"relative" cost of living (San Diego, San Francisco: real estate, rentals, insurance)

[loysleavelondon]

sorry to do another new post so quickly but thought it might be easier to seperate out.

there seem to be a lot of posts about SD (and California in general) being incredibly expensive. We currently live in London, UK, so not exactly the cheapest place to live on earth, and I'm trying to do the maths but there seem to be massive discrepancies with some people saying if you earn less than a 6 figure salary you're practically on the bread line, which sounds madness!! There's another thread where someone's budget for a family of four in a month sounds like it would keep my family of 3 going for 6 months at least.

So, was wondering what everyone thought the relative expense was. My husband, if we relocated, would expect to be on $200,000+ (assume medical insurance covered but obviously living in the UK have no idea about this kind of thing) which is an absolute fortune in my mind. We've briefly searched for rentals and $2,000-$3,000month for a nice area seems average.

To put it into context, our household income is currently £45,000 pa (I guess roughly $80,000?) our mortgage is £900/month (but we live in zone 3 in south london!) and we manage to save £150 a month but spend everything else on bills, food etc. We have a 2yr old.

I guess we immediately saw the money my husband would be on and thought we could have an incredible quality of life, I just wondered how realistic that was?

Thankyou!

[CAVA1990]

$200K in San Diego will be just fine and you'll be able to afford a nice lifestyle. Don't be fooled by real estate prices (which are coming down by the way), the average San Diegan makes nowhere near that amount and you'll probably be in the top 10% of households there. If your rent is only $2-3K you'll have plenty left over every month. Utilities and food won't be as much as you're likely paying in London. We're not talking San Francisco or Manhattan here.

[loysleavelondon]

That's exactly what I wanted to hear, thankyou! We live fairly frugally in London but also save money and budget in some areas so we don't need to worry the occasional time we go out for dinner etc, so while the money SD would offer us would mean we could save more, I'm more tempted just to spend a few years enjoying it and not worrying before moving back to the rainy and bankrupt and increasingly conservative UK!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by loysleavelondon

sorry to do another new post so quickly but thought it might be easier to seperate out.

there seem to be a lot of posts about SD (and California in general) being incredibly expensive. We currently live in London, UK, so not exactly the cheapest place to live on earth, and I'm trying to do the maths but there seem to be massive discrepancies with some people saying if you earn less than a 6 figure salary you're practically on the bread line, which sounds madness!! There's another thread where someone's budget for a family of four in a month sounds like it would keep my family of 3 going for 6 months at least.

So, was wondering what everyone thought the relative expense was. My husband, if we relocated, would expect to be on $200,000+ (assume medical insurance covered but obviously living in the UK have no idea about this kind of thing) which is an absolute fortune in my mind. We've briefly searched for rentals and $2,000-$3,000month for a nice area seems average.

To put it into context, our household income is currently £45,000 pa (I guess roughly $80,000?) our mortgage is £900/month (but we live in zone 3 in south london!) and we manage to save £150 a month but spend everything else on bills, food etc. We have a 2yr old.

I guess we immediately saw the money my husband would be on and thought we could have an incredible quality of life, I just wondered how realistic that was?

Thankyou!

Hi, I used to live in London NW1 4NS for several years in the Marylebone High Street area (went to LBS in Regents Park).

Yes 45k pound is between 75 and 80k USD. Will your husband be working for a British, Eurozone or American company. I only ask because I was paid in USD in the beginning and then after a year went to the pound. I also have some expat friends here in States that are getting paid in GBP and with the conversion are really doing well.

Generally speaking the median household income is ~65k (someone correct me if I am wrong) 80k USD is do-able here, but dont expect to be diving out into the Pacific from your balcony on that budget.

The other important factor to consider is where he will be working. That will make all the difference in where you live from a commuting standpoint.

[loveautumn]

did anyone mention to you that California is bankrupt also, and it rains here, and we have conservative folks too!

Other than that you should do fine on $200K.

[loysleavelondon]

yes but it'a not my country so I don't have the right to moan about it! and it can't rain as much as here, surely??!!!

shmoov get you living in NW1!!! we're in SW16 so relatively cheap but then it takes me 45mins to cycle into town (as assuming people don't really cycle in SD? I don't drive so I know would have to take that up sharpish)

I hadn't thought about being paid in GBP to be honest, he works for Sony (the European Branch), the openings are with Sony (but the Americas branch) so in theory it's an American company as they all work as individual companies under the Japanese umbrella. But it might be worth asking - we're at very embryonic stages, he just knows the opportunity is there and is about to mention it to his boss. Sony are based I think in the north, inland from Torres Pines. I'm a city girl though so would prob want to be where the action is but to be honest have no idea on neighbourhoods, we're literally starting to look into it now....Hillcrest sound pretty awesome!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by loysleavelondon

yes but it'a not my country so I don't have the right to moan about it! and it can't rain as much as here, surely??!!!

shmoov get you living in NW1!!! we're in SW16 so relatively cheap but then it takes me 45mins to cycle into town (as assuming people don't really cycle in SD? I don't drive so I know would have to take that up sharpish)

I hadn't thought about being paid in GBP to be honest, he works for Sony (the European Branch), the openings are with Sony (but the Americas branch) so in theory it's an American company as they all work as individual companies under the Japanese umbrella. But it might be worth asking - we're at very embryonic stages, he just knows the opportunity is there and is about to mention it to his boss. Sony are based I think in the north, inland from Torres Pines. I'm a city girl though so would prob want to be where the action is but to be honest have no idea on neighbourhoods, we're literally starting to look into it now....Hillcrest sound pretty awesome!

SW16....are you West Ham fans? Yes I know, fancy pants in NW1

Yes, Sony are in Rancho Bernardo which is east of Torrey Pines. Lots of tech companies in this area including the one I work for.

There are loads of great places to live in SD, so it is difficult to really nail down to just a few.
Hillcrest is good, but if that were your choice, I would highly highly recommend Mission Hills which is right next to Hillcrest. Nice homes, and is a much more residential area but still close to the action of downtown Hillcrest. 200k should get you a nice spot with room to save and eat Whole Wheat bread instead of the white doughy stuff. lol

Just so you know, the city here, while it is more urban than most of San Diego, is urban with a lower case "u". I personally really like it and am curious to see how it develops in 20-30 years, but is still in its infancy in terms of building it out. Biking and light rail were my mode of transport on the weekends when I lived downtown.

[loysleavelondon]

um, nope....west ham is much more north and east than us...no football at all but we're not too far from brixton so doesn't feel too much like the suburbs, but I used to live in Islington and after 3 years am still adjusting to being south of the river!

WOuld the commute be unbearable for him to get up to Ranchera Bernardo? I'd love for us to be closeish to the beach (10-20 min walk) but not in need of sea views....we've been looking at relocating to Brighton so reckon the cons of erosion and sea breezes and expensive property mean it's better to live a bit further inland. I like living in vibrant, multicultural multi-sexually-diverse areas hence I guess pouncing on Hillcrest - if you have the time to give any other suggestions, gratefully received.

I suppose I ought to consider daycareschooling at some point too, what with dragging our toddler over with us

[BacktoBlue]

Hillcrest, North Park, Kensington are all good options.

If you do want to live even closer to the water than that, you may want to look at Ocean Beach. It's got a hippy/urban vibe too!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by loysleavelondon

um, nope....west ham is much more north and east than us...no football at all but we're not too far from brixton so doesn't feel too much like the suburbs, but I used to live in Islington and after 3 years am still adjusting to being south of the river!

WOuld the commute be unbearable for him to get up to Ranchera Bernardo? I'd love for us to be closeish to the beach (10-20 min walk) but not in need of sea views....we've been looking at relocating to Brighton so reckon the cons of erosion and sea breezes and expensive property mean it's better to live a bit further inland. I like living in vibrant, multicultural multi-sexually-diverse areas hence I guess pouncing on Hillcrest - if you have the time to give any other suggestions, gratefully received.

I suppose I ought to consider daycareschooling at some point too, what with dragging our toddler over with us

Brixton, cool! South you said, duh....had a friend not too far in Clapham

These forums are full of lots of great info on neighborhoods etc. Actually living in the downtown area is a reverse commute (most traffic is going opposite direction).
When I lived downtown it took me between 20-25 minutes to drive to Rancho Bernardo.