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Old 11-30-2011, 08:13 PM
 
30,873 posts, read 36,811,593 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boompa View Post
I figure $68,000 as I was living (comfortably) in Outer Richmond District. That was myself, my wife and an adult son. $75K should be OK
How long ago was that? Prices have gone up since you lived here.
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Old 12-01-2011, 09:31 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
2,148 posts, read 3,307,654 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sm.short View Post
I am moving to San Francisco from Ohio and need to know if $75k is a reasonable salary. My husband and I have a toddler and a baby on the way. I will not be working so I am wondering if $75k is enough to live on out there. We currently have a car (paying $420 per month including insurance) but are not opposed to selling it. Our cost of living here in Ohio is about $2900 per month including rent, car payment, groceries and all bills (Electricity and Heat cost around $300 per month total in the winter). Our combined salary right now is $46k. I noticed that in some areas (Brisbane, Burlingame and Millbrae) that we can rent for around $1800 per month and commute to San Fran using BART or CalTrain. My Husband will be working in 94103 zip code. I am really clueless how to make all this work. Here are my questions.

Is $75k enough?
Do we need a car?
Are there grocery stores within walking distance?
Do you have to drive a car to get to BART or CalTrain?
Are utilities expensive?
Is daycare expensive if I needed to get a job?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to blindly move out there without a plan. I noticed that payroll tax is around 9% so bring home for someone making $75k is actually only $4600 per month. Thanks!
There are very few 1-bedroom apartments for $1800/month in Burlingame and Millbrae (you would have to move very quickly to snag one), and no 2-bedroom apartments in that price range. However, depending upon where you would live in both cities, you can be just a short distance away from BART (very walkable). Both cities have nice downtowns, which can be within walking distance of your home. Daycare is EXTREMELY expensive on the peninsula.

There are less expensive areas to live.
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Old 12-01-2011, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Sierra Vista, AZ
17,531 posts, read 24,628,504 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Natural510 View Post
Unless you both have marketable careers, it's not worth it, sorry. In Ohio 75k is a comfortable salary, but in the Bay Area it's a source of income which will have to be supplemented.
Not so, the same job would probably pay $35,000 in Ohio. The minimum wage in San Francisco has got to be $10 an hour by now. When I left PA for San Francisco my salary almost tripled for the same job. That did me no end of good when I retired.
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Old 12-01-2011, 09:42 AM
 
2,145 posts, read 5,056,902 times
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I would check out sonoma county and parts of napa county, maybe? i think, though you may pay the same as in east bay or peninsula, your quality of life is much higher in sonoma area.

also, OP could look into sacramento as a more affordable option with some nice suburbs?

I personally would not live in SFO proper or the inner east bay, with a family, as far as moving from somewhere else just to do so. We used to live in SFO, and now are in san diego, and though i miss the former and love it, i'd never move on purpose with my children [unless the best.job.offer.ever. came to us or something like that]...I'd live in the North Bay, however, particularly Sonoma County.

We lived in SFO in the late 90's, just the two of us, and made over 80k and had a blast, but did not save much, and lived in a jr. one bedroom. I don't think it's worth it to put a family in an apartment in the bay area proper. We moved to the front range of CO after SFO, had a family there and relocated back to SD. Both of these areas are great for growing families, despite costs. Just more liveable overall.

I will also say that food costs are fine in the bay area and CA as a whole, in terms of being able to get great, fresh produce year round, and the quality of baked goods, etc. is high. Also, eating out is more than reasonable-great, cheap ethnic food in SFO and surrounds.

Perhaps you can do some childcare from home, since you will be at home with your children. Or, you may come up with a work from home or online option. But, I would not want to bank on that as part of the equation for moving to the bay area. [but you could rule out the daycare option and get creative-and I do think in CA it's the norm to do your own thing and creative options are always available.]

Just my two cents-this post was on the main forum so I clicked.(:

Last edited by lrmsd; 12-01-2011 at 09:46 AM.. Reason: typo
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Old 12-01-2011, 11:29 AM
 
10,920 posts, read 6,873,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twins4lynn View Post
There are very few 1-bedroom apartments for $1800/month in Burlingame and Millbrae (you would have to move very quickly to snag one), and no 2-bedroom apartments in that price range. However, depending upon where you would live in both cities, you can be just a short distance away from BART (very walkable). Both cities have nice downtowns, which can be within walking distance of your home. Daycare is EXTREMELY expensive on the peninsula.

There are less expensive areas to live.
Really? Have prices gone up that much since I was looking at Burlingame in February? 1300 - 1700 was very common in the Burlingame Ave. area. None were that nice (and the nicest ones were very overpriced, I thought), so I got a place in San Mateo for ~1400. I suppose prices could have gone up a lot since then, though.
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Old 12-01-2011, 12:52 PM
 
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What do you and your husband do? I lived in SF when I was single in my 20s and had to leave b/c I could not afford to live on my own in the city making 50k. SF is extremely competitive. That said, if it's new opportunities you are looking for SF could be the place to find them, esp if either of you are in IT. I think your calculator is off, you have to account for health insurance, income tax and social security deductions when you determine your take home. Health insurance varies widely.

If you do decide to move, i had friends who had 2 young children and worked in the city. They lived in Burlingame and loved it. I think it was a townhouse.

Good luck!
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Old 12-01-2011, 01:55 PM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,043,351 times
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50k is more than enough to live in SF if you're young and without kids and aren't wasteful and don't demand a fancy car and a big apartment. If you want those things then yes you'll need to make more money or move somewhere like Oakland.
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Old 12-01-2011, 06:14 PM
 
Location: San Leandro
4,576 posts, read 9,137,234 times
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75k a year with a family of four in sf is just enough to not qualify for low income housing. You will be working poor. 'Tis better to be scraping by in Ohio than bankrupt in SF.
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Old 12-03-2011, 05:46 PM
 
6,438 posts, read 6,883,261 times
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Agreed that $75K/family of four is not a middle class income in the SF Bay area. If you live in Tracy you can afford the housing but your husband will spend four hours a day in his car.

What I am not seeing here is a discussion of your and your husband's career paths, skills, etc. If he is a tech guy the first job might pay $75K and the second job, six months from now, $120K. If you are a nurse making $40K in Ohio you will get close to six figures in SF! Big cities are the land of opportunity, that's why they're so expensive, but only for people with the human capital (or willingness to develop the human capital) to take advantage of the opportunity. I just don't have the data to opine further.

By the way, I grew up in Columbus and Cleveland and I don't find them all that unpleasant. The prices sure are right and you don't have to be that much of a striver to do better than just get by.

Good luck.
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Old 12-03-2011, 05:57 PM
 
Location: Sierra Vista, AZ
17,531 posts, read 24,628,504 times
Reputation: 9975
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
How long ago was that? Prices have gone up since you lived here.
About 4 years ago, My rent was $2500 for a 2000 sq ft with a view of the Ocean. I lived and worked in Outer Richmond. I'm talking about my expenses, not my income.
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