California life- specifically the Bay area.. whats it like living there?

I just interviewed for a position is the Bay area and I think I did well, seems to me that I was a solid candidate for the position
Boston --> California

What's rent like?
Are things expensive? leasing/owning a car, food, entertainment, the city environment?

Anyone in the Bay or California area that could give me an idea as to anything that may help me make a decision would be great? I don't know if I have the job yet... but more information never hurts
Thanks Guys

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Comments

networkjutsu

Bay Area is a nice place to live. Can't even believe why I left, but it was for good reasons. Glad I am back now though. The area is filled with a lot of techies. It might be hard to find a job with no experience. I had to leave the Bay to get some experience since a lot of companies are looking for experienced guys. Not trying to discourage you though. Just know that the competition is tough out here.

Aldur

Novalith478 wrote: »

That's nothing. Here in Canada you can end up paying 47% overall income tax if your household income is over 150k.

Oh yes, I know about Canadian taxes, I lived in Edmonton Alberta for a few years. It was amazing how much money went out in taxes. Loved the area and the people, but not the taxes.

petedude

networkjutsu wrote: »

Bay Area is a nice place to live. . . . Just know that the competition is tough out here.

Amen to both of these things.

I visited the SF Bay Area a few months back. It was cold, but it was really nice. I like the old downtown areas like Walnut Creek has. No doubt, it's expensive to live up there, as California is in general. Lots to do in either Northern or Southern CA. Job competition is stiff in the state as well, moreso up North.

I wouldn't shoo the OP away, but in general: The state and many municipalities are struggling financially. This is affecting public services (e.g. fire, police) and could affect the school systems dramatically. The state college systems are getting hit by cuts. Crime is an issue where public services have been cut, and I believe regional culture will be negatively impacted if education gets dragged down any further by the financial issues. Taxes, direct or indirect, could go up significantly in places. CA could be a much tougher place to live in 5-10 years, great weather or no.

onesaint

petedude wrote: »

I wouldn't shoo the OP away, but in general: The state and many municipalities are struggling financially. This is affecting public services (e.g. fire, police) and could affect the school systems dramatically. The state college systems are getting hit by cuts. Crime is an issue where public services have been cut, and I believe regional culture will be negatively impacted if education gets dragged down any further by the financial issues. Taxes, direct or indirect, could go up significantly in places. CA could be a much tougher place to live in 5-10 years, great weather or no.

I'm often surprised what the state does financially and wonder where exactly my taxes go. A good example, UCLA (a public institution) has cut annual salary increases for employees and raising student tuition, but at the same time is and has been building massive new facilities, and the Regents are widely known to have very full coffers.

For the state as a whole, there is the whole immigration thing, which is a massive pink elephant, and isn't getting dealt with. Other states are able to lure business away with better tax incentives. Frankly, the California legislature is really bad at handling money for some reason, granted it's happening everywhere.

However, with all that, California is still leading the nation in term of new job creation in the tech sector. Crime, at least here in LA is close to 1950s levels as of a year or so ago, and education... Well, I can't argue there. My daughter's high school recently fired a biology teach and brought in a "social media professional." Which seems to say more about management than financial issues. Otherwise California is in pretty good shape depending on your perspective.

Novalith478

onesaint wrote: »

I'm often surprised what the state does financially and wonder where exactly my taxes go. A good example, UCLA (a public institution) has cut annual salary increases for employees and raising student tuition, but at the same time is and has been building massive new facilities, and the Regents are widely known to have very full coffers.

For the state as a whole, there is the whole immigration thing, which is a massive pink elephant, and isn't getting dealt with. Other states are able to lour business away with better tax incentives. Frankly, the California legislature is really bad at handling money for some reason, granted it's happening everywhere.

However, with all that, California is still leading the nation in term of new job creation in the tech sector. Crime, at least here in LA is close to 1950s levels as of a year or so ago, and education... Well, I can't argue there. My daughter's high school recently fired a biology teach and brought in a "social media professional." Which seems to say more about management than financial issues. Otherwise California is in pretty good shape depending on your perspective.

No government is good with handling tax money. It's why big government almost never works. Here in Canada (Ontario - god help me) we have government for almost every individual problem you could think of. Not only that, but the unions run everything into the ground. Management is never accountable, no one ever gets fired, and people are paid 2x what they're supposed to. Not to mention that they strike once every 2-10 years depending on how happy they are with the current government.

Back on topic, I think California would be a great place to live. High cost of living I'm sure (it's a popular place to live in most people's eyes), but if you can get a good salary and stick it out for a year or two, then you'll be fine.

spicy ahi

Mike-Mike wrote: »

90% of my knowledge of the Bay area comes from E-40 songs, so I'm not sure how much help I can be...

Hilarious right there. I literary started laughing out loud and everyone in the office gave me the WTF looks.

Mike-Mike

spicy ahi wrote: »

Hilarious right there. I literary started laughing out loud and everyone in the office gave me the WTF looks.

Thank you kind sir.... I showed that joke to a co-worker to show them how awesome I am, they go "the full house part is funny, but what's an e-40?"

I wanted to stab them

NetworkVeteran

petedude wrote: »

I wouldn't shoo the OP away, but in general: The state and many municipalities are struggling financially. This is affecting public services (e.g. fire, police) and could affect the school systems dramatically. The state college systems are getting hit by cuts. Crime is an issue where public services have been cut, and I believe regional culture will be negatively impacted if education gets dragged down any further by the financial issues. Taxes, direct or indirect, could go up significantly in places. CA could be a much tougher place to live in 5-10 years, great weather or no.

California has many of the top schools in the country. Stanford is rated the #1 or #2 computer science department, year after year. They also have some incredible private schools, and some incredible public schools. Those are in no danger of collapsing, because their source of greatness is not tax dollars. At the top public schools, funding for art, science, computers, music, p.e., library, and even portions of the core programs are selected, paid for, and sometimes staffed by parents. Now, there are also a large number of mediocre schools, and some areas that are downright miserable to live in. That goes for the crime rates as well. If you can afford a million-dollar home, California is the place to be!

(It may also be the place to be if you have certain value systems. For example, California has done a wonderful job protecting a variety of national parks--from deserts, to beaches, to snowy peaks. It's also done a good job preserving its history. The missions are still there! Compare to other states, such as Texas, which didn't even move to protect its most famous symbol, the Alamo.)

I agree, the tax rates are scary. If you make a high income, you're paying 43% in taxes. And it's amazing how far a high income doesn't stretch given California's cost of living.