El Dorado Hills / Granite Bay commute to Santa Clara vs. living in Salt Lake City (San Francisco: apartment, renting)

[bentlyslc]

The cost of living in Silicon Valley is just too unaffordable. It’s worse with children, in which good school district is important (more expensive). Here’s my situation.

I am making $140k and recently got an offer in Salt Lake City ($106k). I used to live in Salt Lake City and liked it. Financially it makes more sense living in Utah even the pay is less. My current employer counter offers with telecommuting that I can only come to work 2 days a week and pays up to $250/month in commute cost. This opens another door. I can live in places like El Dorado Hills or Granite Bay (like both places) and come to SV once a week. Crushing in friend’s apartment for a night. I can take Amtrak, so don’t need to drive during rush hours. Getting to the Amtrak station early in the morning may be a problem though. Is there a better way to commute to Santa Clara?

My current job has some advancing potential ($10k~$15k). It's more fun, but comes with higher pressure. The position in SLC is a bit boring, but easy and much more relax. Also I get about 20% more retirement if I stay in California. 17 years away though.

The houses in SLC are slightly cheaper than EDH, but the property taxes are a lot lower. EDH has better schools. Yeah, I have a mega commute once a week, but hey, I get to stay at home the rest of the week.
I have to make a final decision in 2 weeks. Any opinions are welcome.


Thank you.

[NinaN]

Well I can tell you that I love living in EDH and the schools are great. Since you only have to commute once a week, it seems doable. It's a hike, depending on traffic, which there always is when driving that way in the morning. I have training/meetings in Danville occasionally...I leave at 6 and get there a bit after 8 for a 9:00 meeting. Worth leaving early to miss the heavy traffic and I can just get coffee while waiting.

So the big questions are - where would you prefer to live? And which job has more advancement potential? Are you OK with a boring job or will that drive you to distraction and derail your career?

[bentlyslc]

I actually like both EDH and Utah (Farmington frequently rated top 15 best place to live in US). Both are great. That’s why I’m struggling.
If I live in EDH, here are some of my commute option I could think of:
1. Uber to Amtrak Sacramento (4:30am). Arrive Great America Station (7:16am)
2. Drive to ACE Stockton station (5:35am). Free parking. Ride ACE to Great America Station (7:28am).
3. Drive to Santa Clara. It would be a nightmare, but I will have a car to get me around.


Fun job, but high pressure vs. boring job, but relax. Grr…another hard choice.

[steiconi]

another option: carpool. A coworker commuted daily from Sacramento to San Francisco, found several others and got a vanpool.

[Midwestforme]

I wouldn't underestimate the stress of the commute and it would be two full days away from your kids and spouse. It is a lot of stress on the one spouse at home and also your kids would miss you. Plus, the day before you left, you would be stressed out dreading the commute and the day you got home you would be exhausted from the drive. And by not sleeping in your own bed, I bet you wouldn't sleep as well. With the Utah job, you could sleep in your own bed every night and have less stress from the job itself and no commute stress. Plus it would be so much less stressful on your family having you home. On top of that you already know you like Utah but don't know if you would like EDH. And it sounds like the income difference wouldn't end up being that much. If I was in your shoes I would definitely choose Utah. Only you know the particulars of the situation though and can make the decision right for you and your family. Good luck with your decision... . Let us know what you choose

[Malloric]

If the two days are back-to-back, I'd consider EDH/Folsom/Granite Bay. Honestly, you don't need to move all the way out there but it is a nice area. Just need to weigh whether it's worth it to you to spend 2 days away form family. If they're not back to back it's not really worth considering. Salt Lake City.

Tracy would make more sense though. IMO the EDH area is nicer and your money goes further, no doubt about that, but if you can afford EDH/Granite Bay you can afford Tracy. More like a two-hour commute provided they aren't sticklers about start time for those freak days there's accidents. It's doable although not pleasant.

[bentlyslc]

Thanks for everyone’s opinions.
The job in Utah requires security clearance, so I have some time to make the decision. I just visited EDH the past weekend and still love it, as much as Farmington, Utah.
My employer allows me to choose any days of the week as long as I put in 20 hrs physically in the office. 20 hrs straight probably won’t do, but 12/8 is acceptable. I can put in a good solid 12 hrs the first day, 5am ~ 1pm the 2nd day and then ride Amtrak home.
Although the pay in Utah is lower, the cost of living is also ver low. Financially the two places are not much of difference. EDU in general has better schools.
When kids go to college in Utah, I can easily buy them an apartment nearby and sell it when they graduate. The tuition is also cheap and I don’t think we’ll ever need a student loan. In fact, I can buy multiple houses as investment properties. Wherein California, I can barely afford renting a room for them. Also Utah has better, cheaper or free public transportation system. Kids don’t really need a car to get around. Alternatively, I can send kids to Utah college. They probably won’t want to stay with mom and dad then.

California:
More interesting job, higher pay, better public schools, good weather, work from home 50% of time, more opportunities for kids and myself. 25%~35% better retirement.
High cost of living, taxes, expensive college, commute, terrible traffic.

Utah:
Low cost of living, low crime rate, bigger house/land, cheap college tuition, short commute, stay with family all the time.
Dull but stressless job, lower pay (still higher than most locals), no advancement in sight.

[bentlyslc]

Thought about places like Tracy, Mountain House, Brentwood and Vacaville. They don’t seem to have the characters I’m looking for. San Ramon, Pleasanton and Livermore are very nice, but the housing prices are just too crazy, besides, the 2-day per week deal may not exist if living too close to Silicon Valley.

[prettyvacant]

Driving from EDH to Santa Clara would be 2.5 hours without traffic, and 4 hours or more from SC to EDH with usual traffic.

[bentlyslc]

Yeah, that's why Amtrak can be a good choice for me (2hrs 45 min one way). Greyhound can serve as a backup. Tickets are paid for as part of benefit package. Technically I can do that twice a week, if I don't mind that 5.5hrs round trip on the train. People drive from Tracy to Santa Clara spend about the same amount of time everyday.