3 ms·

Per your footnote, in SV professional households, combined salaries north of $300k/year are not uncommon. A nanny costing $40k to $50k is not trivial, but it's

Per your footnote, in SV professional households, combined salaries north of $300k/year are not uncommon. A nanny costing $40k to $50k is not trivial, but it's manageable. In fact, a nanny is generally cheaper than sending two children to daycare. (point of reference: the closest daycare to me charges $30k/year)

throwaway2016a 10y ago
My wife and I made a decision not to move to SV because we figured the boost in salary wouldn't justify the higher cost of living (I'm in the greater Boston area). But based on this statement I'm not sure I made the right call. My wife and I make barely more than half that even though I'm senior and she has a master's degree in engineering. But per your point of reference, daycare here "only" costs $18k a year.
- usaar333 10y ago
  I suspect moves to a lower COL generally only work if one of the following are true: A. Your income is below X percentile in your current area. (not sure what X is. Maybe 75th?) B. You value having a large home more than the average person in your current area.
exstudent2 10y ago
The median household income for SF is $83k a year. I wouldn't say that $300k /year is common. http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/california/san-francisco/ http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/california/san-francisco...
- usaar333 10y ago
  I'm referring to common in professional circles; professionals already represent a small number of people. SF has high income inequality, so median says little about what the top 20% actually make. See details here: http://www.city-data.com/income/income-San-Francisco-California.html http://www.city-data.com/income/income-San-Francisco-Califor... Note that for 2 earner households, median income soars to $131k/year. 31% of married households pull over $200k, which is the highest tier the data has.
JauntTrooper 10y ago
There's also a shortage of professional daycare providers in the Bay Area. Two of my co-workers hired a nanny because of the >1 year waitlists for infant daycare around here. It's really tough to find a daycare if you don't sign up in the first trimester.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > There's also a shortage of professional daycare providers in the Bay Area. > Two of my co-workers hired a nanny because of the >1 year waitlists for infant daycare around here. Given real estate costs in the Bay Area, I'm not surprised that the economics favor in-home nannies (where the day care facility is the home of the family receiving service) over day care centers, compared to areas with more affordable real estate.
  - usaar333 10y ago
    Yup. Many day cares are also small 3 child ones run out of the providers' home.

throwaway2016a 10y ago

My wife and I made a decision not to move to SV because we figured the boost in salary wouldn't justify the higher cost of living (I'm in the greater Boston area). But based on this statement I'm not sure I made the right call. My wife and I make barely more than half that even though I'm senior and she has a master's degree in engineering. But per your point of reference, daycare here "only" costs $18k a year.

usaar333 10y ago
I suspect moves to a lower COL generally only work if one of the following are true: A. Your income is below X percentile in your current area. (not sure what X is. Maybe 75th?) B. You value having a large home more than the average person in your current area.

exstudent2 10y ago

The median household income for SF is $83k a year. I wouldn't say that $300k /year is common. http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/california/san-francisco/ http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/california/san-francisco...

usaar333 10y ago
I'm referring to common in professional circles; professionals already represent a small number of people. SF has high income inequality, so median says little about what the top 20% actually make. See details here: http://www.city-data.com/income/income-San-Francisco-California.html http://www.city-data.com/income/income-San-Francisco-Califor... Note that for 2 earner households, median income soars to $131k/year. 31% of married households pull over $200k, which is the highest tier the data has.

JauntTrooper 10y ago

There's also a shortage of professional daycare providers in the Bay Area. Two of my co-workers hired a nanny because of the >1 year waitlists for infant daycare around here. It's really tough to find a daycare if you don't sign up in the first trimester.

dragonwriter 10y ago
> There's also a shortage of professional daycare providers in the Bay Area. > Two of my co-workers hired a nanny because of the >1 year waitlists for infant daycare around here. Given real estate costs in the Bay Area, I'm not surprised that the economics favor in-home nannies (where the day care facility is the home of the family receiving service) over day care centers, compared to areas with more affordable real estate.
- usaar333 10y ago
  Yup. Many day cares are also small 3 child ones run out of the providers' home.