5 students working and living in the Haight for the summer. Possible? (San Francisco: sublet, apartments)

[Hunner]

Four friends and I are looking working/living/interning in San Francisco next summer. Currently, we are just trying to figure things out early so that things go as smoothly as possible this time next year.

I'll describe the situation. Basically, five 20-year-old honor students from University of Central Arkansas Honors College. We would optimistically like to rent a place where all five of us could live together and share rent...preferably in the Haight-Ashbury area. We all study counter-cultures and the Haight appears to be a very historic area as well as an interesting one to this day.

We are not completely stuck on the Haight, but none of us having lived out there, therefore, it is hard for us to have a good idea of what to expect. We aren't looking to make tons of money, but enough to pay the bills, enjoy our stay, and hopefully learn alot from the experience. As a side note, I am a four-year All-State golfer as well as a Master Scuba Diver who has worked in the diving industry for years. Any ideas as to golf courses or scuba shops to work at in the SF area?

From an insider point of view, would this be possible? Do you think that there are enought jobs to be had, as well as places to rent for the four months in-between semesters, for the five of us to split Haight (or any other area) rent and live in SF for the summer?

Now, I say this and also mention that I am inquiring this for...the sake of inquiring. Please do not flame me for being ignornant. Any advice, information, anything is welcome. Thanks!

[zitsky]

When you say "next" summer, do you mean 2010, or 2011? If you are talking about 2011, I'd try to find some funding. Even with 5 of you, housing in SF can be expensive. Jobs here are hard to come by. Maybe you could find some jobs working at coffee shops, restaurants etc. I don't know if you can expect much more than that. If you have a year to plan then you might be able to arrange some internships somewhere or get funding through your university. You really need to think about your budget first.

Have you also considered Berkeley? I've heard some folks comment that Haight is a little tame these days, maybe Berkeley is more interesting. SF would be a fun place to live/work for a summer. I'm not saying this because you're from Arkansas, but if you do go there, be a little careful. I have been in SF many times and think it's relatively safe, but there are some areas that are sketchy. I moved from a small town to Chicago when I was 19. It was surprising at times, but it was a great experience.

[Hunner]

It would be 2011. That exact reasoning is why we are beginning planning now. For the most part, we weren't expecting much more than just typical part-time seasonal employment like restaurants and such.

I'll check into berkley though and I appreciate the help.

My main concern is worndering whether or not it is even feasible for five 20 year olds to:

1. Acquire those jobs
2. Acquire a place to live for all of us (preferrably in the Haight)
3. Be able to pay the rent as well as live off of the temporary job income.

[DowntownVentura]

Hunner
Great idea, I really think you will love the city. And yes, it is possible for 5 20-year olds to do anything, including moving to San Francisco.

In reading this, I am not quite sure if you are planning on living here just for the summer of 2011 or actually move here in 2011. Lodging chocies will depend on how long you plan to stay.

As for the SCUBA, I know you are a Master SCUBA Diver now but if you were certified in lakes and the gulf, you may need to become re-certified in the Pacific as the conditions are quite different. No big deal, just something to check.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Hunner

Four friends and I are looking working/living/interning in San Francisco next summer. Currently, we are just trying to figure things out early so that things go as smoothly as possible this time next year.

I'll describe the situation. Basically, five 20-year-old honor students from University of Central Arkansas Honors College. We would optimistically like to rent a place where all five of us could live together and share rent...preferably in the Haight-Ashbury area. We all study counter-cultures and the Haight appears to be a very historic area as well as an interesting one to this day.

We are not completely stuck on the Haight, but none of us having lived out there, therefore, it is hard for us to have a good idea of what to expect. We aren't looking to make tons of money, but enough to pay the bills, enjoy our stay, and hopefully learn alot from the experience. As a side note, I am a four-year All-State golfer as well as a Master Scuba Diver who has worked in the diving industry for years. Any ideas as to golf courses or scuba shops to work at in the SF area?

From an insider point of view, would this be possible? Do you think that there are enought jobs to be had, as well as places to rent for the four months in-between semesters, for the five of us to split Haight (or any other area) rent and live in SF for the summer?

Now, I say this and also mention that I am inquiring this for...the sake of inquiring. Please do not flame me for being ignornant. Any advice, information, anything is welcome. Thanks!

I live in the Haight, and it's been considerably gentrified (although the Lower Haight has rough spots) to the extent that it's no longer really a countercultural center.

The real "countercultural center" of SF these days is the Mission. That'll be cheaper than the Haight, although I still wonder how you'll be able to get the money to be able to pull it off. Jobs are pretty scarce in SF even if less scarce than SoCal. If you're in the Mission, you won't need as much money.

[bellalunatic]

I doubt though, that you'd find a place to rent for less than a year at a time, and are you all planning on just crashing with no furniture etc..???

You might want to look into housesitting opportunities or vacation rental type situations. Craigslist and homeaway.com and such.

[zitsky]

They might find some other college kids with an apartment/house who are moving away for the summer and need someone to sublet their apartment Craigslist is a good idea.

[RVA-Jsn20]

If you want to do that and you enjoy culture/history you should be going to Washington, DC. A year will be more than enough time for the 5 of you to find internships for the summer in the District since the job market is so good there (no joke). 5 of you sharing an apartment and interning (or even if you're working at coffee shops) will be affordable in DC. There are tons of free national museums, including the spy museum which I highly recommend, as well as countless things to do downtown and the surrounding areas of northern VA and Maryland. Not to mention the proximity to other cities and high speed trains that take you there (Baltimore, Philly, NYC)

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah the job market here in SF is pretty bad and housing has not gone down in price at all, hopefully the job market is better next year. I'm sure you could find internships but you probably wouldn't be making any money and if you did it would be a pittance.

Berkeley might be good because the students all leave in the summer so it might be easy to get an apartment. In SF you can sometimes find a room you can sublet for a few months but if you have 5 people trying to do that I think it would be tough, landlords generally want you to sign a contract and live in an apartment for a year, but I bet Berkeley would have some apartments that are vacant for a few months in summer.

The Haight is pretty small and I think you'd get bored of it quickly and want to go see other parts of the city. There aren't really many hippies here in SF anymore, even in the Haight. There are a lot of thugs hanging around the Haight though making trouble and committing crimes supposedly, I don't know how bad it is but it keeps making the news.