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Just this past week I had an opportunity to move to San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley).
I thought Real Estate on LI was expensive, but WOW. I don't care how amazing the weather is there. The 6 fig offer wasn't even nearly enough to make me move.
You'd rather live in Patch and earn what than take a 6-fig comp in SJ???
You'd rather live in Patch and earn what than take a 6-fig comp in SJ???
That's right. Most of my would've-been-colleagues live in condo's and apartments, or share a house with roommates.
I can't go from a 4 bedroom private house, albeit in the 'Patch', to that. Plus, I'll lose the amenities of walking to the bars/restaurants on Main St.
That's right. Most of my would've-been-colleagues live in condo's and apartments, or share a house with roommates.
I can't go from a 4 bedroom private house, albeit in the 'Patch', to that. Plus, I'll lose the amenities of walking to the bars/restaurants on Main St.
If I had faced the same choice...I would live somewhere cheaper like Hayward, Fremont or Union City. CA is really more car dependent than NYC metro so driving comes with the turf.
Once I've established myself in the area, I would then try looking for a similar job in SFO which offers more mass transit options and downtown amenities. Lots of tech firms are now locating in SFO.
You can still have a house and yard in SFO by living in Vallejo or somewhere, and just commute by BART or ferry, as you would have done in NYC but now with a higher salary and better career prospects.
If I had faced the same choice...I would live somewhere cheaper like Hayward, Fremont or Union City. CA is really more car dependent than NYC metro so driving comes with the turf.
Once I've established myself in the area, I would then try looking for a similar job in SFO which offers more mass transit options and downtown amenities. Lots of tech firms are now locating in SFO.
You can still have a house and yard in SFO by living in Vallejo or somewhere, and just commute by BART or ferry, as you would have done in NYC but now with a higher salary and better career prospects.
Vallejo? When's the last time you've been there? The 1980s? Place went bankrupt, terrible schools and is crime ridden. Its real estate market is now "recovering" but only because the Filipino community is making it a homeland and they are all fighting for houses that are for sale, many of them using the homes as rental investments.
There are more buyers than available homes. Demand exceeds supply. So prices are increasing – considerably. Prices are currently 28 percent higher than this time last year. But buyers are still willing to buy.
Nubla gives the reasons for the decrease in available homes in Vallejo (which also pushes up the demand): “A lot of homes were foreclosed in recent years, and people bought them all up at discount prices, creating a scarcity. Investors have been buying up homes, leaving fewer available for individuals who want homes to live in. Right now there are 107 homes for sale in Vallejo. That is not many considering the size of the population (120,000). That scarcity is pushing up prices.â€
Vallejo’s well-known problems with crime and school performance are apparently not deterring homebuyers.
Also don't bother "recommending" Antioch. It became an absentee landlord's Section 8 paradise and has suffered greatly because of it.
Law enforcement experts and housing researchers argue that rising crime rates follow Section 8 recipients to their new homes, while other experts discount any direct link. But there is little doubt that cultural shock waves have followed the migration. Social and racial tensions between newcomers and their neighbors have increased, forcing suburban communities like Antioch to re-evaluate their civic identities along with their methods of dealing with the new residents.
The foreclosure crisis gnawing away at overbuilt suburbs has accelerated that migration, and the problems. Antioch is one of many suburbs in the midst of a full-blown mortgage meltdown that has seen property owners seeking out low-income renters to fill vacant homes. The most recent Contra Costa County records available show that from 2003 to 2005, the number of Section 8 households in Antioch grew by 50 percent, to about 1,500 from 1,000.
I'd take Patch over places like this, regardless of the 6 figure income which can mean anything. It could be $100K, which because of the housing costs in GOOD areas, is nothing in Silicon Valley. It could be $200K, which would change the equation considerably, but I have the feeling from the post it is $100K, which is not very tempting to move to Silicon Valley unless you want to be a renter in a good area.
A six figure salary in Silicon Valley is like a 6 figure salary on Long Island. If you're talking $100K, it's nothing. $500K, now you're cooking. But like ILLB stated, the schools stink (they think taking the bus is akin to Satan worship because they don't even money in the budget for that and the residents have been brainwashed). I have a friend who lives out there and paid 4 million for her house. Even on Long Island her house wouldn't approach that price. Real estate is insane.
Still - no one gets a job offer without looking and interviewing, which is the more telling part of kayo's post.
Vallejo? When's the last time you've been there? The 1980s? Place went bankrupt, terrible schools and is crime ridden. Its real estate market is now "recovering" but only because the Filipino community is making it a homeland and they are all fighting for houses that are for sale, many of them using the homes as rental investments.
I'd take Patch over places like this, regardless of the 6 figure income which can mean anything. It could be $100K, which because of the housing costs in GOOD areas, is nothing in Silicon Valley. It could be $200K, which would change the equation considerably, but I have the feeling from the post it is $100K, which is not very tempting to move to Silicon Valley unless you want to be a renter in a good area.
With a good offer, I personally would move to the city so I can have the flexibility to work at all hours and have easy access to amenities.
Vallejo is not bad all throughout. It's not Detroit. The places where Filipinos are buying are semi-gated or fully-gated communities that have their own security and landscaping. Schools are a problem but people who can afford it send to private or Catholic.
You can also choose other communities along the BART, assuming one really insists on having a house and yard.
twingles raised an interesting question - Why did he look at CA in the first place? If this fellow has programming skills, how much would he have made working in IT it Haup or Melville and what would have been his career prospects there? At least with San Jose, he can use it as a stepping stone to an even bigger job in SFO. Can Haup offer the same opportunities for him?
I'm leaving NY in a few months to relocate to Portland, Maine (to be closer to my boyfriend). The rent is much cheaper in Portland than it is where I live at. I've lived in NY for the first 26 years of my life (I'm 30) and it's time for me to move on. I've had some good times (and bad) in NY...I just can't take the high rents on Long Island. Even my old landlord (whom lives in Brentwood) is leaving Long Island next year when he retires because he says its too expensive to live on LI.
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