Move to Bay Area (1 Viewer)

[kface]

We currently live in seattle.  I am a civil engineer with a pretty high paying executive type job making in the 200k range.  

We are thinking about moving to the bay area for the weather but have a number of concerns.

1. we don't want to live in sf.  We are mid-40s and have kids.  So we were thinking the stretch from Palo Alto to San Jose.  We like mid-size or village in the city. We enjoy walking and cycling to do our errands

2. It seems nuts in terms of cost of living.  Can we actually pull it off?  I don't actually know the area that well.  Have spent lots of time in SF and Oak but not much in the burbs to the south

3. East Bay - is it as awful as I think it is?  I hear so many good thing about OAK and every time I am there I think it looks borderline terrible.  Lots of poverty, lots of chain link fences, a smattering of barb wire and garbage.  I drove through south of Oak and thought it all looked pretty industrial and not very nice.

Anyone live there than can lend a thought to this?

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

We currently live in seattle.  I am a civil engineer with a pretty high paying executive type job making in the 200k range.  

We are thinking about moving to the bay area for the weather but have a number of concerns.

1. we don't want to live in sf.  We are mid-40s and have kids.  So we were thinking the stretch from Palo Alto to San Jose.  We like mid-size or village in the city. We enjoy walking and cycling to do our errands

2. It seems nuts in terms of cost of living.  Can we actually pull it off?  I don't actually know the area that well.  Have spent lots of time in SF and Oak but not much in the burbs to the south

3. East Bay - is it as awful as I think it is?  I hear so many good thing about OAK and every time I am there I think it looks borderline terrible.  Lots of poverty, lots of chain link fences, a smattering of barb wire and garbage.  I drove through south of Oak and thought it all looked pretty industrial and not very nice.

Anyone live there than can lend a thought to this?

I live in Seattle too and though I have never lived in SF full time, I used to commute to SF for work every week for about six years.

A few thoughts:

$200K/year is a pretty comfortable living in Seattle. In the Bay Area, it is middle class, at best.

There are lots of communities that would fit your criteria, but most of them are either insanely expensive or are a damn long commute to the city. Are you going to be working in SF proper?

The East Bay actually is where I would think you would be most likely to find what you are looking for. Oakland and Richmond is rough, but further east are a bunch of great communities. Lafayette and Orinda are wonderful, but pricey. Danville is great, but a little far from the city.

 

[kface]

I live in Seattle too and though I have never lived in SF full time, I used to commute to SF for work every week for about six years.

A few thoughts:

$200K/year is a pretty comfortable living in Seattle. In the Bay Area, it is middle class, at best.

There are lots of communities that would fit your criteria, but most of them are either insanely expensive or are a damn long commute to the city. Are you going to be working in SF proper?

The East Bay actually is where I would think you would be most likely to find what you are looking for. Oakland and Richmond is rough, but further east are a bunch of great communities. Lafayette and Orinda are wonderful, but pricey. Danville is great, but a little far from the city.

Thanks for the insight.  I have never been to those cities you mention. I will have to do some research.  Does Orinda and the communities further east still enjoy the cooler moderate climate?  There are so many micro-climates in that area it's hard to figure out

I have spent some time in Hayward and Union City and I thought both of them were not very nice.  

I'm not actually thinking of working in one of the suburban communities and not the City itself so the commute is not much of a worry.  The worry is the cost of living, quality of life given the cost of living, and whether it would even be possible to find a nice place to live where we can walk to parks and stores and such.

The other option is SD which of course is way cheaper to live in but we do like our more moderate and cooler weather.  

 

[phandango]

We lived in Redwood City from 2008 to last year, when we moved to San Diego (job-related). It's just north of Palo Alto. In that stretch of towns (Palo Alto, Menlo Park/Atherton, Redwood City and San Carlos), Redwood City is probably the most affordable, which is relative to the areas that surround it -- as in, still insanely expensive, but not as bad as a few miles to the north or south. We had a 4-bed, 2.5-bath, 2000 sq-ft home on a busy three-lane street, walking distance to school, which we renovated in 2013. We sold it for $1.5M. On a salary in the $200k range, the other costs of living, when compared with Seattle, are likely manageable. It's the housing that kills everyone. Where we lived, there are 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes that haven't been updated in decades that go for $1.25M, easy. And this is in a place with OK schools. If you go farther south, like San Jose, it gets better, but I'm not as familiar with that area, and you'd be farther away from the city, if that matters.

That said, I absolutely loved living there. A ton of our friends were people who grew up in the area and everyone knew everyone else, so very small-town feel. Weather was always great, and always stuff to do. It's expensive because people like living there. Just be prepared that if you do go househunting on the Peninsula, it's very disheartening. The housing prices are every bit as crazy as people say.

 

[kface]

We lived in Redwood City from 2008 to last year, when we moved to San Diego (job-related). It's just north of Palo Alto. In that stretch of towns (Palo Alto, Menlo Park/Atherton, Redwood City and San Carlos), Redwood City is probably the most affordable, which is relative to the areas that surround it -- as in, still insanely expensive, but not as bad as a few miles to the north or south. We had a 4-bed, 2.5-bath, 2000 sq-ft home on a busy three-lane street, walking distance to school, which we renovated in 2013. We sold it for $1.5M. On a salary in the $200k range, the other costs of living, when compared with Seattle, are likely manageable. It's the housing that kills everyone. Where we lived, there are 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes that haven't been updated in decades that go for $1.25M, easy. And this is in a place with OK schools. If you go farther south, like San Jose, it gets better, but I'm not as familiar with that area, and you'd be farther away from the city, if that matters.

That said, I absolutely loved living there. A ton of our friends were people who grew up in the area and everyone knew everyone else, so very small-town feel. Weather was always great, and always stuff to do. It's expensive because people like living there. Just be prepared that if you do go househunting on the Peninsula, it's very disheartening. The housing prices are every bit as crazy as people say.

That pretty much sums up our concerns.  Thanks for the insight

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Thanks for the insight.  I have never been to those cities you mention. I will have to do some research.  Does Orinda and the communities further east still enjoy the cooler moderate climate?  There are so many micro-climates in that area it's hard to figure out

I have spent some time in Hayward and Union City and I thought both of them were not very nice.  

I'm not actually thinking of working in one of the suburban communities and not the City itself so the commute is not much of a worry.  The worry is the cost of living, quality of life given the cost of living, and whether it would even be possible to find a nice place to live where we can walk to parks and stores and such.

The other option is SD which of course is way cheaper to live in but we do like our more moderate and cooler weather.  

Oakland is a lot warmer and sunnier than SF and Orinda is fairly similar to Oakland. The further East you go, it gets warmer and drier most of the year. And cooler in the winter too.

I don't know the micro-climates on the South Penninsula area very well. I know Daly City and Redwood City are similar to SF, though a bit warmer. The further South you go, it generally gets warmer and sunnier. 

 

[phandango]

Thanks for the insight.  I have never been to those cities you mention. I will have to do some research.  Does Orinda and the communities further east still enjoy the cooler moderate climate?  There are so many micro-climates in that area it's hard to figure out

I have spent some time in Hayward and Union City and I thought both of them were not very nice.  

I'm not actually thinking of working in one of the suburban communities and not the City itself so the commute is not much of a worry.  The worry is the cost of living, quality of life given the cost of living, and whether it would even be possible to find a nice place to live where we can walk to parks and stores and such.

The other option is SD which of course is way cheaper to live in but we do like our more moderate and cooler weather.  

San Diego is where we moved to. Houses are twice as big for the same cost as where we lived before, in secluded neighborhoods full of kids, walking distance to parks and top-rated schools, 15-minute drive to the beach. You can wear shorts like 8 months out of the year.

 

[Scoresman]

We currently live in seattle.  I am a civil engineer with a pretty high paying executive type job making in the 200k range.  

We are thinking about moving to the bay area for the weather but have a number of concerns.

1. we don't want to live in sf.  We are mid-40s and have kids.  So we were thinking the stretch from Palo Alto to San Jose.  We like mid-size or village in the city. We enjoy walking and cycling to do our errands

2. It seems nuts in terms of cost of living.  Can we actually pull it off?  I don't actually know the area that well.  Have spent lots of time in SF and Oak but not much in the burbs to the south

3. East Bay - is it as awful as I think it is?  I hear so many good thing about OAK and every time I am there I think it looks borderline terrible.  Lots of poverty, lots of chain link fences, a smattering of barb wire and garbage.  I drove through south of Oak and thought it all looked pretty industrial and not very nice.

Anyone live there than can lend a thought to this?

East Bay is hit or miss.  I live in Alameda and it is a very nice city that seems to meet your wants.  Situated in the middle of the Bay Area with great commuting options to SF. It's fairly expensive, however. Oakland is definitely on the rise and certain areas are flat out spectacular, but other areas are dismal.   As you're going south in the East Bay, I'd stop searching at around San Leandro.  Hayward-Fremont is pretty ####ty. 

If you're working in SF I dont recommend living in San Jose.  Traffic will be a nightmare and Caltrain doesn't go to downtown SF.    

 

[kface]

San Diego is where we moved to. Houses are twice as big for the same cost as where we lived before, in secluded neighborhoods full of kids, walking distance to parks and top-rated schools, 15-minute drive to the beach. You can wear shorts like 8 months out of the year.

Ugh...you guys are somewhat confirming our initial thoughts.  Maybe we are better suited to SD

Being from the PNW we don't love hot weather but were interested in the sunnier, yet cooler atmosphere of the bay area.

 

[phandango]

Oakland is a lot warmer and sunnier than SF and Orinda is fairly similar to Oakland. The further East you go, it gets warmer and drier most of the year. And cooler in the winter too.

I don't know the micro-climates on the South Penninsula area very well. I know Daly City and Redwood City are similar to SF, though a bit warmer. The further South you go, it generally gets warmer and sunnier. 

Daly City, Pacifica and San Bruno are at the north end of the Peninsula. There's a ton of fog and overcast skies there. Burlingame is where it starts to have warmer weather most of the time, but it's pricy. San Mateo is less expensive and nicer weather. San Carlos and Redwood City are 20-30 miles away from Daly City, so the weather there is vastly better. Almost never any of the fog you'd get in Daly City or San Bruno.

 

[sports_fan]

A few thoughts:

$200K/year is a pretty comfortable living in Seattle. In the Bay Area, it is middle class, at best.

I'm not doubting this at all but it's still pretty amazing to me as Seattle is one of the more expensive places to live.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Daly City, Pacifica and San Bruno are at the north end of the Peninsula. There's a ton of fog and overcast skies there. Burlingame is where it starts to have warmer weather most of the time, but it's pricy. San Mateo is less expensive and nicer weather. San Carlos and Redwood City are 20-30 miles away from Daly City, so the weather there is vastly better. Almost never any of the fog you'd get in Daly City or San Bruno.

Thanks for the clarification. I was mixing up Redwood City's location with some of the other more northern suburbs.

 

[phandango]

Ugh...you guys are somewhat confirming our initial thoughts.  Maybe we are better suited to SD

Being from the PNW we don't love hot weather but were interested in the sunnier, yet cooler atmosphere of the bay area.

We've only lived here since August but have visited San Diego many times. It can get hot, but if you live within about five miles of the coast, then it gets about as hot as Seattle would get (just more often). We ruled out Seattle because we don't like cold winters.

Honestly, though, it's hard not to get used to a place where the kids can go swim in the pool in February.

 

[EYLive]

I have relatives in San Jose and it's really nice. Lots of jobs for engineers too.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I'm not doubting this at all but it's still pretty amazing to me as Seattle is one of the more expensive places to live.

Yeah, it is.

But it is all housing cost.

You can still get a very nice and good-sized home in a suburb of Seattle for $700-$800K. Prices for something similar in the greater Bay Area are almost double that.

If you spend $1.2 mm in the Seattle area you are getting something pretty nice. In many parts of the Bay Area you are getting a tear-down for that price.

 

[phandango]

I have relatives in San Jose and it's really nice. Lots of jobs for engineers too.

I have family in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose. Really nice, walking distance to an area with great shops and restaurants, close to San Jose Airport and the arena where the Sharks play/big concerts. 

 

[jonessed]

Oakland is a lot warmer and sunnier than SF and Orinda is fairly similar to Oakland. The further East you go, it gets warmer and drier most of the year. And cooler in the winter too.

I don't know the micro-climates on the South Penninsula area very well. I know Daly City and Redwood City are similar to SF, though a bit warmer. The further South you go, it generally gets warmer and sunnier. 

Orinda is beautiful with a decent commute, but it's extremely expensive.  Lafayette and WC are options at about $1.1MM - $1.3MM for 2000 sqft.  The commute from WC is long though due to the overcrowding on that BART line.

He could look at Livermore.  It's an up and coming nice area with good schools.  That's where I would look anyway.

 

[sbonomo]

We currently live in seattle.  I am a civil engineer with a pretty high paying executive type job making in the 200k range.  

We are thinking about moving to the bay area for the weather but have a number of concerns.

1. we don't want to live in sf.  We are mid-40s and have kids.  So we were thinking the stretch from Palo Alto to San Jose.  We like mid-size or village in the city. We enjoy walking and cycling to do our errands

2. It seems nuts in terms of cost of living.  Can we actually pull it off?  I don't actually know the area that well.  Have spent lots of time in SF and Oak but not much in the burbs to the south

3. East Bay - is it as awful as I think it is?  I hear so many good thing about OAK and every time I am there I think it looks borderline terrible.  Lots of poverty, lots of chain link fences, a smattering of barb wire and garbage.  I drove through south of Oak and thought it all looked pretty industrial and not very nice.

Anyone live there than can lend a thought to this?

I just moved back to LA from SF.  DO NOT DO IT!.  $200K in SF does not go very far.  They are in a complete real estate bubble that has average sq ft going for over 1,000 in the city for fixer upper.  I am not overly familiar with Palo Alto or San Jose but i know they are not great value areas either.   As far as cost of living, it is exponentially more expensive than LA (at least 30%more).  I have never lived in Seattle but i cannot imagine it is more than LA.  Something to consider is your commute, any idea where your job will be?  If you are going into the city you will have 1-1.5 hours on a crappy train.  Coming from East Bay is even worse. 

East Bay has some nice area's but it is still east bay.  Walnut creek is a good area Piedmont, etc.  This will once again depend on where you work.  East Bay is actually getting better but from what my friends tell me the schools are very hit and miss and the traffic is terrible.  Let me know if you have more specific questions.  

 

[phandango]

Orinda is beautiful with a decent commute, but it's extremely expensive.  Lafayette and WC are options at about $1.1MM - $1.3MM for 2000 sqft.  The commute from WC is long though due to the overcrowding on that BART line.

He could look at Livermore.  It's an up and coming nice area with good schools.  That's where I would look anyway.

Livermore can get to 100 degrees in the summer. If moderate weather is a big concern, that area would be too hot.

 

[SFBayDuck]

I just moved back to LA from SF.  DO NOT DO IT!.  $200K in SF does not go very far.  They are in a complete real estate bubble that has average sq ft going for over 1,000 in the city for fixer upper.  I am not overly familiar with Palo Alto or San Jose but i know they are not great value areas either.   As far as cost of living, it is exponentially more expensive than LA (at least 30%more).  I have never lived in Seattle but i cannot imagine it is more than LA.  Something to consider is your commute, any idea where your job will be?  If you are going into the city you will have 1-1.5 hours on a crappy train.  Coming from East Bay is even worse. 

East Bay has some nice area's but it is still east bay.  Walnut creek is a good area Piedmont, etc.  This will once again depend on where you work.  East Bay is actually getting better but from what my friends tell me the schools are very hit and miss and the traffic is terrible.  Let me know if you have more specific questions.  

Agree with some of this - the real estate market has been so hot here for the last several years that the most expensive housing market in the country has just gotten more so.  Without an increase in salary, you will see a considerable decrease in quality of life, I would guess, unless you're bringing a ton of equity with you that can even out the housing increase a bit.

If you don't like heat, don't get too much farther east than about Lafayette - you start getting to Concord or out to Pleasanton/Livermore and you'll have plenty of high 90s in the summer.  If you are trying to get away from the grey (I'm from Portland originally, so I get it), then stay away from SF, Daly City, Sausalito, Pacifica.  I really like where I live in Marin County north of SF as it probably has the best weather, it's great if you like the outdoors, and it's a great place to raise a family (especially Mill Valley, Tiburon, Larkspur, Greenbrae/Kentfield) - but it's also the most expensive housing market.  If you live in any of those towns it's easy to get to the ferry to commute into SF, and traffic typically isn't too bad until you get north of San Rafael.

I've been in the Bay Area since 1997 and Marin since 2001 and love it here, but plan on moving back to Oregon when my daughter is done with high school in about 4 years.  I'd like to retire some day, and it'll just never happen if I stay here. 

 

[kface]

No real equity for us as we haven't been in our house that long and Seattle isn't going as crazy as the bay area.  

Marin county north you say....i will have to check that out.  

You make a great point @SFBayDuck I don't want to be trapped in a situation where i can't retire.  I'm still gunning to get out of the rat race at 58, 60 at the latest.  

 

[sbonomo]

Agree with some of this - the real estate market has been so hot here for the last several years that the most expensive housing market in the country has just gotten more so.  Without an increase in salary, you will see a considerable decrease in quality of life, I would guess, unless you're bringing a ton of equity with you that can even out the housing increase a bit.

If you don't like heat, don't get too much farther east than about Lafayette - you start getting to Concord or out to Pleasanton/Livermore and you'll have plenty of high 90s in the summer.  If you are trying to get away from the grey (I'm from Portland originally, so I get it), then stay away from SF, Daly City, Sausalito, Pacifica.  I really like where I live in Marin County north of SF as it probably has the best weather, it's great if you like the outdoors, and it's a great place to raise a family (especially Mill Valley, Tiburon, Larkspur, Greenbrae/Kentfield) - but it's also the most expensive housing market.  If you live in any of those towns it's easy to get to the ferry to commute into SF, and traffic typically isn't too bad until you get north of San Rafael.

I've been in the Bay Area since 1997 and Marin since 2001 and love it here, but plan on moving back to Oregon when my daughter is done with high school in about 4 years.  I'd like to retire some day, and it'll just never happen if I stay here. 

I lived in North Bay (larkspur) for the majority of my stay in SF.  I would agree that it is a wonderful place to live however it is even more expensive than the city.  The ferry is a cool commute but at least 1-1.5 hours each way (ferry ride is roughly 30 min but taking into account time to get to the ferry, then the walk/uber to wherever you are going).  I loved the hiking, close proximity to Napa/Sonoma/Russian River, drives into the city over the golden gate bridge, etc.  Once again, this is a very expensive area.     

 

[sbonomo]

No real equity for us as we haven't been in our house that long and Seattle isn't going as crazy as the bay area.  

Marin county north you say....i will have to check that out.  

You make a great point @SFBayDuck I don't want to be trapped in a situation where i can't retire.  I'm still gunning to get out of the rat race at 58, 60 at the latest.  

no way in SF if you are making $200K per year.  I was making $250K and felt like i was just treading water at times.  Don't get me wrong, SF has a ton of opportunity, especially for engineers, so you may be able to parlay that into a better salary.  But at 200K with a family you are not going to be saving much. 

 

[EYLive]

The OP is in the $200K range, does the wife have an income as well? SF should be doable if their combined income approaches $300k, right?

 

[kface]

The OP is in the $200K range, does the wife have an income as well? SF should be doable if their combined income approaches $300k, right?

The wife is a happy homemaker at the moment. Used to be a teacher but won't go back.  I'm happy to have her at home taking care of the kid and such

 

[Dickies]

Orinda is beautiful with a decent commute, but it's extremely expensive.  Lafayette and WC are options at about $1.1MM - $1.3MM for 2000 sqft.  The commute from WC is long though due to the overcrowding on that BART line.

He could look at Livermore.  It's an up and coming nice area with good schools.  That's where I would look anyway.

Livermore can get to 100 degrees in the summer. If moderate weather is a big concern, that area would be too hot.

I am in Livermore and love it.  It's definitely an up and coming area that offers everything the surrounding areas do, but is more affordable.  There is Del Valle if you like hiking, fishing, mountain biking, etc.  There are tons of wineries and some craft breweries are popping up, and there are bike trails connecting them.  The weather overall is pretty moderate, but it gets hot in the summer and there are times when it can get a little windy.  I would check out Livermore, San Ramon and Pleasanton.  Nice areas.

 

[snitwitch]

I lived in North Bay (larkspur) for the majority of my stay in SF.  I would agree that it is a wonderful place to live however it is even more expensive than the city.  The ferry is a cool commute but at least 1-1.5 hours each way (ferry ride is roughly 30 min but taking into account time to get to the ferry, then the walk/uber to wherever you are going).  I loved the hiking, close proximity to Napa/Sonoma/Russian River, drives into the city over the golden gate bridge, etc.  Once again, this is a very expensive area.     

i live quite comfortably in san rafael on a combined ~400k salary but i know plenty of people who are just fine in the 200k range as well. may need to understand that you will be downsizing your house no matter where you live. the north bay is simply awesome for the hiking/biking/nature, which is primarily why we live there. its a great place to live but there are really no jobs there to speak of, and you're limited in terms of where you could commute to (SF and northern east bay seem fine. peninsula and SJ likely out) 

 

[Bucky86]

Are there other cities you're considering that aren't quite as expensive? My GF and I moving to Denver next year(we know it's not as cheap as it once was), but it's a little more affordable than where we are now. 

 

[CGRdrJoe]

Agree with some of this - the real estate market has been so hot here for the last several years that the most expensive housing market in the country has just gotten more so.  Without an increase in salary, you will see a considerable decrease in quality of life, I would guess, unless you're bringing a ton of equity with you that can even out the housing increase a bit.

If you don't like heat, don't get too much farther east than about Lafayette - you start getting to Concord or out to Pleasanton/Livermore and you'll have plenty of high 90s in the summer.  If you are trying to get away from the grey (I'm from Portland originally, so I get it), then stay away from SF, Daly City, Sausalito, Pacifica.  I really like where I live in Marin County north of SF as it probably has the best weather, it's great if you like the outdoors, and it's a great place to raise a family (especially Mill Valley, Tiburon, Larkspur, Greenbrae/Kentfield) - but it's also the most expensive housing market.  If you live in any of those towns it's easy to get to the ferry to commute into SF, and traffic typically isn't too bad until you get north of San Rafael.

I've been in the Bay Area since 1997 and Marin since 2001 and love it here, but plan on moving back to Oregon when my daughter is done with high school in about 4 years.  I'd like to retire some day, and it'll just never happen if I stay here. 

i live quite comfortably in san rafael on a combined ~400k salary but i know plenty of people who are just fine in the 200k range as well. may need to understand that you will be downsizing your house no matter where you live. the north bay is simply awesome for the hiking/biking/nature, which is primarily why we live there. its a great place to live but there are really no jobs there to speak of, and you're limited in terms of where you could commute to (SF and northern east bay seem fine. peninsula and SJ likely out) 

shhh, the North Bay is already too full! It's a terrible place to live with nothing to do, all dead hills as far as the eye can see.

 

[SFBayDuck]

shhh, the North Bay is already too full! It's a terrible place to live with nothing to do, all dead hills as far as the eye can see.

Didn't I see somewhere you were moving away?

 

[jonessed]

Livermore can get to 100 degrees in the summer. If moderate weather is a big concern, that area would be too hot.

I guess I look st the temps out here differently.  It's a dry heat.  You can easily function in 100 degrees.  It's the humidity that's brutal and we just don't see that.

 

[fantasycurse42]

$200k a year in SF is a big life adjustment from $200k in Seattle. 

 

[CurlyNight]

With 200K a year with a family you can forget about the Peninsula. Every city here has nice areas and bad areas. You just have to look. But it is very expensive all around. If you work in SF you'd want to look at using Bart or Cal Tran. Everywhere is a nightmare traffic, and it's only getting worse as companies like google are continuely expanding. That's the biggest concern, that and the high cost of living which keeps getting higher all the time.

My dad lived up here for a year in Milpitas. I found him an apt a couple blocks away from his work which was nice. But a couple days a week he had to go to headquarters in Oakland. He took Bart, but Bart has it's problems one of which is overcrowding. They also like to strike. The times he had to drive was a nightmare. He been in Irvine since 1989. He's a civil engineer who's gone beyond a PhD and has won awards for his work. Underground bus tunnel in Seattle? Dad worked it. Anyway, he said everything is more expensive here. He'd go to the store and his eyes would pop. When bro would come up from LA to visit Dad would give him a list of things to get. He is a bit of a tightwad esp since he makes great money but he's not about to overspend on daily items. He was excited when he finished the Warm Springs Bart extension project to get back home. Irvine is a nice area btw. I think you'd do better all around if you didn't come to this area with a family unless you can negotiate a nice big raise for the move.

 

[Judge Smails]

Ugh...you guys are somewhat confirming our initial thoughts.  Maybe we are better suited to SD

Being from the PNW we don't love hot weather but were interested in the sunnier, yet cooler atmosphere of the bay area.

Do not go inland in SD.  Not that many miles in and it bakes.  Based on what you are describing, explore Carlsbad.

 

[themeanmachine]

I was born and raised in the stretch from Palo Alto to San Jose.  Lived all around there at various times - Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Cupertino and Palo Alto. You already know about the cost of living challenges, but it is especially bad in that area because it's in the heart of Google/Facebook/LinkedIn, etc. Competing against those salaries and all the double income folks pulling down a combined $500k+ is really tough. Plus, you don't get much for your money, and I don't just mean house size or quality.  For the most part, it's just the suburbs, rows and rows of 40-60 year old tract homes. There are some nice small downtowns with more unique homes, restaurants and walkability, but be prepared to pay even more.  Otherwise, it's just suburbia, with walking to do your errands pretty much out of the question.

We found the school quality to be variable - there are some really good ones, and some bad ones. And the school you go to is 100% dependent on your address (unless you can afford private). Even the houses in bad school areas are outrageously expensive, and it's even worse if you want the good schools.

On the upside, the weather is fantastic, there is tons of stuff to do, and we had amazing friends. The number of smart incredible people we knew is something we still miss.

It's just not a good place to raise a family unless you are very wealthy. We gave up, left all of our family behind, and moved to Colorado 10 years ago, and have never regretted it.  Will never move back.

 

[[icon]]

We've only lived here since August but have visited San Diego many times. It can get hot, but if you live within about five miles of the coast, then it gets about as hot as Seattle would get (just more often). We ruled out Seattle because we don't like cold winters.

San Diego is surprisingly moderate if you can afford to live relatively close to the coast.... 

Now... if you head inland to El Cajon or something... that's a different story.  Though I imagine for the price of a house in Seattle you could get your own subdivision in EC.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

Didn't I see somewhere you were moving away?

yes, Michigan. we should meet up at the speakeasy for a beer.

 

[[icon]]

Do not go inland in SD.  Not that many miles in and it bakes.  Based on what you are describing, explore Carlsbad.

Now... if you head inland to El Cajon or something... that's a different story.  Though I imagine for the price of a house in Seattle you could get your own subdivision in EC.

Great minds

Inland SD sucks ###. 

 

[-jb-]

hey killface.  i live in oakland.  you were in the wrong area.  it's like saying you went to the tenderloin so san francisco must be filled with three legged hookers.

how much can you sell your house in seattle for?

also keep in mind that most employers will recognize the cost of living increase in the area so if you are switching companies, you should expect a sizable pay increase.

 

[Phil Elliott]

Be careful of the teens on the BART

 

[Bucky86]

Be careful of the teens on the BART