# Job in Irvine, CA



## csousa (Apr 30, 2011)

Hello to all,

I am currently applying to a job in Irvine, CA and they told me that the salary would be around 75k/year.

I have a wife and a 7 year old daughter and we decided that my wife should stop working and invest that time on our daughter. Here in Portugal, that wasn't a problem since I earn enough for a comfortable life.

Can anyone please tell me if with these 75k/year I will be able to provide for my family? Is this enough? I don't want to move and discover that I'm not making enough money after I am already there.

Thanks,

Carlos


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## Guest (May 1, 2011)

csousa said:


> Can anyone please tell me if with these 75k/year I will be able to provide for my family? Is this enough? I don't want to move and discover that I'm not making enough money after I am already there.


Your monthly net pay after taxes will be about $4800 - this doesn't account for any health insurance portion you might have to pay. 

Rents for a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment in the Irvine area will run about $2000 a month. You could look for a place in either Tustin, Orange or Mission Viejo (all nice areas) and have a 20-30 minute drive each way, for maybe $1600 per month. 

Without a US credit history, apartment rentals will probably accept you if the rent doesn't exceed 30% of your gross pay, in your case this would be about $1875 for rent. A letter from your employer, or as a guarantor for your rent, would probably help and you will probably need to sign a 1 year lease as a minimum. Without knowing the area, avoid Santa Ana as a place to live. The rest depends on your own costs of living. Car expenses, car insurance, food, debt payment, etc.

A good place for information is the biggest local newspaper , the Orange County Register. You can find rentals, school info, economic data, crime info here. Prepare for heavy traffic. Good luck.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Consider rent, utilities, vehicles, insurances, TV, phones, start up costs such as drivers licenses/deposits ... I could not make it without tightening the belt on 75k especially in that area. Rule of thumb - will your quality of life both professionally and personally increase with the move? If not - why make it?


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## csousa (Apr 30, 2011)

GringoCArlos said:


> Your monthly net pay after taxes will be about $4800 - this doesn't account for any health insurance portion you might have to pay.
> 
> Rents for a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment in the Irvine area will run about $2000 a month. You could look for a place in either Tustin, Orange or Mission Viejo (all nice areas) and have a 20-30 minute drive each way, for maybe $1600 per month.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tips!
Can anyone tell me if elementary public schools are free in the US? 
I have a 6 year old daughter going to second grade and here in Portugal I only have to pay for her lunch..


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## Iron Horse (Apr 10, 2008)

I'll be quick: It's not enough money. You need at least $125K per year. Factor in fuel prices in order to drive around the area too.

Schooling should be free, but who knows what kind of garbage the government will start doing with vouchers and then schools raise their fees afterward. But I wouldn't worry about this changing too soon.

Salary is the key here. Make them pay for your talent!


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## csousa (Apr 30, 2011)

Iron Horse said:


> I'll be quick: It's not enough money. You need at least $125K per year. Factor in fuel prices in order to drive around the area too.
> 
> Schooling should be free, but who knows what kind of garbage the government will start doing with vouchers and then schools raise their fees afterward. But I wouldn't worry about this changing too soon.
> 
> Salary is the key here. Make them pay for your talent!


Thanks for the information about the schools!

However, I still feel completely lost. Everyone tells me that I need 125k/year but I don't understand where the money goes.

Anyone knows a website where I can REALLY have an idea of the list of monthly expenses of a regular family in California?

In Portugal 75k (50k euros) is very good and I can't really understand what will have as fixed costs.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

csousa said:


> Thanks for the information about the schools!:


Google the county you will be moving to and school. Generally school systems are within city limits AND county lines. Consider that your physical address will determin which school your child will go to. Public schools are free BUT - books, pencils, paper (you will get a list and have to adhere by it) not to mention extracurricular activities from sports to dance to trips. Your wife will turn into a cab driver:>)



csousa said:


> However, I still feel completely lost. Everyone tells me that I need 125k/year but I don't understand where the money goes.:


LOL - rent/utilities/TV/phone/internet/insurance/parking are necessities. You have no US credit history so everyone will require deposits. You will need two vehicles. Let's not get into medical copays, groceries, entertainment ... You can roughly deduct 25-50% from your gross to figure out bring home.




csousa said:


> Anyone knows a website where I can REALLY have an idea of the list of monthly expenses of a regular family in California?:


There is no such thing. You know what you expect as standard of living. We moved from one the top 10 Best Places to Live and Per Capita Income to a 1500 soul town in TX and calculated a 30% increase to stay within our standard of living.



csousa said:


> In Portugal 75k (50k euros) is very good and I can't really understand what will have as fixed costs.


California is not Portugal. You do not understand what fixed costs you will have? Well, what do you pay in Portugal to live?


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## Guest (May 4, 2011)

Google is your friend. However, when searching, don't use "Irvine" - use "Orange County, CA" as your search term. Other than rents, costs are fairly uniform across the county.

The Orange County Register (the only real newspaper in the county) has a lot of good information. You can also search on their website.

Iron Horse is right. If you are looking to save up some money, Irvine at $75k is not your solution. Orange County is about the 5th most expensive place to live in the United States (out of probably 300 urban areas studied).

Rough ideas: On gross income of $75k a year, your net income after taxes would be about $4800 a month. Rent at $1600. Food at $750. Electricity: $125. Expenses for 2 cars: $1000 a month if they are paid for (gasoline $600, insurance $250, plus maintenance, etc ) - before you start saying that you only need one car, check out the lifestyle in OC. Most people have at least one car per adult, and NOBODY walks in Orange County. Renters insurance: $50. Entertainment: $500 a month living lean (that's about one night out at a real restaurant and one movie a week for your family). Clothing: $250. Telephone and internet: $125. Wife at home, bored after 2 months = shopping = the rest.


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## Iron Horse (Apr 10, 2008)

The money goes in the price of things. Fuel for a car, as their is no train system to move people around as in Europe. The bus system isn't as time friendly. Housing costs are very expensive in Orange County and Irvine being a desirable address means it's higher than normal. Food prices are expected to rise too. Clothes and other items for the kids. As was mentioned in a previous post, health care is going to cost money. Insurance for a car is going to cost money. Utilities for the house or apartment you have to use. Satellite dish is going to cost at least $100/month, so there's $1200/year immediately.

The main problem is that companies make things cheaply in other countries, yet charge the same here what they would have to charge if those items were made in the US. Therefore the greed that goes on in this country is sick, just plain sick. Everyone is trying to maximize their personal gain as quickly as possible with little to no concern for anyone else.

Best wishes.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

*Cost Of Living*



Iron Horse said:


> The money goes in the price of things. Fuel for a car, as their is no train system to move people around as in Europe. The bus system isn't as time friendly. Housing costs are very expensive in Orange County and Irvine being a desirable address means it's higher than normal. Food prices are expected to rise too. Clothes and other items for the kids. As was mentioned in a previous post, health care is going to cost money. Insurance for a car is going to cost money. Utilities for the house or apartment you have to use. Satellite dish is going to cost at least $100/month, so there's $1200/year immediately.
> 
> The main problem is that companies make things cheaply in other countries, yet charge the same here what they would have to charge if those items were made in the US. Therefore the greed that goes on in this country is sick, just plain sick. Everyone is trying to maximize their personal gain as quickly as possible with little to no concern for anyone else.
> 
> Best wishes.


*Iron Horse,*

*Just looking around the states page and enjoyed your post. Those are but a few of the reasons I left there eight years ago. I can hardly imagine the cost of living there (LA) today.*
*We are three in our family and here our total cost of living is under $150.00 (one hundred fifty) dollars per month including food and private school for out daughter.*

*Gene...*


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## thebeljur (May 5, 2011)

In short, yes, you can survive here on USD$75,000/year. 

Some more affordable areas to rent near Irvine are: Tustin, Orange, and Fountain Valley. The city of Irvine is more expensive. It also (obviously) gets more expensive the closer you get to the beach. Southern Orange County runs a little higher, too. I would avoid Santa Ana and some parts of Costa Mesa (although, there are some decent spots in that area).

Here is a sample of our monthly expenses living in Orange County (we live in the city of Orange and are a one income family):

3 bedroom/ 2 bath home 1,500 sq. ft.

Electricity = $125 (Less than this in the winters, maybe $80 then.)
Gas (for house) = $30 (Maybe $60 in the winter because we have a gas heater....not that it gets REALLY cold here or anything in the winter, but I'm a wimp and this house has no insulation, so I use the heater.)
Water/Trash = $20 (You most likely won't have to pay this if you're renting, though.)
Telephone & Internet = $70 (This is for basic phone service and speedy DSL internet....we don't really use our land line phone for calls, though, we use our cell phones.)
Satellite TV = $80
Cell Phones = $90 (this if for coverage of two phones)
Car Insurance = $130 (We have really good coverage through USAA; most other car insurance companies will probably be a little bit more expensive. This covers two cars.)
We own our cars outright, so we have no car payments.
Gas (for two cars....husband drives about 40 miles every day, and I'm a stay at home mom and drive average about 10 miles a day) = $225
Food = $800 (We're a family of 6 -- two adults and four kids ages 8, 5, 2, and 4 months. We certainly don't eat extravagantly, but we're not starving.  )
Mortgage (Rent, if you don't own a house) = $1,800 (This is another variable. You can find some perfectly great rental apartments/condos/townhouses for $1,400.)
Miscellaneous = $300 (for whatever random expenses that may come up each month)
Health Insurance = $150 (this cost will depend on what portion your employer pays)

This totals about $3,750/month. After taxes, you would net about $4,800/month. So, you would still have a little bumper.

Yes, you can survive in Orange County with a 75K salary just fine.


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## Iron Horse (Apr 10, 2008)

Survival and being able to get ahead(save for the future) are two different things. This is why the $75k/year is not enough. With record profits for companies, they can pony up the bucks for the people that take care of them. I honestly wish we would stop racing to the bottom in this world.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

thebeljur said:


> In short, yes, you can survive here on USD$75,000/year.
> This totals about $3,750/month. After taxes, you would net about $4,800/month. So, you would still have a little bumper.
> 
> Yes, you can survive in Orange County with a 75K salary just fine.


Is the objective survival or good life:>) Your calculations include nothing but fixed costs. OP has not been heard from in a while btw. 75k US and 50k Eu - where is the improvement aside from higher cost of living?


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## Britangel (May 16, 2011)

Try to remember that in the USA health insurance is not free so you will have to pay. Even if you have health insurance if someone in the family gets really sick it could bankrupt you. Having said that, $75k is not a lot of money for a family of three, but it can be done. Your lifestyle however will be modest


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## ElizabethRhiannon (May 12, 2011)

csousa & GringoCarlos:
Yes! Avoid Santa Ana at all costs, lol!


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## Guest (May 26, 2011)

ElizabethRhiannon said:


> csousa & GringoCarlos:
> Yes! Avoid Santa Ana at all costs, lol!


I only mentioned "without knowing the area, avoid Santa Ana as a place to live". There are still some nice pockets in Santa Ana, but it takes local knowledge to find them. A newby to the area won't yet have the toolbox or connections to find them.

Good luck in your search.


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## ElizabethRhiannon (May 12, 2011)

Unfortunately, those pockets have become smaller and smaller...


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