How much more in a job to move from DC to San Francisco for a family of 5?

[Anonymous]

Two neighbors just relocated from Silicon Valley (San Jose). Both sold their small 2 bedroom, 1 bath homes for over $2 million.

[Anonymous]

I have a family member leasing a tiny cottage with outdated kitchen and bathrooms. The Zillow price for the house is $3M. I would not move to SF for merely double the salary.

[Anonymous]

Op here. So should I call recruiter and say after thinking about it this weekend, double my salary is not enough? I hate to waste my and their time and energy if it doesn’t make sense for a family of 5 with 3 young kids.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

We left the Bay Area at the end of last year with 3 kids. It's hard to say what salary to consider because there are a lot of factors to your financial situation outside of salary alone. Regardless, you would need signifcantly more than your current income to find something comparable to the life you have in DC.
The housing itself is very expensive and you can expect a lot less for that money. The area is large and you would have to drive pretty far to find something more "affordable"
The cost of housing itself is expensive but so are the property taxes and the utilities are signifcantly higher. Gas, groceries, etc. are also more expensive.
The droughts and wildfires are also very difficult.
We loved the area and would go back if we could but between finances and climate change it just wasn't a good fit for us anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We left the Bay Area at the end of last year with 3 kids. It's hard to say what salary to consider because there are a lot of factors to your financial situation outside of salary alone. Regardless, you would need signifcantly more than your current income to find something comparable to the life you have in DC.
The housing itself is very expensive and you can expect a lot less for that money. The area is large and you would have to drive pretty far to find something more "affordable"
The cost of housing itself is expensive but so are the property taxes and the utilities are signifcantly higher. Gas, groceries, etc. are also more expensive.
The droughts and wildfires are also very difficult.
We loved the area and would go back if we could but between finances and climate change it just wasn't a good fit for us anymore.

This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing your experience!

[Anonymous]

If you don’t have family there or a reason other than a job, I would think it’s not worth it no matter what they are willing to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don’t have family there or a reason other than a job, I would think it’s not worth it no matter what they are willing to pay.

This.

People are leaving that area in droves. And it’s not just the ridiculous housing costs.

I know someone living in what looks like a garage apartment/tiny home for $1M+ (purchased years ago). They can’t afford to trade up and are crammed in there with a new baby. They are hoping to get the hell out of CA asap. They are in the medical field and earn nice salaries.

Schools are an issue, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two neighbors just relocated from Silicon Valley (San Jose). Both sold their small 2 bedroom, 1 bath homes for over $2 million.

Yes, my grandparents were pre-technology natives of SV. They had a very average little one story home. What we call a "Sh*tbox" here on DCUM. But it is super close-in to silicon valley.

My grandma rents it out and the rent is more than enough that she can live in a lovely 55 plus community elsewhere with all the perks (meals, etc.) and with a caretaker 5 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Double

[Anonymous]

You can live nicely in places like northern Marin, El Sobrante, El Cerrito, etc. If you’re committed to private schools, you’ll be fine.

How often do you need to go into the office? If you can keep it to 1-2 days per week max, you can get away with double the salary. If you insist on living in the city, you’ll want 2.5x salary to keep your DC area lifestyle.

So yeah, it all depends on what comprises you and the new employer are willing to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can live nicely in places like northern Marin, El Sobrante, El Cerrito, etc. If you’re committed to private schools, you’ll be fine.

How often do you need to go into the office? If you can keep it to 1-2 days per week max, you can get away with double the salary. If you insist on living in the city, you’ll want 2.5x salary to keep your DC area lifestyle.

So yeah, it all depends on what comprises you and the new employer are willing to make.

Pp here again:
El Cerrito is low-key awesome. Amazing weather, great views of the bay & SF. BART station at the bottom of the hill. Here’s what $1m will get you. A lot of my friends who are Bay Area natives (grew up there pre tech boom) live in El Cerrito. Prices are cheaper because schools are meh after elementary school. If you do private, you’ll be in good shape.

https://www.redfin.com/CA/El-Cerrito/920-Shevlin-Dr-94530/home/575881?600390594=copy_variant&231528114=control&1778901559=variant&utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=share_sheet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don’t have family there or a reason other than a job, I would think it’s not worth it no matter what they are willing to pay.

This.

People are leaving that area in droves. And it’s not just the ridiculous housing costs.

I know someone living in what looks like a garage apartment/tiny home for $1M+ (purchased years ago). They can’t afford to trade up and are crammed in there with a new baby. They are hoping to get the hell out of CA asap. They are in the medical field and earn nice salaries.

Schools are an issue, too.

Such nonsense. If people were leaving in droves prices would be falling.

It’s just poor people leaving (and some random doctors are poor compared to Big Tech salaries).

So just make sure you are properly compensated. A Fintech role should pay $1M if you make $355k in DC.

With that kind of comp you can get a small house in Menlo Park and go public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can live nicely in places like northern Marin, El Sobrante, El Cerrito, etc. If you’re committed to private schools, you’ll be fine.

How often do you need to go into the office? If you can keep it to 1-2 days per week max, you can get away with double the salary. If you insist on living in the city, you’ll want 2.5x salary to keep your DC area lifestyle.

So yeah, it all depends on what comprises you and the new employer are willing to make.

Pp here again:
El Cerrito is low-key awesome. Amazing weather, great views of the bay & SF. BART station at the bottom of the hill. Here’s what $1m will get you. A lot of my friends who are Bay Area natives (grew up there pre tech boom) live in El Cerrito. Prices are cheaper because schools are meh after elementary school. If you do private, you’ll be in good shape.

https://www.redfin.com/CA/El-Cerrito/920-Shevlin-Dr-94530/home/575881?600390594=copy_variant&231528114=control&1778901559=variant&utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=share_sheet

That’s a really cute house! Not bad $ at all. Great outdoor space…I guess I’m not used to all the wires everywhere, though!

When I think of what my cousins in Atherton pay COL-wise, this is a STEAL, and close to UCB

[Anonymous]