The cost of living is the real kicker in SF that makes you have to closely evaluate an offer if coming from another place.
For single people its a lot easier to live in SF on around 70-100k. Having kids and family makes it harder in SF and there is a definite portion of people that leave due to the extra financial pressure it inevitably puts on you.
Probably for you there are 2 things to potentially take into consideration... in SF 1) child care is expensive if you ever needed it and 2) the schools in SF have a reputation of not being very good. There are private schools but those are costly as well.
The last thing is that rent for a place is very expensive for a place that would fit your family. Make sure to get a feel as to what you'd be paying here. My guess for a just large enough space would be $2800 to $4500 per month.
Based upon your wife not working and having kids Id honestly not recommend moving. Not trying to be discouraging but just trying to be honest with you that it could be tough going financially if you are the sole income earner for the 4 of you.
Thanks for your honesty, it's appreciated! That amount of rent is indeed a lot higher than I expected it to be. I checked craigslit to get a feel, and there were some affordable houses, but I know from previous visits that good neighborhoods in SF border to really bad ones, and it's hard for me to judge what's an acceptable location.
I feel that SV would be better for my family, although being the sole earner would require a very, very frugal lifestyle. Definetely something to keep in consideration, thanks!
For single people its a lot easier to live in SF on around 70-100k. Having kids and family makes it harder in SF and there is a definite portion of people that leave due to the extra financial pressure it inevitably puts on you.
Probably for you there are 2 things to potentially take into consideration... in SF 1) child care is expensive if you ever needed it and 2) the schools in SF have a reputation of not being very good. There are private schools but those are costly as well.
The last thing is that rent for a place is very expensive for a place that would fit your family. Make sure to get a feel as to what you'd be paying here. My guess for a just large enough space would be $2800 to $4500 per month.
Based upon your wife not working and having kids Id honestly not recommend moving. Not trying to be discouraging but just trying to be honest with you that it could be tough going financially if you are the sole income earner for the 4 of you.