Annual income for a family in SF (renting, daycare)

[jade408]

In SF? Household income of $300k

In the neighboring communities $200k

Private schools are $13-20k/yr
Mortgages) Principal, interest, taxes..) + HOA: $3500+
Groceries are also more expensive here. I spent ~ $250/mo and I live alone (I buy more organic than not). I'd imagine you'd be at $400/mo easily
You can do the math. I don't know if you are working, but put it this way, it certainly helps to have 2 working parents if you'd like to live in a central bay area place.

$150K = low end of middle class around here. If you don't feel compeled to buy a home, it is a whole lot easier.

I'd pass. (But it is a great place, just very expensive.)

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by anoush

Thanks all!

Yes I guess I have to be more precise and define what I mean by "comfortable!" :-)

We live in Canada and my husband been offered a job in SF for approx 135K ( still negotiable )
We only have few days left to accept or refuse the offer and believe-me we dont know what to do. I just want us to be able to maintain the same life style we are used too here! We have one car, a house in the city, going out with the kids every week, small trips around the country, activities for the children, we were gonna send them to private school in few years, etc... nothing fancy really!

I just dont want us to struggle financially.

Maybe I should have ask what is the average yearly income for a family of 4 ? ( middle class ? )

Thanks everyone for your help... and sorry for lousy english, lol maybe my next question should be is there any french school in SF ?

With an income of $135K, you'll probably net out $95K after withholding and payroll tax (or somewhere around there).

As someone mentioned earlier, you'll be paying around $13K/child for private school at the lower end, which means that you'll have around $69k left over.

We live in a 2BR/2BA condo in a nicer neighborhood (Pac Heights) and our monthly rent is $3500/month or $42K/year. If you moved into our place, you would only have around $27K left over, or a little over $2K/month for all other expenses, including savings and retirement. If you wanted something larger, you would have even less. I don't know what your current lifestyle is right now, but I would guess that you would not have the same lifestyle that you have right now.

[uptown_urbanist]

That lifestyle sounds pretty fancy for that budget, at least for the city. Private school, house, car, trips... that's realistically going to add up to more than $135k in SF. Housing is the biggest expense (especially if you want to buy), but it all adds up. You can certainly live on that salary with a family in the area, even in SF itself, but I agree that it's highly unlikely that you will have the same lifestyle that you do now. There are certainly great benefits to living in SF, but they come at a price.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Private school,

Uhh, didn't they say private school was a few years away? Knock that out and they'll be fine.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Uhh, didn't they say private school was a few years away? Knock that out and they'll be fine.

Yeah, they did, but it also sounded like they were going to be sticking around for a few years, so it would make sense to consider that angle when deciding whether or not to take the job. I certainly agree that they can afford to live in SF, but also highly doubt that they'll be able to do so AND maintain their existing lifestyle. (SF preschools are also often very expensive, if that's something they'll want now).

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I certainly agree that they can afford to live in SF, but also highly doubt that they'll be able to do so AND maintain their existing lifestyle. (SF preschools are also often very expensive, if that's something they'll want now).

Totally agree - they should make enough to live in the City, but I doubt that they can maintain the same lifestyle as they have now.

[mayorhaggar]

Rent a house or large apartment somewhere like Walnut Creek and send your kids to the good public schools there and you'd do a lot better on 135k a year. I know I already gave that advice but from what you've said about how you want to live here, I think it would work.

There are a few private French schools in SF and Marin and I think they are associated with the French government curriculum. Here is one of them:

http://www.internationalsf.org/

I bet they are expensive though.


If you're comparing the Bay Area with Quebec, from what I've heard Quebec is ridiculously cheap compared even to places within Canada like Vancouver and Toronto. I seem to remember hearing that you could get a large two story house in Montreal for like $100,000 USD, something that would be more like $800,000 in the Bay Area.

[docwatson]

Doesn't SF have decent public schools in most neighborhoods? I mean, with the housing costs and incomes, I would guess they perform well?? Going the public school route could certainly save money.

I would advise the OP to look at the real estate listings and see if they can afford the house they want - we all have our own preferences. If I were moving to SF, I'd be content with an urban lifestyle (smaller townhome, one car). Also, the OP didn't state if they will be a one-income household or if she will work at least part-time once the kids are in school, which is soon. So their salary may be higher.

[docwatson]

I'd also just say, remember that San Francisco has pretty decent weather, gorgeous scenery, nice parks throughout most of its neighborhoods and is considered one of the most livable urban places. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, right in city limits, is gorgeous. One does not live on scenery alone, but what I mean to say is, compared to anywhere in Canada, you may not feel the need for as much indoor space.

I'd say you'll hear lots of opinions on here, mine included, but you have to make up your mind for yourself.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

If you're comparing the Bay Area with Quebec, from what I've heard Quebec is ridiculously cheap compared even to places within Canada like Vancouver and Toronto. I seem to remember hearing that you could get a large two story house in Montreal for like $100,000 USD, something that would be more like $800,000 in the Bay Area.

Montreal is not as cheap as it used to be. Average prices for two-story houses in Montreal are now around 350,000 USD.

In spite of this, Montreal is still an overall bargain compared to most attractive, non-depressed big cities in North America.