Austin Teacher wanting to move to California (San Diego, Sacramento: apartment, rental market)

[Txsrunner2]

Hey new poster here, been visiting for a long time though. Looking for advice and opinions on moving from Texas( Austin ) to California.
My husband is a middle school teacher( also has extensive experience in elementary). I was a personal trainer but haven’t done it in awhile however if we moved I may get back into it. For budget purposes though we would be looking at just his salary.
A little about us. First we enjoy Austin - just looking for a change. We are outdoorsy people and it is our number one priority when looking for a place to live. I love the mountains and oceans. We hike. Swim, bike and want easy access to all of that. Austin is great in that regard by TX standards ... but I want more of it. Also I love warm weather . Cant stand even Austin winters ( though I would love to have access to skiing and snow for a short time). Austin summers are getting harder and harder though. I don’t mind heat even some extreme heat - but in TX there is no break from it for months , even at night. Otherwise we like the young, active vibe of Austin.
Next is budget. We are a family of four living on one teachers salary. I know California is expensive. Austin is too but not like California. However looking at salaries it looks like the higher salaries would mostly cover the higher cost of living. Austin inspite of being the most expensive city in TX has a below average teacher salary and we make it work. Right now we make about half the average family salary for the area we live. We live in an apartment ( not super new) but in a nice area with great schools in an Austin suburb with great access to trails. We would probably be looking for something similar. Not looking to buy a house -we know it’s Probably out of reach anywhere we want to live. Our rental budget obviously depends on where we end up but hoping something around 2000$ For a 2 bedroom in a safe area with decent schools( doesn’t have to be fancy though) is that doable? Where? Most of what we do for fun is free. We have no debt and we don’t eat out a lot. I am a bit of a health nut and cook most meals but do buy expensive groceries by the average standard.
So my question is where? Right now I’m looking mostly at San Diego area or Sacramento - both have aspects I like. Also if anyone is familiar with the teaching job market in California - is there anything we should know? My husband is an excellent teacher( teacher of the year here) with excellent recommendations and 13 years experience. He’s currently getting his masters in admin and will be done by next fall. Also if anyone has moved from Austin to California What was your experience like.
Sorry for the novel! I appreciate any advice or help!

[Snort]

This is where you'll be looking for job ads: https://www.edjoin.org/ but I suspect you already knew that.
Sacramento will naturally be a cheaper place to rent an apartment.
Find a few prospects among the job listings and try to find out if the district has a decent reputation. That will take some sleuthing, but worthwhile for job satisfaction.

[wac_432]

High COL areas, like the immediate coasts, are losing kids due to the cost of raising them. So it is a dog-eat-dog world for teachers as layoffs and school closings/shrinkings are the order of the day. If you are a stellar teacher, then you can make a go of it and probably do well. Wealthier parents who make the commitment to have/raise kids are generally able and willing to be more involved in their kids education and will send you bright, engaged, and driven students. Many of the kids I have instructed are. Brutal honesty: if you are just mediocre, then you're going to have a tough time.

Cheaper areas have higher crime, fewer involved/invested parents and (therefore) students, and usually less fun stuff to do. So, like everything else in CA, you need to be at the top of your game, and near the top of your field, if you want to benefit from the great stuff in this state. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a stern chase without local investments, connections, etc.

[veritased]

As a parent who raised two children in the Bay area school system, and in one of the supposedly top rated school districts, I can also say mediocre teachers were not rare at all, due to the California teachers union getting this tenure system into place where after two years it's very hard to fire a teacher.

Not being disrespectful of most public school teachers, they should automatically get 2X the pay they get today (while administrators should get 0.5X). We don't pay our teachers enough at all. That is one income gap I think the right and left can agree to address.

Oh, and get rid of the union. They are just hurting the teacher profession, at least in the eyes of some parents.

[ryanst530]

Originally Posted by wac_432

... So, like everything else in CA, you need to be at the top of your game, and near the top of your field, if you want to benefit from the great stuff in this state. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a stern chase without local investments, connections, etc.

Only in the high-demand/popular areas is this statement true. If you want to own a home in Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, etc., then yes, you will need to have an extremely high income and/or have significant wealth. If you want to rent in these areas, you will need to have an income well over $100k/year, and even then, depending on your income, there is a moderate risk of being priced out of the rental market at some point in the future.

On the other hand, if you don't mind living further inland, and don't mind driving to the beaches, or beach cities, then there are plenty of places you can live comfortably on a middle/upper-middle income.

The great thing about CA is that you don't need to live in the heart of the trendy/popular beach areas to enjoy the great things about those areas.

[DanceswithBeagles]

Check out Temecula and Murrieta, in SW Riverside County.

[DKM]

Inland areas like Sacramento have summers comparable to Austin. And Sacramento has similar winters. That isn't looking like a weather upgrade. There are areas that would get you most of what you are looking for from Ventura to San Diego. For $2k a month though, you will have a hard time finding a good school district without getting something like a dumpy 2/1 with 900 sq ft. You really need another $500 a month, or look along the I-15 and 215 corridor. The 15/215 means not nearly as nice summers but the rest of what you are looking for could be done there.

[Txsrunner2]

Originally Posted by Snort

This is where you'll be looking for job ads: https://www.edjoin.org/ but I suspect you already knew that.
Sacramento will naturally be a cheaper place to rent an apartment.
Find a few prospects among the job listings and try to find out if the district has a decent reputation. That will take some sleuthing, but worthwhile for job satisfaction.

Thanks- I did briefly look at it- it appears it is the only place to really look for jobs? It’s much easier than here where you have to search each district website individually.

[Txsrunner2]

Originally Posted by wac_432

High COL areas, like the immediate coasts, are losing kids due to the cost of raising them. So it is a dog-eat-dog world for teachers as layoffs and school closings/shrinkings are the order of the day. If you are a stellar teacher, then you can make a go of it and probably do well. Wealthier parents who make the commitment to have/raise kids are generally able and willing to be more involved in their kids education and will send you bright, engaged, and driven students. Many of the kids I have instructed are. Brutal honesty: if you are just mediocre, then you're going to have a tough time.

Cheaper areas have higher crime, fewer involved/invested parents and (therefore) students, and usually less fun stuff to do. So, like everything else in CA, you need to be at the top of your game, and near the top of your field, if you want to benefit from the great stuff in this state. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a stern chase without local investments, connections, etc.

I think that’s pretty much the rule no matter where you are. Fortunately my Husband is an excellent teacher with experience teaching inner city kids with no parents and wealthy suburbanites. Hoping to find a happy medium where there’s enough to do and reasonable cost of living and decent school district.

[Txsrunner2]

Originally Posted by DanceswithBeagles

Check out Temecula and Murrieta, in SW Riverside County.

Thank you - I’ll look at them!