Moving from Ohio to California ?

Question

My husband has a job offer in California starting at $20 per hour. Not much but surely beats what he is making here in Ohio. The part that's tough for me is I have always heard Cali is expensive. The job is in Escondido California , which I do know is the less expensive part of San Diego. I have never lived anywhere else my whole life and I don't want to leave my job to have to come right back to ohio. I don't think my job will allow me to transfer either. I work pretty much in any customer service . Everyone tells me I shouldn't go but I want to try something new and support my husband. Can anyone tell me from what you know or experience is this a chance worth taking? Are my chances of finding a job ok? Can we survive on a income of around 40k a year in San Diego? Thank you so much.

Answer 1

I use to live in Ohio and believe me, moving to San Diego was the best decision of my life. I haven't regretted a minute of it.



San Diego is one of the nicest cities in the country. It's a major tourist destination and there are tons of things to do. With 70 miles of beautiful beaches, countless parks and gardens, major league and college sports, dozens of golf courses, world class museums, Tony Award winning theater, great cuisine, best weather in the country, high tech industry, major universities, and the best zoo in the world, it's my choice as THE place to live and play in the USA.



Finding work will be entirely dependent on the type of job you are looking for. Construction jobs are hard to find but hospitality, health care, and high tech are industries where jobs can be found. Current county unemployment rate is 6.8%, which is lower than the state's over all rate (8.9%), and it's getting better. Ohio has a 7.5% unemployment rate.



Here is a cost of living comparison calculator. San Diego is about 28% more expensive, so $20 / hour is more like $15 / hour. The calculator will break things down by category.

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx



The big sticker shock is housing. People expect to pay 30%-35% of their income on housing. Everyone wants to like within 50 miles of the coast and that is what drives up the cost.



As for housing, besides Escondido, look at the San Marcos and Vista areas. They are a little closer to the coast and summer temperatures will be a lot milder. When it's in the 90's in Escondido it will only be in the 80's there.



Check out these sites for more info

http://www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors

http://thebestplacesinsandiego.com/

Answer 2

Only you can answer if the chance is worth taking, but as I always say....if you don't even try, then you'll never know!



I mean yes SD is definitely more expensive than the midwest. But that's cause unlike ohio we're not currently buried in 20ft of snow or something like that....in fact even in the coldest parts of the year you either have to wait for the odd heavy rain and a very cold day to get it in the local moutnains OR drive 3hrs north of here to the ones northeast of LA to even see it!



The fact of the matter is people want to live here...so demand is high for just about everything so prices (of course) go up.



And frankly while people in ohio may be telling you to stay, I have to wonder if any of them have ever even been here or even out of ohio like you. Cause being B&R raised here I will fully admit you get spoiled by the climate and amount of things to do here all year round....to the point living anywhere else becomes probably just as hard as you think living anywhere outside ohio is.



But as far as your husband's salary, 40k is ok for 2 to start on w/ some budgeting, hopefully the company that's hiring him some more incentives to help you guys adjust.



Cause as far as you getting a job here, the job market is not that great, so if you want a job here I would start applying RIGHT NOW! Escondido shouldn't be too bad overall, though it is a little out of the way as far as it's location in relation to the rest of san diego. But baring normal rush hour times, it shouldn't be too bad.

Answer 3

$20 in California is like making $10 in Ohio. Housing costs are much higher out west. The weather is certainly better. Just be ready for culture shock.

Answer 4

$20 an hour in CA will ge less far than whatever he is making in OH now.



$40K a year is barely scraping above the poverty line.