3 ms·

Real estate—whether renting or buying—is the killer. I moved from the Bay Area to Texas (Houston then San Antonio) and it's dirt cheap here. I pay $500/month

by saryant 14y ago

Real estate—whether renting or buying—is the killer. I moved from the Bay Area to Texas (Houston then San Antonio) and it's dirt cheap here. I pay $500/month for a great apartment in a nice part of town with hardwood floors, air conditioning and a covered parking space. Around 700 sq.ft. Fuel is cheaper, taxes are lower (when I left CA car registration was over $400/year I recall, mine is $50 here) and housing is much cheaper. Not sure if this link will still work for you: http://bestplaces.net/col/?salary=80000&city1=54865000&city2=50667000 http://bestplaces.net/col/?salary=80000&city1=54865000&#... According to their stats I would need 2.3x the salary I make here for a comparable lifestyle in SF. Now, I'll grant you that could be mitigated by not living in SF but one of the cheaper suburbs. Mess with the numbers and see what it looks like.

seanmcdirmid 14y ago
I would say SF costs are higher but, not very much, on everything than Texas until housing is considered. I don't think that is a very controversial assumption; even gas might be $4 in SF and only about a $1 cheaper in Texas. Equivlalent lifestyle is always fuzzy: do I need a car if I live in SF? Maybe but many do well without. If you are into urban living...you wouldn't be very happy in San Antonio. In NYC, this is magnified obviously. You can also move out of SF, and unfortunately, many jobs are in the bay area and not the city anyways (so live in Mountain View vs. SF and work at Google). For the record, I still think SF is too expensive and would prefer Seattle or Portland for quality of life reasons (but I'm a native PNW). I wouldn't dream of moving to Texas, I didn't even find Austin to be very nice; I don't like driving and haven't owned a car in over 7 years (when I lived in the Bay Area ironically).
- saryant 14y ago
  That's how I felt. I'm a California native and I thought I'd hate Texas but after living here for seven years I very much doubt I'll ever go back.
  - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
    I've been out of the states for 7 years. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever bother going back.

by saryant 14y ago

seanmcdirmid 14y ago

I would say SF costs are higher but, not very much, on everything than Texas until housing is considered. I don't think that is a very controversial assumption; even gas might be $4 in SF and only about a $1 cheaper in Texas. Equivlalent lifestyle is always fuzzy: do I need a car if I live in SF? Maybe but many do well without. If you are into urban living...you wouldn't be very happy in San Antonio. In NYC, this is magnified obviously. You can also move out of SF, and unfortunately, many jobs are in the bay area and not the city anyways (so live in Mountain View vs. SF and work at Google). For the record, I still think SF is too expensive and would prefer Seattle or Portland for quality of life reasons (but I'm a native PNW). I wouldn't dream of moving to Texas, I didn't even find Austin to be very nice; I don't like driving and haven't owned a car in over 7 years (when I lived in the Bay Area ironically).

saryant 14y ago
That's how I felt. I'm a California native and I thought I'd hate Texas but after living here for seven years I very much doubt I'll ever go back.
- seanmcdirmid 14y ago
  I've been out of the states for 7 years. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever bother going back.