Moving to Orange County CA... we think
May 23rd 2014, 10:17 pm
#46
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
I was really shocked at the price and whole set-up of these, and how commercial the whole thing is. My daughter does karate; the deal was a trial class to see if she liked it, then I had to sign her up and commit to pay for 6 months, then the next step up was to commit and pay for 2 years. It costs a little over a $100 a month, over that time.
I do see that it's a different set up here, and that we're getting a helpfully wide schedule of classes over different days, given in a bespoke martial arts gym, rather than once-a-week on a Tuesday in the village hall by a single volunteer who might simply decide to stop one week. It just seemed bonkers for an 8 yr old!
I do see that it's a different set up here, and that we're getting a helpfully wide schedule of classes over different days, given in a bespoke martial arts gym, rather than once-a-week on a Tuesday in the village hall by a single volunteer who might simply decide to stop one week. It just seemed bonkers for an 8 yr old!
May 23rd 2014, 10:58 pm
#48
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,427
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
About 20 years back I worked for a couple of years in Irvine and spent two hours a day on the road. We seriously considered moving to OC and ended up not doing that.
Quite frankly we preferred the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.
As to schools -- I believe that if the parents are willing to work with their children and to take advantage of what resources there are, the kids will turn out pretty neat. Both of mine graduated from LAUSD and attended top notch universities and later obtained advanced degrees with no problems.
Good luck to OP.
Quite frankly we preferred the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.
As to schools -- I believe that if the parents are willing to work with their children and to take advantage of what resources there are, the kids will turn out pretty neat. Both of mine graduated from LAUSD and attended top notch universities and later obtained advanced degrees with no problems.
Good luck to OP.
May 28th 2014, 7:16 pm
#51
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
Posts: 255
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
Sorry it's taken a while to get back on these.
So first off I've only been here 5 months so some of these are still estimates based on what I think I will pay over a year. These are monthly. My rental is a 4 bed with pool. Broadband is Cox cable (25Mbps). TV is Dish Satelite. Car insurance is two old cars (7/8 years) for myself and my wife, bought in cash. Mobiles are Tmobile cheap $30 a month setups. I have 3 hungry children and we don't eat crappy pre-made food.
RENT $3,350.00
Electric $210.00
Gas $100.00
Water $100.00
Property Tax/refuse $38.00
Broadband $60.00
TV License/Satelite $53.00
House Insurance $18.00
Car Insurance - M $67.00
Car Insurance - J $67.00
Car Tax - M $10.00
Car Tax - J $10.00
Mobile - M $30.00
Mobile - J $30.00
Petrol - J $120.00
Petrol - M $61.00
Food/Dining out/household $1,500.00
Tax on UK Rental House $250.00 * wont apply if you aren't renting UK out
Tax save up relocation $250.00 * wont apply if they "gross up" relocation
Medical $80.00
------
$6404
There are of course lots of other costs on top such as saving to go on holiday, saving for flights back, pension contributions etc etc.
On $120K you will take home about $7K. So there is some spare but you wont be rich!
So first off I've only been here 5 months so some of these are still estimates based on what I think I will pay over a year. These are monthly. My rental is a 4 bed with pool. Broadband is Cox cable (25Mbps). TV is Dish Satelite. Car insurance is two old cars (7/8 years) for myself and my wife, bought in cash. Mobiles are Tmobile cheap $30 a month setups. I have 3 hungry children and we don't eat crappy pre-made food.
RENT $3,350.00
Electric $210.00
Gas $100.00
Water $100.00
Property Tax/refuse $38.00
Broadband $60.00
TV License/Satelite $53.00
House Insurance $18.00
Car Insurance - M $67.00
Car Insurance - J $67.00
Car Tax - M $10.00
Car Tax - J $10.00
Mobile - M $30.00
Mobile - J $30.00
Petrol - J $120.00
Petrol - M $61.00
Food/Dining out/household $1,500.00
Tax on UK Rental House $250.00 * wont apply if you aren't renting UK out
Tax save up relocation $250.00 * wont apply if they "gross up" relocation
Medical $80.00
------
$6404
There are of course lots of other costs on top such as saving to go on holiday, saving for flights back, pension contributions etc etc.
On $120K you will take home about $7K. So there is some spare but you wont be rich!
May 28th 2014, 9:50 pm
#52
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 18
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
Marc - That's really helpful thanks so much for taking the time to list your outgoings. We know its going to be tight and we aren't used to having to budget so we need all the help we can get! Glad your food bill is high - that's kinda what I'd estimated.
We will be renting our UK house out but are in two minds at the moment whether to sell it and clear the mortgage buying somewhere in the UK outright with the equity to rent out or to rent out our current home where the rent will cover the mortgage and may be give us some surplus cash. We're still debating that one and I am not currently sure what would be better from a tax point of view.
Did you ship all your furniture too. Any recommendations on shipping companies?
My oldest is very excited about the move although the friendship side of things does worry me - all my kids have struggled with friendships. We've taken on board everyone's comments re schooling and its certainly given us a lot to think about or at least to bear in mind when we make the move. Should we be looking at Californian Distinguished schools or Blue Ribbon schools and what does it all really mean?
We will be renting our UK house out but are in two minds at the moment whether to sell it and clear the mortgage buying somewhere in the UK outright with the equity to rent out or to rent out our current home where the rent will cover the mortgage and may be give us some surplus cash. We're still debating that one and I am not currently sure what would be better from a tax point of view.
Did you ship all your furniture too. Any recommendations on shipping companies?
My oldest is very excited about the move although the friendship side of things does worry me - all my kids have struggled with friendships. We've taken on board everyone's comments re schooling and its certainly given us a lot to think about or at least to bear in mind when we make the move. Should we be looking at Californian Distinguished schools or Blue Ribbon schools and what does it all really mean?
May 29th 2014, 4:12 pm
#53
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
Posts: 255
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
No problems. When I was contemplating the move I wanted that sort of info but couldn't quite find it. Food in general is a little cheaper here. Meat, fresh fruit and veg are cheaper and the range of choice good. Stuff like detergents etc is more (I am told).
We are toying with selling the UK home that I sweated blood for so that we can buy here. I am not sure quite what to do either as we still don't feel like it's home here yet.
Shipping... we shipped a 20' contained with Pickfords. We weren't impressed. Their advisor that visits the house to work out what will fit got it wrong even with two visits and ours was 25% empty. It's a lot of money to ship air.
They admitted responsibility on that and paid me some back, but it wasn't much. Their packers were awful, damaging a carpet and various items, and packing the boxes poorly too. If I did it again I'd go totally control freak and I'd work out everything in cubic centimetres to ensure we filled the thing, and I'd insist on packing the boxes too. They will baulk at that and tell you it will invalidate insurance and make your container more liable to being searched etc. So that's a risk you'd take.
Schools... our kids go to the local elementary which is a 9/10 school and it's pretty good. It's as good as our local village school in the UK, better in many ways. Be aware that the schools have fixed catchments and realtors are not always accurate on their listings as to which school goes with which street! You need to check on the school district websites, where you can search a street and it tells you the school.
We are toying with selling the UK home that I sweated blood for so that we can buy here. I am not sure quite what to do either as we still don't feel like it's home here yet.
Shipping... we shipped a 20' contained with Pickfords. We weren't impressed. Their advisor that visits the house to work out what will fit got it wrong even with two visits and ours was 25% empty. It's a lot of money to ship air.
They admitted responsibility on that and paid me some back, but it wasn't much. Their packers were awful, damaging a carpet and various items, and packing the boxes poorly too. If I did it again I'd go totally control freak and I'd work out everything in cubic centimetres to ensure we filled the thing, and I'd insist on packing the boxes too. They will baulk at that and tell you it will invalidate insurance and make your container more liable to being searched etc. So that's a risk you'd take.
Schools... our kids go to the local elementary which is a 9/10 school and it's pretty good. It's as good as our local village school in the UK, better in many ways. Be aware that the schools have fixed catchments and realtors are not always accurate on their listings as to which school goes with which street! You need to check on the school district websites, where you can search a street and it tells you the school.
May 29th 2014, 9:07 pm
#54
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: St Ives to So. Cal.
Posts: 258
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
Sorry it's taken a while to get back on these.
So first off I've only been here 5 months so some of these are still estimates based on what I think I will pay over a year. These are monthly. My rental is a 4 bed with pool. Broadband is Cox cable (25Mbps). TV is Dish Satelite. Car insurance is two old cars (7/8 years) for myself and my wife, bought in cash. Mobiles are Tmobile cheap $30 a month setups. I have 3 hungry children and we don't eat crappy pre-made food.
RENT $3,350.00
Electric $210.00
Gas $100.00
Water $100.00
Property Tax/refuse $38.00
Broadband $60.00
TV License/Satelite $53.00
House Insurance $18.00
Car Insurance - M $67.00
Car Insurance - J $67.00
Car Tax - M $10.00
Car Tax - J $10.00
Mobile - M $30.00
Mobile - J $30.00
Petrol - J $120.00
Petrol - M $61.00
Food/Dining out/household $1,500.00
Tax on UK Rental House $250.00 * wont apply if you aren't renting UK out
Tax save up relocation $250.00 * wont apply if they "gross up" relocation
Medical $80.00
------
$6404
There are of course lots of other costs on top such as saving to go on holiday, saving for flights back, pension contributions etc etc.
On $120K you will take home about $7K. So there is some spare but you wont be rich!
So first off I've only been here 5 months so some of these are still estimates based on what I think I will pay over a year. These are monthly. My rental is a 4 bed with pool. Broadband is Cox cable (25Mbps). TV is Dish Satelite. Car insurance is two old cars (7/8 years) for myself and my wife, bought in cash. Mobiles are Tmobile cheap $30 a month setups. I have 3 hungry children and we don't eat crappy pre-made food.
RENT $3,350.00
Electric $210.00
Gas $100.00
Water $100.00
Property Tax/refuse $38.00
Broadband $60.00
TV License/Satelite $53.00
House Insurance $18.00
Car Insurance - M $67.00
Car Insurance - J $67.00
Car Tax - M $10.00
Car Tax - J $10.00
Mobile - M $30.00
Mobile - J $30.00
Petrol - J $120.00
Petrol - M $61.00
Food/Dining out/household $1,500.00
Tax on UK Rental House $250.00 * wont apply if you aren't renting UK out
Tax save up relocation $250.00 * wont apply if they "gross up" relocation
Medical $80.00
------
$6404
There are of course lots of other costs on top such as saving to go on holiday, saving for flights back, pension contributions etc etc.
On $120K you will take home about $7K. So there is some spare but you wont be rich!
Mortgage - $1,000
Home Owners Association fees - $300 (includes trash, water, basic cable, upkeep of common areas)
Cable/homephone/internet - $90
Cell phone - $75
Gas - $120
Property tax - $160
Home owners insurance $45
Car insurance - $75
Car registration - $10
Food - $500
Gas/Electric - never more than $120 combined (gas goes down in summer - no heat, but electric goes up - AC)
No car payment
prescriptions - $100
Medical about $100 pre-tax dollars, deducted from payroll
401K about $170 pre-tax dollars, deducted from payroll
Last edited by limeynus; May 29th 2014 at 9:10 pm.
May 31st 2014, 7:40 am
#55
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 18
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
Shipping... we shipped a 20' contained with Pickfords. We weren't impressed. Their advisor that visits the house to work out what will fit got it wrong even with two visits and ours was 25% empty. It's a lot of money to ship air.
They admitted responsibility on that and paid me some back, but it wasn't much. Their packers were awful, damaging a carpet and various items, and packing the boxes poorly too. If I did it again I'd go totally control freak and I'd work out everything in cubic centimetres to ensure we filled the thing, and I'd insist on packing the boxes too. They will baulk at that and tell you it will invalidate insurance and make your container more liable to being searched etc. So that's a risk you'd take.
Schools... our kids go to the local elementary which is a 9/10 school and it's pretty good. It's as good as our local village school in the UK, better in many ways. Be aware that the schools have fixed catchments and realtors are not always accurate on their listings as to which school goes with which street! You need to check on the school district websites, where you can search a street and it tells you the school.
They admitted responsibility on that and paid me some back, but it wasn't much. Their packers were awful, damaging a carpet and various items, and packing the boxes poorly too. If I did it again I'd go totally control freak and I'd work out everything in cubic centimetres to ensure we filled the thing, and I'd insist on packing the boxes too. They will baulk at that and tell you it will invalidate insurance and make your container more liable to being searched etc. So that's a risk you'd take.
Schools... our kids go to the local elementary which is a 9/10 school and it's pretty good. It's as good as our local village school in the UK, better in many ways. Be aware that the schools have fixed catchments and realtors are not always accurate on their listings as to which school goes with which street! You need to check on the school district websites, where you can search a street and it tells you the school.
With regards to schools, I'm glad you mentioned that I need to check the catchment myself as I probably would have trusted the realtors blurb!
May 31st 2014, 7:47 am
#56
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 18
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
I'm also in Orange County - Lake Forest, south of Irvine. I'm single, living in a 1,200 sqft condo. I've been here 20+ years. Here are my expenses
Mortgage - $1,000
Home Owners Association fees - $300 (includes trash, water, basic cable, upkeep of common areas)
Cable/homephone/internet - $90
Cell phone - $75
Gas - $120
Property tax - $160
Home owners insurance $45
Car insurance - $75
Car registration - $10
Food - $500
Gas/Electric - never more than $120 combined (gas goes down in summer - no heat, but electric goes up - AC)
No car payment
prescriptions - $100
Medical about $100 pre-tax dollars, deducted from payroll
401K about $170 pre-tax dollars, deducted from payroll
Mortgage - $1,000
Home Owners Association fees - $300 (includes trash, water, basic cable, upkeep of common areas)
Cable/homephone/internet - $90
Cell phone - $75
Gas - $120
Property tax - $160
Home owners insurance $45
Car insurance - $75
Car registration - $10
Food - $500
Gas/Electric - never more than $120 combined (gas goes down in summer - no heat, but electric goes up - AC)
No car payment
prescriptions - $100
Medical about $100 pre-tax dollars, deducted from payroll
401K about $170 pre-tax dollars, deducted from payroll
May 31st 2014, 7:50 am
#57
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 18
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
Looks like my husband's office might be in Garden Grove. Any recommendations of nice family areas with good schools within a reasonable commute?
May 31st 2014, 7:48 pm
#58
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 111
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
When we first moved to the US, we moved to Orange County.
1. It will be a shock for the kids at first.
2. After 6 months both you and they will never want to leave.
3. Don't get sucked into big inland housed, live as close to the ocean as you can.
The only thing that we never really got used to was the plastic surgery and false smiles everywhere.
It is great, I wish we still lived in OC
1. It will be a shock for the kids at first.
2. After 6 months both you and they will never want to leave.
3. Don't get sucked into big inland housed, live as close to the ocean as you can.
The only thing that we never really got used to was the plastic surgery and false smiles everywhere.
It is great, I wish we still lived in OC
May 31st 2014, 7:55 pm
#59
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 111
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
Reasonable commute ......Orange County......hmm.?
May 31st 2014, 8:16 pm
#60
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 18
Re: Moving to Orange County CA... we think
When you say it'll be a shock to the kids - do you mean having to start new schools and make new friends...?