throw away account but need some sanity
My (42M) wife (38F) and I are relocating from Utah to San Diego in 3 months. We have a 4 year old daughter who will have a few months of daycare before she starts a pre kindergarten or transitional kindergarten program. One dog. We plan on renting for the first year to make sure we buy in the right location, right schools, and at the right mortgage.
We have considerable equity in our current home and expect to walk away with $700k (conservatively) once we sell. Keeping this home as a rental isn't in the cards, we'll need the equity to buy.
The whole California taxes and HCOL is weighing heavily on our minds and need a sanity check on what we should shoot for.
The only debt we have besides our current mortgage is car payments - Total is $900/month. no other consumer or credit card debt. We both went to grad school and all of our undergrad & graduate school loans are paid off.
My gross income - $300k
Her gross income - $235k
We both have ~$500k (each) in 401k and retirement funds
We have another $195k in cash (HYSA, checking, emergency fund)
We both have 830+ credit scores.
We want to live in a somewhat coastal area and understand we'll be buying in the $1.5M-$2.3M range to be where we want. What should we afford all in, mortgage + property taxes + insurance to get into an area we want to be in and not be house poor? Current mortgage is $2800/mo @ 2.6% and I'm sick to my stomach considering a $6-$10k/month payment for housing @ 5-6%.