Moving to Bay Area with 3 kids on $230K (San Francisco: top neighborhood, for rent)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by ANIM

$230k is what is considered to be average income for SV families (meaning both parents working at non executive, non entry level engineer positions in HiTech industry).

2 engineers already puts such a family well above average. The median income in Santa Clara County is around 100K, I think. Not everyone who lives here is a tech professional. I think the techies forget that.

The rest of your post, I agree with.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by ANIM

$230k is what is considered to be average income for SV families (meaning both parents working at non executive, non entry level engineer positions in HiTech industry).

That number is way too high; even the median household income in Palo Alto is only slightly more than half of that ($119K - reference: US Census Bureau)

Palo Alto city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder

[ANIM]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

2 engineers already puts such a family well above average. The median income in Santa Clara County is around 100K, I think. Not everyone who lives here is a tech professional. I think the techies forget that.

The rest of your post, I agree with.

That is correct... I should have clarified my posting that this applies to tech industry which is what SV is about. And there is enough tech people in SV to provide demand to somewhat limited housing. People with truly average income cannot buy a house IMHO and have to rent, similar to other high priced places like NYC, etc

[treedonkey]

Was that OP just an excuse to brag about your income or what? Yes, you can certainly 'make it' on that amount, given that's is your annual salary and not the total amount you plan to live on for the rest for your life.

Originally Posted by AndrewSoss

$230k, realistically, is just not all that much when you are trying to live in a home big enough for 3 kids plus a nanny in a good school district... Of course $230k sounds like a ton of income, but with 3 kids and education priorities, it doesn't go as far as most people think.

Okay, sure, it would be easy to blow through just about any amount of income if you're not careful, but the OP's question was if they could 'make it' on that icome. They may not be able to get the biggest home in the upper echelon of neighborhoods, but they'll certainly be able to get by. Of course, anyone who needs to pay someone to raise their kids and then send them to the absolute top schools should expect that that will all cost a great deal, and $230k/year might not seem like all that much at that point, but that would be true anywhere in the country, not just in SV.

[batransplant]

You can buy a modest home here for 1MM on that salary, but you will not also be able to afford trips to Europe or shopping at Gucci. I dont know what your wifes taste is. The east bay is much less flashy then SV and it is common here for the man to work and the woman stay at home. Many of the males are in CEO or executive positions earning that salary, but just 1 income per household. You can buy a modest home in the Acalanes school district, top in the state in Lafayette and Orinda, or a bigger newer home in Danville in San Ramon Valley school district. This year 7 seniors were accepted to Stanford and 4 to Harvard from Monte Vista Highschool in Danville.

Based on seeing the sizes of homes in SV vs. list price, I assume families buying them are dual income, live frugally and dont take vacations or shop, and/or have no kids, or have rich families who bought them the house. Although, parts of the east bay are as expensive as places like Cupertino and Los Gatos. Piedmont, Alamo, Lafayette, Orinda, and most of Danville are all pricey, have good schools, and in east bay. Alamo has really nice homes comparable to just about any wealthy neighborhood in the country.

[LeafsFan85]

I just came back from visiting a relative in Milpitas, and I was shock when learning about how much some of these houses cost, some of the house that look like they should cost around $200k or less where I live are value at almost 1mil or more and they look very old.

[ANIM]

Originally Posted by batransplant

You can buy a modest home here for 1MM on that salary, but you will not also be able to afford trips to Europe or shopping at Gucci. I dont know what your wifes taste is. The east bay is much less flashy then SV and it is common here for the man to work and the woman stay at home. Many of the males are in CEO or executive positions earning that salary, but just 1 income per household. You can buy a modest home in the Acalanes school district, top in the state in Lafayette and Orinda, or a bigger newer home in Danville in San Ramon Valley school district. This year 7 seniors were accepted to Stanford and 4 to Harvard from Monte Vista Highschool in Danville.

Based on seeing the sizes of homes in SV vs. list price, I assume families buying them are dual income, live frugally and dont take vacations or shop, and/or have no kids, or have rich families who bought them the house. Although, parts of the east bay are as expensive as places like Cupertino and Los Gatos. Piedmont, Alamo, Lafayette, Orinda, and most of Danville are all pricey, have good schools, and in east bay. Alamo has really nice homes comparable to just about any wealthy neighborhood in the country.

1mm home on 230K is not a prudent financial decision (assuming 20% downpayment). What's more, you wont be able to even qualify for mortgage since the income to dept ratio is way low

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by batransplant

You can buy a modest home here for 1MM on that salary, but you will not also be able to afford trips to Europe or shopping at Gucci. I dont know what your wifes taste is. The east bay is much less flashy then SV and it is common here for the man to work and the woman stay at home. Many of the males are in CEO or executive positions earning that salary, but just 1 income per household. You can buy a modest home in the Acalanes school district, top in the state in Lafayette and Orinda, or a bigger newer home in Danville in San Ramon Valley school district. This year 7 seniors were accepted to Stanford and 4 to Harvard from Monte Vista Highschool in Danville.

Based on seeing the sizes of homes in SV vs. list price, I assume families buying them are dual income, live frugally and dont take vacations or shop, and/or have no kids, or have rich families who bought them the house. Although, parts of the east bay are as expensive as places like Cupertino and Los Gatos. Piedmont, Alamo, Lafayette, Orinda, and most of Danville are all pricey, have good schools, and in east bay. Alamo has really nice homes comparable to just about any wealthy neighborhood in the country.

I agree with your post. The East Bay is cheaper and somewhat less flashy, although depending on where the job is located, it might not be worth the commute.

[City Boy]

Renting Yes, Owning No.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by ANIM

1mm home on 230K is not a prudent financial decision (assuming 20% downpayment). What's more, you wont be able to even qualify for mortgage since the income to debt ratio is way low

I was thinking the same thing. Having a mortgage that's almost 4x your income? That's soooo 2006.