How much do you need to live comfortably in Santa Clara County?

[Anonymous]

We're a family of two adults and 1 child. DH got an offer for $129k per year. I am a SAHM and we live in FL now. DH's job is not permanent here and it does not include health insurance. I know CA is super expensive but would we be OK with this salary for a few years? We do have 20k in student loans so keep that in mind. Right now DH doesn't have a lot of job experience. He recently finished his PhD and he's working as a contractor. California has tons of jobs in his field. Wwyd?

[Anonymous]

It's a big county. You'd need to be more specific.

And are you okay to rent a fairly low quality small townhouse for a few years?

[Anonymous]

$129 is low. I’m not saying it’s not doable, it is but it will be hard and you won’t be able to save much. In your shoes, I would try to find a co-op preschool and consider someplace like Morgan Hill or Gilroy... but it depends on location of your DHs work, commute might not be worth it. I’m sure you’ve looked into this already, but I think the median home price in San Jose is 1.2mil and it’s a tight rental market too. That’s for a very basic 3/2 house. All of this being said, if your DH is in tech, it’s a great place to be and he should be able to earn more with a little more experience. You should also try to negotiate for more $ and moving expenses now.

[Anonymous]

That salary will not stretch far in the Bay Area. I would keep looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a big county. You'd need to be more specific.

And are you okay to rent a fairly low quality small townhouse for a few years?

Op here. The job is in Milpitas. We're more than ok with living in a small townhouse. We live in a 1 bedroom apartment right now even though we can afford a bigger place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a big county. You'd need to be more specific.

And are you okay to rent a fairly low quality small townhouse for a few years?

Op here. The job is in Milpitas. We're more than ok with living in a small townhouse. We live in a 1 bedroom apartment right now even though we can afford a bigger place.

You can get decent place down by gilroy and he can commute. Its worth it to get connections in the Valley, but make sure he hits the ground running, working hard and start looking for next gig within a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a big county. You'd need to be more specific.

And are you okay to rent a fairly low quality small townhouse for a few years?

Op here. The job is in Milpitas. We're more than ok with living in a small townhouse. We live in a 1 bedroom apartment right now even though we can afford a bigger place.

You might actually get away with that salary in a small old townhouse down there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a big county. You'd need to be more specific.

And are you okay to rent a fairly low quality small townhouse for a few years?

Op here. The job is in Milpitas. We're more than ok with living in a small townhouse. We live in a 1 bedroom apartment right now even though we can afford a bigger place.

You might actually get away with that salary in a small old townhouse down there.

Something like this in Fremont might work- but there are very, very few places like this.

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Fremont/38009-Dover-Cmn-94536/home/533769

[Anonymous]

It is going to be challenging. You have some options if your husband is willing to commute, but you will have a lot more if you are in a position to go back to work. Don't forget to factor in income tax (10%ish). Do you also need schools, or are your kid(s) younger than that?

[Anonymous]

Is this for an academic job? If so, he should take it and look again next year. Which I'm sure he would be doing anyway.

[Anonymous]

Figure out your health insurance cost. I used to live in that area. It's expensive. Sale tax is close to 10%, and so is income tax.

[Anonymous]

No, it is all expensive. I would look in another part of the country. I'm sorry, but there just isn't enough housing so the housing costs and commuting times are extreme. State taxes are high.

Your money will not go far enough. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, it is all expensive. I would look in another part of the country. I'm sorry, but there just isn't enough housing so the housing costs and commuting times are extreme. State taxes are high.

Your money will not go far enough. Sorry.

To give you perspective - our HHI is just over 200k and we left and dh telecommutes. When your kids are little it is easier but as they get bigger you have to balance schools, safety, your dh's commute and housing costs. There is no easy solution because there are hundreds of thousands of people competing to balance these same things. There is not enough housing for the numbers of jobs.

[Anonymous]

We are looking at a similar move -- not a lot of money but a wonderful career opportunity which we really need to ever get ahead. We're thinking about moving to Gilroy where it looks like we can afford something nice, get the kids into decent schools, and I can use Caltrain to get into San Jose every day. For me, all my best future jobs will be in Silicon Valley anyway, so I think if I don't move to California now, I am either postponing the inevitable or deciding to forego my career and just be a SAHM.

[Anonymous]

I am looking at a job in Santa Clara county also. I'm single and early in my career. Right now I live in the east bay, where it is close to impossible to find housing. I just need an apartment. Please tell me santa clara is at least slightly better than the East Bay ..?