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Old 08-17-2008, 07:11 PM
 
18 posts, read 117,517 times
Reputation: 15

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Hey all. Assuming I secure a job, I may be moving from Atlanta to Los Gatos sometime soon. Here are my questions:

1) I realize that the cost of living is WAY higher out there compared to Atlanta, but how much higher?

2) What kind of premium should I ask for in terms of salary?

3) Is owning a house even realistic? I'm considering buying a house here in Atlanta if the CA job doesn't pan out.

4) If not Los Gatos, what surrounding areas might be good to move into? I'd be looking for a quiet area, preferably walkable, and not too far away from some sort of nightlife.

5) I've been out to the San Jose area (Redwood City) before, and I loved it. However, I don't know too much about the area aside from what I checked out while I was there (Stanford campus, some Redwood forests, San Francisco). Are there any culture shock-type things I should know about? I'm a thirty-something caucasian computer nerd, to give you an idea of where my interests lie.

Lord knows I'm not going to pack my life up and move to the other side of the continent on a whim, so any and all information is appreciated!
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Old 08-17-2008, 08:08 PM
hsw
 
2,144 posts, read 7,160,089 times
Reputation: 1540
Cost of living for a single guy in SV will not be as much higher as it would be for a family that needs to buy a house in a decent suburban area and likely need to pay for private schools...

Doubt many single guys need to buy a place; for many, much better uses for one's capital exist vs illiquid residential real estate....can easily rent a newer 1BR condo in a decent area...

Many singles who work deep in SV live in SanJose's SantanaRow, a mixed-use ?5yo project that has condos above shops/restaurants/bars...only decent grub and singles scene S of PaloAlto....

PaloAlto itself is other favored choice....many younger Stanford alums and tech guys...dumpy, socialist town w/some restaurants and bars...not many newer condos....

Many other young people who work in SV choose to rent a newer condo in SF's SOMA corridor, nr 280 fwy....would guess many 1BR condos rent for some ?$3500/mo (incl garage)...

As you prob know, tech industry comp is largely a mix of older cos. w/perhaps greater cash comp but equity comp that is stagnant....and younger cos. w/perhaps less cash comp, but equity comp that may/may not be worth a lot someday....

Many smart guys in SV work nonstop for several yrs for their equity windfall at some tech co. before choosing to start a family (and many prefer the single life even after making some money)....in buying a house in any desirable suburb of SV, one is competing w/many rather affluent <40yo tech/financial guys for the scarce land in Woodside/Atherton/LosAltosHills, where the "crowd" prefers to reside, thus the steep housing costs, which are far greater than NYC's best suburbs and only rivaled by LA's Westside....
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Old 08-18-2008, 03:00 AM
 
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,345 posts, read 8,557,056 times
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Los gatos is very expensive to buy in. I was looking between 1 million to 1.5 million and was pretty dissappointed with what I saw and I grew up in the Bay area.
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Old 08-18-2008, 11:26 AM
 
18 posts, read 117,517 times
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Los Gatos isn't even an option. I was looking at some houses last night and they're way out of my price range.

I'm not a single guy, I'd be bringing out my wife and two cats. This is one of those life decisions, we're currently looking to buy here in Atlanta when this California offer came out of nowhere. I personally view it as a long shot, but if I get an offer I can't refuse, who knows. Since I'd rather be prepared than not, I wanted to investigate the realities of moving out there.

How far would you have to go out to get something reasonable in, say, the mid-$300s? Sacramento? (said half-jokingly)
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Old 08-18-2008, 11:43 AM
 
Location: CO
1,603 posts, read 3,543,155 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silks View Post
Los Gatos isn't even an option. I was looking at some houses last night and they're way out of my price range.

I'm not a single guy, I'd be bringing out my wife and two cats. This is one of those life decisions, we're currently looking to buy here in Atlanta when this California offer came out of nowhere. I personally view it as a long shot, but if I get an offer I can't refuse, who knows. Since I'd rather be prepared than not, I wanted to investigate the realities of moving out there.

How far would you have to go out to get something reasonable in, say, the mid-$300s? Sacramento? (said half-jokingly)
Ouch. The mid-300's would be a ways outside of Silicon Valley. I'd say mid-500's is about the best you'd get for anything worth living in around that area, and that's still going to require a lengthy commute to work most likely. And if you plan on having kids, you'd want to choose an area with a good school district, and the price will be even higher.

Funny enough, you could find something pretty decent in the Sacramento area in your price range. If you could find work in or around Sacramento, it might be worth considering. The housing prices out there are pretty unstable at the moment, so you should be able to get a pretty good deal. Though it might be worth renting for a year until there's a better picture of where the market is at. But you'd be located right in between Lake Tahoe and San Francisco, with Sonoma not too far away. Not too bad.

I'm originally from San Jose, born and raised. My wife and I moved out here to Denver 3 years ago and are considering moving to Sacramento so that our daughter can be a 2-hour drive away from family instead of a 2-hour flight. We have absolutely no urge to move back to Silicon Valley though. We'd just like to be close enough to enjoy it on the weekends if we want.
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Old 08-18-2008, 11:54 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,143,792 times
Reputation: 3631
Quote:
Originally Posted by silks View Post
Los Gatos isn't even an option. I was looking at some houses last night and they're way out of my price range.

I'm not a single guy, I'd be bringing out my wife and two cats. This is one of those life decisions, we're currently looking to buy here in Atlanta when this California offer came out of nowhere. I personally view it as a long shot, but if I get an offer I can't refuse, who knows. Since I'd rather be prepared than not, I wanted to investigate the realities of moving out there.

How far would you have to go out to get something reasonable in, say, the mid-$300s? Sacramento? (said half-jokingly)
Mid-$300s? Really? Stay in Atlanta. A long-shot is one thing; a no-chance is another.
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Old 06-15-2010, 03:05 PM
 
99 posts, read 569,899 times
Reputation: 132
How did you just come up w/ Los Gatos, of all cities in SV, w/o even looking into price in the first place? It's one thing if you 'said' Milpitas, but to be in ATL w/ a budget of %300k and choose LG? Me thinks thou art just fantasizing. Mid-$300s will get you a cracker box in an Oakland ghetto.
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Old 06-15-2010, 05:53 PM
 
81 posts, read 248,631 times
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We just moved here from Raleigh, which is similar to Atlanta in terms of housing costs. Atlanta may be a bit more expensive, but the type of construction, age of construction, etc., are pretty similar. We're renting, but constantly looking at real estate here. The difference between what you can get for your money is STAGGERING. An older 3BR/2BA ranch in an okay neighborhood in San Jose, where the elementary schools may be okay, but the high schools are underperforming, will run around $700K. A nearby townhouse development in Santa Clara, where K-8 is good but 9-12 not so much so, is easily north of $675K for a 3BR. You'd have a hard time finding 4BR in a decent K-8 school district for less than $900K. If you want to get into one of the super K-12 school districts like Cupertino you'll pay over $1M for even a condo/townhome. You can probably get an older ranch house in Santa Clara or San Jose with 3BR/1BA for $500K, but it would be something that would sell for 1/2 the price or less in Atlanta. And you don't find a lot of houses with things like bonus rooms, space in the attic for expansion, etc.
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Old 06-16-2010, 11:12 AM
 
Location: CO
1,603 posts, read 3,543,155 times
Reputation: 504
Quote:
Originally Posted by irby View Post
We just moved here from Raleigh, which is similar to Atlanta in terms of housing costs. Atlanta may be a bit more expensive, but the type of construction, age of construction, etc., are pretty similar. We're renting, but constantly looking at real estate here. The difference between what you can get for your money is STAGGERING. An older 3BR/2BA ranch in an okay neighborhood in San Jose, where the elementary schools may be okay, but the high schools are underperforming, will run around $700K. A nearby townhouse development in Santa Clara, where K-8 is good but 9-12 not so much so, is easily north of $675K for a 3BR. You'd have a hard time finding 4BR in a decent K-8 school district for less than $900K. If you want to get into one of the super K-12 school districts like Cupertino you'll pay over $1M for even a condo/townhome. You can probably get an older ranch house in Santa Clara or San Jose with 3BR/1BA for $500K, but it would be something that would sell for 1/2 the price or less in Atlanta. And you don't find a lot of houses with things like bonus rooms, space in the attic for expansion, etc.
Exactly. No basements, no attics, no bonus rooms, small lots, 30 years old, not in great shape, and laundry in the garage... and you can still pay close to a million bucks.

Here's something to look at - Almaden Valley in southern San Jose, which is widely considered the "slums of Los Gatos", has some of the better schools in San Jose. It's a nice area, but not ritzy, or even considered a "rich" area. Try finding a decent 4 bedroom home in that area for less than $800k. I don't know that you could find any. And that's just an above average area in San Jose... and San Jose is just an average city in the Bay Area in terms of desirability. Hell, it's a big compromise for some.

Funny how even now, 2 years after the big real estate crash, this area is still so insanely expensive. So many people I heard from (even in these forums) predicted prices to come crashing down. I'm wondering how many still think that's going to happen.
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Old 06-16-2010, 11:43 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,143,792 times
Reputation: 3631
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ludachris View Post
Funny how even now, 2 years after the big real estate crash, this area is still so insanely expensive. So many people I heard from (even in these forums) predicted prices to come crashing down. I'm wondering how many still think that's going to happen.
I do.. because while we're done with the subprime mess, we still have an alt-A disaster to get through.
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