Single no kids, 60k Palo Alto doable? (Sunnyvale, Santa Clara: extended stay, apartment)

[writejasmin]

Hello,

I recently got a job offer in Palo Alto for 60k, I´m single no kids.
I need a 1 bedroom apartment, but 2 would be better and it must be a SAFE area. Doable?

I am European and would have to move. I am totally confused about whether or not I should take this offer.
I am clueless about the cost of living and whether I would survive with 60k. I am not familiar with payroll in the USA, which means I have no idea about gross and net salary, what will be deducted, how much health insurance costs etc.
I dont even have a car when I get there. I have to buy one, or maybe there is public transportation?

Thanks in advance for all info before I make a decision.

[ambient]

Originally Posted by writejasmin

Hello,

I recently got a job offer in Palo Alto for 60k, I´m single no kids.
I need a 1 bedroom apartment, but 2 would be better and it must be a SAFE area. Doable?

I am European and would have to move. I am totally confused about whether or not I should take this offer.
I am clueless about the cost of living and whether I would survive with 60k. I am not familiar with payroll in the USA, which means I have no idea about gross and net salary, what will be deducted, how much health insurance costs etc.
I dont even have a car when I get there. I have to buy one, or maybe there is public transportation?

Thanks in advance for all info before I make a decision.

It can be done, but I wouldn't do it. You will be relatively poor.

$60K is low. This region has one of the highest costs of living in the USA. Do some searches on 1 bedroom rent costs around here, and you'll find that you're looking at $2K and easily higher for something decent. That is $24K a year. Now of your $60K, say around 22% goes away for taxes and various deductions for retirement savings, etc. That leaves you with roughly $47K. So easily half of your take-home pay goes right away to housing. Then you have about $1,900 a month left to pay for car, food, entertainment, and scrape together some savings. It will go quickly. Yes, there is some public transportation here...but really without a car, you're fairly limited in your ability to move around the peninsula. It's not like Europe.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Most landlords will require you to make 3x the monthly rent with your gross income.

So $5,000/3 = $1700 rent.

Now look on Craigslist to see what you can get for $1700 in Palo Alto.

To do this, you go to SF Bay Area Craigslist, choose "Peninsula", apts/housing, choose Palo Alto as your "neighborhood," put in $1700 max and this is what you get:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

If you can live somewhere outside of Palo Alto along the CalTrain route, you might be able to get more for your money. But, realistically, if you don't want to deal with commuting, you will have to look at either renting a room, or rent a studio apartment.

Otherwise, the math by Ambient looks right to me, as far as your taxes go.

Utilities are not bad in this area, because you won't need much heating and cooling. You'll need internet - roughly $50/month? Or maybe you just use your phone? I'm not sure what phone service costs for smart phones, I still have a dumb phone :-) I'd say $100/month? Someone here can chime in on the cost of internet/phone service costs.

Food costs aren't bad. You'll have to pay to get your laundry done, as any apt you can afford won't have a washer/dryer in the apt. In my building, that runs $3/load for wash & dry.

If you want to watch movies, etc., Netflix is cheap - at just $8/month for streaming video. Cable TV is ridiculously expensive, at least $100/month, so I never pay for that. I use my computer and Netflix to watch shows.

Palo Alto is very safe, as I understand it.

I lived in Santa Clara, and it is also very safe. Same for Sunnyvale. I can't speak for any of the other towns on the CalTrain map. Maybe someone else could chime in on finding a cheaper apt in a safe area on the Caltrain route.

System Map

Here are rental options for Santa Clara, just to see another option. Here, you put in South Bay, instead of Peninsula, and choose Santa Clara as your neighborhood.

Looks like you have a LOT more options:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

So, let's put in the search term Caltrain, to see if we can find an apt close to the Caltrain station:

And we get one:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds "caltrain" - craigslist

So, if you lived in Santa Clara, you could possibly bike to the Caltrain station, or take a bus to the Caltrain station. Santa Clara is VERY safe. Great police dept.

Sunnyvale is also safe. Same options here (south bay again)

Here are the search results, including the search term "Caltrain"

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds "caltrain" - craigslist

Without "Caltrain"

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

And now, you must include the cost of the Caltrain tickets:

Ticket Types

This should give you some info to use to make your decision. Or at the least, give you a good headache LOL!

[writejasmin]

no wait a minute, I didn´t explain it right sorry.

Of course I am planning to get a car later, but at the beginning I will not have a car.
IF I move my plan is to first find 1 room, maybe even with a room mate, for a few months to settle while I will look for a car a place etc ....

Question is, if I had a car after a few months and moved outside of Palo Alto - would I survive with 60 k? realistically?

Nearest Caltrain station is 3 miles away from the company

thank you all

[writejasmin]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

............. This should give you some info to use to make your decision. Or at the least, give you a good headache LOL!

Thank you, that´s a lot of valuable info

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by writejasmin

no wait a minute, I didn´t explain it right sorry.

Of course I am planning to get a car later, but at the beginning I will not have a car.
IF I move my plan is to first find 1 room, maybe even with a room mate, for a few months to settle while I will look for a car a place etc ....

Question is, if I had a car after a few months and moved outside of Palo Alto - would I survive with 60 k? realistically?

Nearest Caltrain station is 3 miles away from the company

thank you all

But is there a bus from the Caltrain station to your job? Do they have a shuttle?

Let's do more math. Let's say your taxes, etc., are 25% just to be on the safe side.

So per month your income will be $5,000 x 75% = $3750 - $1700 rent = $2050

Less:

Electricity/Gas $50
Internet $50
Food $400
Renter's Insurance with Earthquake coverage $15
Phone: $100
Laundry $20

Subtotal: $ 635

$2050 - $635 = $1415

So, you've still got $1400 for transportation, going out, saving.

Am I forgetting anything anyone?

So, you should be able to do your own math from here. Do you spend a ton of money on clothes, etc.?

I don't think you'll find someone willing to let you rent a room for a short period of time, unless you go through Air BnB maybe, or you rent a room at an Extended Stay America hotel type place. In general, someone looking for a roommate is looking for someone who will stay for a year.

And before you get a car, you could always use a taxi from the Caltrain station, if you didn't want to bike (those folding bikes are pretty nice) or there isn't a convenient bus or company shuttle. Taxis are pricy, but would be an option.

Really, I think it would be most convenient for you to go ahead and rent a place that you can just move into when you get here. Landlords in the Silicon Valley are used to renting to people coming from all over the world for jobs. I recently retired from an apt mgr job in Santa Clara, and I rented to techies and students from all over the world before they got here.

You might want to just see if they will rent to you month to month to start, or just a 6 month lease, in case you decide you don't like it once you get here. But, that would be your cheapest, most convenient way to go.

[writejasmin]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Really, I think it would be most convenient for you to go ahead and rent a place that you can just move into when you get here. Landlords in the Silicon Valley are used to renting to people coming from all over the world for jobs. I recently retired from an apt mgr job in Santa Clara, and I rented to techies and students from all over the world before they got here.

You might want to just see if they will rent to you month to month to start, or just a 6 month lease, in case you decide you don't like it once you get here. But, that would be your cheapest, most convenient way to go.

Thank you so much!! Your feedback is very helpful!! Negotiation did not start yet, amounts have been mentioned but not agreed yet. So I am guessing I should not at any point go under 70k.
I am planning to have a small place, one room place or even share apartment with a room mate for approx. 6 months. Later on I will either buy a car (or ship mine) and find me a better place. I guess I have to see different places in that area, get used to the area and know how far away it is from work etc. Get used to how everything works before I get myself into a 1 year contract for a place. I don´t mind driving to work from an other town, but first I need to get settled and learn things about the area.

I have a few more questions. I don´t understand the tax system. One person gets 38% deduction off his payslip, one 32% and one 25% ..... Why is it so different? It depends on where you live or where you work? Of course I understand I´m single no kids I pay more than a family, okay, but whats the other difference?

Also I am wondering, if it would be smart to ship my current car (2006 Prius) to the States? Shipment is less than 2.000 and I doubt I would get such a good and reliable car for 2.000 when I get there. BUT my car is German standard, meaning German inspections, German lights, German brakes, German temposystem (km per hour not miles) . I know in the States they are not as strict with inspections as they are in Germany, in Germany everything has to be super super safe and all needs to be registered by government even an extra light or different tires, its insane.
Do any of you know whether I have to get stuff rebuild on my car to get an American inspection and be able to insure it and drive it over there? I am considering to ship it if the total cost of rebuilding and shipping would be less than 3.000.

Thank you all for your great help!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

My mother went on a trip to Germany and bought a BMW while she was there and had it shipped back to California. She never said anything about any problems.

I did find this article about registering a foreign vehicle:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...-the-u.s.-with

Here's a page that might be helpful from the CA DMV:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd3c1a3.htm

And here is their "contact us" page:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/contacts/contacts.htm

If you don't have a cheap way of calling the states, you might want to look into getting a Skype phone number. I have a Skype service that lets me call my friend in Canada unlimited. It was cheap, too.

As far as taxes/deductions - taxes would be based on your tax situation - being single, no dependents - as opposed to someone who is married, with kids etc., etc. So, they vary. Deductions besides taxes, can impact your take-home pay, but they are not taxes. This is where the biggest disparity comes into play.

For instance, you might have pre-tax medical expenses deducted from your paycheck (which is a good idea, by the way, but you want to be sure you estimate close to what you will really spend, so you don't lose money) called a Flexible Spending Account, also a retirement account can be deducted, if you choose (some government jobs require you to participate), health insurance can be deducted. These deductions vary by employer, so you'd have to talk to the employer to figure out your total deductions, other than tax.

I used to just overestimate the cost. I'd figure 30% of my income would be deducted, just to be safe. Then, if I overestimated, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[writejasmin]

yes I agree with you. Thank you soooo much for all your help!!
This is really a lot of information I can work with!!
I am a lot smarter now than yesterday

At least I am more prepared now for the call with the company today. So basically I can not accept less than 70k. 60k is no option.
(I was not sure. I have mentioned 60-70k when they did ask me, but I did not know about the apartment prices then. These prices really surprised me)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by writejasmin

yes I agree with you. Thank you soooo much for all your help!!
This is really a lot of information I can work with!!
I am a lot smarter now than yesterday

At least I am more prepared now for the call with the company today. So basically I can not accept less than 70k. 60k is no option.
(I was not sure. I have mentioned 60-70k when they did ask me, but I did not know about the apartment prices then. These prices really surprised me)

Good for you! Another $10,000 will really help. Now you can feel confident about your bottom line with the company. Please come back and let us know how it goes and good luck!