I would take a long hard look at housing prices and availability before making a decision. "Affordable" means different things in different areas. Think $600K for 2000 sq ft. In Austin, you'll probably pay half that; in the Northeast, the prices are probably similar to the Bay Area. Zillow will give you a good idea of the prices.
One thing I've noticed since moving to California is the percentage of people renting is higher here than in Texas. I would hesitate to say that the housing prices were driven by demand. Prior to the bubble, prices seemed to have been driven by speculation more than anything else. There's also a knock-on effect because of the real-estate prices. Groceries and gas are more expensive. I would probably rent first, learn the lay of the land, and then figure out where or if you want to buy. Hope this helps, Mark On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 3:50 PM, Carl of the Posse <[email protected]>wrote: > It's very nice living here. Good weather, good job opportunities, etc. Some > specific replies to your questions: > > Q: Are the school systems good? > A: In general, yes, but they do vary across areas, and even within a > district individual schools can vary a lot. A good summary is: if you care > about this, then it is quite doable to find a good public school to live > near, or even a private school to send your kids to. > > Q: Are good day-cares hard to get into? > A: I'll have to let others comment on this one. > > Q: Is it possible to find an affordable house near where the jobs are? > A: Yes. There are jobs available in a number of areas across SV, so if you > are more picky about location than work, you can balance that. > I live in the Almaden part of San Jose, and commute about 12 miles to > Netflix in Los Gatos. It takes me from 15 - 25 minutes, either backroads or > freeway. Some new people on my team live in Campbell and and have a 5-10 > minute commute. > > Q: If not and given the traffic, how far away would someone live from > their job? > A: Some people choose to live farther out from the valley, or choose to > commute from one end to the other. (SF to Los Gatos for example is ~45 > minutes on a shuttle) Some here live in Gilroy and have a 40 minute commute. > > Q: Is California’s recent budget crisis affecting public services like > parks, transit and schools (i.e. things won’t be as great as they used to > be)? > A: I think it is to some degree. Library hours have been reduced a bit, > etc. But I think most of the services that people use daily are more city or > county oriented, so not directly affected by the state problem. And I think > that is overhyped too. > > Q: I’ve heard from northern California ex-pats whom moved to the > northeast to get away from the crushing expense of living in the valley or > the long commutes. Obviously they’re biased, are people generally happy > that they live there? > A: Sour grapes I think. I've been here my whole life, and wouldn't leave > while I am still working. The last four people I've hired on my team are > from outside the area (NY, 2xChicago, AL) so that's an indicator of the > nature of the job market here for good software engineers. > > The reason the housing is expensive is due to the basic economics of supply > and demand. Many people do want to live here, and that drives the prices up. > But the reason behind the demand is that there is so much opportunity, and > for many people (especially software engineers) the opportunity outweighs > the cost. > > --carl > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Java Posse" group. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/javaposse/-/GNDduXYETgMJ. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
