Anyone else thinking abt relocating? (San Francisco, Sacramento: real estate, car registration, homes)

[Katycat0130]

I love San Francisco, but my husband and I struggle to survive on a combined salary that I think would be more than enough in most other cities. We struggle with the decision because of everything this area has to offer, but the cost of living is really taking a toll. Is anyone else looking to relocate? If so, what do you find when you compare the cost of living in the Bay Area to other parts of the country?

My husband and I bring in about $150k as a household. Definitely not enough for around here but more than enough for other parts of the country. We have family in Denver and Austin so those would be two areas we'd gravitate toward, but would be open to anywhere.

Anyone have any insight into cost of living in those areas or anywhere else you've looked compared to here?

[wooliemonster]

Yes. Oakland. It's Not That Bad™.

[04kL4nD]

Not looking to relocate any time soon. I love the Bay Area too much.

If I HAD to move, it would probably be to Sacramento or back to SoCal. Outside of CA? Portland or Seattle. I'd just as soon move to Spain or Australia if I needed a drastic relocation.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Katycat0130

I love San Francisco, but my husband and I struggle to survive on a combined salary that I think would be more than enough in most other cities. We struggle with the decision because of everything this area has to offer, but the cost of living is really taking a toll. Is anyone else looking to relocate? If so, what do you find when you compare the cost of living in the Bay Area to other parts of the country?

My husband and I bring in about $150k as a household. Definitely not enough for around here but more than enough for other parts of the country. We have family in Denver and Austin so those would be two areas we'd gravitate toward, but would be open to anywhere.

Anyone have any insight into cost of living in those areas or anywhere else you've looked compared to here?

Depends on what your long term priorities are, as well. ie, kids and schools, professional growth, owning a home, what type of climate/geography you can live with, what pace of life you want, surrounding region, population size etc.

Bank rate dot come and best places dot come have COL comparison calculators-you can input your current salary and location and the city you're thinking about moving to.

Can you make a similar salary elsewhere? If not, what is the paycut? Is the paycut greater or less than the cost of living decrease for where you're moving? You can also look up average salaries for 'whatever your job or field is' and the city; they'll give you the median salary-enough to give you a general idea.

You'll find restaurants and food cost often less in the bay area and CA as a whole. Real estate is the main cost difference, obviously. I've lived in CO and also SFO [in fact I moved to CO from SFO] as well as the east coast. I'm currently in SD. Denver and CO can be easily researched on this forum, as well as Austin, to get other peoples subjective opinions and objective information. My opinion: If you are even asking, then it sounds like it may be time to move on from SFO, IMO. ie, that the negative of cost is starting to wear less favorably-the positives are no longer outweighing it as much.

Choosing a new locale depends on the most important factors for you, in addition to lower COL. I recommend making a list of all that you love about SFO/Bay Area, and all that you do not like, in order of priority/greatest to least. Then, when looking at new areas, you can check off the list.
Austin and Denver, plus you could look into somewhere in the NE, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh maybe?, and Portland, OR. You won't know for sure that you will love a place, simply b/c someone else moved there from SFO/Bay Area, imho.
Good luck!

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Not looking to relocate any time soon. I love the Bay Area too much.

If I HAD to move, it would probably be to Sacramento or back to SoCal. Outside of CA? Portland or Seattle. I'd just as soon move to Spain or Australia if I needed a drastic relocation.

Hey, that's true, SAC might be a good choice. You can still get to SFO in a couple of hours. So CAL, though, is probably a 'frying pan to the fire' situation. And salaries are higher in the bay area, too.

[sav858]

I think about it all the time lol. But family, friends, and our careers keep us here. You can try moving to another part of the Bay Area for cheaper housing and you still have access to SF.

[rca215]

Do you have kids and/or lots of debt? If not, I'm not really sure how you struggle on $150K.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Katycat0130

I love San Francisco, but my husband and I struggle to survive on a combined salary that I think would be more than enough in most other cities. We struggle with the decision because of everything this area has to offer, but the cost of living is really taking a toll. Is anyone else looking to relocate? If so, what do you find when you compare the cost of living in the Bay Area to other parts of the country?

My husband and I bring in about $150k as a household. Definitely not enough for around here but more than enough for other parts of the country. We have family in Denver and Austin so those would be two areas we'd gravitate toward, but would be open to anywhere.

Anyone have any insight into cost of living in those areas or anywhere else you've looked compared to here?

Well, I'm sure they would be able to tell you the cost of living better than we can in those specific areas. I love Austin. It's a great city and I can say the cost of living is much much cheaper than anywhere in the Bay Area. I've been to Denver a few times, but never liked it. I don't dislike it, but I don't like it, I hope that makes sense.

[ccm123]

I love the Bay Area too much to relocate. I work in tech, so for me, this is a good place to settle.

I lived in SoCal for over 20 years (1980's to 2000's) and while it has it's pluses, the Bay Area is far superior in terms of career opportunities for my field.

One day though, my wife and I will move to Portland OR, or Seattle, WA.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Katycat0130

Is anyone else looking to relocate? If so, what do you find when you compare the cost of living in the Bay Area to other parts of the country?

Anyone have any insight into cost of living in those areas or anywhere else you've looked compared to here?

Definitely plan to relocate! I find that housing costs for comparable homes are 500% higher in the Bay area compared to many other locations. The high cost of the SF area is not worth it for the mild weather. For the price of an average hovel in the Bay area one can get a mansion-like home in other places. If one has the opportunity to get a position with about the same pay, they would be much better off in most other areas.(except maybe parts of the the northeast)

Also it just isn't housing. Electricity is much lower elsewhere. For an example my rate in Georgia for electricity was around 11 cents per kilowatt hour. In SF it is 31-35 cents per kilowatt hour in the higher tier rates(which account for most of the cost). I just checked Denver,they pay only 9.4 cents per Kwh. Car registration is also much lower in most places. For example in Wisconsin they were complaining about their $75 auto license plate fee compared to hundreds in California! And of course taxes are much higher in California, especially the ridiculously high income tax. Colorado has a flat rate of 4.63%. In Texas there is no state income tax.