How realistic is my future living dream in SJ with all details inside?

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by rimmerama

I'd be curious, median income in San Jose is 78,000 per. So, assuming gender parity in income, that's only 156,000... Now, that obviously includes lots of people in sectors of the economy that don't pay very well, and we're really referring only to professions here, but... When I worked for an immigration attorney, the average salary for a moderately experienced H1B applicant was about 80,000 to 120,000. The government has salary scales, and companies have to pay H1B workers the going wage in that sector - are those government salary scales really that inaccurate?

I'm going by what I know as a manager in high-tech, with access to Radford salary survey data.

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

I'm going by what I know as a manager in high-tech, with access to Radford salary survey data.

Damn, I know I should have gotten a B.S in computer science instead of a J.D...

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve

Huh? With the car and house lease and your normal other expenses, your total monthly expenses are $1,300 + $2,200 + $1,000 = $4,500. If you save $1,800/month for one year, that's only $1,800 x 12 = $21,600. At your expense rate, that would only last you less than 5 months. And that's if you can find a house for only $2,200/month. More likely, that house will run you at least $3,000/month. Which means you'll have even less cushion if you lose your job. BTW, I hope your new job doesn't involve using math.

What do you expect from a M.S in Donutology from one of "public ivy" schools?

[texasdreamin]

San Jose and all surrounding areas are a melting pot. You can ride the lightrail and hear 5 different languages. You just have to learn to live with it. San Jose is a very expensive place to live. You would be able to find a nice rental for 2k in South San Jose.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

I'm going by what I know as a manager in high-tech, with access to Radford salary survey data.

If you're talking about $350k for a couple in their early 30s (not including bonuses), I'd say that is outstanding success. Assuming they're on par with one another, that would be Director-level salary. For two people in their early 30s to achieve that, this is a rarity.

[shadowyman]

Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve

Huh? With the car and house lease and your normal other expenses, your total monthly expenses are $1,300 + $2,200 + $1,000 = $4,500. If you save $1,800/month for one year, that's only $1,800 x 12 = $21,600. At your expense rate, that would only last you less than 5 months. And that's if you can find a house for only $2,200/month. More likely, that house will run you at least $3,000/month. Which means you'll have even less cushion if you lose your job. BTW, I hope your new job doesn't involve using math.

Apparently yours doesn't involve it If you can read the whole thread, you will find the answers to your questions.

[shadowyman]

Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve

Where will your job be? Because commuting from these places to where most of the high tech jobs are will be a nightmare that you will soon regret. The traffic in the Bay Area is horrendous and can be stop and go most of the way. It may take you over a hour just to go 15-20 miles.

It's north-east San Jose. I am guessing it will take 40 minutes at most in traffic according to Google Maps traffic adjusted estimation. I can take that if I have no better options.

Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve

So now that you will earn a nice income, don't you think it would be a good idea to pay him back?

It's a private question but yeah, hoping so.

[TheGreatCurve]

Originally Posted by shadowyman

Apparently yours doesn't involve it If you can read the whole thread, you will find the answers to your questions.

I did read the whole thread and I didn't see where you accounted for all of your fixed monthly expenses, including your rent and your car payments.

[TheGreatCurve]

Originally Posted by shadowyman

It's north-east San Jose. I am guessing it will take 40 minutes at most in traffic according to Google Maps traffic adjusted estimation. I can take that if I have no better options.

That might be on a good day. If there are any accidents on the road (very common), you can easily double or triple that time.

[Meowen]

Trust me, you won't be living the dream if you are in livermore, it's boring and far away..And the part of the east bay including Hayward/San Leandro is pretty crappy overall, you definitely won't like it there if you don't want to be around non-whites. Fremont is very "indian." I suggest Campbell, near San Jose..my friends and I joke that its the White Man's last outpost in the bay area. Personally I find the lack of diversity kind of boring, but it's also a reasonably priced suburb of San Jose, and would be an easy commute and not so far out like places such as Livermore...
That being said, my favorite thing about the bay area is the diversity, I really miss it having moved to Colorado. You'll be hard-pressed to find any decent town in the entire bay area without a lot of diversity, most of the towns are basically 30-40% white, 30%-40 asian and 30-40% hispanic/other. It's pretty amazing and cool if you ask me. Nobody ever prevented me from living my own life and attempting to assimilate me into their culture...

I moved out of the bay area so I could afford a house and have a little more disposable income. There's a surprising amount of software engineer types in the bay area who rent their entire lives because their income alone just isn't enough to buy a house and support their families. I guess you just have to decide what's more important..living in a world class city/metro area like SF-bay with more opportunities or some place less impressive and have more things initially but risk losing good opportunities that you get in a place like SF. I'm still not sure which I prefer but I think there are cheaper places that still have a lot of to offer I.E Colorado