Wondering how the hell young people make living in such an expensive area work?! (San Francisco: rental car, foreclosure)

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Texas User

That defeats the purpose of 'Quality of life'.

Quality of life is in the eye of the beholder. I recently had to pick out a new place, and to me QOL meant a convenient location, a private, modern apartment, and amenities, so I chose a complex in south San Jose. If it meant being in the middle of all the action and living the hipster life, then I would have accepted a lot less for my $1500 a month to live in San Francisco.

[TXGirlDreamingofSF]

I have not read other people's replies yet or your subsequent posts.

But, I think you should GO FOR IT!!!! :-)

Sometimes you just gotta take the leap & jump!!!

But, then again, I'm a big believer in following your dreams & taking risks. I'm also an idealist dreamer.

But....I mean, you graduate in Dec. & don't start Nurse Practioner school until August. So....if you stay in KY from Dec. to August, what are you going to be doing? Working one or two jobs?

I assume you will have to pay rent during that time you are in KY, although you are not paying rent currently, as you mentioned that your "not paying rent" was going to be ending soon.

How much will you be paying rent for while you are in KY from Dec. to Aug? Would it be comparable to the same amount of rent you would pay if you lived with your boyfriend in SF during that time period or if you had roommates & paid rent for a bedroom in a house or apt??

Look at Craigslist. You can find some reasonable roommate situations.

You are about to graduate & then you an 8 month break until you GO BACK for more schooling. You are YOUNG! You only live once. You have a BF in SF!!! I say GO FOR IT!!!!! Follow your heart!!!

You state you are miserable where you are & state how boring it is.

Go LIVE LIFE!!!

Be adventurous!

You sound like you are very mature, financially responsible, a hard worker, motivated, goal driven, etc.....I'm SURE you can DO IT!!!!!!!!

Let us know what you decide to do & how it goes.

Wishing you all the best!

[TXGirlDreamingofSF]

[quote=mayorhaggar;16533867]Well I moved to SF with $18 in my bank account so I guess I know something about scraping by without much moolah.

WOW.....you are my hero! :-)

Seriously...I do admire you for just going for it & making it!

[hsw]

Lots of 20yo Stanford-educated software engineers earn ~$100K/yr, work ~100hrs/wk, and build own careers expecting to earn far more every subsequent yr at whatever start-ups at which they choose to work, based upon their equity and eventual buyout by some BigTech or IPO

Many of those guys rent a rathole in PaloAlto and sleep in a cube in a SiliconValley office park for several yrs until they earn enough to semi-retire to the casual SF lifestyle, allowing a fast daily drive in some fast new car down to PaloAlto office corridor

But wouldn't be surprised if many baristas and other commies in SF are Stanford/Harvard/Berkeley English majors with affluent parents in suburban CA/NYC to finance their "travels" to nowhere

After all, SF is arguably 40% cheaper than Manhattan, so it's damn cheap in comparison w/far better weather, topography and fresh produce...yet similar economic opportunities for highly educated <30yo workaholics

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Quality of life is in the eye of the beholder. I recently had to pick out a new place, and to me QOL meant a convenient location, a private, modern apartment, and amenities, so I chose a complex in south San Jose. If it meant being in the middle of all the action and living the hipster life, then I would have accepted a lot less for my $1500 a month to live in San Francisco.

I grew up in South San Jose by 85 and Blossom Hill Rd.

[Texas User]

What about buying a house in SF? They are around $1 Million.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Texas User

What about buying a house in SF? They are around $1 Million.

Most people in a city don't live in a "house". You seem to be projecting a suburban perspective onto the urban environment (SFH, car, etc.). Life in San Francisco is not what you were used to in San Jose.

Keep in mind the $100,000 a year Silicon Valley workers also get bonuses and stock they can use to buy those $1 million homes after awhile.

[StandingRoomOnly]

I echo the other responders...ROOMMATES. You must have roommates when you are just starting out. Even with a 60k+ income..it is wise to start out with roommates and SAVE your money for the type of lifestyle you want in the future. And no, you don't need to live in a sketchy area or rat-hole in order to get by here...even on $15 an hour but roommates are a must.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Most people in a city don't live in a "house". You seem to be projecting a suburban perspective onto the urban environment (SFH, car, etc.). Life in San Francisco is not what you were used to in San Jose.

Keep in mind the $100,000 a year Silicon Valley workers also get bonuses and stock they can use to buy those $1 million homes after awhile.

San Francisco is a city just like Los Angeles or San Jose.
San Jose is still Bay Area though, although I went to SF to have fun.

What about buying a house in SF? Some folks would like to buy those homes on Lombard St.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by StandingRoomOnly

I echo the other responders...ROOMMATES. You must have roommates when you are just starting out. Even with a 60k+ income..it is wise to start out with roommates and SAVE your money for the type of lifestyle you want in the future. And no, you don't need to live in a sketchy area or rat-hole in order to get by here...even on $15 an hour but roommates are a must.

What about someone who wants to retire with atleast $1 Million living SF? Early retirement? How about real estate investments? Stocks?