Family of four, moving to Bay Area, making $115K. Is this crazy? I live outside the US. I have been offered a job in Mountain View making $115K, which is a lot anywhere else except the Bay Area it seems. I have the potential to make $30K+ in bonuses annually, but bonuses don't pay the mortgage. I would have ~$300K in home equity to make a down payment on a house. So my question is two-fold: one, can I actually live a reasonable life on this much money in the Bay Area? 1100 sq ft 3-bedroom houses seem TINY to me. Is this really the best I can expect to be able to own? The second question I care less about, but of course the big question is whether buying a house in the peninsula in the next few months is bad timing.

My wife and I will be moving stateside from Bermuda next year. We will be moving into an empty house with NOTHING except outdated wardrobes and cash. With that said, we will be acquiring a lot of stuff. We will need cars, furniture, appliances, electronics, art, tools, clothes, insurance, etc. etc. How can we maximize our investments in all this stuff? What is your opinion on getting good deals in each of these categories? Our financial planner suggested we incorporate to get some tax write-offs. Another friend said to look into SwapLease .