When I was deciding on the move to Sunnyvale, a lot of people, some of which have lived in the area, asked me whether I was aware how expensive it is (the word expensive always was pronounced with higher pitch for further accentuation of the incredible pricing in the area). Well, actually both yes and no.
If you’re planning to buy and live in a house, the real estate here is truly expensive. San Jose and San Francisco consistently ranked as #6 and #7 priciest places in the United States, and a general look at the real estate market convinced me I was quite a distance from purchasing anything. However, as far as other expenses, it wasn’t that much of a difference in comparison with WA state. Gas prices were about the same, maybe a few pennies higher here and there. Food and produce were also not that much different, and some fresh fruit was even cheaper, if you consider that they grow oranges and peaches in California, so there’s no expense of hauling them to Washington. Cairo can provide a pretty good overview of what’s available in the local stores.
Rent is really the only thing that differed substantially, and was about double of what I paid in Spokane. But having that figured out, when you discuss the financial terms with the recruiter, helps, as you can pin-point the exact amount you’ll be spending over the year on rent increase. Craigslist is probably the best place to tap into the private and corporate-managed rental market here, and the prices are fairly consistent, since the landlords can see what the restr are charging. Yahoo! Real Estate also lists some residential properties, but they are more inclined towards large complexes and management companies, which you generally have to call yourself.
If you spend some tiume on Craigslist, you’ll discover that most of the places you’d be interested in are marked “spacious”, “luxurious” and sometimes even “lovely”. I definitely would not recommend committing to anything before seeing it in person, but you can filter out certain leads by visiting Apartment Ratings. Great user community, where people leave ratings about their apartment complexes, landlords, maintenance staff and availability of guest parking. It provides a good overview of what apartment complexes not to move into, as people are probably more inclined to write up an entire review, if they are really pissed at the landlord, than if they feel reasonably satisfied. Going to ApartmentRatings killed a few leads I planned on visiting.
