I always dreamed of living in California. Fifteen years ago, when I applied for jobs, I lacked what one might call “academic equity”—the proven value or credibility in my professional field. At that time, without a solid academic reputation, I was unable to secure any opportunities. Over the years, through hard work and persistence, I have built and proven my academic worth.

Thus, a job offer in California was not the easy decision I thought it would be. Housing in the Bay Area makes things… tricky.

My family wants (needs?) a single-level 4-bedroom home with a home office in a school district ranked 7 or higher from GreatSchools.org, not in a zone with extreme flood and/or fire risk, not one hour away from work in e.g. downtown San José, not next to a highway or busy road or rail tracks… something just barely nice would do. As of January, 2025, nothing like this is available in the Bay Area for less than two million dollars. Of course, I can hear some esteemed acquaintances saying “if you cannot afford it, you do not deserve it,” to which I respond that if the place cannot provide what I need, I am not going to the place. As of January 2025 it is not me who cannot afford California. It is California what cannot afford me.

Required California Salary Calculator

I created a California Dream Calculator. All non-computed fields are editable to run multiple scenarios. The first field, in green, is the salary offered by a California employer. The last field, in yellow, shows the necessary salary to get a mortgage. The numbers reflect:

• A working couple with two incomes
• Cost of a house.
• A down payment of $400k (the national home average in 2024 was $300k)
• The need to get a second mortgage to close the gap
• A 15-year mortgage (it does not make any sense to get a 30-year mortgage 15 years before retirement)