4 ms·

> Heather Lile, a nurse who makes $180,000 a year, commutes two hours from her home in Manteca to the San Francisco hospital where she works, 80 miles away. “I

> Heather Lile, a nurse who makes $180,000 a year, commutes two hours from her home in Manteca to the San Francisco hospital where she works, 80 miles away. “I make really good money and it’s frustrating to me that I can’t afford to live close to my job,” said Ms. Lile. OK, that's a load of crap. I don't know what you're doing with your money, but you can definitely live in SF on $180k. And if you can't, well, name your destination that's within two hours, it'll be cheaper than most of SF. I'm guessing she needed/found the perfect home.

ProAm 9y ago
With a family as a single parent?
- jldugger 9y ago
  Depends on childcare costs, but probably. My budget for SF requires about $150k and includes unusually high retirement savings.
  - iaw 9y ago
    My understanding is that childcare costs run about $20-30K per year per child. Is this incorrect?
    - jldugger 9y ago
      Sounds a little high, depending on age, but SF is likely more expensive.
rconti 9y ago
Yup. And choosing to live in Manteca is utterly insane. It's FAR more than 2 hours at rush hour. Barely 2 hours with no traffic. That is 100% a choice. I don't know why she chooses that, but it's a choice.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > And choosing to live in Manteca is utterly insane. It's FAR more than 2 hours at rush hour. It's rush hour now. Google Maps, which tends to be pretty accurate, says 2:15, right now. And rush hour may or may not be actual commute hours for a nurse; not everyone works typical hours and commute decisions based on your actual work patterns rather than average work patterns that aren't actually yours are quite sensible.
blizkreeg 9y ago
It's not a load of crap. I think what she meant was she can't afford to _buy_ close to SF. The closest you can buy a decent home (not apartment) close to SF in that pay (~800Kish home) is Walnut Creek or thereabouts, which is about 45mins away by Bart.
- blobbers 9y ago
  With a salary of $180K you can definitely afford to buy near SF. Banks will sign off on an $900,000 mortgage no problem on that salary. You have to put maybe $100-200K down payment for your million dollar 2BR. Guess what? You need to save for a few years to get that, which is easy when you're making $15K pre tax a month and living in Manteca.
  - iaw 9y ago
    Have you purchased housing in any of the more desirable areas of California recently? If you have, please tell me where this fantasy of your played out and I will buy there. What happens to someone with a $100K-200K down payment and a bank willing to cover another $900K on top of that is that they put in a $1.1M offer with the required bank contingencies and then someone puts in a $1.1M offer with no contingencies and the cash offer wins. Having a bank willing to lend you money has not been sufficient to purchase a home in most areas since the housing collapse because there's so much speculation in cash.
    - zaroth 9y ago
      What is this required bank contingencies you speak of? Just because you are getting a mortgage doesn't mean you need a mortgage contingency in your offer. You are taking on the added risk of actually closing on the loan, but that doesn't mean it had to be in the offer letter. If you know what the house is worth and what your credit score is and how the underwriting works, just make a "cash" offer like everyone else. It's not like you literally show up with a briefcase of cash in any case.
      - iaw 9y ago
727374 9y ago
The sensationalism and missing facts/context of this story is truly precious. I'd love to hear the specs on Ms Lile's Manteca house. I'm guessing it's significantly bigger than the median house size in SF or neighboring towns, where she could surely afford to live in a 2BR bungalow or condo.

ProAm 9y ago

With a family as a single parent?

jldugger 9y ago
Depends on childcare costs, but probably. My budget for SF requires about $150k and includes unusually high retirement savings.
- iaw 9y ago
  My understanding is that childcare costs run about $20-30K per year per child. Is this incorrect?
  - jldugger 9y ago
    Sounds a little high, depending on age, but SF is likely more expensive.

rconti 9y ago

Yup. And choosing to live in Manteca is utterly insane. It's FAR more than 2 hours at rush hour. Barely 2 hours with no traffic. That is 100% a choice. I don't know why she chooses that, but it's a choice.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
dragonwriter 9y ago
> And choosing to live in Manteca is utterly insane. It's FAR more than 2 hours at rush hour. It's rush hour now. Google Maps, which tends to be pretty accurate, says 2:15, right now. And rush hour may or may not be actual commute hours for a nurse; not everyone works typical hours and commute decisions based on your actual work patterns rather than average work patterns that aren't actually yours are quite sensible.

blizkreeg 9y ago

It's not a load of crap. I think what she meant was she can't afford to _buy_ close to SF. The closest you can buy a decent home (not apartment) close to SF in that pay (~800Kish home) is Walnut Creek or thereabouts, which is about 45mins away by Bart.

blobbers 9y ago
With a salary of $180K you can definitely afford to buy near SF. Banks will sign off on an $900,000 mortgage no problem on that salary. You have to put maybe $100-200K down payment for your million dollar 2BR. Guess what? You need to save for a few years to get that, which is easy when you're making $15K pre tax a month and living in Manteca.
- iaw 9y ago
  Have you purchased housing in any of the more desirable areas of California recently? If you have, please tell me where this fantasy of your played out and I will buy there. What happens to someone with a $100K-200K down payment and a bank willing to cover another $900K on top of that is that they put in a $1.1M offer with the required bank contingencies and then someone puts in a $1.1M offer with no contingencies and the cash offer wins. Having a bank willing to lend you money has not been sufficient to purchase a home in most areas since the housing collapse because there's so much speculation in cash.
  - zaroth 9y ago
    What is this required bank contingencies you speak of? Just because you are getting a mortgage doesn't mean you need a mortgage contingency in your offer. You are taking on the added risk of actually closing on the loan, but that doesn't mean it had to be in the offer letter. If you know what the house is worth and what your credit score is and how the underwriting works, just make a "cash" offer like everyone else. It's not like you literally show up with a briefcase of cash in any case.
    - iaw 9y ago

727374 9y ago

The sensationalism and missing facts/context of this story is truly precious. I'd love to hear the specs on Ms Lile's Manteca house. I'm guessing it's significantly bigger than the median house size in SF or neighboring towns, where she could surely afford to live in a 2BR bungalow or condo.