Hi all, happy Monday. I'm a first time poster, and I searched for assistance with this, but no one seems to be in exactly the same position (...obviously). My wife is finishing a surgical-ish fellowship in the Bay Area, and it looks like we'll be staying. We were exceptionally fortunate (and worked hard) to have no debt and even more fortunate that my company has produced a decent windfall event (and I'm not even in tech!). We have 1 child and are planning on a second in the next two years. We don't live in San Francisco proper, further south on the peninsula.
My questions for you all:
Finally, our current plan is to rent for 1-3 years longer, near my wife's job and make sure we're staying (this seems to be the most common advice). That will also give us time to see her salary after year 2. In that time, we can build the nest egg further to afford more house (or more neighborhood as is often the case). I think waiting (and continuing to live like a resident) would put us in the 1MM down payment area.
I think we're definitely still in monetary/lifestyle shock. Neither of us grew up wealthy and between ISOs paying out and my wife finishing fellowship, in the next year, we're suddenly going to have slightly more money than we're used to
. Our spending habits haven't changed in years (except renting a slightly larger place for the child). I fully realize how fortunate we are, this is definitely 1% problems. We appreciate we are some of the few people that can truly afford the Bay Area. So with that, I'm also using you all as therapy, since I can't talk to anyone about this. The reddit forum /r/fatfire isn't particularly active.
Sorry to be kind of rambling, let me know if you need any more info.
Cheers!
- 2018/2019 combined W2 income: 400-500k. Should increase in even more by wife's year 3 of "real job" (around 2020). It should peak in the 700-900k+ range eventually (10 years?)
- No debt
- As of today, I could find about 460k for a down payment, though I don't think we'd be comfortable doing so (note, this doesn't touch retirement accounts and includes the taxes in liquidating positions)
My questions for you all:
- Given that we're in the Bay Area, how much house can we currently afford? Mortgage calculators seem to put me at 2-3MM (using 450k salary and 450k down payment)
- We're naturally pretty frugal, and the though of buying a house that is 3MM+ is shocking to us. Part of us thinks that buying a "modest" 1-1.5MM home sooner would be better than waiting for a much more expensive home. Bay area housing prices seem to go up... up... up... and so does rent.
- At what net worth/salary do people think "upgrading" from starter home (or renting) to "doctor home" is normal/reasonable? I'm not sure starter homes exist in the Bay Area in the best school districts, it seems like we'd already be in the 2-3MM range in these areas for a modest house.
- I'd also love to hear from the perma-renters in the SF area. We really haven't ruled that out.
- Is there actually any way to predict renting/buying's impact on FI. I think that buying works out in the long run (maybe?) but rent here certainly seems crazy... maybe "predict" isn't the right question. Has anyone here thought (somewhat deeply) about renting/buying in the Bay Area as a high income person, and how that affects FI?
- I'd love to hear more from doctors in the area who have made a go of life and what they'd change / do differently in retrospect.
Finally, our current plan is to rent for 1-3 years longer, near my wife's job and make sure we're staying (this seems to be the most common advice). That will also give us time to see her salary after year 2. In that time, we can build the nest egg further to afford more house (or more neighborhood as is often the case). I think waiting (and continuing to live like a resident) would put us in the 1MM down payment area.
I think we're definitely still in monetary/lifestyle shock. Neither of us grew up wealthy and between ISOs paying out and my wife finishing fellowship, in the next year, we're suddenly going to have slightly more money than we're used to

Sorry to be kind of rambling, let me know if you need any more info.
Cheers!
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