Family Moving to Cali but not sure where to go... (San Jose: rentals, crime rate)

[GointoCali4Good]

We are coming from Texas and there will be a 6yo 3yo and a 1yo, my wife and I. I am a bartender and have worked in sales. She works at a medical clinic as a referral clerk. We are going to Rent a house or apt and are just looking for somewhere decent. Like a suburb area close enough to a city where i can bartend. The rent we pay now for a 2 bedroom 850sqft is 750.00 a month so we are looking for something around 2-3 bedrooms 850-1200 sqft for 700-900.00. If you could help us out with any info we would appreciate it.

So far we have looked a little into...

Fresno
Bakersfield
Island Empire

San Fransisco
San Bernardino

Thanks in advance for the help.

[EscapeCalifornia]

San Francisco: LOL, not on that budget

The rest of the cities (San Bernardino is a city in a region known as the Inland Empire, BTW) are cheap by California standards but that rental budget still sounds low. Do you have jobs lined up? In case you haven't heard, jobs are hard to come by in California right now. I don't know about the Central Valley (where Fresno and Bakersfield are) but the Inland Empire's unemployment rate is worse than the state's average.

For rentals, check out the bit commercial sites like rent.com along with Craigslist. The first will be dominated by professionally managed megcomplexes that charge top dollar, are generally decent, but could still be in bad areas. Craigslist will have more privately owned complexes and small properties, along with a bunch of scammers. The prices will be less but you've got to be careful. That'll at least give you a rental range to work with.

[Mach50]

San Fransisco is ultra expensive compared to the other 4, and I don't think you will find a "2-3 bedrooms 850-1200 sqft for 700-900.00" within an hour of the city, probably 2 hours. The other 4 I have no clue about.

So no jobs lined up and 3 kids?

I hate to be negative, but have you thought this one through? Why are you moving here?

Isn't the Bakersfield unemployment rate at near %17?
Kern's unemployment soars to 17.1 percent - Bakersfield.com

[GointoCali4Good]

When i said "So far we have looked a little into..." thats just what i meant. San Fransisco was out of the picture when we looked but anyway ...

The job thing we are working on right now before we go for sure.

Where would be a suburb outside of a bigger city thats decent so we can live outside of the city but still work in it.

Also here the $$ per hour is why the rent sounds so cheap. Here we get paid 10.00 an hour and at the bars i work at i come home with about 100-150 a night. so moving out there i am hoping the pay will be a little higher so we can afford more in rent and such ...

Like i said she works in a medical clinic and gets paid 10 an hour and from what we have seen they pay 14 an hour by bakersfield

[GointoCali4Good]

-Mach50-
we never said we had no jobs lined up. We are in the process of planning the move now but we need a target area to focus on. that's why i posted here. Its not like we are going to move tomorrow we are sending the resumes out and looking into apts and houses right now but like i said we haven't settled on a target location.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by GointoCali4Good

Like i said she works in a medical clinic and gets paid 10 an hour and from what we have seen they pay 14 an hour by bakersfield

That sounds like a lot more until you factor in state income taxes and other costs of living in California. It gets eaten up real quick.

[GointoCali4Good]

bleh forgot about state taxes ...

ok so she makes 640 every 2 weeks making 10 an hour.

in Cali what would that compare to ?

[Mach50]

When you say "decent area" does that include decent schools? Or just any place? I mean there are probably some decent areas that have really bad schools for your kids.

Here goes a place in Livermore about an hour outside San Jose (2bd room, 829 sq ft, 1220 a month):

Now Available!!! Must See!!! (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/1692621472.html - broken link)

Originally Posted by GointoCali4Good

-Mach50-
we never said we had no jobs lined up. We are in the process of planning the move now but we need a target area to focus on. that's why i posted here. Its not like we are going to move tomorrow we are sending the resumes out and looking into apts and houses right now but like i said we haven't settled on a target location.

OK definitely recommend getting some income before moving here, unemployment is horrible. Once they stop paying unemployment checks, there will probably be riots in the streets like Greece.

[GointoCali4Good]

Ok when i say decent i mean as far as crime and Schools.

Honestly we live near and i work in Dallas TX which has a HUGE crime rate but i never see it because i do not go into those areas. We live in North Richland Hills a decent size city about 30 min from dallas. That is kind of what i am looking for in Cali.

Reason for moving is to have a new fresh start. there are alot of things going on in texas with family and stuff so we want to get out. Both of us have dreamed about living near a beach and raising the kids being able to go to the beach on the weekends and the Cali weather.

[EscapeCalifornia]

The places you listed (except for SF) have climates closer to Texas than the California coast. They're also quite far from the beach. I hope you like sitting in hours of traffic on the weekend.