What's enough income in Bay area for a family of three?
TC: 165k base, 160k rsus/ 4yr, 30k sign, 10% bonus and relo First year comp: a little over 250k If I take the position, I'll be moving from East coast with wife and newborn and m trying to determine if this is enough to live comfortably in the Bay area. I will be the sole income, but we won't need to pay for child care. Schools aren't a concern because I plan to move back to East coast after a few years. We don't care much about having nice cars or expensive clothes and with a newborn we probably wouldn't be eating out more than once a week if even although probably a lot of take out. I'd be working out of Sunnyvale/Cupertino and the things I do care about are a 15-25 min commute and a house or townhouse with 3br. I also want to make sure I can still save for retirement. Is this possible on this income? The more I read the harder it is to know.
It is certainly possible. Not having to pay daycare helps
What is your YOE? What is your current comp and location? Might be better to guage if you have a good offer and how it compares cost of living wise to San Fran.
Current is 170k in Boston suburb, and here my wife may be able to work a little, maybe 20-25k per year. 9 YOE
So your cost of living break even point is ~$210k, so you should be living a comparable lifestyle to your Boston setup. With sign on being only a one year thing your TC is $220k. If you are moving to ‘make more money’, I wouldnt make the move for $10-$20 more a year.... I will add, at the 9 yoe mark I would expect you to be more in the 300-350 comp range in San Fran.
You can easily save 50% of your total comp. Welcome to Bay Area!
You will live comfortably. You are going to come here and never going to go back to east coast. You have been warned.
So true
Lol.. I came from India to the Bay area and happily moved out of it. There is a lot more to the US than the Bay area..
125K for a family of four is considered to be poverty line. You will be just fine. You are doubling that, with a smaller family, and a seemingly good plan.
I used to live in Bay Area. You'll be fine. Enjoy your time exploring California.
Thanks for the responses! Definitely helps to hear that this sounds pretty reasonable.
Please see my response way below. It’s not realistic to get a 3 bed around Cupertino for anything less than 3.5k rent ....if you would like to own a home, for a 15-20 min commute , the budget will be above 1 million for a 3 bed condo atleast. I’m not trying to dissuade you, it’s just the reality that a lot will go in rent
I pay around 3.4k for a 2 bed 2 bath in Cupertino >.< It sucks
At that base, you'd be living paycheck to paycheck if in a 3bd place! RSU income is what you'll save, net of taxes.
what are you talking about? 165k base would net him 8k$ after taxes(maxing 401k). 3k for rent and 2k for other expenses, he would save 3k, that's a savings rate of 37.5%, not exactly paycheck to paycheck.
3br near Sunnyvale/Cupertino seems like it'll be closer to 3.7k (2 dogs too), but even that it seems like it shouldn't be too bad. Currently I make 170k base but no bonus or RSU and 2600 mortgage and 1h15m commute Overall I should still be able to save more and have better quality of life I think.
First year I’d be filling up 18.5K in 401, taking 10% espp, saving all of the rsu and still doing ok. Second year without bonuses I might have to spend a little of those rsu, depending on how well you manage your budget.
How much should I expect in RSU refresh? Obviously not gauranteed and based on perf, but let's say average for meeting expectations?
A little less than your initial grant, but not 4 time less
Yes , it’s good income . Given your needs and projected lifestyle,here’s what I think. Almost half of monthly pay would go towards rent. And probably another 1/4th towards all other expenses. You should have 1/4th (around 1.8k maybe) balance in your account. Good luck !
You mean half of base?
More like glad of all take home... a three bedroom townhouse is about 4K month or more