Moving to San Francisco: cost of living, rental, housing, car insurance, 2 bedroom apartment.

krispydude · 10-08-2007, 07:34 PM

hi there. would like to get some opinions on people that have lived in SF or cities similar (not many, but a few).

just some quick background information. i am 25 right now and was born and raised here in peoria, moving north every 5 or 10 years to keep up with the neighborhoods. my gf is 22 and has a very good job for a brokerage firm that she can transfer to in SF. we have a good investment account set up and contribute to it regularly in hopes to retire when we are around 45-50 or so. we're not ready to start a family yet because we would like to experience some more things in the world that kids would make difficult.

we have visited SF a few times and absolutely love it there. i know the cost of living is much higher there since we currently pay $1025 a month for rent on a 3bd/2ba house in a great area. we would prolly be able to comfortable afford $1700/2000 a month for an apt/house in SF. would we find a nice place in this price range? # of bedrooms dont matter much to us, we only use 1 in our house right now.

main reason for wanting to leave is that we just want to experience something different and want more of an urban feel. i hate having to drive all every SINGLE place. the phoenix area can get very boring after a while and can be difficult to meet people and friends once you are out of college. it just seems like its the same thing every day here for 25 years now. oh ya, and it gets kinda hot out here...

can i get some opinions from people that have lived in SF or similar cities? would 1700/2000 be enough for rent for a nice place? does anyone else feel that the phoenix area leaves an empty feeling in them sometimes?

HX_Guy · 10-08-2007, 11:37 PM

I think any place is going to feel like "the same old thing every day" after you live there for a while. Even a great place like SF, which I've visited and love, would probably fall to the same feeling once the novelty wears off. You have to remember when you go somewhere to visit, you're on vacation...which is much much different then living somewhere. Think of all the people that comes to Phoenix and love it...the weather, the landscape, how everything is so new and clean (for the most part) etc etc.

Now having said all that, I would love to move to SF as well, at least for a few years. Aside from the high cost of living, I can't think of any other negatives compared to Phoenix. Yes there are earthquakes, but that wouldn't be a big issue with me.

irwin · 10-08-2007, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krispydude

hi there. would like to get some opinions on people that have lived in SF or cities similar (not many, but a few).

just some quick background information. i am 25 right now and was born and raised here in peoria, moving north every 5 or 10 years to keep up with the neighborhoods. my gf is 22 and has a very good job for a brokerage firm that she can transfer to in SF. we have a good investment account set up and contribute to it regularly in hopes to retire when we are around 45-50 or so. we're not ready to start a family yet because we would like to experience some more things in the world that kids would make difficult.

we have visited SF a few times and absolutely love it there. i know the cost of living is much higher there since we currently pay $1025 a month for rent on a 3bd/2ba house in a great area. we would prolly be able to comfortable afford $1700/2000 a month for an apt/house in SF. would we find a nice place in this price range? # of bedrooms dont matter much to us, we only use 1 in our house right now.

main reason for wanting to leave is that we just want to experience something different and want more of an urban feel. i hate having to drive all every SINGLE place. the phoenix area can get very boring after a while and can be difficult to meet people and friends once you are out of college. it just seems like its the same thing every day here for 25 years now. oh ya, and it gets kinda hot out here...

can i get some opinions from people that have lived in SF or similar cities? would 1700/2000 be enough for rent for a nice place? does anyone else feel that the phoenix area leaves an empty feeling in them sometimes?

You can probably get a one bedroom in a decent area for that price. Although you might want to post in the San Francisco section to get their opinion. If I were you guys I would sacrifice size to live in a desirable neighborhood. Absolutely avoid the burbs; you can get that feeling anywhere.

As far as San Francisco itself...I have never lived there but it's a real city, unlike Phoenix so it will be much different than you are used to. Sounds like you would like it as well. Good luck.

ArizonaBear · 10-09-2007, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

I think any place is going to feel like "the same old thing every day" after you live there for a while. Even a great place like SF, which I've visited and love, would probably fall to the same feeling once the novelty wears off. You have to remember when you go somewhere to visit, you're on vacation...which is much much different then living somewhere. Think of all the people that comes to Phoenix and love it...the weather, the landscape, how everything is so new and clean (for the most part) etc etc.

Now having said all that, I would love to move to SF as well, at least for a few years. Aside from the high cost of living, I can't think of any other negatives compared to Phoenix. Yes there are earthquakes, but that wouldn't be a big issue with me.

Having lived in the SF Bay Area; HX_Guy is pretty much spot on.

San Fran is what I would refer to as an Eastern city but with no seasons------the weather is similar all year round. Read that about a 10-15 degree difference between summer and winter.

MotleyCrew · 10-09-2007, 10:28 AM

Friends of ours have a daughter living in S.F. She and her friend pay $2,600 for a one bedroom slum. You can possibly find something in some of the nastier parts of S.F but do not go walking at night. The city, in my opinion, has slid downward and shows little promise of a resurection in my lifetime. Our experiences just two summers ago at the conventions we attened were dismal and heartbreaking. We had to be shuttled across the street to the Moscony Convention Center due to the ongoing assaults by the homeless. The smell of bleach after the city cleans the sidewalks wakes you in the morning. Good luck if you do move there, but I would hunt down nicer towns in N. CA. There are plenty of them to choose from.
If you are in to the "urban decay" experience, you will enjoy the city.

HX_Guy · 10-09-2007, 10:49 AM

Wow that sounds like a completely different experience then I had about a year and a half ago. We stayed right downtown (Market Square or something along that line) and thought the city looked amazing. It didn't smell, it wasn't overly dirty, there were homeless but nothing that bothered us. We were there four days and took the bus/trolley everywhere...it was great not needing a car. We loved all the green parks, people just laying on the grass reading etc, the great food down by the Pier, the walking around downtown between all the people, the shopping. It had a feeling of culture.

Again though, as I said earlier, it was a vacation and all these things were new to us so of course we loved it.

Mrs. H · 10-09-2007, 11:38 AM

Your price range is fine for SF but it also depends on where you want to live. I lived in SF for 4 years while attending SFSU and believe me...it's expensive. I lived on the western side of SF, around Golden Gate Park, the Sunset and the Richmond. I had and needed roommates because the total rent for some of the places I stayed in were $2,000.00 for a three bedroom, 2 bath. I worked full-time and still had a difficult time with costs. Have you started checking out the SF job market? Certainly the cost-of-living is higher than in Phoenix but you may be surprised by how much. When I moved out here to AZ, I was surprised by how expensive health care was but that the wages weren't as comparable. Anyways, if you move there, have a great time. It might not be as hot as AZ but it's beautiful weather if you like fog and moderately cold (if you live in SF the city, there are lots of microclimates so always layer; like if you were downtown on a summer day, you would be fine in regular jeans or a business casual attire but when you ride to your residence and it might be near the ocean, you will need a jacket because of the rolling fog).

Good luck.

MotleyCrew · 10-09-2007, 04:55 PM

Glad your experience was a good one. It is still beautiful as long as I am looking up at the buildings. We would go to the city two to three times a year and every visit it got worse. Maybe just our experience, but it was very sad.

azsundevil · 10-09-2007, 05:23 PM

You could definitly afford something in a nice neighborhood in SF for the price you are thinking. Other than housing the cost of living is not that bad. You can eliminate your car payment, car insurance, and gas costs very easy. Utilities are cheaper because you won't have a/c and your place will be smaller. Groceries are cheaper and you have access to wonderful farmer markets year round. You can also find cheaper rents if you are willing to look in the East Bay. It's very easy to BART into the city and there are many wonderful neighborhoods in Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda that give you more of an urban experience then Phx. You could find a 2 bedroom apt. for what you are paying in Phx in the East Bay. Also, the weather is sunnier and warmer then in SF proper.