Silicon Valley job offer with relocation (San Jose, San Francisco: real estate, apartment, to rent)

[rosa1970]

I need some help because I have found myself in a position I have no real experience.

Currently I live in Texas, no state income taxes. I make $92K base and $15% bonus with total comp of $105K. We Own a nice 3100 square foot home in good school district. I am married and hubby has a good job too. I have a MBA, and have over 16 years professional experience and currently work for a large IT company. I have 2 kids.

I am being pursued by a SV company based in Palo Alto. I would not call them a start-up but they are not IPO yet but plan to in the near future. I am not a software engineer. This will be an operations role with a very specialized skillset.

Like I said, they are pursuing me and I have nothing to lose here. I have been scouring google for days reviewing cost of living indexes, craigslist, realtor.com, etc. I need all my ducks in a row, for an offer is coming and I need to have my numbers to negotiate.

My husband will be able to keep his job because he telecommutes, but he will not get any COLA due the move.

I do not expect to buy or rent a 3100 square foot house. I expect to rent a 3 bedroom house or apartment in a decent school district somewhere on the Peninsula. Commutes across east bay are not an option. I am not going to spend 3 hours a day in my car and sacrifice my family. I expect rent to be approx $5K a month. This is $3200 more a month than I pay for my mortgage in Texas. The other big ticket item is state income taxes. Texas has none, so that right there will be over $20K a year off our bottom line.

It makes no sense to take this job if it reduces our net income. I am over 40 and still have retirement to save for, and a child starting college in a year.

This position will include, base salary, bonus and equity. I know the equity portion is huge benefit and can pay off in the long run, but it is still a risk. Just to break even on base salary I would need roughly $150K, and that is only taking into consideration taxes and rent, not everything else that is higher. My husband makes 72K year.

I know combined that is a lot of money, but I will be giving up a lot to take this job. We are very comfortable in Texas, take nice vacations, etc. I understand the oppty is excellent, my hubby is from California and have always talked about moving back just not this soon.

I am inclined to ask for $160K base. Am i way off base here on my assumptions and expectations? Like I said, they are pursuing me and this fell into my lap.

[DBenn]

Even if offered 160K, stay where you are at. The economic climate is ever changing in the SV, and Calif in general... it's not worth the risk! Most Sv Companies look upon employees as highly expendable due to abundance of qualified individuals available. Most of us born and raised here would like to leave, as the entire state is going down hill financially!

[ccm123]

You can definitely ask for what you believe the position is worth and they may or may not agree with you. If your skill set is highly specialized and they cannot find a local hire with that specific skill set, you could likely get what you ask for.

[rosa1970]

Thank you for the feedback. Quite honestly we are aware of the problems the state has, and when we talked about moving back, SF was not on the top of our list of cities to move to. I am viewing this as temporary. I will shoot for the moon and if they give me what I want with relocation costs, I most likely will accept it. I plan to stay for 4-5 years enough time for the company to IPO and have my shares vest. I know its a gamble and I may walk away with nothing, but I think the risk is worth the reward. I may never have this type of opportunity again at my age, and I can retire earlier instead of working until I'm 80:-)

I've been in Texas my whole life and this could be exciting adventure for us, or it could be a complete flop and I hate it, but you never know unless you try right? My current job, while it pays good is boring and the company is stagnate, large and highly political. I came to work for them when my small company was acquired by them and never would have chose this company to work for. I don't see me having a long career there and do plan to leave in the near future, this just fell into my lap.

[ccm123]

From my experience, SV companies are pretty accomodating in terms of salary, benefits, etc when they want a candidate. I relocated several times (to and from Southern California) with SV companies and got very good relocation benefits, salary increases, stock options, etc

[jade408]

Originally Posted by rosa1970

Thank you for the feedback. Quite honestly we are aware of the problems the state has, and when we talked about moving back, SF was not on the top of our list of cities to move to. I am viewing this as temporary. I will shoot for the moon and if they give me what I want with relocation costs, I most likely will accept it. I plan to stay for 4-5 years enough time for the company to IPO and have my shares vest. I know its a gamble and I may walk away with nothing, but I think the risk is worth the reward. I may never have this type of opportunity again at my age, and I can retire earlier instead of working until I'm 80:-)

I've been in Texas my whole life and this could be exciting adventure for us, or it could be a complete flop and I hate it, but you never know unless you try right? My current job, while it pays good is boring and the company is stagnate, large and highly political. I came to work for them when my small company was acquired by them and never would have chose this company to work for. I don't see me having a long career there and do plan to leave in the near future, this just fell into my lap.

I know the prospect of IPO is exciting. But keep in mind it happens for less than 10 % of companies. Are you sure your choice is a winner?

And don't for get options are easily diluted. Your 10000 stock options could easily be worth 1/8 of a share when IPO time comes, only a few thousand dollars or less...no big payout.

[zombocom]

I think my main concern would be giving up a stable job for something that may be risky. Especially with kids.

As an aside, silicon valley isn't in San Francisco, it is a much more suburban area located primarily in santa clara county.

[gnomatic]

With a college bound child, I would also investigate what impact (if any) a move will have in regards to state residency/tuition cost for your child (of course that depends on where your child plan to go to college).

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

It's sounds like you have a dream life right now. But, I do understand that urge to shoot for the moon, take on a challenge, etc.

I would advise you to ask for the moon. Remember, if you are going to rent, that's money out the window. Really figure out how much money you will need to make this worth it to you.

I'm wondering if $160K is even a low figure for what you should be asking for. As an example, my daughter makes $112K as a systems analyst at UC Berkeley. If you will be at the corporate level, you may be worth more out here than you think.

I think you should hold onto the house in TX, too, and rent it out, so you can go back to it if things don't work out.

My gut feeling is for you to be grateful for what you have now. It honestly sounds so ideal with your being able to travel, etc. I'm just afraid the gamble won't be worth it to leave that and come to rent in CA where they will likely work you like a dog.

But, should you decide to take the plunge anyway, don't be afraid to ask for what you really need to make it worth leaving what you have behind.

Best wishes to you :-)

[bmw335xi]

$105k in Texas vs $160k in SV,,,

I would stay in Texas! You can live a really comfortable life with that salary. However, in SV, you will feel like you went down a class in living style. I wouldn't risk it on a slight chance your company might go public, especially since you have kiddies. The San Francisco - San Jose area is great, but the housing situation is really depressing when you have a nice home where real estate is cheap.