Houston to San Diego

I live and work north of San Diego, Carlsbad area. I downsized from a house in Austin to a condo here to make my finances work.

175k is a good salary in San Diego. I moved out here for a lot less.

 

If the dogs are cool with it, do it. Could be a nice boost to your life.

 

Nice ... send me a few dozen snapdragons ... but you should do it if you feel good about it.

 

They don't have Houston Rockets there

 

I moved from Houston to Orange County in 2009, if you are going to be making 150-175 then you will be just fine in Southern California. You won't enjoy the state income tax, higher home prices with no land, and gas prices but you are paying for the weather, scenery and lifestyle out here.

Everywhere you live there is a trade off of course. I would definitely start taking a look at homes, rents, etc and see what your money can get as well. For instance in Orange County you can get nice sized houses but they hardly ever have backyards that are like the ones in Houston. You have million dollar homes with barely any room in back and you are close to your neighbors, unless you are loaded and can find some land with your house.

But to make up for it there are parks on almost every other street that are clean and family ready because they know people don't have much of a yard.

 

It seems like you want to do it, but are looking for reasons not to. Go for it, no regrets. I'm in NorCal, but SD is great!

 

I moved from SD to here, cost of living was a major reason. Rockets was another

I loved SD, if I could afford it I would return

 

Sd has the best zoo I ever been to. Weather is def great. Yard space sucks, badly. Even the rich homes tend to have small yards

 

But the Houston Rockets did originate in San Diego, so...close enough?

OP I would strongly consider it assuming they increase your salary based on COL like you said, especially with no kids and if your finances are in line otherwise (no major debt, retirement funding in place)

 

If salary versus cost of living is the only holdup on moving, I'd just go ahead and do it. In my actual life, I wouldn't do it because I have kids, family, and other commitments that prevent me. But, it sounds like you're mobile, so just do it so you can have had the experience of living in San Diego for awhile. If you hate it, take a different job and move some place else.

 

San Diego seemed smallish to me.

I'd move to LA though

 

Its not that far from LA. Like an hour drive. Probably no longer than if you live in cypress.

 

They should be obligated to provide you with a 30% bump based on CoL and state income taxes. I say do it. You will have enough to live comfortably and the quality of life there is better. Move back in a year or two if you are unhappy but at least try.

 

One separate thing worth mentioning is California's screwed up property tax system. If you plan on staying in CA long term, it works it out in your favor in a huge way. California has capped property tax assessments. Your assessed value can only go up at a max of 2% per year with a capped property tax rate of 1%. That means in the long run, you'll be paying property taxes that are completely out of whack with the value of your home. Everyone I know in CA that has lived there for 20+ years is sitting on a home that tripled in value, yet their taxable value is still close to their original purchase price. The longer you live in CA, the better your tax position because of their property tax laws which looks even better in contrast to Texas's property taxes.

 

The Rockets moved from San Diego to Houston not the other way around. You're doing it wrong.

 

Crazy... I also moved from Austin to SD in 2013. Grew up in Houston, lived in Austin for ~10 years, and now here for 4. For @Schmidt, everything Mack said here has been my experience as well.

Only thing I'd add is a mention of traffic. It's a bit worse in SD than in Houston because of the topography (there's only certain places where freeways could even fit). I live in University Heights near downtown SD. I work from home, so commuting's not an issue for me. But my S/O works in a building right next to Qualcomm's Mira Mesa campus. It's only 11 miles away, but it takes her at least an hour to get home in traffic.

Really just something to keep in mind when looking for potential neighborhoods. Unless you're cool with spending 2+ hours in the car each day, it would probably be best to live within 10 miles of work. That may affect your budget.

 

I've lived in SD county for 5 1/2 years and I lived in Houston for over 20 years. I find it hard to believe people would choose Houston over SD that had the option to move here with a good job lined up. If you enjoy the outdoors, it seems like a very easy choice.