Los Angeles to San Antonio (Howe: sales, affordable apartments, job market)

[cdck]

Family of 4, 2 boys (11,7) relocating in SA next summer.
trying to make ends meet here in los angeles....
Starting over in another city.
Both my husband & i work as a nurse assistant in a hospital. Recently went back to school to work on my
Pre requisites for nursing degree( part time )
Based on my research SA cost of living is about 30% lower than los angeles, but wages are lower too, right?
Is it easy to find a job? What is usually the waiting period for an answer or interview.
Would we be able to survive SA if only one of us is working?
Or both of us working like a minimum wage job for starters?
Apartments? Schools? Special ed school (for my 7 yo)
Advisable area to live? Diversed neighborhood.....affordable apartments........good schools......
is it asking too much? I just want a better place for my kids....and a chance
to have a better life.....

[L210]

If he's looking to work as a CNA while you're in nursing school, he's looking at $8-12 an hour. That's not enough to support 3 people here.

[Pancho-Villa]

Look at the relocation thread...that's a lot of questions. I would suggest lining up jobs before you get here if possible.

[Soviet]

Cost of living is 30% lower? I would've thought it was significantly more than just 30%.

[cdck]

Thanks for all the replies.... I dont think i would be able to go back to school right away since i know you need one year residency to apply in community colleges. I will be working full time too of course....
Wow CNA wages are that low? 8-12$?? Are those hospital wages? Coz we work at a hispital and we are getting way more than that.
So my question? If both of us could land a $10/hr job? ( average), should we make the move and try it out there?? Would my kids have better life there, when it comes to school, neighborhood? And opportunity later on? We want to find a place to raise our family........and possibly stay for the rest of our lives........

[Cuero]

Originally Posted by cdck

Thanks for all the replies.... I dont think i would be able to go back to school right away since i know you need one year residency to apply in community colleges. I will be working full time too of course....
Wow CNA wages are that low? 8-12$?? Are those hospital wages? Coz we work at a hispital and we are getting way more than that.
So my question? If both of us could land a $10/hr job? ( average), should we make the move and try it out there?? Would my kids have better life there, when it comes to school, neighborhood? And opportunity later on? We want to find a place to raise our family........and possibly stay for the rest of our lives........

That's the rub. Cost of living is lower but so are the wages, so you may not be better off. $8-12 is about right for that type of work in this area. You might be able to get more educational assistance in CA than TX.

Because of your financial situation you need to make sure you have jobs lined up and budget out your expenses, before you make the move. Otherwise you'll find yourself in the same boat, or worse, only with the additional expense of moving.

[sakssa]

Also consider that Texas has no state income tax either.

[Pancho-Villa]

...but that's not a huge factor when you're making $10/hour.

[RJMorris82]

Made the move from Long Beach to San Antonio about 6 1/2 years ago for very similar reasons that you are moving. I have a wife and daughter, also the only breadwinner in the family. However, I had my job lined up before I moved out here. Living expenses out here are closes to 40-50% cheaper. You can get a good solid 2 bedroom apartment out here in a pretty good area for about $750 a month. In addition, utilities are definitely 50% lower as well, people out here complain a lot about the cost of utilities, but in comparison to southern california, its night and day. Me and the wife were just having the conversation recently that 2 people out here making 10 bucks an hour should be able to support a family of 4 pretty well. You aren't going to live the high life, but you won't be barely scraping by either, but once again my idea of scraping by might be different than someone elses.

I can't speak to nursing or related fields, but finding a job making between 10 to 12 bucks out here is really not all that hard, there are TONS of those jobs. The higher level professional jobs are much more scarce, but its probably comparable to what the southern california job market has to offer at this point. The no state tax is truly beneficial as well, you will see about a dollar more per hour for each hour you work out here than you would from a california paycheck. Additionally the sales tax is significantly less out here. Also, as much as people complain out here about traffic, they don't know what traffic is, especially in comparison to Los Angeles/ Southern California. There is a legitimate rush hour, thats right 1 hour, not 4 hours between 3 and 7, lol. That alone will save you money is gas. Also, you can get most places you need to go in about 20 to 25 minutes in the city, no more 45 minute to hour long commutes, if you plan appropriately.

Good luck on your move and hope you like it as much as me and my family have enjoyed the move. We still visit CA about 3 times a week as her entire family is still back there, but what it makes us realize more now than ever is that we love visiting CA, but would hate to live and raise our family there.

[RJMorris82]

Originally Posted by Pancho-Villa

...but that's not a huge factor when you're making $10/hour.

It is when you have two people working at the $10/hour. That's $20/hr which compared to CA State tax you get almost a solid 1 or 2 dollars more per hour.