Possibe to take 150k job in Fremont? (Hayward, Concord: for rent, crime)

[LadyKatie3]

Hello,
My husband is in the middle of a national job search. We have heretofore ruled out Silicon Valley because we feared it would be too expensive, but perhaps we were too hasty. Do you think it would be possible for a single income family to live within commuting distance to Fremont on a 150 k salary? is there anywhere within an hour drive where we could afford a house for 600k? We don't care about schools at all, we are committed homeschoolers.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by LadyKatie3

Hello,
My husband is in the middle of a national job search. We have heretofore ruled out Silicon Valley because we feared it would be too expensive, but perhaps we were too hasty. Do you think it would be possible for a single income family to live within commuting distance to Fremont on a 150 k salary? is there anywhere within an hour drive where we could afford a house for 600k? We don't care about schools at all, we are committed homeschoolers.

Some will say $150K isn’t enough, but it very well can be depending on your situation. How many kids do you have? How much debt do you all have, etc...?

My wife and I make about $150K combined, and do very well. But we have no kids, and very little debt. We live in Pleasant Hill and pay $2100 for rent. Never have troubles with bills, putting money in savings, taking vacations, etc... So it think it largely depends on ones situation.

That being said, yes there are areas within an area, that are definitely more affordable than other areas.

[justinbro2002]

$600k for a house and one hour from Fremont is gonna limit you to Hayward, San leandro, san lorenzo and possibly Livermore.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by justinbro2002

$600k for a house and one hour from Fremont is gonna limit you to Hayward, San leandro, san lorenzo and possibly Livermore.

Concord, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill are all possible with 600K, and are right around an hour(ish)

[LadyKatie3]

Thank you for this helpful information! We have 4 children and hope for more, to answer the question above. I've never been to Silicon Valley and I'm always so afraid that it's filled with homeless engineers living in vans by the river and disrupters crashing their carts into you in the shops because they're disrupting you. But I'm hoping this is all stuff I've made up in my head..maybe it's doable and not so bad for average people like us?

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by LadyKatie3

Thank you for this helpful information! We have 4 children and hope for more, to answer the question above. I've never been to Silicon Valley and I'm always so afraid that it's filled with homeless engineers living in vans by the river and disrupters crashing their carts into you in the shops because they're disrupting you. But I'm hoping this is all stuff I've made up in my head..maybe it's doable and not so bad for average people like us?

With 4 kids, that definitely makes it tough for the high cost of living. What’s the current situation where you’re now? Is it worth uprooting and moving to the most expensive area in the US? I always recommend renting if you’ve never been here to make sure it’s worthwhile, what’s your rent budget?

Homeless engineers, not sure about that. But homeless people in general, yes EVERYWHERE!

[LadyKatie3]

My husband is a scientist who may be forced to relocate, we wouldn't be doing it for fun. He works in a very niche field and we have unfortunately already relocated a few times. (Semiconductors). I told him to go to medical school back in the day!
I don't see how 4 kids are that much more money than 2. We hope to have a 5th very soon. Also we are right wing reactionary European citizens who don't have interest in gender equality, marriage equality, or marijuana. But I love being contrary, so maybe I should go...(-;

[justinbro2002]

Originally Posted by Greg10556

Concord, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill are all possible with 600K, and are right around an hour(ish)

Concord is over 40 miles from Fremont that is close to two hours during commute times.

[Wintermomma]

I think $150K Fremont was excellent, until you said you were a family of 6 and you want to own a home for $600K, presumably that fits a family of 6. I think that's a pretty rough commute. I would do some searching on greatschools.net and crimereports.com or communitycrime to see what areas you are comfortable with in your price range and think about how that would be with your husband's commute. Also, check the commute using google maps and change the leaving time to his commuting time. Rush hour (which is many hours) makes an enormous difference.

Now having said all of that, given your view points, you might like central valley a lot better than Bay Area anyway. There's not a lot of tolerance for the intolerant here.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by LadyKatie3

My husband is a scientist who may be forced to relocate, we wouldn't be doing it for fun. He works in a very niche field and we have unfortunately already relocated a few times. (Semiconductors). I told him to go to medical school back in the day!
I don't see how 4 kids are that much more money than 2. We hope to have a 5th very soon. Also we are right wing reactionary European citizens who don't have interest in gender equality, marriage equality, or marijuana. But I love being contrary, so maybe I should go...(-;

Being right wing will not be a fun experience (if you’re open about it), as the Bay Area is Liberal Extremists everywhere. The “open mindedness”, is not open at all, if you don’t agree with them.

I am fairly neutral politically, leaning a tad more to the right, and still have issues with people if that tells you anything. Having 4 kids rather than 2, well common sense says that would double your expenses?