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My husband was recently approached by his boss about potentially moving out to CA for an opportunity out there and his boss asked him what his requirements would be. We currently live in Charlotte, NC and the cost of living here is obviously much cheaper. So at this point we are trying to figure out where in CA we would be able to afford to live, and what the realistic salary requirement would be to get us out there.
The job he would be doing would be mostly work from home, but when he did have to go in, his office would be in San Fran. Everything around there is out of our price range though. We have heard good things about the Modesto area, but I am not sure if it is too far to commute...even if it is only one day per week or less. Any thoughts? Is there somewhere closer to SF that is still reasonably priced?
Also, what is a realistic amount of money to be making to sustain a nice life out there? We don't need to be rolling in $$ and we don't need a mansion....we're looking for 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2000 square feet, and in the $300k - $350k range. I am a SAHM and I don't want to have to return to work before my kids are in school. We are willing to sacrifice so that I can be home, but we need to be able to make ends meet. Could a family of four survive on an income of $120k??
What are the schools like? People are constantly complaining about them here in Charlotte, but I sometimes think people will complain no matter where you are. What's the scoop?
I am sure I will have a lot more questions as time goes on, but thanks in advance for any responses to these. We are both really excited at the prospect of moving out west and trying something new, but right now we need to determine if it is even feasible for us to do so! Thanks!
It is going to be a serious challenge to live out here in that income level. My husband and I make roughly that and have no children and live in a small apartment, only have one car, no cable, high speed internet, credit card debt or any of those other things that eat up salaries and we're pretty much scraping by. We both take the train to work and try to live as simply as possible... but seriously rent and utilities eat up most of our monthly budget alone! Couple that with it always being freezing cold and generally snobby, aloof people in the area, we can't wait to get out! We're saving every penny and hopefully we'll be out of this area within a year and a half! Good luck!
To find a house in that price range, you would most likely have to live in Tracy, Stockton, or Modesto. Tracy is the closest (and is probably a little more expensive) and is about 30 miles from Dublin/Pleasanton where your husband could take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to SF. The total trip time should be about 1 1/2 hours each way.
Those areas have been hard hit by the mortgage meltdown and I would suspect that you should be able to find a good deal (possibly look for a short sell). The following are some home listings of houses in Tracy.
Other possibilities are in the Fairfield area on the road to Sacramento. Your husband can get to San Francisco from Fairfield by taking Amtrack on the Capitol Corridor and then switching to BART at Richmond. The total trip is a little over 1 1/2 hours each way.
Since both of the above areas are away from the bay, the temperatures can get quite hot during the summer (10-20 degrees hotter than near the bay and up to 40 degrees hotter than SF (SF can get very cold)). Also houses do not cool down at night like near the bay. However, it is a dry heat so it should be more comfortable than NC.
Housing and commute costs are the primary difference in costs between the bay area and other areas of the country. Although other consumer goods and food tend to also be higher than other areas, there shouldn't be that significant difference once you exclude housing and commute costs. Since you husband will only be going to SF about once a week, you shouldn't have a major commute cost (many people drive 30-60 miles a day in heavy traffic). Air conditioning costs during the summer can become quite expensive living away from the bay (many do not have or seldom use air conditioning near the bay) but heating costs during the winter should be less.
I am from NC, and my sister lives in Charlotte, so I'm familiar with where you are coming from.
My family and I also had a similar situation as you did and we moved out to CA. We decided to live in Hollister, CA, because of it's similiarity to many towns in NC. You can't 'drive through' Hollister. You have to purposely make an effort to come here. It's off HWY 101 about 12 miles, and there isn't much beyond us except 80 miles of Canyons. It's a great little hidden treasure in CA. The people here want to keep it that way too, and have had a building moritorium for quite a while.
We have low crime, a very good community park and rec program, and a very family oriented community. We have swimming lessons in the summer here, soccer camps, basketball camps, karate, tennis lessons, a new art school, among other family oriented activities. There are 3 major grocery stores here, a Target and a Wal-mart. There is still only one high school, so we do have that small town feel. The schools here are average, but in CA, there really isn't much of a choice unless you are a multi-millionaire and live in some of the ritzy school districts. There is a very good private catholic school here, which has an excellent Pre-K program.
You can afford to buy a house here on that salary as most homes are in the 300K-400K range now in a good neighborhood. The trade off is of course that Hollister CA is about 74 miles from San Francisco. It takes about an hour and 30 minutes with no traffic, and can take up to 2-3 hours during rush hour to get there. You may want to rent for a while and just see how you like it, maybe get to know the area a bit better. Now if your husband only needs to go into the office occasionally, it wouldn't be an issue. My husband works in Sunnyvale, which is about 40 minutes closer than SF. He works from home 1 day a week, it has become an issue, but we've done it for 8 years and we've survived. One other cool thing about Hollister is that many families here have a parent that stays home, because of it's distance from San Jose or SF. I think you might feel comfortable.
Do make plans to vacation on the 4th of July however, unless you are really into Harley's. It's a rather odd change that weekend. (We have an "independence rally" that you will either love or hate.) However, on a positive note, you can't beat our weather. We don't even have an air conditioner, and have never needed one in 8 years. In the summer afternoons we get the ocean breeze from Monterey. It's as close to perfect as weather gets.
Location: A right angle directly south of Sac and east of the bay area
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Dublin is hardley 'full' of forclosures. It may have a few, but that neck of the woods is not "hard hit". Ranch homes with less than 1400 sq feet are still going for 600k.
My dad makes roughly what the op makes and had me and my brother to raise. Needless to say we were lucky because we bought our home way back when housing was affordable and you didnt need to jump through hoolihoops to get a loan ( a result here now because of so many people with shady credit getting forclosed). I forgot to mention we live in an outer lying area (Tracy). Now, on that salary, if you have some equity or something saved away you might be able to swing somthing.
For 300k-350k youll most likley wind up in the hood (East Bay), or you can move inland to Antioch, brentwood, pittsburg, or tracy. All have homes around the size you are looking for. For what it was worth our home is about 1500 sq ft , 2 stories, 3bed 2.5 bath, 2 car garage, and last time I checked an identical home was going for about 300k, which is alot lower than a couple years ago, when homes in the neighborhood were pushing 500k. Prices still havent bottomed out yet either so it could be even less now.
The thing is with this foreclosure mess, its made neighborhoods hit or miss. Despite the fact that alot of the SCUM have been weeded out and are going back to the ghettos where they came from homes being forclosed (either their homes get repo'd or the home they are renting gets repo'd), the fact that a home is not being lived in Causes blight on the neighborhood. Lawn stops getting taken care of, it drives down the value of homes in the neighborhood, etc.
Weve been lucky with our neighborhood as it is a little older than the other ones and a lot of origional or second people that own the homes have stayed and settled in their homes. Lots of young professionals starting families and some working class families as well as a few middle class families. Kind of the way our neighborhood has been for the most part, all though weve had a few renter BATS (bay area transplants, a common derogatory term for bay are people) that have cause problems now and then.
You just gotta search wisely and pick wisely visit the neighborhoods, talk to people who live in the neighborhood, walk around on foot a few blocks for a couple visits, and get a "feel for the area".
Over all Pittsburg is going to be closest to a bart station. Pittsburg like most true middle class areas in california has its highs and lows. In your price range, you will probably be able to get a nice home in a hillside neighborhood, most likley in a neighborhood like mine that i described abouve. Be wary how ever, pittsburg has had a ghetto that has been established for many years, and because kids can move about in elemantary schools, they often wind up at the nice ones and drag down the test scores. This shows as pittsburg students overall, tend not to make the grade when it comes to standerdized tests. Pittsburg schools are pretty sketchy.
Antioch, a little further inland, a little bit of a commute to the bart station, a little less sketchy than pittsburg. Theyve built alot out there and the city is experiencing growning pains like any city that does not properly plan grown. Inceased traffic, funding issues, crime, etc. Still better than pittsburg if you ask me as the schools are *slightly* better.
Brentwood, even further inland, kind of a traffic jam to the bart station, but if you have cool nerves you should prevail. I also heard they are extending highway 4 deep into brentwood to alieviate traffic woes. Way better schools than antioch or pittsburg. More Controlled Growth, so less crime issues, but still commuting and over crowding woes.
Tracy, about 25 miles from pleasanton bart. Depeding on what time of the day you drive, could be a 25 minute ride, or it could be an hour. Other side of the hill from affluent cities like livermore, pleasanton and dublin. Kind of experiencing growing pains like antioch but not as severe as it is more isolated. Still issues of increasing crime, traffic, and budget issues, how ever. Schools are so so, if you stay in the newer areas, particularly on the south side, you fall into the the jefferson district, which has schools that all always make the grade. Its nicer than antioch in my opinion, but not as nice as brentwood.
How you choose, well I don't know what matters. Your definatly going to have to weigh commuting into the issue. Over all in my opinion Brentwood would be my first choice (over all its just more mild mannerd, less ghetto apartment areas), followed by tracy, than antioch, and pittsburg last.
Anything further is going to be a pretty long commute.
Is that the only city option, or were there others? Just curious.
As for Hollister, its an interesting town. Family oriented, horribly ran city, with mediocre schools. I'm born and and raised a Hollister boy, dubbed Mr Baylor 2001 at the high school, taught swim lessons for years and years, and learned a lot. A little growth would be nice there so better candidates fill city positions, but other than that, I can't complain too much about the 20 years I lived there. Now my wife and I have found our 'Hollister' of San Diego county.
Alameda county has its share of foreclosures. Dublin, Pleasanton and San Ramon are not as bad as some of the farther out places like Tracy, but they have their share of foreclosures and short sales.
This was just the beginning. Foreclosure in general are up almost 100% since last year. Any financial magazine/newspaper you pick up will confirm this....
Personally, I think the East Bay will continue to get hit hard because the cost of fuel is also making the long commute less and less attractive to most.
If your husband only has to come into SF once a week, you may want to look at the sacramento area. My brother in law is a firefighter and commutes in once a week from that area to the peninsula (just south of San Francisco). It does get hot there in the summer, but most of the outlying areas do.
In most of the areas in and near (within half hour) San Francisco (I live on "the peninsula" - about 20 minutes south) a 2000 sq ft home would vary anywhere from $800,000 to over a million, depending on any number of factors.
The hardest thing about the bay area is you will pay a premium for a home and there is not guarantee for good schools. Plenty of friends have million dollar homes and their kids have to go to private school. Sad, but a true reality.
Good luck.
If you want to take a look at the homes for sale on the peninsula, check out
I live in Stockton and am moving to San Jose soon. If you were to choose between Modesto/Tracy/Stockton, I would choose Tracy. I have lived in Tracy and Stockton. Stockton is about 20 miles further from SF then tracy is. Like a poster said before me, Tracy is only about a 20-30 minute drive from BART (bay areas version of new york subway), and it is a 10 dollar fair (roundtrip) to get you from dublin to san francisco...better yet, Mountain House, which is a suburb of tracy, it is even a few miles closer to the bay area..it was the closest you can be to the bay area without actually be considered the bay area...you can find a very nice house these days with that price range that you have in the tracy area...tracy is nice, tons of good people, dont have to worry about it being ghetto or anything, unlike stockton...
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