SF bay area living questions

[EALm4]

Bay area peeps, question(s).... what kind of salary should someone need to be making to live comfortably? I have no debt other than my car payment and living pretty comfortably right now with a respectable amount in savings. I may have a potential job offer for $130k and the wife will eventually start working in healthcare. But for the time being I'll be the sole provider since she'll just have to quit her job.

Just trying to make sure we're able to save some coin and be able to eat avocado toast once in a while

What are the good districts/neighborhoods to check out? We've been looking at Richmond, CA outside the city as well just not sure how the commute to downtown SF would be.

[vip]

Between you and the wifey, I think anything over 250k combined is good to start with and your salaries will typically go up over time. All depends on what your future outlook is, where you want to buy down the road, etc.

Richmond, CA is not the best area to live in compared to other areas you could check out. The East Bay area is typically a great place outside of SF and a little bit more affordable compared to SF itself. Below are some good options, city wise.

Oakland - Lot of great new restaurants and hip scene outside of SF. Near the hils is nice as well, but you probably want to be close to BART so you can take the train to SF which is about 15 min train ride.

Fremont/Union City - Again, great place to live as its in the middle of the bay area, not the best for restaurants and nightlife, but good reasonable train ride to SF is about 45 mins.

Dublin/Pleasanton - The new happening place to live in east bay with some good nightlife and restaurant options.

You also have the Peninsula Bay Area, which has Palo Alto, Burlingame, Redwood City, but are very expensive.

I live in Fremont and used to take the BART to SF daily a few years back. Not bad if you can deal with 45 min train ride.

As for cost of living, its certainly expensive, but you will eventually have the dual income kicking in, just a matter of where you want to live. Check out zillow for rentals in the mean time.

[KenB925]

Originally Posted by EALm4

Bay area peeps, question(s).... what kind of salary should someone need to be making to live comfortably? I have no debt other than my car payment and living pretty comfortably right now with a respectable amount in savings. I may have a potential job offer for $130k and the wife will eventually start working in healthcare. But for the time being I'll be the sole provider since she'll just have to quit her job.

Just trying to make sure we're able to save some coin and be able to eat avocado toast once in a while

What are the good districts/neighborhoods to check out? We've been looking at Richmond, CA outside the city as well just not sure how the commute to downtown SF would be.

There must be a decent area of Richmond...but I have never seen it.

If you have to go into SF regularly, you will probably want BART to be an option. They are building like crazy in Dublin CA, lots of apartments and condos, and a new BART station (now there will be two).

Not sure if you have kids to consider or not, or if you are interested in being closer to the 'activity' of the city.

I live in San Ramon, which is just to the north of Dublin, very much the 'burbs.

As far as the dollars go, thats really up to where/how you want to live. Rent/buy apartment/condo/house.

[evoq007]

If you want to buy 130k will not be enough. 130k per year might be tight. I would budget 3500 for rent for you and your wife including utilities if you are looking in the east bay.

[jonshmoe]

shoot.. 130k in Atlanta you'll be doing well. It's always crazy to hear about the cost of living in SF/NYC

[KenB925]

Originally Posted by jonshmoe

shoot.. 130k in Atlanta you'll be doing well. It's always crazy to hear about the cost of living in SF/NYC

My wife just sent me an article that says you need an annual income of $303,000 if you want to buy a median priced home in SF, obviously that is in the city, but DAMN

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by KenB925

There must be a decent area of Richmond...but I have never seen it.

If you have to go into SF regularly, you will probably want BART to be an option. They are building like crazy in Dublin CA, lots of apartments and condos, and a new BART station (now there will be two).

Not sure if you have kids to consider or not, or if you are interested in being closer to the 'activity' of the city.

I live in San Ramon, which is just to the north of Dublin, very much the 'burbs.

As far as the dollars go, thats really up to where/how you want to live. Rent/buy apartment/condo/house.

Checking out San Ramon and Dublin right now. I'm perfectly fine with the burbs.

Originally Posted by evoq007

If you want to buy 130k will not be enough. 130k per year might be tight. I would budget 3500 for rent for you and your wife including utilities if you are looking in the east bay.

That's pretty much what I've been seeing. So I think we set our budget at $3500 for renting. Ideally it'd be nice to rent a house but apts are cool too since we currently live in a condo.

Originally Posted by jonshmoe

shoot.. 130k in Atlanta you'll be doing well. It's always crazy to hear about the cost of living in SF/NYC

Bro tell me about it. I'm originally from GA. I've been looking to move back but I dont think quite yet.

[b4hand]

Don't do it.

[ASAP]

https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by EALm4

Bay area peeps, question(s).... what kind of salary should someone need to be making to live comfortably? I have no debt other than my car payment and living pretty comfortably right now with a respectable amount in savings. I may have a potential job offer for $130k and the wife will eventually start working in healthcare. But for the time being I'll be the sole provider since she'll just have to quit her job.

Just trying to make sure we're able to save some coin and be able to eat avocado toast once in a while

What are the good districts/neighborhoods to check out? We've been looking at Richmond, CA outside the city as well just not sure how the commute to downtown SF would be.

This house, in my neighborhood: Zillow just sold for $2.2M.


Let that sink in for a minute....

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by MadDog

This house, in my neighborhood: Zillow just sold for $2.2M.


Let that sink in for a minute....

goddamn that is a nice house but man that's in silicon valley. No way in hell I can afford to live there.

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by EALm4

goddamn that is a nice house but man that's in silicon valley. No way in hell I can afford to live there.

The owner was asking $1.79M. It sold for $410K over asking.

[infinitekidM2C]

i assume this is a troll post...

[jonshmoe]

Originally Posted by EALm4

Bro tell me about it. I'm originally from GA. I've been looking to move back but I dont think quite yet.

What industry are you in?

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by jonshmoe

What industry are you in?

financial compliance / AML

[joooiiiiii]

Everyone is doing a mass exodus to Sacramento because of the rent. I hate commuting but if you can find a spot not too far from the BART--I would def try for that. I rather spend a bit more then waste my day commuting to/fro work. I did it before and it's ridiculous. If you can avoid moving to the Bay Area--I would recommend that first lol.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by Mr Carrots

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/va/richmond/crime

Do NOT live in Richmond, pay extra to live further away. My neighbor was a Richmond detective and his stories were awful, and it was even more violent and filthy than the shithole part of the east bay we lived in.

That's Richmond, VA. Here's the link to Richmond, CA: https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/richmond/crime

and here's one for San Jose, CA for comparison: https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/san-jose/crime

There are certain parts of Richmond to avoid, and there are also parts where even a $300k combined income family won't be able to afford.

Those places to avoid are:
Central Richmond (the other side is next to El Cerrito which is $$$$)
North Richmond (Danger level high, hitman on duty)
South Richmond (Danger level high, sniper on duty)
Montalvin

Medium to Upper-mid income areas:
Country Club
Hilltop District
Marina Bay Condos/Townhomes
Point Richmond
Richmond Hills
San Pablo Dam Rd (beautiful area towards the lake)

Millionaires Club
Marina Bay

Your detective neighbor was telling you the truth. However, Richmond's homicide tendencies are more targeted/isolated, and primarily contained within the Iron Triangle area. Whereas (East) Oakland's tendency is random, meaning anyone can get caught in the line of fire. Either way, many parts of the East Bay, especially Richmond is not a good place for softies, or those who aren't accustomed to being in a predominantly urban environment. This goes the same for several parts of San Francisco like Bayview, Hunter's Point, Tenderloin, Sunnydale, 3rd St/Mission St.

Your assessments on the rest of the East Bay cities are spot on, but a bit inaccurate for Hayward. Hayward also has a millionaire's club and middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods located in the hills off of HWY 580. What you saw was most likely the industrial side of Hayward.

To OP, you're committing roughly 40-43% of your net income to housing expenses with a $3500 budget. Keep in mind that CA state income tax is higher than MD. I work in the tech sector, and I've seen many colleagues come and go who thought that throwing their money away with a $3500-$4000 monthly rent is the only way to live safe and comfortably in the Bay Area. Some of them have since moved back to their home state, because they simply couldn't keep up with the stupid cost of living that they got themselves into.

My advice is to keep your options OPEN, and really get to see the area if it piques your interest. If renting is the only option, then below are some of the more affordable areas to look into that isn't too far from the city:

Concord (1+ hour BART)
Brisbane (next door to SF)
Daly City/Colma (20-25 mins BART)
El Sobrante (go towards the hills, parallel to Richmond)
Pacifica (35-40 mins BART)
Pinole (45-50 mins via 80W then BART)
Pleasant Hill (same as Concord)
Richmond (but not in the danger zone)
San Bruno (35-40 mins BART)
San Mateo (50-55 mins via 101N then BART)
South San Francisco (30 mins BART)
West Oakland (25-30 mins BART)

Good luck, and I hope you find this information somewhat useful. FWIW, the previous owner of my property in Richmond is a Corporate Controller for a Fortune 500 company based in the SF Financial District. He, unfortunately had to move back to Hercules (two cities away) to help his parents with a family situation.

[NemesisX]

$130,000 in SF is equal to $86,543 in Baltimore, MD in terms of purchasing power.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by vip

Between you and the wifey, I think anything over 250k combined is good to start with and your salaries will typically go up over time. All depends on what your future outlook is, where you want to buy down the road, etc.

Richmond, CA is not the best area to live in compared to other areas you could check out. The East Bay area is typically a great place outside of SF and a little bit more affordable compared to SF itself. Below are some good options, city wise.

Oakland - Lot of great new restaurants and hip scene outside of SF. Near the hils is nice as well, but you probably want to be close to BART so you can take the train to SF which is about 15 min train ride.

Fremont/Union City - Again, great place to live as its in the middle of the bay area, not the best for restaurants and nightlife, but good reasonable train ride to SF is about 45 mins.

Dublin/Pleasanton - The new happening place to live in east bay with some good nightlife and restaurant options.

You also have the Peninsula Bay Area, which has Palo Alto, Burlingame, Redwood City, but are very expensive.

I live in Fremont and used to take the BART to SF daily a few years back. Not bad if you can deal with 45 min train ride.

As for cost of living, its certainly expensive, but you will eventually have the dual income kicking in, just a matter of where you want to live. Check out zillow for rentals in the mean time.

$250k/year is top 2.5% in the U.S. and top 5% in the most expensive areas of California.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by Mr Carrots

When we left our delusional neighbors were seriously asking the HOA if it could do something to stop home invasions and constant robberies, a real shame as apparently SL used to be the kind of place you could leave your door open back in the 70s

I'm not sure if burglary is exclusive to San Leandro. I know it happens on the daily in San Jose, and I think it has more to do with the fact that burglary is now only being treated as a misdemeanor in California. I have two brothers each with $2 million houses in San Carlos and San Bruno hills -- both of their neighborhoods are constantly being targeted for burglary, more so in San Bruno, and yet they live in one of the safest and well to do communities in the Bay Area.

On the other hand, I accidentally left my garage opened in Richmond for about 2 hours this past weekend, and not a single item was taken. My garage is full of tools, Apex and 666M wheels, misc car parts, household supplies, 65" TV with surround sound, and a glaring Tesla Powerwall II battery unit that makes us stick out in the neighborhood. The door leading into the house wasn't even locked, but somehow I felt confident that no one would dare pull a heist on us, at least not in broad daylight. Then again, I don't live in the danger zone of Richmond.

[eluded]

Think about what city you have to work in versus where you live, a.k.a. your commute. Traffic is awful in the bay area during peak hours. Just awful. The further you have to drive the worse it is.

You can look at the BART lines and maybe pick a suburb city that is decent and commute in that way.

Personally, I would just get something in the city. There's nothing like the city. Some people say you need to make $303,000 a year to buy a median price house there. Totally worth it.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by nars3000

I'm not sure if burglary is exclusive to San Leandro. I know it happens on the daily in San Jose, and I think it has more to do with the fact that burglary is now only being treated as a misdemeanor in California. I have two brothers each with $2 million houses in San Carlos and San Bruno hills -- both of their neighborhoods are constantly being targeted for burglary, more so in San Bruno, and yet they live in one of the safest and well to do communities in the Bay Area.

On the other hand, I accidentally left my garage opened in Richmond for about 2 hours this past weekend, and not a single item was taken. My garage is full of tools, Apex and 666M wheels, misc car parts, household supplies, 65" TV with surround sound, and a glaring Tesla Powerwall II battery unit that makes us stick out in the neighborhood. The door leading into the house wasn't even locked, but somehow I felt confident that no one would dare pull a heist on us, at least not in broad daylight. Then again, I don't live in the danger zone of Richmond.

res burg is still a felony in ca. liberals haven't gotten rid of that yet. prop 47 made it a misdemeanor to enter an open business with the intent to seal. this would have normally been considered a burglary (intent is usually proven by method of operation and no means to pay). now, it is a misdemeanor regardless of intent.

res burgs happen every day in every city, the likeliness of your house getting hit has to do with exit routes, opportunity, and placement in the neighborhood.
the rise in property crimes and the homeless population exploding is directly related to the passing of prop 47 a few years ago. that reduced the penalties for drug related offenses and a few other things (theft of a firearm under $950 is now a misdemeanor, thanks to california libs). so addicts and thieves stay out of custody.