<prompt> Human: Hello everyone. I accepted a job offer to move to USA from India in July.The good news is that my salary will be close to 160KThe bad news is everything else Bay area Spouse cannot work Two year old kidI looked at take home calculators etc., and the breakdown is as follows 400mo Medical Company has a bad plan 1500mo IRA Savings are always goodTake home check will be 7500month. We will not have any daycare costs.Out of that 7500, a big part is rent and utilitiesSo 3500 Goes into Rent internet TV utilities Phone This is 5050, plan to use old India phone, bands are supported. Without school district restrictions this is possible, otherwise it would be 4000!that leaves us with 4000I plan to buy a used car for 15000 all cash no credit history so leases do not make sense. Plan to go for a reliable Toyota SUV as we like camping a lot and we need to carry gear as well as be able to do rough stuff. This is the only splurge and will come from our existing savings 50K saved up. I guess 10 of pay is okay for car?I am budgeting 500 for Insurance and Fuelkeeping it on higher side which leaves us with 3500Initial one month of settle down will be paid by company They accommodate you with car, hotel, and 8000K spend money for first month to buy stuff as needed. I need your advice on how to budget 3500. We seldom eat out and always cook at home. Only while weekend trips we spend 10-15 a day on budget highway food. So is 1000mo for restaurant and grocery reasonable?What other expenses should we budget for? For credit history I will get Secure credit card from Discover. How much time will it take to build history? Without any credit score, will I find an apartment easily if we are willing to pay higher deposit?Any other tips at all to save money. We have very little idea about living in the bay area and have done very short 2 month stints here in the past, but since it was always a company apartmenthotel, never looked at stuff from this POV.EDIT: Thanks for the repliesIt seems it is not too bad, since we will be in Santa Clara area.Some specific points I would like to mention After some searching on Zillowrentapartments websites, getting 2800mo for 2 bedroom within 3-4 miles of Work is possible Near SJC airport area towards west There are no SUV lynch mobs in this area, but if I want to go to SFO, I should paid green leaves all over the vehicle There is lot of obsession about schools in the bay area. Which I find very amusing. I also went to some parent communities and lot of people have given birth to robots racing lego robots. And genetic engineering is so advanced that many have birthed a new animal called spelling bee. I am not saying insect because these bees are mammals 475K is a decent salary, and below 200K is poor Groceries will cost 5000 or 500 depending upon whom I ask. rfrugal has been helpful with Costco advice People are over-competitive, and if you do not make CEO by 40 you are dead in the water or something. Sheesh. We have never been very social, and I feel Bay area is extremely conductive to not being social. Social interactions cause angst, from what I have seen competition, frustration, comparison. So off to the forest with a tent. I will buy your 89 America the beautiful pass and also California passbut why is california pass 150??We went to a restaurant 4 times in past one yearnot counting street food. So I guess we will survive on 1000 food bill.Thanks, and bring it on, all suggestions, brickbats etc., welcome  <response>: 1000mo for a family of 3 is plenty in the Bay and probably on the high side.Youll want to consider if commuting by traintrolley is more practical than driving. This will heavily depend on where you livework.Credit isnt a huge deal for renting an apartment. They will definitely verify your income and may ask for a larger deposit because of it. If your company hires from out of the country often, theyll likely have some specific advice they can offer to help you in the first month.Youre already doing the best thing which is planning ahead and trying to estimate on the high side for expenses. 