Feasibility of moving? (Santa Clara, Livermore, Pleasanton: rentals, relocation company, hotel)

[thetrb]

I don't think a family of 7 can comfortably live on that salary, but on the hand your husband should be able to find a job within a few months. Then if your total salary is over 120k it should be comfortably doable.

[Radical347]

Surviving on 77k for a family of 7 in Santa Clara?

If you can do this...then you can do anything.

[samirax4]

Originally Posted by thetrb

I don't think a family of 7 can comfortably live on that salary, but on the hand your husband should be able to find a job within a few months. Then if your total salary is over 120k it should be comfortably doable.

Yes it would only be temporary until he finds a job and working. I have to keep reminding myself of this . I also forgot we would have small rental income coming in too not too much just $500 extra a month. I am going to look at the schools and see what options are available in the area.

[samirax4]

Originally Posted by Radical347

Surviving on 77k for a family of 7 in Santa Clara?

If you can do this...then you can do anything.

I can't believe we are going to try!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You'll have to be frugal, but i don't see why you couldn't do it on your salary.

$78,000 x 75% (assuming 25% taken out of your check) = $58,500 divided by 12 = $4875.

Rent $2200
Utilities $400
Car Ins $100
Food $600

Total $3300 Leaving $1575 for wiggle room and other debts and car payments, gas, etc.

It's not a lot to work with, but not impossible.

This from someone who takes home $877/month and pays rent of $350. And I am normally able to save $100/month.

Until hubby gets a job, shop at Ross for clothes (almost as cheap as thrift stores), Grocery Outlet (you won't believe how much you can save on groceries!), get Netflix, check out Papa Murphy's for take and bake pizza for a cheap treat without going out.

And tell the kids that nobody here has seen any of the clothes they are wearing, so it's like having a totally new wardrobe :-)

I think you'll be fine.

[cardinal2007]

This area is unfortunately too expensive for large families, the high cost per sqft for housing makes it that way. If you wanted a 3000sqft house for example I think you would have to be prepared to spend $1.5M or $7500/mo in rent depending on the area. What people that want large houses usually end up doing is looking further south or east for areas with less expensive housing and commuting in.

So looking at Craiglist for 4bd under 2200/mo, I see 2 houses in Livermore that are 4bd or higher. Some really nice houses out in Mountain House (I would usually say to not move to the central valley if working in the San Jose area, usually might be an understatement, but if you rent you can always move again when your financial situation improves, and you have a large family). Then I see 2 listings out in Hollister, but it doesn't seem as nice as Mountain House and about the same distance. And there is one listing in San Jose, not far from Tully Rd. I am not sure about that location though. Is area is unfortunately not that affordable if you want a large place, I could recommend a 3bd, but I don't know if you find places with rooms large enough for 3 kids, and if your family would be comfortable with that.
Given this I would also suggest you actually try out the commute from any place you might be interested in to see if it is doable for you. I don't know if you are used to 2hr commutes each way or anything close to that.

I do apologize if I am being presumptuous, but when you say family of 7 I am assuming 2 parents 5 children all under 18, and kindergarten or above age.

[Azmordean]

It will be extremely tight. But assuming it's short term, potentially doable. I assume you'll eventually want something with 4br, either a townhouse or SFH, which will require substantially more income than you'll be making. But assuming your husband will get a job fairly quickly, it might be workable.

The question is whether it is worth it... unless it's a massive career jump, perhaps not. But only you can answer that!

One thing you'll save on is utilities. The weather here is fairly mild. I have a 2br apt and my electric is about $30/mo in the summer, maybe 35-40 in the winter. I run my glorified window A/C maybe a week a year, otherwise it's fans and windows.

[Wintermomma]

That will be incredibly tight, and homes for big families are hard to come by.

I think that you should try to push for relo benefits, unless you've got a big healthy savings you are willing to drain the first few months.

[samirax4]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

You'll have to be frugal, but i don't see why you couldn't do it on your salary.

$78,000 x 75% (assuming 25% taken out of your check) = $58,500 divided by 12 = $4875.

Rent $2200
Utilities $400
Car Ins $100
Food $600

Total $3300 Leaving $1575 for wiggle room and other debts and car payments, gas, etc.

It's not a lot to work with, but not impossible.

This from someone who takes home $877/month and pays rent of $350. And I am normally able to save $100/month.

Until hubby gets a job, shop at Ross for clothes (almost as cheap as thrift stores), Grocery Outlet (you won't believe how much you can save on groceries!), get Netflix, check out Papa Murphy's for take and bake pizza for a cheap treat without going out.

And tell the kids that nobody here has seen any of the clothes they are wearing, so it's like having a totally new wardrobe :-)

I think you'll be fine.

This is roughly how we budget now although our mortgage is 1000 less then what rent would be. I was going to ask about Grocery Outlet's if they were readily available in all areas of town?

Thanks so much!!

[samirax4]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

This area is unfortunately too expensive for large families, the high cost per sqft for housing makes it that way. If you wanted a 3000sqft house for example I think you would have to be prepared to spend $1.5M or $7500/mo in rent depending on the area. What people that want large houses usually end up doing is looking further south or east for areas with less expensive housing and commuting in.

So looking at Craiglist for 4bd under 2200/mo, I see 2 houses in Livermore that are 4bd or higher. Some really nice houses out in Mountain House (I would usually say to not move to the central valley if working in the San Jose area, usually might be an understatement, but if you rent you can always move again when your financial situation improves, and you have a large family). Then I see 2 listings out in Hollister, but it doesn't seem as nice as Mountain House and about the same distance. And there is one listing in San Jose, not far from Tully Rd. I am not sure about that location though. Is area is unfortunately not that affordable if you want a large place, I could recommend a 3bd, but I don't know if you find places with rooms large enough for 3 kids, and if your family would be comfortable with that.
Given this I would also suggest you actually try out the commute from any place you might be interested in to see if it is doable for you. I don't know if you are used to 2hr commutes each way or anything close to that.

I do apologize if I am being presumptuous, but when you say family of 7 I am assuming 2 parents 5 children all under 18, and kindergarten or above age.

Thanks for this info. Right now I only commute 10 mins and have for the last several years. Now my husband commutes an hour plus one way and he is pretty much use to that. I looked in the dublin / pleasanton / livermore area and the houses are completely within range I would have to investigate the school district. Now it is far from Santa Clara but there is the Ace Train I see here. So is public transportation reliable there? For example taking the train and then a local bus to work? I did plug it in and Google estimated 45 mins so that is about an hour each way. I like this mountain area too as it seems a lot more feasible yes I am further from work but someone suggestion to negotiate one telecommute day during the week which I think should work out.