[Annie]

If your salary is between $65K – $68K, would this be enough to live in SF California? Any tips? Also, I am a licensed CPA in a different state. Is it required to transfer my license to CA if I will be working in public (tax) there? I will not be signing any tax return. I will be just a staff person. I have seen a few people keeping their home state licenses even if they work and live in a different state. Thoughts? I appreciate any comments/feedback in advance!

[MaLoTu]

coloradorit summed up the traffic situation pretty well. If you are willing to leave early then you can possibly get around it (like 6am might do it). Traffic is a little unpredictable, as well. One day it took me over an hour to get 9 miles!

People do it though. Most people do commute from cheaper living areas to make their salaries more comfortable (which is the cause of the traffic). The bad thing about the South Bay (SJ) is that it is mostly really wealthy areas. East Bay is probably the most affordable within feasible driving distance.

**Are you going to really have time for a life anyway at Big4?! lol, j/k … maybe …

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I don't know a thing about you or the company you're applying for, but I honestly feel like they are all dying laughing at the idea of a $68k for a licensed CPA in the city. This may help you decide: https://www.roberthalf.com/sites/default/files/Media_Root/Images/AT-Images/Financials_2015_salary_guide.pdf

You'll notice on page 26 that you should add 38% to the salaries listed to convert them to San Francisco (which in reverse would make a $68k salary equivalent to a $49k salary in your average US city. That actually seems generous to me. I feel like $49k in St Louis could go a lot farther than $68k in SF.)

[MaLoTu]

First year associates in public are making about $55k here, in SF and SJ … I think $65-68k for 2nd year is accurate.

[Annie]

This is just an idea that popped up while I was researching apartments in SJ. Is it possible to live without a car if I live in downtown SJ? I guess I can avoid being broke if I don't own a car which can cost me $$$ including car monthly payment, car insurance, registration fee, etc. I understand average rent in SJ downtown will be higher than burbs but still. I may be able to survive although I wouldn't necessarily be able to save any money?

[MaLoTu]

While there is definitely a lot of stuff in that area, I am not confident you would be happy without a car. Plus, if you are going into audit they may require that you have a car. I have seen job listings requiring it, dont know if Big 4 is different.

FWIW, I know a partner who works in SJ and still leaves in the town next to me … Commuting is the norm here.

[KCCPA13]

I agree with @MaLoTu . Not having a car here sucks. Public transportation will only bring you so far, and it'll usually take multiple types of public transportation to get somewhere. I would really look into living in the cheaper cities close to San Jose. Commuting is really the norm here. A 45-60 minute drive is very normal – I do this everyday. Does it suck? Yeah, but I can't afford anything close to work… I mean I could if I wanted to, but it would be watching my budget daily and I just don't want the stress of not being able to make next month's rent. BTW, I work in Campbell. It's a great little city, but from what I know, rent here can get expensive too.. cheaper than San Jose though.

FAR ✓
AUD ✓
REG ✓
BEC ✓

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DONE.

[Fanalyst]

As someone from the Midwest I often long for constant spring-like weather, sunny beaches, and a thousand different restaurants to choose from…and then threads like this come up. For $1,500 I could live in a 4 bedroom, 2k SF home with a 10 minute commute.

Sorry that wasn't helpful so I'll try to be here. Using the $3,800 after tax income from earlier, minus the 10% that you'll contribute to a Roth because you're fiscally responsible ($542/mo), minus about $1,500 in rent (hopefully not too much more) brings you to about $1,760 to pay utilities, cable, car payment, eat, party, fill up gas tank, pay for parking/public transit, etc.

For reference, my approximate expenses not including rent/mortgage have averaged $1,200-$1,500 per month. I don't go out of my way to be frugal necessarily, but I also don't consider “shopping” a hobby or anything like that. I also don't have a car payment. So assuming you stayed at that lower end of $1,200 (adjust for the 38% to get to $1,656), you could make it work and still save a decent amount for retirement. Obviously you could save less than 10% and have a little more room. In any event, it will obviously be very very tight, especially if you have a sizable car payment or something. If you are okay with some financial stress early in your career, go for it. The benefits of living there may outweigh the financial stress.

[Anonymous]

“For $1,500 I could live in a 4 bedroom, 2k SF home with a 10 minute commute.”

I guess SF = square foot and NOT San Francisco? Cause if you're talking the latter, I think you might have inverted the 1 and 5. 🙂

[MaLoTu]

LOL, coloradorit – I am positive they were referencing SqFt.

I am curious to know if this is really much different than the COL in Chicago … I know someone that is working there for a few months and in the city, their rent is $4000 a month (the company is paying for it). However, I just can't imagine moving from Chicago to SJ being that catastrophic. Am I wrong?

[Fanalyst]

Definitely meant square feet. Poor abbreviating choice in a thread that already used SF

[Annie]

@Fanalyst

I'm considering to have roommates which would decrease my rent significantly. I'm thinking $1,000 max including utilities. I wouldn't have car monthly payments to make but will need to pay for car insurance, gas, parking, etc. Assuming my rent is about $1,000, I guess I can survive? But at the same time, I wonder if I really want to have 3 roommates when I'm in late 20's…lol I would really like to have my own place but of course it will cost a ton.

[Annie]

@MaLoTu

$4K for rent in downtown Chicago seems a little extreme but if you live in one of the best neighborhoods/fancy new buildings, then it's possible. However, you can still find a pretty decent and clean apartment (studio or 1 bed) for rent between $1,200 and $1,500 in the city here in Chicago which doesn't seem possible in SJ.

[Anonymous]

Annie, like I said, I don't know anything about you or your experience BUT I strongly feel like any half decent CPA should not be merely “surviving” when the economy is okay.

[mw798]

The thing about Chicago is that you can move to the burbs, get a 1000 sq ft apt for $1,500/month and you can still get to downtown Chicago in under an hour.

[Anonymous]

That salary guide I posted has San Francisco at 138% the average COL and Chicago at 123%, so that is a big difference. San Jose was only 3 points below SF but I think while other goods may have a similar cost between SJ and SF, the difference in rent is huge (I think).

[Author]

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