So I jist visited California for the 1st time. San Francisco to be exact...and I absolutely LOVE the place. The water...the mountains...the buildings...and most importantly the tech job market. So this question is for those of you that work/have worked in california can you provide insight on 1. How much would I need to live comfortably in LA/Sunnyvale/SF/ or any other nice tech centric CA areas. 2. What can I expect to make, seeking IT manager roles. Currently have 10 years experience mainly as IT Ops/Enterprise Support, Certs & Master's degree in IT with emphasis on Enterprise Technology Management. 3. What are some of the best places to look at for jobs? I went to visit Twitter HQ, liked it but not the area but Id be willing to overlook that for the right $. Open to any other advice or suggestions I didnt mention here. Thanks!
1. Define "comfortably." What's your lifestyle like? If you're not married and have no kids, you could live reasonably well on $200k. If you want to get a mortgage in a nice area, travel a lot, send your kids to the best schools, etc. then you'll need more. 2. How technical/hands-on is your experience? Your background, as described, could go for anywhere between $200k and $500k. If you've been managing software engineers, that will command a premium. If you've been managing sysadmins who don't/can't code, then not so much.
Im married with 1 kid. 27 years old. In terms of technical expertise...basically im the IT guy that handles everything technical w/o code. Ive managed IT ops folks and help desk folks. No engineering mgmt experience. Juts the folks that write scripts and deploy new software etc.
250+
You love the homelessness, the heroine epidemic, the cuckoldry? Overpriced living? Really?
One of those things kinda sticks out to me as being unlike the others... Is California known for "cuckoldry"? That hasn't been my experience but then again I guess if I wasn't looking for it maybe I wouldn't have known?
Wth does that even mean? I suppose towt is unhappy that there are sex-positive places that exist.
Assuming single person who enjoys luxurious vacation but day-to-day is still frugal: LA I have friends who bought houses and travel luxuriously at $160k. In Bay Area over $210k if you don’t eat out or spend like crazy you can still travel luxuriously and save (assumes savings of $40k annually and assumes studio in LA for $2k and Bay Area for $2500). If you want roommates can definitely increase savings
Thanks for this. Im a married guy woth 1 kid. The wife would also be working. My hope is for 180-200k but idk how realistic that is?
1) depends on your lifestyle 2) depends on what you negotiate 3) SF and the peninsula imho
Peninsula?
If you're single, you can live a very comfortAble life at 100k. Obviously, the actual savings goals and your expense habits will determine how much you actually need. E.g. if you're the kind of person who would live with a roommate, you can drop the housing number by 10-15k. If your hobbies are inexpensive: hiking, surfing, that takes some significant costs off. Will you have a car? If yes, depending on where you live, garages can cost you between 1 and 5k a year So on and so forth.
Thanks for this. Im married with 1 child. The ball park i'd been hoping for was 180-200k but im not sure how realistic of an expectation that is?
Sure. I don't know much about IT, so it's hard for me to answer how reasonable the expectation is, but numbers on that ballpark aren't unusual in software companies. By 100k, I was answering what you need to live comfortably using a very lax definition of comfort. My personal annual expenses are in the 75k range as someone with a few expensive tastes. Honestly, if you're ok with sending your kid to public schools, amd don't have significant expensive tastes, 100k is good enough for a family of 3.
I've never seen so many homeless people and cars on cinder blocks in the US than in San Fran.
Yeah l, the city was rough. SF is not my preference, but if its the only cali spot I can land a gig I'd go.
If you love mountains, water, buildings, and would also like to enjoy a much safer life with no homelessness or drug epidemics or shit on the road, you should go to Switzerland. They have the real mountain-view 😁
Lol want to stay in the US for now
SF is as close as it gets to a European city IMO.
South Bay Area (Palo Alto, MTV, RWC) is more appropriate for families. SF works as well but to the detriment of your kid (seeing homeless poop, mentally ill, affluenza, etc)... You’ve missed the boat on living in SF IMO- it’s great for tourist but there’s only small pockets available for families (Noe Valley, etc). Good luck on your search!
Thanks for this info! What do you think I would need in terms of compensation to live in Palo Alto, MTV, RWC area?
If your kid is under 5 then child care is about 2k/month ... like 50k/year ... housing (1-2 bedroom) is about 3-5K per month ... you’ll need maybe a minimum of 300k -400k household income - fed and state tax is 30-40% ... it depends on the lifestyle that you want (Family vacations, buying a home or leasing, etc) Most people only stay for 2-5 years unless they make 400k+... Try using a cost of living calculator to compare The Bay Area with your current location... Good luck!
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