Is a 75-80,000 salary for a single chef enough to love on in the napa area?

[AAPilot]

Hello:

I am weighing an offer I received to relocate into the Napa area to work as a chef and was wondering if it was realistic to live on 75-80k salary as a single person in Napa?


Thanks guys!

[mattja]

Barely. I'd take it only if it was a career booster, because the money is certainly not worth relocating to the Bay Area (or Bay Area adjacent, as the nerds like to point out.)

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by AAPilot

Hello:

I am weighing an offer I received to relocate into the Napa area to work as a chef and was wondering if it was realistic to live on 75-80k salary as a single person in Napa?

Thanks guys!

You can rent a studio for $1300-$1400 or prices for a 1 bdrm start at $1700, that should work with your budget. A lot of famous chef's made their start in Napa and surrounding areas so keep that in mind, also it's a lovely place to live - I lived there for a few years and probably should have stayed

[mattja]

At 80k salary, your take-home pay is about $5,000/month. A one-bedroom apartment in an area that is not in a high-crime area is around $2,000, minimum. If you're lucky, that leaves you about $3,000/month for car, insurance, gasoline (expensive here), food, clothing, entertainment, etc.

It's doable, but you won't be living high on the hog. It's worth it if it can propel your career. Of the few chefs I know, two got their career boosts in Napa, one in Telluride, CO, another in NYC and a few more in S.F. Napa has world-class restaurants, so it can be worth it to deal with the costs just to get the experience.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by mattja

At 80k salary, your take-home pay is about $5,000/month. A one-bedroom apartment in an area that is not in a high-crime area is around $2,000, minimum. If you're lucky, that leaves you about $3,000/month for car, insurance, gasoline (expensive here), food, clothing, entertainment, etc.

It's doable, but you won't be living high on the hog. It's worth it if it can propel your career. Of the few chefs I know, two got their career boosts in Napa, one in Telluride, CO, another in NYC and a few more in S.F. Napa has world-class restaurants, so it can be worth it to deal with the costs just to get the experience.

Unless things have changed a lot since I was there, there are no "high crime areas" in Napa, and this might give the OP a better idea of what local rentals are going for: https://www.realtor.com/apartments/Napa_CA

[mattja]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Unless things have changed a lot since I was there, there are no "high crime areas" in Napa, and this might give the OP a better idea of what local rentals are going for: https://www.realtor.com/apartments/Napa_CA

Downtown seems to have some problems. Also, southeast near the serial killer prison. lol

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by mattja

Downtown seems to have some problems. Also, southeast near the serial killer prison. lol

Do you live there, or have you ever lived there? "serial killer prison?" Napa State Hospital? That is a secure facility, "problems downtown"? outside of a shooting I read about awhile back I'm not sure what you are talking about - shoplifting?

[Ruth4Truth]

Saying Napa has a "high crime area" makes it sound like Oakland, lol! Pretty absurd comparison. I think it's important to keep things in perspective for newbies to the forum inquiring about towns they know nothing about.

[mattja]

Here's the city crime map. Make your own decisions.

https://www.cityofnapa.org/479/Community-Crime-Map

[Snackmaster]

It would help if you stated if you're coming from another state. If so, prepare for sticker shock at the gas stations. Great area if you're into wine.

I've never heard of Napa being crime-ridden. It's way nicer than most of Oakland and Richmond.