[thegump]

Long story short..

A recruiter reached out to me for an opportunity in Fremont, CA with you know who a few weeks ago. I just finished up my final interview of which went well. I'm now in the prep, additional research, etc in case an offer comes my way.

Wife and I have been looking around some time as we're ready for a change and want somewhere that has much more opportunity career wise and adventure wise. DC was actually our go to place until this opportunity came along.

Curious for input from the forum peeps that are on that side of the bay area or work in the area. Just any advice or things you feel I should know before committing.

How do you deal with the absurd cost of living (those in the middle class for CA)?
Good walkable places to live?

[dougt.ah3]

My initial thought. Suggest you negotiate to take a trip to the Bay Area before making a decision. You'll need to see traffic patterns to and from your place of work. I believe living in Fremont or a little south might be your best bet. Otherwise there will be a lot of traffic heading into and out of Santa Clara.

[joooiiiiii]

Originally Posted by thegump

Long story short..

A recruiter reached out to me for an opportunity in Fremont, CA with you know who a few weeks ago. I just finished up my final interview of which went well. I'm now in the prep, additional research, etc in case an offer comes my way.

Wife and I have been looking around some time as we're ready for a change and want somewhere that has much more opportunity career wise and adventure wise. DC was actually our go to place until this opportunity came along.

Curious for input from the forum peeps that are on that side of the bay area or work in the area. Just any advice or things you feel I should know before committing.

How do you deal with the absurd cost of living (those in the middle class for CA)?
Good walkable places to live?

Well, the East Bay is a bit more "affordable" than SF and SNJ, but you'll definitely be able to find a decent spot to live in. The Bay (and California) has a lot of things to offer in terms of social life and things to do. The good thing about the Bay is the amount of opportunities to move from one job to another making more money than the last.

Some cons: The traffic can be shitty depending on if you'll be commuting to work, but there's also BART. People complain about BART a lot because it can be unclean. The prices to register your car is higher, the gas is shittier but slightly higher in price than the national average and you probably won't be able to afford a house if your savings isn't up to par. Politics might be too left leaning or progressive for some.

Some pros/solutions: Traffic can be a pita, but if you ride a motorcycle you can split lanes if you so choose to, I used to do this living in LA. If you use a gas finder app, you can always find some cheaper gas somewhere. If you are decent with money management and can build up your savings, you can definitely purchase a home in the Bay--it's doable, but it might take awhile. If you can get used to smaller spaces, that would help too. The politics aren't as "in-your-face" as people make it out to be if you're just living a normal ass life, but if that's your go-to subject in everyday conversation when meeting people then yeah, you might have a tougher time adjusting.

And California has great outdoors (Yosemite, Tahoe, Joshua Tree, etc) and other metropolitan areas to explore (LA, SAC, SD) so most people will be busy if they get out often. I'm from California but I've traveled for years and lived in other places, but California always brings me back. It's easier since my family is here too hehe. Anyways, any questions you got just ask.

[roastbeef]

You probably wouldn't want to walk anywhere. Spend a week out there first. You're in for a treat.

[Alfisti]

Do you have or plan to have kids? And where are bot your parents?

[evil-G-nius]

I cosign @joooiiiiii

Its stupid expensive most places in the Bay Area. Coming from Alabama, what you consider affordable and what Californians consider affordable can be worlds apart. The gas sucks and is more expensive than in Hawaii! Taxes are high, the past few years without fail we have been dealing with massive fires all over the state, the freeways are falling apart, traffic is indeed a pain in the ass.

But, if this opportunity is one you have been fighting for and will be more money to take care of you and your family then its worth a shot. There is a ton to do outdoors, hiking, kaiyaking, surfing, skiing, or just walking on the beach. The state is beautiful and has a lot of variances due to its size...its not like you have been once and you know what the whole state is like. I agree with the idea to come to the area you would be workign in and look at the surrounding areas to see if it suits you. I am from here as well, currently live here so ask any questions you may have.

Good luck!

[E93_Savage]

I'm assuming Tesla.

Parking is an absolute shit show. Every single day there is an altercation in the parking lot. Other than that the city it self is pretty cool and laid back in most areas. Imagine showing up to work 1hr early for parking, waiting about 30-40mins, only to have a space you were waiting for taken by some jerk that will swoop in right in front of you and take it. Ive been in multiple arguments and almost jeopardized my employment more times that i should have.

I commute from Oakland to Fremont everyday. Get fasttrack and traffic isn't much of an issue.

If it is tesla what position are you filling?
Also many many many car enthusiast.

[MisterF80M3]

Everyone is moving out of CA and you are planning to move into CA?

[LOW4LYF]

Everything is depends on your salary here...

I love it! Can be in the snow in the morning and being on the beach in the evening...

[m3gang]

Originally Posted by E93_Savage

I'm assuming Tesla.

Parking is an absolute shit show. Every single day there is an altercation in the parking lot. Other than that the city it self is pretty cool and laid back in most areas. Imagine showing up to work 1hr early for parking, waiting about 30-40mins, only to have a space you were waiting for taken by some jerk that will swoop in right in front of you and take it. Ive been in multiple arguments and almost jeopardized my employment more times that i should have.

I commute from Oakland to Fremont everyday. Get fasttrack and traffic isn't much of an issue.

If it is tesla what position are you filling?
Also many many many car enthusiast.

I also work at Tesla, but Deer Creek. Parking is a lot better here. Especially during Covid. Also there are around 4 E9X M3 here. Lots of car people.

[thegump]

Originally Posted by joooiiiiii

...

I have an hour fifteen 75 mile one way commute so fuel costs aren't knew to me.

We're also smart with our money and don't need to live extravagantly. I have a make or break number it needs to be. Luckily, we've been able to sock away a decent amount in retirement, savings & equity given the low cost of living here.

The wife and I are outdoorsy/adventure people. Try to hike every weekend, mtn bike, snowboard, explore etc so being close to so much diversity is a dream come true.

Originally Posted by roastbeef

You probably wouldn't want to walk anywhere. Spend a week out there first. You're in for a treat.

Could you elaborate on this? Crime? Distance?

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Do you have or plan to have kids? And where are bot your parents?

Do plan on having a child/children but are going through IVF so we are no stranger to some of the extra costs associated with them (IVF has been all out of pocket). Wife would also be working from home so daycare costs would be mute.

Originally Posted by evil-G-nius

...

We talk about cost of living a lot as we've been very fortunate to have high income and extremely low cost of living but we also value many things other than money-as long as it's a livable wage.

If everything works out well part of my acceptance would be to request a tour of the facility and explore the area. The last interview would've allowed that pre-covid days.

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

Everyone is moving out of CA and you are planning to move into CA?

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[TiMSport]

Actually maybe that means it's a good time to move to CA if everyone is moving out.

[joooiiiiii]

Originally Posted by thegump

I have an hour fifteen 75 mile one way commute so fuel costs aren't knew to me.

We're also smart with our money and don't need to live extravagantly. I have a make or break number it needs to be. Luckily, we've been able to sock away a decent amount in retirement, savings & equity given the low cost of living here.

The wife and I are outdoorsy/adventure people. Try to hike every weekend, mtn bike, snowboard, explore etc so being close to so much diversity is a dream come true.



Could you elaborate on this? Crime? Distance?



Do plan on having a child/children but are going through IVF so we are no stranger to some of the extra costs associated with them (IVF has been all out of pocket). Wife would also be working from home so daycare costs would be mute.



We talk about cost of living a lot as we've been very fortunate to have high income and extremely low cost of living but we also value many things other than money-as long as it's a livable wage.

If everything works out well part of my acceptance would be to request a tour of the facility and explore the area. The last interview would've allowed that pre-covid days.



I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

That sounds good. If you’re looking for future home or suburbs maybe check out Milpitas, San Jose. San Leandro and Hayward isn’t so bad either for some pockets. Pleasanton is up East from you. I think San Jose is fast becoming one of he best areas to live in right now—my uncle has a spot out there and it’s really nice.

A lot of the Bay is slightly spread out and walkability (like neighborhood?) would be in the nicer areas that I mentioned—but most people either drive around to get to places or use the BART for commute to work. You definitely want to explore the areas that come up in your research because there are pockets of areas that can be...traumatizing lol. The crime is like any metropolitan area so just do some research and you should be fine. Things have changed over the years and I can’t even keep up enough to give you a ton of insight anymore.


If you have more details on what you might be looking for we might be able to provide better info, but that’s pretty much the gist of what I have for you rn. Good luck!

[Manny01]

Originally Posted by MisterF80M3

Everyone is moving out of CA and you are planning to move into CA?

If you look at the details of the migration trends, lower and middle income folks are moving out of California. Wealthier individuals are moving in. Texas in particularly is importing all the poor denizens. Net net probably good for California and bad for everyone else.

Regarding the OP's question, I've passed on a couple opportunities in California. When I crunched the numbers I was never able to come out ahead from a quality of life / economic perspective. The choice places in California from a housing, schooling, culture, entertainment, night life, perspective are astronomically expensive and highly congested.

Just something to consider, there's a reason lower and middle income folks are leaving in droves.

[RickFLM4]

You either want to pay the price (financially and socially / politically) to live in CA or you don’t. More than most places, there’s not a lot of middle ground.

[dougt.ah3]

Originally Posted by thegump

The wife and I are outdoorsy/adventure people. Try to hike every weekend, mtn bike, snowboard, explore etc so being close to so much diversity is a dream come true.

I lived in California 30 years with 6 in the Bay Area. To me NCal is not that diverse for the activities you mention without travel. For example snowboarding is not close by in NCal. For outdoors / adventure, Colorado or Utah may better suit those needs.

[Alfisti]

I asked about kids not because of the cost but because of family. I would figure out how to make it work wherever your parents are.

[Mosaud1998]

I would never move out to California.

No offense to anyone that lives there, but from what I've heard from friends that have gone to California for vacation, "Cali folks are weird and not in a good way"

Plus, everything is expensive

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I would never move out to California.

No offense to anyone that lives there, but from what I've heard from friends that have gone to California for vacation, "Cali folks are weird and not in a good way"

Plus, everything is expensive

The problem is you have friends that have only visited Cali, not lived there. I know you're joking but there are pluses and minuses of living in Cali for sure. Personally I like SoCal more than the North, but that's just me. I enjoy the climate in the South much more. For the record, the entire West Coast is expensive nowadays. Being from the West Coast and perhaps being a bit biased, I think people are the friendliest and down to earth. Of course there's going to be your share of "weirdos", but tell me a place that doesn't have that.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

The problem is you have friends that have only visited Cali, not lived there. I know you're joking but there are pluses and minuses of living in Cali for sure. Personally I like SoCal more than the North, but that's just me. I enjoy the climate in the South much more. For the record, the entire West Coast is expensive nowadays. Being from the West Coast and perhaps being a bit biased, I think people are the friendliest and down to earth. Of course there's going to be your share of "weirdos", but tell me a place that doesn't have that.

Chicago

Nah I'm jp. There are weirdos everywhere.

My goal is to get out of Illinois by 2023-2024 and move to Texas

[TiMSport]

Ha, there's plenty of weirdos there, not to worry.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

Ha, there's plenty of weirdos there, not to worry.

My cousins one of them

Hopefully land, taxes, etc are low in Texas when I have enough saved up to buy a house.