Hi Leman,
Been there, done that ;-)
We moved from Switzerland to Baltimore about 40 years ago. Planning to go back for retirement...
So our experiences obviously don't closely match what you are considering, but I can make a few general points.
The financial aspects have already been touched upon - you are looking at a very different reality than we were at the time, both in geography and time. We rented for the first year and then bought a house in the suburbs, with a 20' commute.
One critical aspect that has not been raised is what your family will look like over time: +/- kids.
One of the greatest unexpected "features" of the US is that the education system is primarily funded by local taxes, with the consequences that you would imagine. If you wanted to design a system that is structured to perpetuate inequality, this is what you would come up with. And as you probably know, the societal economic gradient here is staggering compared to most European countries.
So, your choice of location should take your future family into consideration - it will strongly affect the quality of the educational institutions. That element obviously can strongly interact with commuting considerations, which are likely much more pronounced in Santa Barbara than in Baltimore.
So I would advise planning for an initial temporary housing solution, giving you the time to know the environment before setting down roots.
Been there, done that ;-)
We moved from Switzerland to Baltimore about 40 years ago. Planning to go back for retirement...
So our experiences obviously don't closely match what you are considering, but I can make a few general points.
The financial aspects have already been touched upon - you are looking at a very different reality than we were at the time, both in geography and time. We rented for the first year and then bought a house in the suburbs, with a 20' commute.
One critical aspect that has not been raised is what your family will look like over time: +/- kids.
One of the greatest unexpected "features" of the US is that the education system is primarily funded by local taxes, with the consequences that you would imagine. If you wanted to design a system that is structured to perpetuate inequality, this is what you would come up with. And as you probably know, the societal economic gradient here is staggering compared to most European countries.
So, your choice of location should take your future family into consideration - it will strongly affect the quality of the educational institutions. That element obviously can strongly interact with commuting considerations, which are likely much more pronounced in Santa Barbara than in Baltimore.
So I would advise planning for an initial temporary housing solution, giving you the time to know the environment before setting down roots.