# Moving from London to San Francisco



## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

I got a job offer from Oracle to go work in Oracle HQ. Quite a job to he honest. Almost impossible to refuse. 

I currently work and live in London and before I make a decision I want to know a few things about SF:

How expensive is it? London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I've heard that SF is also quite expensive. I want to figure how much money I need to have a proper lifestyle. 

Currently we live in a nice 2 bedroom appartment thinking about moving to a 3 bedroom appartment. We don't have any sorrow. We can go on holiday, buy stuff that we want. go out for dinner, cinema and so on. 
If I want to make a step like moving to the US, we don't want to change our lifestyle.
Can anybody make an estimation on how money I have to make to have such a lifestyle? 

How about the tax in US/SF. Can someone provide some information about that? 

Some area's in SF that are nice to live so we can find out how much housing cost? 
Oracle is in Redwood so it probably make sense to live somewhere near or with an easy connection. 

My wife is a teacher. We are not English but from another European country. How easy will it be for her to find a job? It was not easy for her to find a job in London. Now she is a nanny. What would be her options in SF? 

Thanks a lot.


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## stednick (Oct 16, 2011)

*Some Info*



Passero said:


> I got a job offer from Oracle to go work in Oracle HQ. Quite a job to he honest. Almost impossible to refuse.
> 
> I currently work and live in London and before I make a decision I want to know a few things about SF:
> 
> ...


Passero: 

How expensive is San Francisco? Following is a link to a cost-of-living comparator (provided by song si, one of the forum's moderator) very good tool. As per Cost of Living 

Consumer Prices in San Francisco, CA are 12.56% lower than in London Consumer Prices Including Rent in San Francisco, CA are 8.44% lower than in London Rent Prices in San Francisco, CA are 1.63% higher than in London Restaurant Prices in San Francisco, CA are 16.52% lower than in London Groceries Prices in San Francisco, CA are 11.96% higher than in London Local Purchasing Power in San Francisco, CA is 41.91% higher than in London

Tax rates/economy: Economy in San Francisco, California

The unemployment rate in San Francisco, CA, is 9.10%, with job growth of -0.91%. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 29.08%. 
San Francisco, CA Taxes
San Francisco, CA,sales tax rate is 8.50%. Income tax is 9.30%.
San Francisco, CA Income and Salaries
The income per capita is $44,401, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $73,485.

Housing: select housing by balancing housing cost vs. commuting time and cost. You have to see what is available and at what cost in proximity to your place of employment. You really need to be there to observe traffic patterns during the work week. Only you can decide what is right for your situation. 

Employment - Teaching: Problematic, many unemployed and more unemployment is expected. All I can say is good luck. Be prepared for a "long" job search for your wife. Everybody wishes this were not the case.

Hope this helps ... Good luck.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You may want to consider living just south of SF - there are a number of towns around Redwood City that would give you good access to work and probably be easier to get in and out of than the city itself. Also many lovely apartment complexes in the area. If you poke around a bit, you may be able to bike or walk to work and avoid the frightful congestion on the two main highways (101 and 280) that serve the peninsula. Consider Menlo Park (next door) or Foster City. It may be tricky to find a 3 bedroom apartment (1 and two BR are the most common) but you just have to see what's available.
Cheers,
Bev

Whether or not your wife can work depends on what sort of visa your employer is sponsoring for you. If it's an H1B, then the spouse can't work. Your employer should be able to provide more information. 

Teaching is not a profession in high demand these days - at least not in the public schools (where so many towns are cutting back). But if she can work, many of the high tech companies hire former teachers for their training department. Again, check with your employer - it's common to have both spouses employed by the same company.


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks for the info.

I already looked at foster city and surrounding area. Seems like a very nice area with lovely complexes. It's only a 10min bike trip to work which sounds really fun. 

How good is public transport in that area? I can imagine we would love to go and see SF quite often. During the weekends or evening. I'm not planning on buying a car from the beginning. Is that realistic or do you really need to have a car when you live in an area like Foster City?

My wife also has a 10 year music education in Belgium. She was thinking on starting something in London to work with children. Afternoon sessions where parents could drop their children and my wife would sing and play with the children. Could by a small business she wanted to start. Here in London there is definitly demand for something like this.
How about SF? Could she do that? Would that have success? Do parent send their children often to play sessions?


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

I found this website: California Salary Paycheck Calculator | Payroll Calculator | Paycheck City
There are so many fields I don't know what to specify... Can anybody provide some values for fields like # of federal allowances, Round Federal Withholding, Additional State Withholding, Additional Allowances, Regular allowances, ...

What are all these things?


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