[vladinecko]

Originally Posted by hkj

Awesome.. another Pittsburgher moving to CA. I went to CMU for 4 yrs and I still miss the place some times.. But trust me, NorCal is a much better place to live than Pitt. See you at the next NorCal meet!

-hkj

nice! i only took a couple of classes at CMU (went to Duquesne) since my college is a sister school to CMU. i wish i did go to CMU though -- incredible school.

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

Thanks guys!

one thing that worries me at the moment is my insurance. i just called my ins company, thinking it would be a formality, and they told me my insurance is going to go from $2,000/year to $5,500/year!!!! now, i excepted some kind of increase in my premium but definitely not over 5 grand a year!!?? wtf?!?!? :mad: :mad: i've never been in an accident, have a clean record and am 2 months shy of being 25. seriously, what the fuck?!?

i looked at some other insurance companies as well and they all quoted me about the same with progressive sticking out with $6,600/year. monthly, that's almost twice as much as my car payment.

is this normal?? i was giving them zip code for downtown san fran. do you guys think that other areas might be a little more reasonable?

I moved to the Bay area from Kentucky in 1982 and my insurance doubled from $369 a year to $369 every six months for a Chevy S-10 pickup. When I moved to Alameda County from Santa Clara County my insurance went up, presumably because Alameda County was a higher risk area and the longer commute. When I moved back to Santa Clara County, one mile from my previous address and ¼ the commute, my insurance went up, again.

Look on the bright side, it should go down in two months; probably not too significantly, though.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

yeah, i got a very nice pay-raise, but as i mentioned above, i don't think i wanna throw away money this much. i was OK with paying $1,800 - $2,000/month for rent, more expensive gas and groceries but paying almost 6 grand for f-ing insurance, that's a very tough pill to swallow.

lower your coverage and hope you dont get into any accidents. Increase your deductible. Tell them you use public transport to commute to work.

[Brunotheboxer]

i S.F.

[vladinecko]

Originally Posted by txusa03

lower your coverage and hope you dont get into any accidents. Increase your deductible. Tell them you use public transport to commute to work.

yeah, i tried all possible combinations and i could only lower it by $300-$400. sucks. i'll be calling everyone tomorrow and see if i can work something out.

[KaBoom]

Fun trip. I moved from NJ to Bay Area back in 2001 droved here in 3 days.
Any way, for your insurance. I suggest that you tell them you will be hardly use your car, only for weekend driving and it will be garaged park.

With good record you should be able to get down to $3K~$4K per year in the city.

[PSUBALL10]

Congrads on the job man, and best of luck. Take alot of pictures on the roadtrip.

[toxical]

indredibly, what do you earn as a software engineer in the US ?
In germany you make like 3000-3500 max, paying 2000 for rent and 5000 per year insurance would be insane

[G-Mach1]

Originally Posted by toxical

indredibly, what do you earn as a software engineer in the US ?
In germany you make like 3000-3500 max, paying 2000 for rent and 5000 per year insurance would be insane

I don't know the salary in US. In Canada you make (again it depends on your Experience and the Platform.) Some one with 10+ Yrs Experience will start any where from 70K to 120K. Some one who is starting will get about 45K. Again keep in mind in Canada we pay more taxes than US , but not like US haelth care is free (Sort of). My friends who works in US make atleast 10 to 20 K more than what I make here.

[achien]

Originally Posted by G-Mach1

I don't know the salary in US. In Canada you make (again it depends on your Experience and the Platform.) Some one with 10+ Yrs Experience will start any where from 70K to 120K. Some one who is starting will get about 45K. Again keep in mind in Canada we pay more taxes than US , but not like US haelth care is free (Sort of). My friends who works in US make atleast 10 to 20 K more than what I make here.

I worked in California for 4 years and the salary range for a "senior" software developer is around 70k to 120k in USD is the norm in California.

However, taxes in California is one of the highest in the US and they are comparable to Ontario (may be Alberta is even higher.).

[picus]

I guess that depends on your definition of comparable. State wide Cal is similar to ON in property tax, but not state/provincial tax or sales tax. Federally Canada has much higher taxes than the US. I'd say in general people are taxed about an order of 1.5x more in Ontario than in California. A simple example would be someone making $100k. In Ontario your take home will be about 56k (assuming no income tax antics), in California about 69k. On top of that in ON you pay 14% sales tax as opposed to 8.75%, and you pay (generally) about half a % higher property taxes.

[achien]

Originally Posted by picus

I guess that depends on your definition of comparable. State wide Cal is similar to ON in property tax, but not state/provincial tax or sales tax. Federally Canada has much higher taxes than the US. I'd say in general people are taxed about an order of 1.5x more in Ontario than in California. A simple example would be someone making $100k. In Ontario your take home will be about 56k (assuming no income tax antics), in California about 69k. On top of that in ON you pay 14% sales tax as opposed to 8.75%, and you pay (generally) about half a % higher property taxes.

Sales tax is definitely higher in Ontario, property tax I cannot say as I was renting in California.

Income tax is comparable (I was single) as take home pay (net income) is around 60% of the gross income (in both California and Ontario). Unless you are talking having a family, the taxes may be higher in Canada.

[canucklion]

that's it, I'm moving to CA

What irks me is the fact that you get taxed on company bonuses too

Originally Posted by picus

I guess that depends on your definition of comparable. State wide Cal is similar to ON in property tax, but not state/provincial tax or sales tax. Federally Canada has much higher taxes than the US. I'd say in general people are taxed about an order of 1.5x more in Ontario than in California. A simple example would be someone making $100k. In Ontario your take home will be about 56k (assuming no income tax antics), in California about 69k. On top of that in ON you pay 14% sales tax as opposed to 8.75%, and you pay (generally) about half a % higher property taxes.

[S4to335]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

yeah, i got a very nice pay-raise, but as i mentioned above, i don't think i wanna throw away money this much. i was OK with paying $1,800 - $2,000/month for rent, more expensive gas and groceries but paying almost 6 grand for f-ing insurance, that's a very tough pill to swallow.

welcome to expensive california...

[BMXtreme]

Nicee...i drove to Cali frm Buffalo few years ago when gas prices wasn't this crazy....very fun drive...was in an Integra then...hope u enjoy the view! Spend some time in the Canyon and prepare to have your car wash passing by NM at night

[Juggs]

i worked for 5 years as a software engineer in dallas and i made 60+ starting and walked away at 90k. Although now im in senior mgmt which sort of negates this entire payscale thing we're discussing , anything with computers ( software/hardware) engineering you make very good money

[e92phreak]

6k for insurance???? *faint*...

Do you have any points? Just one driver/one car???

The zip code thing is all screwed up here in CA. I have 4 cars (07 E92 335i, 05 Honda Odyssey Touring, 02 Honda CR-V, and an 00 E46 323i) with three drivers. I pay 1174.70 every 6 months. I have 100k/300k/100k, 500 deductible, and rental car too.

The more-affordable insurnace companies out here are Mercury Insurance and 21st Centurty.

[e92phreak]

Congrats on the new job though. You will love San Francisco, especially during the summers. You could always move outside of the city and take BART up.

[ward]

Originally Posted by e92phreak

Congrats on the new job though. You will love San Francisco, especially during the summers. You could always move outside of the city and take BART up.

this is a great suggestion, the city is a fun party place but it's a PITA to use your own car there

that insurance quote they gave you is nuts too!

mine is about 1/4-1/5 as much as yours Vlad (in the heart of the south bay)

[e92phreak]

Originally Posted by ward

this is a great suggestion, the city is a fun party place but it's a PITA to use your own car there

that insurance quote they gave you is nuts too!

mine is about 1/4-1/5 as much as yours Vlad (in the heart of the south bay)

Just imagine what mods he can put on his car with his new-found wealth by living south of San Francisco and taking some public transportation.

I LOVE BART! I swear by it when I am up there. 3-4k extra annually is quite nice for wheels, Procede, etc!

[SoYank]

Vladinecko, have you checked with California State Automobile Association (affiliated with AAA)? When I lived in California (bay area) they were considerably cheaper than Allstate. Plus if you had no claim during the year they would give you a rebate if their claim expenses were less than their premium income.

[fire-n-ice]

Aww congratulations hon! Sounds like you are excited! And so cool to be traveling with your girl . I wish you all the success and keep us posted.