Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Hey there

We have spent the last three years in Houston (Pearland ) but my husband has been approached about a job in San Francisco. It's an exciting opportunity but I'm aware the cost of living and property prices will be vastly different to here.

What would you say is a reasonable salary to live on if we live in the east bay area around Walnut Creek or similar (any other suggestions for safe, nice family friendly areas would be appreciated). Hubs will be commuting into the city.

Thanks for any advice!!

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Hi there!
We live in Walnut Creek and really love it, it is an expensive area though but I do not know how it compares to Houston at all. Will it just be the two of you? IMO a reasonable salary to live on in this area for two people with a good amount of disposable income would be around $130k+. As they say your rent should be about a third of your income. My husband and I scraped by on A LOT lower than this when we first moved here though.

Good areas for Families I think are Orinda, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, Danville, Livermore, Moraga. If your husband is working in SF you will want to make sure you are on a BART line so Moraga and Danville would not be so great but they are a quick drive to a station.

Hope that helps!
Annie

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Thanks for the reply! It would be myself, hubs and our 3 children (9, 7 and 2 months) so good schools are v important. Am thinking we will need to spend around $4000 on rent per month, is that realistic?

Can I ask you another question? I'm kinda freaking out about the whole earthquake issue....how do you cope with it?? :confused::ohmy:

Helen :thumbsup:

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

I think $4000 a month is a realistic amount. How many bedrooms are you hoping for?

You can ask as many questions as you like! Since we have lived here (2.5 yrs) I have felt 3 or 4 small earthquakes. One was the napa one which actually scared the shit out of me, well tbh they all did. they only lasted a really really short time though. You kinda try not to think about it but it is always a looming thought since we are waiting for the 'big one' and its like that for everybody and I think that is how you cope as everyone is in the same boat. You just hope and pray that when it happens you are in a good place. I would much rather live here though than in tornado alley but thats just me!

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Hi Annie!

I think I agree about tornado alley, we are in a hurricane zone but at least you know when they are coming!!! I'm not a hysterical kind of person, but "the big one" does worry me.

So you have any experience of the schools?

We definitely need 4 bedrooms. I imagine the house will be smaller than here though (everything is bigger in Texas!).

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

In a timber frame single family home, or other 1-2 story timber framed building, you have very little to worry about from a earthquake, except some broken crockery. A secondary impact could be burst water pipes or gas pipes, which would be a fire risk, but there is virtually no risk of a timber-framed home collapsing. You could pick a home up by the roof and shake it and it wouldn't come apart.

Tornadoes are much more scary IMO, and a Cat 5 hurricane could rip a house apart, but an earthquake is no threat to low rise timber-framed buildings, other than you might have a lot of cracked walls and damaged plumbing.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Is that true? Even The Big One? That's reassuring although there's always the possibility of being on a bridge / elevated highway etc :eek: ...yes, I am a mongerer of doom!! Thank you though, that is good to know! ;)

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

I haven't lived through a major earthquake, but I have demolished a few timber-framed buildings and removed walls, and I can assure you it is tough to pull the framing apart using a crowbar, and nearly impossible if it still has the plasterboard still attached, flimsy though the pasterboard is. Most earthquakes only last seconds, even a minute is unusual - I can't imagine any earthquake shaking a timber frame apart in such a short time. ..... I agree that bridges and elevated roads are best avoided if you're worried about earthquakes! :eek:

Conversely, the sustained force of a Cat 5 hurricane over several hours can be like a bulldozer, putting substantial force on the structure, and a tornado hits more like a speeding truck.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Yes, we are lucky that in our three years in Houston we have had no major weather events like hurricanes or tornadoes....best get out while the going is good!! :)

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

I don't have any experience with the schools so I am afraid I can't help there. I have heard that they are good though :)

I would imagine the houses are smaller here as like you said everything is bigger in Texas (I have never been, want to go!) but from what I see in this area most of the houses are a good size especially comparing to British houses and the neighbourhoods look really nice, nice streets, lots of cul de sacs.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

We moved from Walnut Creek in August (to Seattle - missing the weather). for a couple with three kids I'd back up Annie's recommendation - actually I'd say you really want a little more. Rent of $4000 is a reasonable estimate - maybe $4500.

Schools are great in the WC area - but watch the boundaries as you get out towards Concord.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Thanks for the info, hope you're enjoying Seattle! Is Concord a no go then?

Additionally, what's the best place to look for houses to rent? I heard that you don't go through a realtor necessarily like we would here....is there a good website which will have all the listings? (For example the Houston HAR real estate website had all listings for our area).

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Hi,

Check out greatshcools.org for the schools - in the Walnut Creek area you want to either be in the Walnut Creek school district or if you are in the Mount Diablo district check carefully that you will be in the Northgate HS zone. Other high schools in the MDUSD have a less good reputation.

The other East Bay areas all seem to have excellent schools, but if you need to get into downtown SF then WC is an excellent choice. If you need to get down into the South Bay / San Jose then somewhere like Pleasanton would work well.

All you need for rentals is craigslist around there.

Hope this helps.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Hi Parisangel,

I live in Martinez, just a stone's throw from Walnut Creek. I have 2 girls in Elementary school so would be happy to answer any questions you have about schooling (Martinez is a different school district but I have friends with kids in WC and Mt Diablo districts). My girls are 9 and 6 (4th and 1st grade). In general the schools in this area are pretty good, but there are some bad apples! My husband also commutes into SF on BART - it's around an hour and a quarter door to door.

I've lived on the peninsula side of the Bay Area, in the South Bay and also in Fremont and I can honestly say that where we are now in the East Bay is by far the best if you're looking for a true community, friendly neighbours etc. I really love it here. Around $4K/month is about right for a decent 4 bed in WC. Pleasant Hill and Martinez are slightly cheaper.

Let me know if you'd like to get together if/when you move here - I'd be more than happy to show you the "sights"!

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Thanks for all the information, it is much appreciated!

Hi Wintersong, I'd love that, thanks! I also have a 9 year old girl, and a 7 year old boy and 2 month old girl! Does elementary go through 4th grade in Cali? My daughter would be moving to middle school for 5th grade if we stayed here.

Very good to hear you like it so much. We are coming for a couple of days at the end of the month, looking forward to seeing the east bay area.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Elementary goes through 5th, then middle school is 6th through 8th. That may make the move easier for her, as it'll give her a year to adjust and make friends before she's thrust into the hormonal whirlwind of middle school (can you tell I'm not looking forward to that?)

Hope you enjoy your visit here, and excuse the rain - El Nino is currently refilling our reservoirs for us ;)

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Ha, my nine year old thought she was almost done with elementary school! Gotta say, I'm not sure I was ready for the middle school years yet so it's fine with me! What are class sizes like there? Are you in the same, school district as Walnut Creek?

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

No, I'm in a different district. I don't know what WC is like in this regard. In Martinez, we have max 24 in K-3 and then 30 in 4 & 5.

Bear in mind that some WC schools fall into Mt Diablo school district and some are Walnut Creek. Mt Diablo is a huge district - if you're set on Walnut Creek, I'd definitely recommend making sure that you're actually in WCSD. It might be worth calling the 2 district offices and asking about their class size limits. My guess would be that once they're into 5th grade, it's going to be 30 since that appears to be fairly standard around here.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like class sizes are a little bigger then, it's around 20-22 here. Do you have any experience of the schools dealing with dyslexia? My son was just diagnosed so I need to find out if the support offered is similar to here.

Do you find people friendly there? I've found people super friendly here in Texas.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Tbh, education funding is a big issue in California generally. It appears that a lot of programs were lost when there were big budget cuts a few years back and they haven't been replaced. That being said, they are under a legal obligation to provide support if you have an IEP but the quality of that support will be very dependent on the school district, the school and the individual teachers. You'll definitely need to be prepared to "fight" for what your son needs if necessary but you'll usually find that if you simply have a meeting with the classroom teacher at the beginning of the year they'll be willing and able to work with you (hence 'fight' being in inverted commas!)

I've had issues with my older daughter not being challenged enough - long story short, but at first I was pushing for change across the whole curriculum and got nowhere, but when I've sat down with the individual teachers I've found them all to be very accommodating, invested in my daughter's needs and happy to go the extra mile to make sure she has more appropriate work. So, cliff notes: funding is an issue but we have some amazing, dedicated teachers out here, which at the end of the day is what is most important.

Another point to note - since funding for extra programs is usually community driven, the more affluent communities will, generally speaking, be the ones with the money to invest in these kinds of things. Walnut Creek is definitely towards the upper end on that score :D

Yes, I've found that people are generally very friendly in the East Bay. I'm not sure how it compares to Texas but it's definitely the friendliest part of the Bay Area! I've found it very easy to integrate into the local community. It's the first place we've lived where the neighbours have come round to introduce themselves when we moved in. It's a very family-oriented area; lots of amenities, clubs, youth sports opportunities etc. Fwiw, my husband is Indian and around here is probably the least multi-racial part of the Bay Area (there are quite a few latinos but other than that it's predominately white) but he has never felt anything other than welcome and accepted.

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Thank you for such useful information!

Well. We just had a nice weekend in the area but the goalposts have changed somewhat. Seems the company my husband would be working for may be relocating their office to San Mateo. I think I'm right in thinking that Walnut Creek area is not a viable commute to there?

Sigh. Back to the drawing board!

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

I wouldn't consider it, personally. I replied to your other thread - there are some other nice towns to look at. If you liked Walnut Creek, I think you'd like Danville :)

Re: Moving from Houston to San Francisco?
 

Thanks! I'm wondering whether the move would be worth the extortionate rent now, but we will see!