Job potential re-lo in SJ. To move or not? (to rent, house)

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by jaypee

If it were me, I wouldn't move out here w/o a COL adjustment. Also be aware that NJ public schools are wayyyy better than CA's.

I don't know about new jersey, but here in California we have school districts... That l.a has a crappy school district won't mean much if he is living in west San Jose (there are multiple school districts within San Jose).

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by meameame12

thanks for the input. btw, wanted to check on allergies in / around that area. i am not sure how sj compares with NJ. here, we suffer, esp my daughter. also, how is the IT market out there nowadays?

thanks

San Jose has a Mediterranean climate - semi arid, very low amount of rain, low humidity. We have one and a half seasons... Summer and the cooler months.

[gone down south]

Decent 3-bedroom house (1500 square feet) in a good school district is going to run you $600K +
And that Plus sign is going to increase very very very fast here!

$2500 is a decent, not great, 2-bedroom apartment in most nice neighborhoods.

[easybay]

However....I have read recently that house prices have bottomed out in SJ or
near SJ.

I suggest you read the thread "getting depressed.....mortgage=no home, cash only wins" which will give you a pretty good idea of what the housing market is like here in San Jose. Talked with our realtor recently and he said it's pretty tough market for buyers with 6+ offers coming in on homes, and they are being bid up.

I agree that people must be house poor here, but I don't agree that people live below their means, and eat out less. Yes - they do buy smaller, cars (seems like every car here is made by Toyota, especially Prius'), but I think that's because it's nearly impossible to park - every parking lot seems to be for "compact" cars only and gas is so stinking expensive. I find the people here to be more pretentious - they drink wine (swirling it before EVERY sip) and eat out at expensive restaurants (every one is a "foodie"). Don't even think of trying to go out on a Friday or Saturday night without a reservation, add Wednesday and Thursday nights if you want to go to a restaurant in Palo Alto.

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by StandingRoomOnly

This is not the place to come with the "keeping up with the jones' mentality"...i imagine many people view quite a few Californians (lets say northern californians) as house poor (which we often are paying quite a bit more for housing than the rest of the country)...but I'd like to think that many have a different view of money here. Yes, we tend to spend more on a house relative to our income, but willing to drive old cars, eat out less and live quite a bit frugally in other areas.

No, that's not true. People here in general don't necessarily have older cars and definitely don't eat out less or live frugally in other consumerism-related areas. (However, this doesn't mean that it's not possible to be frugal.) The only part that's true is that people spend more on their house.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by meameame12

Please let me know the cost of living in respect to house prices. Of course 4 kids translates ideally into a 5 bedroom house. I presume that cannot happen without an extension to an existing 4 or 3 bedroom house (based on the housing costs).

Well, based on weather only, it's a no-brainer, great weather and I haven't noticed any air pollution so kudos to California regulations for taking care of that. Although I have heard that there are dust mites here.

But real estate is another matter. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I dont' there's any way to get a 5 bedroom house anywhere in Silicon Valley for $500k? South San Jose supposedly has nice homes that are cheaper, but you'd still be looking at $700k+ I think. Now maybe the East Bay, places like Castro Valley you can find it....

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by easybay

I suggest you read the thread "getting depressed.....mortgage=no home, cash only wins" which will give you a pretty good idea of what the housing market is like here in San Jose. Talked with our realtor recently and he said it's pretty tough market for buyers with 6+ offers coming in on homes, and they are being bid up.

I agree that people must be house poor here, but I don't agree that people live below their means, and eat out less. Yes - they do buy smaller, cars (seems like every car here is made by Toyota, especially Prius'), but I think that's because it's nearly impossible to park - every parking lot seems to be for "compact" cars only and gas is so stinking expensive. I find the people here to be more pretentious - they drink wine (swirling it before EVERY sip) and eat out at expensive restaurants (every one is a "foodie"). Don't even think of trying to go out on a Friday or Saturday night without a reservation, add Wednesday and Thursday nights if you want to go to a restaurant in Palo Alto.

You consider having to make reservations for a weekend dinner an imposition???? What podunk town do you come from????

[easybay]

You consider having to make reservations for a weekend dinner an imposition????

If the post from "Standing Room" was correct you'd think that you'd be able to get into a restaurant any time. Even places like Bill's Cafe on a Saturday or Sunday morning, has people sitting on chairs outside waiting for tables....

God forbid you should try to drive to the Great Mall on the weekend and expect to find a parking space. I was stunned to see 20-30 people lined up out front of the Coach outlet waiting to get in. All those frugal Northern Californians trying to get a better deal!!!!

[StandingRoomOnly]

I suppose that is probably not true, because this area, bay area in general, is magnet to a lot of foodies...so yeah, I take the eating out comment back. Being a young parent of little ones, I forget sometimes what it is like to go out to eat all the time...before having kids

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by jaypee

... Also be aware that NJ public schools are wayyyy better than CA's.

^^^ +1 ^^^

Those higher property taxes you pay in NJ translate into better public schools than you will find in most school districts within driving distance of San Jose. The few school districts that are very good have extraordinarily high housing prices (surprise, surprise).

Some people choose to live in a more affordable neighborhood & then send kids to private schools. Independent private schools can cost from $8K/child up to $25K/child each year.