What to consider? Software Engineer (Gilroy, Menlo Park: apartment, rent, insurance)

[castaway83]

My husband is in the early stages of application, after he was contacted by HR of a technology company in Manlo Park. As this would be a big move for us, so I'm now trying to figure out if this move would be the right decision for us.

My husband is a senior software engineer, but also part of all the management meetings, possibly becoming a director in the next 5 years. Lately he's need working more over time, but in the past it was mostly a 8am-5pm job. The new job would possibly be more hours, a lot more competitive and he would only be programming. Eventually we wants to start his own company, which he probably won't have much time for while working in Cali. On the other hand he might meet more developers that could help.


I'm torn, I really like the area and living closer to the ocean and SF. But at first we would be giving up a big house and move into a small apartment. Cost of living would be much higher. And we would end up back in court for a custody battle, and us moving away does not give us good cards.



Considering all of the above. Pay would be around $250k annually. Child support if we get them during the holidays, $2k if we're lucky.



Would need a pet friendly (that allow 60lb+ dog) apartment near Manlo Park (originally looked for a house near Half Moon Bay, but commute would be too long).



What else should we consider?



No debts, cars are paid off, and after selling our house we would have $150k in savings. Company would pay for the move and give a starter bonus.



Always hearing horror stories about programmers making $200k in Cali living in their cars or with roommates, but $4-5k a month for an apartment doesn't seem so bad considering the salary. What am I missing?



Also I'm a logistics manager, not sure how easy it would be for me to find a new job in the area?

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by castaway83

My husband is in the early stages of application, after he was contacted by HR of a technology company in Manlo Park. As this would be a big move for us, so I'm now trying to figure out if this move would be the right decision for us.

My husband is a senior software engineer, but also part of all the management meetings, possibly becoming a director in the next 5 years. Lately he's need working more over time, but in the past it was mostly a 8am-5pm job. The new job would possibly be more hours, a lot more competitive and he would only be programming. Eventually we wants to start his own company, which he probably won't have much time for while working in Cali. On the other hand he might meet more developers that could help.


I'm torn, I really like the area and living closer to the ocean and SF. But at first we would be giving up a big house and move into a small apartment. Cost of living would be much higher. And we would end up back in court for a custody battle, and us moving away does not give us good cards.



Considering all of the above. Pay would be around $250k annually. Child support if we get them during the holidays, $2k if we're lucky.



Would need a pet friendly (that allow 60lb+ dog) apartment near Manlo Park (originally looked for a house near Half Moon Bay, but commute would be too long).



What else should we consider?



No debts, cars are paid off, and after selling our house we would have $150k in savings. Company would pay for the move and give a starter bonus.



Always hearing horror stories about programmers making $200k in Cali living in their cars or with roommates, but $4-5k a month for an apartment doesn't seem so bad considering the salary. What am I missing?



Also I'm a logistics manager, not sure how easy it would be for me to find a new job in the area?

You can live comfortably on $250k / year. It will be hard to ever buy a house. An apartment that accepts 60 lbs dogs could be a challenge.

Weather is great. Traffic is atrocious. Taxes are high. Restaurant selection is very good. Beaches are great (around Half Moon Bay usually isn't too crowded). Area is dog friendly. Housing is tiny. Opportunities for start ups are better than anywhere else.

Good luck

[ccm123]

It’s the other cost of living factors that are also expensive, besides housing costs. Utilities, groceries, restaurants, healthcare, veterinary bills, entertainment, insurance, etc.

Other employees in the technology sector are roughly at similar salary ranges, so you’ll be competing with many others when buying a home, in the median price ranges.

You could definitely live reasonably well renting on that income. And, it’s hard to find an apartment that would accept a large dog, as another poster mentioned. When I rented here, years ago, I had to find and rent a single family house, that would accept a house cat.

[ccm123]

Just wanted to add something further.

If your husband wants to start his own company, the ecosystem and connections for technology companies is very prominent here locally. He’ll have access to quality engineers, managers, venture capitalists, attorneys and others who are intimately familiar with the nuances of this industry.

I believe that is one of the main strengths to living here.

[artillery77]

Is your husband competitive? Can he politically outmaneuver people? $250K is fine, until it isn't there anymore. Figure half will go to the government and budget from there. What people miss is the lifecycle of thousands of start-ups is very short relatively speaking. The politics at the big companies that will be there a long time is fierce. At the small companies, the hanging on vs jumping ship game is a full contact event. Over half the city is now ESL. That in and of itself is not a problem, but realize the competitive nature of some of the world's fiercest talent coming together to battle it out. Realize there's a lot of people that came without a safety net. The language and the weather is certainly milder than NYC, but it is an overlay to a fiercely competitive area...one where multiple companies will be trying to achieve the same thing and the winner becomes celebrated and those coming in 2nd unemployed.

As for the startup culture, you can get staked by VC out here. Unfortunately, most businesses aren't VC ready. VC is really a mob loan. They aren't going to put a hit on you of course, but if you can't get them a return, they'll take your IP, repackage it and sell it on to the next would be hopeful. They are the ultimate shovel sellers in this latest gold rush. There's a reason why most of them that make it to IPO (very low % btw) do so with substantially all of the proceeds going towards paying giant "loans" made to the company....and fall subsequently.

If you want to play the game, this is the place to come. It's an area where the winners are celebrated and advertised. The losers....they're silently crushed under the wheel. If you're happy and comfortable with what you have, enjoy your community, friends and family and familiarities, think long and hard before you change course.

When I was a tourist, I used to love this area.

[castaway83]

My husband is very ambitious and he enjoys working. He mainly wants to earn more money so he can retire early.

Not sure how this would play out, in SC he makes a little more than 1/3rd, but mortgage is 3 times less for a 3k house than a 700 sqft apartment in the bay area. Crazy.

[BRinSM]

$250 TC (total comp) for a sr. SWE is on the low side. Seems crazy, but that is the case. Having said that, if you can negotiate a good starting point, the sky is really the limit in the years following. If your husband is joining Facebook in Menlo Park (or other large tech company), not only can he expect a solid sign on package, he should be eligible for additional RSU grants each year. Assuming some growth in stock price, it's not unlikely for more than 50% of TC to come from stock within a couple years. I've been at a FAANG for three years and my TC is up 50% since I started. This growth rate is likely to slow, but this still puts me in a very good position to make a nice life for my family in the Bay Area for the foreseeable future.

Regarding your house size, you'll have to figure out between the two of you which is more important, location or size. I have a family of 4 that lives in 1600sf and it's ample for us. I know others with similar aged kids who make do in closer to 1000sf. More space would be nice of course, but houses at the 3k sf size are extremely expensive and mostly only available in extremely pricey cities (e.g. Saratoga and Los Altos) or far out suburbs (e.g. Gilroy and Dublin). Needless to say, I personally lean towards location over size. The Bay Area is really beautiful with many downtowns scattered across the peninsula and south bay that give the place vibrancy without the urban feel of SF. Of course the weather is great as well and the people are generally quite diverse and educated, which makes for good conversation.

[castaway83]

Job would actually be at one of the big companies, based on glassdoor salary would be average.
We would not need a 3k house, probably start renting a house. But noticed that house prices have dropped recently.

[RoadLessTraveled2015]

Originally Posted by castaway83

My husband is in the early stages of application, after he was contacted by HR of a technology company in Manlo Park. As this would be a big move for us, so I'm now trying to figure out if this move would be the right decision for us.

My husband is a senior software engineer, but also part of all the management meetings, possibly becoming a director in the next 5 years. Lately he's need working more over time, but in the past it was mostly a 8am-5pm job. The new job would possibly be more hours, a lot more competitive and he would only be programming. Eventually we wants to start his own company, which he probably won't have much time for while working in Cali. On the other hand he might meet more developers that could help.

DO NOT count your chickens before they hatch. Don't make plans for "what if my husband..." because plans always change.


It's been almost two months. Did he get an offer? That's the most important part. Most candidates don't make it past early stages of application but if he was one of the lucky ones, congrats... but plan accordingly, not making assumptions about the future.

[expertsfromindia]

10 Things Every Programmer and Software Engineer Should Know

Understand Your Customer’s Business
Communication
Programming Languages and Scripting
Databases
Cloud Computing
Source Control
Test your code
Basic Concepts of Management
Save Your Code Changes Constantly

And Most important Keep Learning.