San francisco bay budget help
#16
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V helpful thanks. I know budget is a how long is a bit of sting thing, but this is the best I can do to work out if offer is enough! Company will ship all our stuff there and back x
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So it sounds like you might have already found this.
And possibly also explains some of the first couple of posts on this thread.
Take a read through and see how much of this is relevant to you/your move since this thread has been going for a few weeks with a lot of info on expenses and Bay Area
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=784027
And possibly also explains some of the first couple of posts on this thread.
Take a read through and see how much of this is relevant to you/your move since this thread has been going for a few weeks with a lot of info on expenses and Bay Area
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=784027
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I'm not surprised rentals are so expensive here. This is something like the 10th thread this year about moving to Mountain View.
There are no more houses here, please try elsewhere
There are no more houses here, please try elsewhere
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Perhaps you should stop recommending the place and be so nice and accommodating on BE, it just gives us –the newbies, impression that MV is full of sweet and fantastic people – making the place even more desirable!!
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I've just read about the plan for 1,500 new homes to be built, so I now retract my earlier comment. However, thinking about it, there was a 2 hour wait at the restaurant I wanted to eat at on Friday night, and we got the last two seats in the wine bar. So, I now say you can live here, but must go to SF for nights out
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I've just read about the plan for 1,500 new homes to be built, so I now retract my earlier comment. However, thinking about it, there was a 2 hour wait at the restaurant I wanted to eat at on Friday night, and we got the last two seats in the wine bar. So, I now say you can live here, but must go to SF for nights out
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I know our medical insurance contribution would be $300 a month for the family but haven't yet checked our deductibles. Working in San Fran but probably looking living around mountain view ish as we have contacts there.
What is the average cost for car insurance then. We've been told for a basi car about $300 a month rental... Does that sound ok ish?
We have a 7 year old and a 5 year old
Thanks for your help.
What is the average cost for car insurance then. We've been told for a basi car about $300 a month rental... Does that sound ok ish?
We have a 7 year old and a 5 year old
Thanks for your help.
Mobile phones are incredibly expensive here - data plans are outrageous compared to the EU and service is beyond sh*te. Home Internet service can also be very poor compared to the UK - 2 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley and the fastest I can get is 15Mbit/s. We have a work package that sets me back $41/month - that is very, very cheap. There are areas of California (not far from Palo Alto) where there is NO broadband service - people there rely on satellite service which can be $150+/month.
We have DirectTV - $141/month for the full package with the Sports package (to get the footy).
Food can range from rubbish and cheap (Walmart, Target), through middle-ground (F&E, Safeway) to Waitrose quality (Wholefoods, Nob Hill). You may think you can eat cheaply, but usually the quality is not very good and a lot of food lacks any kind of taste (for example, cheese !!!!). Food tends to be sold much closer-up to it's use-by date than in the UK and tends to go off quite a bit quicker. In the Bay area, people seem to buy food on the day they need it rather than stock-up. We've now given up with the cheaper shops because it was a false economy - we were throwing stuff away too much. So, the budget has gone up (a lot), but our shopping is a much happier experience at Wholefoods. Their food is lovely.
Petrol is cheap. In fact virtually free. But....... to do anything you end up driving miles and miles and miles. That eats into the budget.
Rent. Housing in the Valley is crazy. Rents are going up about 10%/year at the moment. Mortgages are impossible for UK expats - many high-tech companies are relocating other people and providing board-and-lodging or assistance with downpayments. 20% down is the minimum. UK Expat - expect about 30%. 1600 sq ft townhouse in Santa Clara is now around $3500/month (no garden, detached).
This will obviously be bumped up if you're close to a good school (public). Private school - Harker (one of the more popular in San Jose/Saratoga) is $27,000/year/pupil and has a waiting list.
Watch your medical provision. We have full medical and dental, but for a family of three, we have a $4500 maximum "out-of-pocket" (i.e. that we have to find; an excess, if you like) before any of the medical insurance kicks in. Oh - and over the counter medicines are much more regulated and more expensive here than in the UK - even a packet of paracetamol will set you back upwards of $6.
Going out. There are some great things to do with kids, but none of it is free. Forget a Saturday in the Natural History Museum in London as a free thing-to-do - the California Academy of Sciences is superb, but family membership is over $250/year. Cinema is roughly the same as in the UK; eating out can range from a lot cheaper for "family" meals to about the same as London prices for really good meals-for-two.
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After 2 years, my insurance has come down to $350/car/6 months.
Mobile phones are incredibly expensive here - data plans are outrageous compared to the EU and service is beyond sh*te. Home Internet service can also be very poor compared to the UK - 2 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley and the fastest I can get is 15Mbit/s. We have a work package that sets me back $41/month - that is very, very cheap. There are areas of California (not far from Palo Alto) where there is NO broadband service - people there rely on satellite service which can be $150+/month.
We have DirectTV - $141/month for the full package with the Sports package (to get the footy).
Food can range from rubbish and cheap (Walmart, Target), through middle-ground (F&E, Safeway) to Waitrose quality (Wholefoods, Nob Hill). You may think you can eat cheaply, but usually the quality is not very good and a lot of food lacks any kind of taste (for example, cheese !!!!). Food tends to be sold much closer-up to it's use-by date than in the UK and tends to go off quite a bit quicker. In the Bay area, people seem to buy food on the day they need it rather than stock-up. We've now given up with the cheaper shops because it was a false economy - we were throwing stuff away too much. So, the budget has gone up (a lot), but our shopping is a much happier experience at Wholefoods. Their food is lovely.
Petrol is cheap. In fact virtually free. But....... to do anything you end up driving miles and miles and miles. That eats into the budget.
Rent. Housing in the Valley is crazy. Rents are going up about 10%/year at the moment. Mortgages are impossible for UK expats - many high-tech companies are relocating other people and providing board-and-lodging or assistance with downpayments. 20% down is the minimum. UK Expat - expect about 30%. 1600 sq ft townhouse in Santa Clara is now around $3500/month (no garden, detached).
This will obviously be bumped up if you're close to a good school (public). Private school - Harker (one of the more popular in San Jose/Saratoga) is $27,000/year/pupil and has a waiting list.
Watch your medical provision. We have full medical and dental, but for a family of three, we have a $4500 maximum "out-of-pocket" (i.e. that we have to find; an excess, if you like) before any of the medical insurance kicks in. Oh - and over the counter medicines are much more regulated and more expensive here than in the UK - even a packet of paracetamol will set you back upwards of $6.
Going out. There are some great things to do with kids, but none of it is free. Forget a Saturday in the Natural History Museum in London as a free thing-to-do - the California Academy of Sciences is superb, but family membership is over $250/year. Cinema is roughly the same as in the UK; eating out can range from a lot cheaper for "family" meals to about the same as London prices for really good meals-for-two.
Mobile phones are incredibly expensive here - data plans are outrageous compared to the EU and service is beyond sh*te. Home Internet service can also be very poor compared to the UK - 2 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley and the fastest I can get is 15Mbit/s. We have a work package that sets me back $41/month - that is very, very cheap. There are areas of California (not far from Palo Alto) where there is NO broadband service - people there rely on satellite service which can be $150+/month.
We have DirectTV - $141/month for the full package with the Sports package (to get the footy).
Food can range from rubbish and cheap (Walmart, Target), through middle-ground (F&E, Safeway) to Waitrose quality (Wholefoods, Nob Hill). You may think you can eat cheaply, but usually the quality is not very good and a lot of food lacks any kind of taste (for example, cheese !!!!). Food tends to be sold much closer-up to it's use-by date than in the UK and tends to go off quite a bit quicker. In the Bay area, people seem to buy food on the day they need it rather than stock-up. We've now given up with the cheaper shops because it was a false economy - we were throwing stuff away too much. So, the budget has gone up (a lot), but our shopping is a much happier experience at Wholefoods. Their food is lovely.
Petrol is cheap. In fact virtually free. But....... to do anything you end up driving miles and miles and miles. That eats into the budget.
Rent. Housing in the Valley is crazy. Rents are going up about 10%/year at the moment. Mortgages are impossible for UK expats - many high-tech companies are relocating other people and providing board-and-lodging or assistance with downpayments. 20% down is the minimum. UK Expat - expect about 30%. 1600 sq ft townhouse in Santa Clara is now around $3500/month (no garden, detached).
This will obviously be bumped up if you're close to a good school (public). Private school - Harker (one of the more popular in San Jose/Saratoga) is $27,000/year/pupil and has a waiting list.
Watch your medical provision. We have full medical and dental, but for a family of three, we have a $4500 maximum "out-of-pocket" (i.e. that we have to find; an excess, if you like) before any of the medical insurance kicks in. Oh - and over the counter medicines are much more regulated and more expensive here than in the UK - even a packet of paracetamol will set you back upwards of $6.
Going out. There are some great things to do with kids, but none of it is free. Forget a Saturday in the Natural History Museum in London as a free thing-to-do - the California Academy of Sciences is superb, but family membership is over $250/year. Cinema is roughly the same as in the UK; eating out can range from a lot cheaper for "family" meals to about the same as London prices for really good meals-for-two.
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Just a note on cheese. If you ever get into Mountain View, there is a fantastic place called the Milk Pail on California. They have around 200 cheeses from around the world, great prices and absolutely fab cheese. Try go midweek though, weekend crowds are absolutely insane.
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Just a note on cheese. If you ever get into Mountain View, there is a fantastic place called the Milk Pail on California. They have around 200 cheeses from around the world, great prices and absolutely fab cheese. Try go midweek though, weekend crowds are absolutely insane.
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#30
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Complaining about cheese here in the Bay Area is like complaining about bread - it shows you don't know where to shop! There is fantastic cheese and fantastic bread available at places like Whole Foods, or - as you note here - at specialty shops around the area. It may cost a bit more but that's life - gas is cheaper ... just because your average Safeway doesn't necessarily have a great selection doesn't mean it's not available.
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