3 ms·

This is pretty much spot on. I live in San Mateo. Firstly, what I pay for my basic apartment here would have easily put me in one of the nicest places back ho

by Cuyacap 12y ago

This is pretty much spot on. I live in San Mateo. Firstly, what I pay for my basic apartment here would have easily put me in one of the nicest places back home. Nightlife doesn't exist. The traffic is horrible if you are headed up into SF or down into San Jose. I manage to save $1K per month on my six figure salary. At first, that sounds like I'm doing pretty well; however, look up the cost of a house in the Bay Area. In August when my lease is up, I'm taking what I have managed to save, and I'm going home to where I can afford to live, not merely sleep.

ModernMech 12y ago
I'm curious if you'd be willing to share your monthly take-home and your monthly rent... or maybe at least what percentage of your take-home you're paying for rent?
- Cuyacap 12y ago
  Rent and utilities are approximately 40% of my take home pay. That's for an average one bedroom apartment in San Mateo.
- anw 12y ago
  Since this is a child comment under my post, I'll chime in, too. When I first started out here, I was making aprox $6666 a month ($80k annual). Of that, I would take home around $4100 after taxes and withholdings (including travel expenses which were reimbursed when you file your taxes). Of that $4100, $1600 would go towards rent (which was only because I found a deal from a friend). You now have $2500. This seems not too bad, until you factor in utilities, random car repairs, saving for vacations (or maybe just skip the vacations and save for a fancy casket). In the end, unless you're mindfully frugal, you may be left with around around $12-1500 to keep in your bank account. Which is great... if you're content with keeping the equivalent of a sub $20,000 salary. To make it worth it, find a job you like, or a job that likes and values you. Look for areas you can expand and grow; not just in your current skillset, but in broadening outside of engineering, as well. Soft skills are very helpful. As you get promotions (also called switching companies every 1.5 years out here), your salary will increase, but it won't feel as dramatic as the check says.

by Cuyacap 12y ago

ModernMech 12y ago

I'm curious if you'd be willing to share your monthly take-home and your monthly rent... or maybe at least what percentage of your take-home you're paying for rent?

Cuyacap 12y ago
Rent and utilities are approximately 40% of my take home pay. That's for an average one bedroom apartment in San Mateo.
anw 12y ago
Since this is a child comment under my post, I'll chime in, too. When I first started out here, I was making aprox $6666 a month ($80k annual). Of that, I would take home around $4100 after taxes and withholdings (including travel expenses which were reimbursed when you file your taxes). Of that $4100, $1600 would go towards rent (which was only because I found a deal from a friend). You now have $2500. This seems not too bad, until you factor in utilities, random car repairs, saving for vacations (or maybe just skip the vacations and save for a fancy casket). In the end, unless you're mindfully frugal, you may be left with around around $12-1500 to keep in your bank account. Which is great... if you're content with keeping the equivalent of a sub $20,000 salary. To make it worth it, find a job you like, or a job that likes and values you. Look for areas you can expand and grow; not just in your current skillset, but in broadening outside of engineering, as well. Soft skills are very helpful. As you get promotions (also called switching companies every 1.5 years out here), your salary will increase, but it won't feel as dramatic as the check says.