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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Can a family of 4 live in
san diego on 90k per year? thoughts? tia
Re: Can a family of 4 live in
That would depend on SO many factors. Does this family have lots of cc debt? Will any children need daycare? How big of a home are they looking for? How much are they willing to spend on rent?
Even without knowing those things I would so it is absolutely possible, I am sure there are families here that live on a lot LESS than 90k. It would all depend on what you were looking to get out of the city.
Cole Alexander 6.9.10
Cole Alexander 6.9.10
If you want an aparment that is only $1200 a month or less, you will most likely not be living in a nice area.
hi! SAHM here and our rent is $1,200 a month (including a gardener/water & trash). i think living here on 90k/year is doable, but it all depends on what kind of lifestyle you're used to having. 90k will absolutely get you more in Denver or Houston!
we make more than 90k, have 0 debt, and still can't afford a home. okay, let me clarify that by saying that we could afford a home, but our lifestyle would change drastically. we travel quite a bit (a lot of our family lives out of state) and live comfortably, but we've definitely had to make some sacrifices. our home is adorable (2 bed/1 bath), and the area we live in isn't bad (we live in East County near SDSU). if you don't mind living a bit further East (say Santee) you could probably rent a larger place for about what we're paying.
honestly, i love SD, and the people here are fantastic, but it's expensive. i lived in Denver for 8 years before moving to SD and loved it there. it's very family friendly & has some fantastic schools (depending on the area of course). i don't know much about Houston, but a very good friend of mine moved there from SD in 95 because they couldn't afford to buy a home and raise their family here (they have 3 kids) and really liked it. we sometimes talk about moving to a place where what we make could buy us so much more, but we love it here. the weather, and the fact i can be at the beach in 10 minutes or skiing in 2 hours is a huge plus.
also, keep in mind that neighborhoods here can be hit or miss. you can be in a nice neighborhood for a bit then it turns bad, fast! if you have any questions on a specific location just let us know!
We're actually considering moving out of state because of the cost of living here.
My DH and I only have 2 dogs for now, and we live in a 1 bedroom apartment, our rent is $1375 a month in a good (safe) area.
We make more than the 90k like you said, but I just feel that we would be VERY limited if we buy a house here, our Mtg would probably be 2300 a month (at least), and just so that you get an idea pretty much everything is more expensive here, gas today is around $3.55, even the movies are almost 11 bucks (I've seen that in other places it's like 8).
At least you're a SAHM, because, for instance my SIL who has a 2 yr old is paying 13k a year in child care.
I would think very carefully about it.
After 2 rounds of IVF & 2 rounds of FET, we were blessed with identical twin girls!
Yes, a family of 4 CAN live in SD on 90K a year. Thats similar to what DH and I made last year and after taxes, 401K, and health insurance we still brought home about 5K a month in cash.
You can find houses for rent in the north part of the county (escondido, san marcos, vista) for well under 2k a month. There are even some 3 bed apts for around $1500-1800.
You just have to be able to budget and learn to cut costs. Basic budget breakdown
2000 for Rent/Utilities etc
500 for Gas (2 cars with 1 fill up a week at $40-$50 each)
200-300 for Car Insurance (this could be higher or lower depending on # of cars)
1000 for Food (Average of $250 a week)
This adds up to $3800 a month for BASIC expenses IF your cars are all paid off and you arent wasting money leasing one. It leaves you with about $1200 a month for misc items (clothes, cable, fun stuff, and emergencies).
There are plenty of people out here with kids who get by on a lot less than 90K a year. It can be done but you have to save money and spend it wisely. You dont need to buy a new car every 3-5 years. You use stuff until it breaks or dies--if something breaks on the car would you rather spend $1000 to fix it or go $20,000 in debt for a new one?
Also forgot to add.....since we make just over that right now.
DH and I currently support 2 households on that salary since I live in Escondido and he lives just outside of San Franciso. So if we can support 2 households in 2 of the MOST expensive metropolitan areas of the state on just under 100k a year....it can be done!! Our budget breakdown
940 Rent in Esco
600 Rent in SFO
250 Car Insurance (2 Volvos)
200 Cable/Phone/Cell
100 Cat
600 Gas for both cars at $3.50-$4.00 a gallon
100 Utilities
80 401K loan repayment
800 Food
This leaves us with about 1300 a month for other stuff. We still do fun things and go out to eat. We lucked out and found a HUGE apartment for dirt cheap--its older and doesnt have all those fancy amenities that all the new complexes have but we like it. We own our cars and have no plans to buy new ones for at least 5 more years. We also have enough cash in savings to be able cover 6 months worth of bills if we both lost our jobs.
We make a little bit over that combined and have cut our budget to save 2k a month towards a down payment. We still have fun, go out every weekend, cook great meals, make car/student loan payments, and have a 1600/month rent. You may have to cut out some fun things but I dont think it would be very hard at all. Being at SAHM helps a lot, we would have to stretch if we had to have child care...
I have often contemplated moving somehwere else, but our options are a bit limited since SD one of the few hubs where DH can work (Biotech...)
It all depends on your priorities....do you want to buy a house, have extra cash, live very comfortably...or live in a gorgeous place with perfect weather most of the year and the beach. :-)