Moving from Argentina to Pleasanton

[BayArea32]

I just saw a 1000 sq ft 2 bed 2 bath listed in downtown walnut creek for 1595 on c-list. Perhaps the OP should consider that place. Longer commute, but good schools and nice location

[gchialli]

In response to aslowdodge, I will have to pay around 350 per month for health insurance.

Regarding the location, I understand Pleasanton is more expensive than other cities, but my thought is that living close to work I will be fine with one car. I'm under the impression that I will need a second car if I have to commute to work everyday. I guess my wife will need a car to take care of kids and other stuff. Maybe I'm over estimating that?

Can someone give an opinion about San Ramon? Is it cheaper than Pleasanton? I heard it has good schools too.

Thanks again for your answers guys.

[aslowdodge]

San Ramon is a tad cheaper than Pleasanton. Livermore and dublin and I'll throw in Castro Valley are cheaper to live in, but schools aren't quite up to Pleasanton or San Ramon levels. But honestly, I think how much you as parents help your kids out really makes the difference in how well they do in school and life. If you have a great school and expect them to do all the work, your milage will vary. But if the school is just okay but you are active with the school and helping you kids learn, I think it will work out just fine. It's not like those 3 cities have really bad schools either.
BTW you can save up to a $1,000 in rent if you choose Castro Valley vs Pleasanton.

[gchialli]

Thanks again for the information!

I have one more question... can someone help me to estimate my net salary? If I'm making $102k annually, according to the site tax-brackets.org I will have to pay $10785 for Federal Taxes and $4126 for State Taxes.
Then I saw in another thread that I will have to pay FICA (7.65%) and SDI (1%).
With that I will be left with around 78K annually.

Can someone please tell me if I'm doing it right?

Thanks!

[gchialli]

Hi guys, is anybody able to tell me if my paycheck calculation is correct?

Thanks!

[ilkhd2]

Various websites confirm the calculation.

Pleasanton seems to have very, very limited public transit; if you going to live anywhere more than 1-2 miles from you work, make sure that you can use public transportation, or you'll have to buy a second car; or your wife will have to give rides.

[gchialli]

Well, so far looks like I will need to live in Livermore to make it work, so transportation is a concern. I won't be too far from work though, and looks like there is a bus I can take.

Thanks for your reply!