Cost to live in Mountain View, CA (San Jose, San Francisco: apartments, rentals)

[msgoldmd]

My husband is interviewing for a position in that area. We would not be looking to buy, but to rent a decent place 3 bedroom. I do not work at all and I homeschool our two children. We share one vehicle. We are not big spenders...we dont shop much, we don't eat out tons. We are more homebodies, and love to just be outside enjoying the weather. We will be visiting the area before we move (if it comes to that) but I cannot find info online about costs to live there. Like the cost of utilities or groceries. When it comes time to negotiate salary though, I want to make sure we are not undercutting ourselves. What kind of salary will my husband need to provide for us without me bringing in any income?
We are the kind of people that want to open the door every time opportunity knocks, but we don't want to give up the beautiful home we own here, our family, and everything else if we cant make ends meet there. We are all very much looking forward to a new step in our life if it happens though.
Thank you in advance for all of your help
Amy
(Illinois)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by msgoldmd

My husband is interviewing for a position in that area. We would not be looking to buy, but to rent a decent place 3 bedroom. I do not work at all and I homeschool our two children. We share one vehicle. We are not big spenders...we dont shop much, we don't eat out tons. We are more homebodies, and love to just be outside enjoying the weather. We will be visiting the area before we move (if it comes to that) but I cannot find info online about costs to live there. Like the cost of utilities or groceries. When it comes time to negotiate salary though, I want to make sure we are not undercutting ourselves. What kind of salary will my husband need to provide for us without me bringing in any income?
We are the kind of people that want to open the door every time opportunity knocks, but we don't want to give up the beautiful home we own here, our family, and everything else if we cant make ends meet there. We are all very much looking forward to a new step in our life if it happens though.
Thank you in advance for all of your help
Amy
(Illinois)

I'm thinking rent would be at least $2000 a month, and that might be too low.

Groceries will be higher than IL. Utility rates are high, but the mild climate means what you actually pay will probably be lower than in IL, possibly a lot lower.

I'm thinking 100K would be the bare minimum. But honestly, it sounds like you have a good thing going in IL.

I don't have kids, but here is the perspective of poster Denver_hacker (scroll down--it's mid page) who used to live in this area who moved to Colorado. I post this link because I think he is very accurate and balanced:

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-j...er-will-2.html

Many of the other posts on that thread are also good. It definitely gives you a good feel for what it's like to live in this area.

By the way, you should consider posting in the San Jose forum, as Mountain View is closer to San Jose than San Francisco.

[mstnghu2]

mysticaltiger is right that you may want to also post this in the San Jose forum since Mountain View is in Santa Clara county where San Jose is.

Mountain View is relatively expensive, even by Bay Area standards. Two of the most expensive cities in the Bay Area and CA for that matter, Palo Alto and Los Altos, border it. The higher cost of living in those cities tends to spill over into MV. Mountain View is actually a pretty nice place. I worked there for a few years and found it quite pleasant. It is a bit over-priced though, unfortunately, like everything else is in the Bay Area.

Keep in mind the fact that the SF Bay Area is one blob of sprawling development, so you really don't have to live specifically in Mountain View. You actually have many options of different neighborhoods and cities around the area that you could choose to live in. I've mentioned this in previous posts, but I swear by Craigslist. That's probably your best bet in getting a good idea of what rental housing costs.

I was looking for a rental house in the Bay Area back in May '09 and had a very open mind as far as locations go. I ended up renting a nice four bedroom house in Newark (East Bay) in a neighborhood surrounding a small lake for the cost of a two bedroom apartment in MV. If you and your husband have your minds made up on starting a new life here, then just be open-minded about exploring all sorts of different locations in the area. Otherwise, since you apparently own a nice house in IL, I'd be very cautious about making such a huge transition if you aren't totally sold on the idea of moving out to CA.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I'm thinking rent would be at least $2000 a month, and that might be too low.

I own a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house in Mountain View that rents for $2800/month. It's very close to downtown, but still, that's a pretty typical rent. You should expect to pay $3000 at least. If Mountain View is too expensive you could look at Sunnyvale. Mountain View schools are better though, downtown is much nicer and city government is better run than Sunnyvale. If you can afford it, I'd highly recommend living in Mountain View.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I own a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house in Mountain View that rents for $2800/month. It's very close to downtown, but still, that's a pretty typical rent. You should expect to pay $3000 at least. If Mountain View is too expensive you could look at Sunnyvale. Mountain View schools are better though, downtown is much nicer and city government is better run than Sunnyvale. If you can afford it, I'd highly recommend living in Mountain View.

Wow, that is high.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Wow, that is high.

That's probably lower than I could charge. It's a 5 minute walk from downtown. My place also has a separate office and half basement, so that figures in the price. That area is pretty desirable. The great thing about Mountain View is that we have so many apartments, so it keeps rents down a bit. House rentals can be pricy, but in this economy, the OP should be able to find something reasonable.

[Momma_s]

Check out craigslist to see what things are actually going for...

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/a...eighborhood=35

[msgoldmd]

Sorry I havent replied to this yet. After 4 interviews, it turned out they wanted someone with more schooling instead of more experience. Oh well their loss. I do believe everything happens for a reason though. We very much love living in this area in Illinois and Im glad we are able to stay for at least a little while longer. Now I just need to find a place for the winters hehe
Thanks you for all the valuable info.