Is $85,000/year for a single guy enough to live off of in Sunnyvale? (San Jose: low income, section 8)

[ggcd951]

Originally Posted by Jink

Hey guys. I may be going to Sunnyvale for a government job and the salary is $85k starting. Is this enough to survive there? I've read the horror stories of how terrible the COL is there, but I'd like to get it from you guys' perspective. I've been looking at the living spaces there, which are laughable at best with prices at around $3000 for a measly 700 sq. ft. unit, but what areas would you guys recommend? What are the bad areas, if any, of Silicon Valley? I wouldn't mind getting something cheap if I had to, so as long as it isn't in a bad area. Thanks in advance.

Try looking around east bay area. Like fremont union city etc., They are pretty nice and apartments are much more affordable. 700sq ft ~ 1800$-2000$

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by guyencd000

Try looking around east bay area. Like fremont union city etc., They are pretty nice and apartments are much more affordable. 700sq ft ~ 1800$-2000$

I don't think lengthening one's commute to save money is a good idea.

[verrip1]

Jink: Take a look at Alviso for housing rentals. It's a fairly small, unique neighborhood in SJ because of its distance from downtown, and because it used to be a separate town (which helps hold its separate identity). Also, it is very close to Sunnyvale, being adjacent to Highway 237 one exit before the first Sunnyvale exit.

Not upscale by any means. Newest construction is large light industrial buildings. Housing is older, some of notably poor quality, while others are good. I expect that rental rates there will be reasonable. Not too many apartments there. It has several restaurants, two small markets, the local bar and the marina park (Alviso borders the bay).

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by verrip1

Jink: Take a look at Alviso for housing rentals. It's a fairly small, unique neighborhood in SJ because of its distance from downtown, and because it used to be a separate town (which helps hold its separate identity). Also, it is very close to Sunnyvale, being adjacent to Highway 237 one exit before the first Sunnyvale exit.

Not upscale by any means. Newest construction is large light industrial buildings. Housing is older, some of notably poor quality, while others are good. I expect that rental rates there will be reasonable. Not too many apartments there. It has several restaurants, two small markets, the local bar and the marina park (Alviso borders the bay).

Uhh....NO. Just NO. Love the place for its charm and uniqueness, and has great future potential. But as where it stands right now, NO.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

Uhh....NO. Just NO. Love the place for its charm and uniqueness, and has great future potential. But as where it stands right now, NO.

…which is exactly what made it so attractive to me when I lived there. I was in Sunnyvale, about 10-15 minutes from Alviso by bike via trails, and spent very much time over there. But if it ever reaches it's future 'potential', it will just be another lamely overdeveloped, overpriced south bay town... no matter how hard they try to market it as 'Historic Alviso'… because it won't really be historic at all at that point.

[Jink]

Yikes. Alviso looks like some rural city in the deep south. I don't think I'm that desperate. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by Jink

Yikes. Alviso looks like some rural city in the deep south. I don't think I'm that desperate. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Actually, it is one of the most charming places in the South Bay, practically untouched by modernity. Everytime I'm at the Marina I feel so far away from San Jose, even though I'm IN San Jose, still.

Like I said, place has awesome development potential. But it'll take time. Army Corps of Engineering in SF (and the fed, though I'm sure SF had a hand in it) put a stop to the plan to widen the Guadalupe River at Alviso to allow baywater in to return Alviso back to the true coastal marina it was in the 50's.

So Fvck you SF.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by otterprods

…which is exactly what made it so attractive to me when I lived there. I was in Sunnyvale, about 10-15 minutes from Alviso by bike via trails, and spent very much time over there. But if it ever reaches it's future 'potential', it will just be another lamely overdeveloped, overpriced south bay town... no matter how hard they try to market it as 'Historic Alviso'… because it won't really be historic at all at that point.

I don't understand, what is "lamely" overdeveloped? What would in your opinion be "un-lamely" overdeveloped?

And if it is developed, it will be pricey. This is the Bay Area. You pay to play.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

What would in your opinion be "un-lamely" overdeveloped?

Obviously 'lamely overdeveloped' is sort of a redundant statement (although grammatically acceptable, if that's your point). The literal converse, 'Un-lamely overdeveloped' is basically a contradictory statement.

I don't have a problem with development for the sake of housing and amenities but it bothers me when they capitalize on some historical idea of a place and turn it into a fake, touristy version of whatever it once was. Cannery Row is an especially notable example of that. But of course that's life and it will probably happen someday. I'm actually surprised it hasn't yet. Bottom line: if you want to see one of the last remaining, gloriously un-developed piece of Silicon Valley territory (which also happens to be the closest thing to 'waterfront' around), go to Alviso right now. (also maybe be the Corn Palace in Santa Clara, assuming that's still there)

[Zeya]

Originally Posted by Jink

We get great benefits, but from what I've heard, and especially with tech companies, don't a lot private sector companies offer free health benefits including vision and dental? I always thought I was in a nice situation working for the gov't with cheap healthcare costs until I started looking at what Facebook, Google, etc. offer its employees.

This comment is a couple pages back, but I thought I'd answer this. I've worked for about 3 major tech companies in the bay area. It's not free health, vision, or dental. They're very good plans, but not free. All 3 companies were very similar. The bigger ones maybe have a little better for health, but vision and dental are the exact same each place I've worked. Looking at my pay stub now, for a 2-week period:
Vision: $2 (pretty mediocre coverage, just copay exams and a discount on lenses)
Dental: $18
Health: $106 ("EPO" kind of like HMO without a gatekeeper doctor... like PPO but only in-network)
This is for me and one dependent, BTW.

As you can see, health is the cost that adds up. I'm loving my FSA card now, especially with the new law about being able to roll over up to $500 to the next year. (Previously you would just lose that money to Uncle Sam!) Shoulda put more money on that card.

I will say though, maybe Google has some kind of special thing going on with core health-ish benefits, although I doubt it. I hear a lot about fringe perks at Google, but I guess people chat about that stuff more than the health plan. Scooters more fun than doctor visits, lol.