Cost of Living Differences, Atlanta suburbs vs. Rancho Cucamonga? (Riverside: rent, houses) - San Bernardino and Riverside Counties - California (CA) -The Inland Empire - City-Data Forum

jsmith1992 · 07-22-2010, 05:59 PM

Hello,
Does anyone know someone who has made the move from Georgia to the Rancho Cucamonga area? It costs 40% more to live in RC vs my suburban town northwest of Atlanta. Most of that is housing and from looking at listings it seems like housing costs are probably about double what they are here. Has anyone made the move and found that 40% more figure to be accurate? My husband has a good offer for a job in the area but it is only a little over 40% of what he makes now and I am wondering if we will be even worse off financially. Any thoughts?

bouncethelight · 07-22-2010, 08:11 PM

I've never lived anywhere but California, so I can't give any advice on the comparison to Atlanta - but I can say that home prices vary widely in the Inland Empire. There are some parts of Riverside and San Bernardino that are really inexpensive - I've spent the last two months looking at houses that were worth over $400,000 in 2005, and now are listed at under $100,000. That said, there are still areas that are very expensive!

If I were you I would spend some time looking at houses on realtor.com and redfin.com, and see what you like, and then research the cities by searching old threads here on city-data.com.

Only you can determine if you'll need a $200,000 or a $750,000 house - and once you figure out that, you'll know if your cost of living would be more or less than in Atlanta.

jsmith1992 · 07-23-2010, 08:58 AM

Thanks for your input. I was told by a realtor that you needed to spend minimum $400K for a house about 2000 square feet in a safe area. Our current home is almost 3000 square feet and will probably list in the mid $200's (not sure because the market is so depressed here). My concern about looking somewhere like Riverside is that I have no idea of traffic patterns since my husband would be working in Rancho Cucamonga. And, I keep seeing posts about gangs being a problem in some areas so that worries me as well.

Gandalara · 07-23-2010, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmith1992

Thanks for your input. I was told by a realtor that you needed to spend minimum $400K for a house about 2000 square feet in a safe area. Our current home is almost 3000 square feet and will probably list in the mid $200's (not sure because the market is so depressed here). My concern about looking somewhere like Riverside is that I have no idea of traffic patterns since my husband would be working in Rancho Cucamonga. And, I keep seeing posts about gangs being a problem in some areas so that worries me as well.

Baloney! That's realtor talk for I Want a Bigger Commission.

Anywhere in CA will have a higher cost of living than the the Southern states.

Dec. 2009 cost of living index in Rancho Cucamonga: 127.5 (high, U.S. average is 100)

Traffic patterns are bad anywhere in SoCal except out in the boonies on a dirt road

To save sanity, live as close to work as possible. Draw a 20 mile circle around the workplace address and find somewhere to live within the circle.

There are gangs everywhere - no matter what state you live in. Don't let an address in a certain zip code scare you off - there are bad parts of town and good parts of town - no matter what state you live in.

BRinSM · 07-23-2010, 10:13 AM

Rancho will be more than mid $200s, but you should definitely be able to find a nice place for under $400k. the issue you will have is space, more land = more money, especially here in CA. lot sizes are smaller and houses are smaller as well. you may have to downsize below 2,000 sf. i grew up in a family of 5 not too far from RC in a 1,700 sf home and I was just fine. keep your options open and get used to smaller homes for more money.

AKgirlinCA · 07-23-2010, 12:39 PM

Need to live close to work! Riverside is too far.

jsmith1992 · 07-23-2010, 12:45 PM

Thanks, this is the sort of info I need to know. At this point we are trying to evaluate whether it is a good idea to move cross country for a smaller house that costs more! It is a good job, a better long term career fit but we are close to paying off our home here... Anyway, thanks for taking the time for the great info. If we decide to make the jump I will probably be asking a lot more questions!

bouncethelight · 07-23-2010, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmith1992

Thanks for your input. I was told by a realtor that you needed to spend minimum $400K for a house about 2000 square feet in a safe area. Our current home is almost 3000 square feet and will probably list in the mid $200's (not sure because the market is so depressed here). My concern about looking somewhere like Riverside is that I have no idea of traffic patterns since my husband would be working in Rancho Cucamonga. And, I keep seeing posts about gangs being a problem in some areas so that worries me as well.

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear, I meant Riverside and San Bernardino counties - not the actual cities. In those two counties, there are lots of really inexpensive houses and lots of high end expensive houses - the point is that there's a wide range of options.

Forever Blue · 07-30-2010, 12:20 PM

jsmith1992, yeah even w/ your husband's 40% pay increase, it may not even be worth it since R.C. is pretty expensive.

Now if you just want a new start, new place to live, etc., than maybe so, but I'd so some serious calculating to see how the figures compare.

Is there any way possible you can hold onto your GA house & rent it out then get ant apt out here in R.C. at 1st to see if you really like the area & want to stay? That's better than selling your GA house, buyinga house here, only to find out you just don't like it. It's harder to turn things around that way.