Moving out from LA for Bay Area... or NOT? (Irvine: fit in, for sale)

[inrila]

So, here is the deal. I am working in IT, have decent experience, but don't have extremely good education (which is usually praised highly in Bay Area).
Currently, I have two offers from Bay Area, and two offers in LA. Money-wise, Bay Area is a little bit higher, but just a tiny bit. If I compare rent in LA and rent in (Burlingame, where I am planning to stay) the salary will pretty much be the same.

Thought, I do have a son in K-. I am considering public schools in both places, where I am living right now and in Burlingame. I am hesitant to move because of his school friends, and actually my wife's friends as well. We have to start from scratch in Bay Area, but it kind of feels "safer" on the job side, as I know my salary is on the higher side in LA, though in Bay Area I think I am in "average" range. And they do have better jobs, but again, they have more IT people, means higher competition and people with "better" education, etc.
Though, right now it's the best time to move until we are not "too deep" in school...

I am not sure what would be the right decision at this point.
It would be very nice if somebody (who was in similar situation) can advise, if possible. Share your experience!

Thanks!

[sdflip]

We live in the Bay area with school aged kids, but would love to be in LA area for warmer weather and easier beach access. What is keeping us here is the number of opportunities. My husband is in IT and this is the best place in CA for him to be. Lots of people with all different levels of education (although the Stanford and Berkeley graduates are plentiful) are here to be able to move companies without having to uproot their families.

If you are going the public school route, do lots of research. In general the schools in the Bay area are great through elementary, but high schools are not always good enough. I know you have a young one, so that is not a big worry for you-- but you will find now that the housing prices (both rental and for sale) are influenced by local school performance. I'm not sure about the situation in Burlingame, but I know of friends who use private schools even for elementary.

Don't discount the networking availability here-- it can be very beneficial to your career. Because it is the center of the VC universe, there is a ton of overlap in investors, boards, as well as other parents on sports teams, etc. I'm not sure you'd get this benefit in LA unless you were in the entertainment industry.

I personally find LA to be cheaper for housing and other major cost of living factors .

Best of luck.

[hsw]

PaloAlto region is world's tech capital...upside of that intensely competitive ethos is that one is forced to step up own game, learning by competing vs some of the smartest in the industry who may be one's bosses or co-workers or industry rivals (or, gasp, really sharp kids who are one's direct reports for a bit)...which may entail greater income potential over time (than in a less dynamic region like LA/Irvine or Seattle) and definitely means more career liquidity because of all the BigTechs, start-ups and VCs so densely based in PA corridor...w/endless career networking opportunities in one's daily life

And from any kids' perspective, would argue there is no more intellectually motivating place in world in which to grow up...even old guys like Jobs, etc who grew up in modest parts of PA area in '60s-'70s often talk about the creativity and ambition sparked by being around so many smart, ambitious engineers and entrepreneurs, and their sometimes similarly smart kids, living and working in such a dense corridor (and area was full of a lot more fruit orchards than massive BigTech HQs and start-ups back then)

IMO, creative and intellectual/economic ethos of SV isn't much of a Stanford or formal education derivative...after all, many of the top guys are college dropouts or attended some low-caliber undergrad (like the GOOG co-founders)....and many towns with reputed colleges, like Berkeley or Boston, fail to create any valuable new tech cos. in their neighboring suburbs

[ccm123]

Bay Area is one of the best places for technology jobs, but the cost of living is higher than in LA. You will get a higher salary, but your cost of living is higher.