Vegas Job vs Orange County Job. (condo, townhouse, job market)

[Letters2012]

Hello Everyone,

Please advise which option you would choose.
You got a job offer in Las Vegas and a another job offer in Orange County. After the Cost of Living & Salary Comparison between 2 places, the salary on those 2 jobs are the same (which is $50K)

Your ultimate goal is to retire in Orange County (of course you are planning to save $ to buy a townhouse in Orange County)

No kids & No planning to have kids.

Your spouse want to go back to school to earn a degree and Vegas tuition fee is less than Orange County tuition fee.

1/ Option 1: take Vegas job:
Pros: Savings will be more in Vegas than in Orange County (Vegas housing is very low in Vegas than In Orange County; Spouse’s tuition cost in Vegas is less expensive than in Orange County); Less Crowded, No traffic Congestion

Cons: Few years later when moving back to Orange County, it is unsure if you could a find before moving.

2/ Option 2: take Orange County job

Pros:
Have a job before moving, (find a job in Orange County, LA is not easy at this time)
Savings will be less than savings in Vegas since Orange County housing is so expensive, and spouse’s tuition fee in Orange County is higher than Vegas
Have opportunity to grow with the job position and with the company.
No need to worry for later if moving without a job line up

Please advise which option you would choose.Thanks so much for your input!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Will your wife be working while going to school. Otherwise, you're not going to be saving much toward a house on $50k in OC. How close to retirement are you? $50k will sure go a lot further in Vegas than here, but you might get tired of the city and the heat before long.

[Letters2012]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Will your wife be working while going to school. Otherwise, you're not going to be saving much toward a house on $50k in OC. How close to retirement are you? $50k will sure go a lot further in Vegas than here, but you might get tired of the city and the heat before long.

Hi,

My Spouse will be working part time.

The Vegas Job is not $50K but it is compared as $50K in Orange County as the "Salary Comparison between 2 cities" tool explained.

We just want to buy a 1-bedroom condo (not a house) in Orange County.

We are in late 30s.

Yes, we are regretting of moving to Vegas.

Thanks!

[00molavi]

Go where you would want to live, which in this case seems to be OC. You are relatively in good shape if you already have a job lined up. You will figure the rest as you go. You are relatively young and have time on your side to make things work, like a promotion, 2nd job or business and spouse's progress.

[OC Investor2]

If you are willing to commute, or your job offers some degree of flexibility, you could live inland - at significantly lower cost - until your better half finishes school and starts kicking in more income, then do the rest of the move to OC.

I have to be honest though, if you do not have prospects of increasing your income, living on $50k in OC is tight. You will need to save a significant portion of you income if you would like to spend your golden years in the OC. Not a cheap place to retire in.

Good Luck

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Letters2012

Hello Everyone,

Please advise which option you would choose.
You got a job offer in Las Vegas and a another job offer in Orange County. After the Cost of Living & Salary Comparison between 2 places, the salary on those 2 jobs are the same (which is $50K)

Your ultimate goal is to retire in Orange County (of course you are planning to save $ to buy a townhouse in Orange County)

No kids & No planning to have kids.

Your spouse want to go back to school to earn a degree and Vegas tuition fee is less than Orange County tuition fee.

1/ Option 1: take Vegas job:
Pros: Savings will be more in Vegas than in Orange County (Vegas housing is very low in Vegas than In Orange County; Spouse’s tuition cost in Vegas is less expensive than in Orange County); Less Crowded, No traffic Congestion

Cons: Few years later when moving back to Orange County, it is unsure if you could a find before moving.

2/ Option 2: take Orange County job

Pros:
Have a job before moving, (find a job in Orange County, LA is not easy at this time)
Savings will be less than savings in Vegas since Orange County housing is so expensive, and spouse’s tuition fee in Orange County is higher than Vegas
Have opportunity to grow with the job position and with the company.
No need to worry for later if moving without a job line up

Please advise which option you would choose.Thanks so much for your input!

If it were me and you can stand the heat in Vegas during the summer, I would take the Vegas job. As much as you think you eventually want to settle in OC and I can understand why, 2 or 3 years from now you might feel very different. Go for Vegas, have her get her degree and then, you can re-evaluate. By then everything might be totally different, the job market, home prices, even what you want from the place you live.

Nita