RhondaM. Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 How do people do it? Does a company that pays x amount of money in one place generally pay much more in a state where the cost of living is much higher? We live in town outside of Houston and are able to live comfortably on what my dh makes. The company he works for has sent him to California to work for 4-6 months. We have followed him here. And because I like the area here and have always wanted to move, I've done a little research on the internet about the housing prices around here. I am amazed at how much everything is around here. Of course we are in Dana Point, where things are higher, but even where he is working in Irvine, housing (and apartment) prices are SO much more than Houston...and the houses are generally much, much smaller! Dh and I were wondering if big companies (my dh is an estimator in a petrochemical engineering firm) generally pay more depending on where they are located. Or else how do people afford to live in these places!!?? Just curious. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 The housing prices in CA boomed in early 2000. Even though the prices have come down a little over the past two years they are still really, really high. We bought a home north of LA in 2000 and it more than doubled in price 5 years later. We could not afford to buy that house today without my going back to work. My sister is single and owns two CA homes but she bought them both before the boom. I don't think jobs pay that much more in CA, maybe 10-15% but there are a lot more jobs from which to choose. There were also a lot more two income families in our CA neighborhood vs our current neighborhood in TX. Enjoy your 6 months in CA. It is so beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxxxxxx Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 gave us a 35% cost of living raise. It helped a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdWTMer Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Orange County there is well known for good paying salaries! And if the company is worth it, they'll pay a cost of living increase every year. We lived in Irvine in 94. Actually, we lived right across from the University of California at Irvine, although we were not students. We absolutely loved it there. Plus there is a great cajun restaurant called JackShrimp in Newport Beach! Yum! Btw, we lived in Katy, TX about 4 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I'm in CA and I think that salaries in general are a little higher here, but not high enough to even out the cost of housing and other necessities. Unless your company has a great cost of living policy I would expect that things will be a bit tighter. Housing prices are still coming down out here though, but of course any difference in housing costs has been replaced by higher gas, food, and other prices. I have had a lot of friends who have grown up here move away because it was just too hard for them to live here financially, especially if they have young kids and are living off a single salary. Good luck with the relocation!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhondaM. Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 That's a shame...having to move... Well..we are not actually relocating. I'm just curious about it. BUT...I've always wanted to move...and dh very well could get a job offered to him while we are here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 That's a shame...having to move... Well..we are not actually relocating. I'm just curious about it. BUT...I've always wanted to move...and dh very well could get a job offered to him while we are here. The cost of living here is outrageous. I have lived in San Diego all my life. Not a big fan. Would love to live elsewhere, but dh , who is transplant cant leave. I have watched prices go up and down for the last twenty yrs. Sometimes made good on them , sometimes bad, like this last move. Real estate is a gamble. Now with the cost of living so high, the crunch is bad. Our liitle trick is living inland, you can cut your cost by 100k to millions in some cases. If you just move 30-45 min. inland the cost is much cheaper. But you have to commute. The last move we wanted to live on coast, but you could not get into something for less than 2 mil. So we went back inland. We are about 45 min from coast, but we are not big beach babies. We definitely could not have the space and land anywhere near the coast, we have now. Its a nice home, but I am already ready for the next move. Gypsy at heart. Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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