I left my NYC heart in San Francisco (apartments, rent)

[Nudetypist]

Corny thread title but appropriate. I visited SF for the first time this past summer and really enjoyed my visit. And if it wasn't for all my friends, family, and girlfriend living in NYC, I'd seriously consider moving there. Not sure what it is about SF that got me reminiscing of my time there. It's just a very laid back city compared to NYC, and offers just as much activities to do.

So there's really no point in this thread other than me letting you all know that you have a fantastic city. Although I do have a couple of questions and comments about your lovely city:

-How much is the rent in chinatown? I see the apartments there are old tenement style, so I'm guessing those residents are rent stabilized?
-Why is the Tenderloins in such an awkward place? It's a "rough" neighborhood surrounded by expensive downtown.
-Japanese town is wonderful. I especially love the $1.50 store!!
-Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap, but still a fun place to visit. Only place to find In-N-Out.
-Trolleys were fun but felt dangerous.
-How difficult is it to find construction/civil engineering jobs in SF?

I will definitely be back in the future. Perhaps one day when I settle down, I'll convince the family to relocate.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Nudetypist

-How difficult is it to find construction/civil engineering jobs in SF?

CE jobs can be hit or miss. Most of friends doing stuff with roads and bridges are having an easy time finding work, but things have slowed a bit with the state budget cuts (less hours, smaller projects). The ones looking for urban planning type things are having more trouble.

My friends have quite a bit of experience at this point. Around 10 years.

[Hard8]

Originally Posted by Nudetypist

-How much is the rent in chinatown? I see the apartments there are old tenement style, so I'm guessing those residents are rent stabilized?

Ehh, you don't wanna live in Chinatown. Its horribly crowded and filthy. Any building built before 1979 is rent-controlled, which is most of the buildings in the city. So you can find rent-controlled buildings about anywhere (when changing tenants though the landlord is allowed to list the place at market rates, so as a newcomer rent control doesn't help you)

Originally Posted by Nudetypist

-Trolleys were fun but felt dangerous.

I've thought about this many times. Given the uber-litigious society we live in I'm surprised they still allow you to stand on the edges and hang over the street while riding the cable cars. Don't get me wrong, its great, I think you should be able to (at your own risk, of course) - I just figured by now some tourist would have fallen off, tumbled 100 yards down Hyde St, broken their neck and sued the city for millions....

[pch1013]

Originally Posted by Hard8

Ehh, you don't wanna live in Chinatown. Its horribly crowded and filthy. Any building built before 1979 is rent-controlled, which is most of the buildings in the city. So you can find rent-controlled buildings about anywhere (when changing tenants though the landlord is allowed to list the place at market rates, so as a newcomer rent control doesn't help you)

And unless you can read Chinese, and speak Cantonese, you will be (a) unlikely to find out about any vacancies and (b) unable to converse with the property owner. There's a reason Chinatown is still about 80% Asian.

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah Chinatown is small, pretty decrepit in housing stock and infrastructure, and the apartments are mainly rented to recent immigrants. You could certainly live nearby in North Beach or Nob Hill though.

[Nudetypist]

That's interesting about chinatown being occupied the way it is. It seems to be in a prime location, so I would assume gentrification would at least start to creep into chinatown's housing market. Especially with below market rent they offer. I wouldn't mind living there being so close to downtown and union square.

[mayorhaggar]

Well, think about Chinatown in NYC. Why aren't there many white people there even though it's so close to downtown?