will let the San Jose experts chime in on that:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

There are some good options there. But I can tell you the 2nd one on that link is in one of the 2-3 "shady" pockets of South San Jose. I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole

[bobby_guz_man]

Unless OP's husband can readily find a job within 4-5 months, and they have a bit of saving to take with them, I wouldn't bother doing the move.

[samirax4]

Thanks for the reply and the link. When I looked on CL I had a different search but I didn't know you could use the tabs at the top for the area. My husband works for the state here but is willing to relocate since this position would advance my career. It would be major down sizing and children becoming best buddies in room sharing! As I start the home search I know I will have ton's of questions!!! Thanks again!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Congrats on the job! I think you'll be fine. I don't know where you're from, but you sure can't beat the weather in the SF Bay Area.