Single Gal: Sticker Shock in Silicon Valley (San Mateo, Mecca: hardwood floors, condos)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by NatureGirl26

Jbunnii and Nomoresnow. I think I need to stay in Atlanta. There's no way I can live as well in the SFBA as I can here in Atlanta. My quality of life is better here for the amount of money I make.

I think this is the correct conclusion. You have to give up a lot in terms of standard of housing quality, work more hours, etc. to live here. If that's not you, you really should stay where you are or look elsewhere.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by jade408

You wouldn't have much luck with Southern black men either. A) you are asian (it is like the great unknown) and B) you aren't Christian.

The whole not being Christian thing is a huge drawback in the South. You might want to consider Colorado and maybe Utah. Not as many Asian people as California. But a lot more space/land and low housing costs. Pick a place like Boulder or Denver and it could work pretty well. Salt Lake too.

You would find the new housing and suburban feel you seem to enjoy. And not as many religious people.

Not as many religious people in Salt Lake???? Heh, SLC is still heavily Mormon, and they marry young and their whole lives revolve around church. I know SLC proper is less like this, but SLC's population is a pretty small percentage of the metro area's population.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by otterprods

Good that you got the offer, whatever 'exploding' means.

Now, I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but as someone who lived in SV for 13+ years before eventually moving away to be closer to 'nature' before starting my family, I can speak with some authority. When moving to SV, the first, best thing to do is to get the idea of LIVING close to nature out of your head. It can be had, but really only in one of two ways… 1) Do an atrocious daily commute on windy mountain roads prone to fog and ice and then across town on highly congested freeways and surface streets. 2) Be a billionaire (yes, almost literally) and live in one of the many high end 'hill' communities right on the edge of the valley.

The third option is to LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO WORK and just drive to "nature" after work, on weekends, and whenever you else you feel like it and experience more of the pluses and fewer of the drawbacks that Bay Areal living offers.

This is the best advice

[bigdumbgod]

Well, she's decided she's above this C-D thing, so not sure who y'all are talking to now. Think this was all a ploy to marry an ATM in SV anyway, and get a big house.
So pleasant when others drop in just to inform us poor wretches in the Bay Area of one's glorious kitchen, yard, blah blah blah, whatever, all the while strongly emphasizing how spoiled she is.
Got news: "Spoiled" is not a desirable trait. We have enough of these types coming here looking for gullible geek$.

[GoWestWoman]

OP just had to be a troll. Sounded like a throwback to 1956 with all the 'goin' on a husband hunt' crap.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by NatureGirl26

...

Now, here are my gripes:

1.The rental housing stock ... seemed old, dingy, dilapidated... To add insult to injury, I was paying $3K per month to live in a crappy little shoebox built in the 1950s...

2. I'm a nature-lover and it took forever to get anywhere near it in the Bay Area traffic...

3. Salaries. They're only 10% to 15% higher in the Bay Area for someone in my industry. However, state income taxes are around 10% in CA (5% in GA) and the cost of living is daunting...

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up: price of housing (purchase or rental) is out of this world, traffic is an absolute nightmare, and the extra income you make won't give you a comparable quality of life.

There is one other thing to add that might not be immediately observable by you on your 3 week visit: while I am not in your circumstances, I've repeatedly heard complaints from quality single women in their 30s that they have difficulty finding quality single men. Single men in the prime of their earning years quite frequently are working long, hard hours and don't really have time to put into a relationship. At least in the private sector, among pedigreed professionals, a 60 hour work week is the bare minimum and it is not uncommon to find professionals working 70 or 80 or more hours per week (even more for brief stretches). Get to the office by 7:00, leave the office at 10:00, and add a 45 minute to 1.5 hour each way commute, and there just isn't much time left for anything.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

[NatureGirl26]

Is a commute from Los Gatos to Mountain View doable daily? I found a recently divorced older woman who's looking to rent a room out in her house for a grand. What drew me to the room were the French windows and her small yard with a lawn and trees outside.

These are just pictures and reality may be different but Los Gatos seems a lot like Atlanta. Trees, space, decent updated housing.

Finally, of the commute is doable, how cut-throat is the market? Is the room going to be gone by the time I get there to see it??

[NatureGirl26]

Sport and Misty, I'm going to steer clear of workaholic men. I plan on moving back to Atlanta with my husband and he'll chill out in the South.

[NatureGirl26]

GoWest, millions of progressive women over the world get married everyday in the year 2014. There's nothing old-fashioned about finding a husband. If you think it is, I really don't give 2 hoots about what you think anyway.

[NatureGirl26]

Bigdumgod, I didn't say I was spoiled. I said we Southerners are spoiled in general when it comes to housing. It's easy to buy a beautiful fairly new house with a yard for $300K. Taxes are low and we put a very small percentage (<25%) of our total income toward a mortgage payment each month.