Help! A mid twenties single guy thinking of relocating (San Francisco: transplants, apartment)

[ChitownIL]

Hey everyone! Been lurking for a few days reading up as much as I can, but I'm also hoping some of you locals would chime in with some expert advice on whether/where I should relocate. First, a little about me (edit- maybe not):

Mid twenties, single, straight, Indian (dot) guy with no roots in California. Like many transplants, I vacationed in California and fell in love!
Current location: Chicago
Income: $120,000 base/yr
Job: ERP (IT) Consulting; 100% travel, so I'm out M-Thu at client sites and need to be within a reasonable cab/limo ride to SFO

What I'm looking for:
- Sunshine. I love snow, but can't stand the cloudy weather in Chicago. I've mostly lived in the Midwest/NE so I am quite used to cold temps, but I recently realized that the lack of sunshine really affects me (SAD?)

- I loved the ocean and hills during my visit and would like to do a lot of outdoorsy things on weekends (biking, hiking, running, or just a spirited drive in the hills!)

- Job opportunities in my field either in the SF/Bay Area or the west coast in general so I don't have to put myself through a brutal travel schedule to Mid America/East Coast in the future. (SAP Supply Chain if any of you happen to be in the same field and have some insight into the local job market)

- Opportunities to meet new people, make new friends, meet 'the one' etc. Safe, diverse neighborhoods with people in my age group and bars, restaurants, meetup groups that cater to the single 20s-30s crowd (like Lincoln Park in Chicago). I am open to both SF proper and SJ/Silicon Valley area.


Questions:

1. Will I be able to afford it? I'm thinking conservatively ~$2500 in living expenses plus ~$1000 for weekend food & 'fun' per month, considering I will be out of town 4 days a week and won't be driving to work. Can I get a decent 1b/1b for ~$2000 or should I look for roommates to split a 2b/2b?

2. What are some good neighborhoods for young, single professionals? I value diversity, and am open to meeting/dating people regardless of race. I also enjoy trying out different cuisines, so having eclectic restaurants/bars nearby is a plus. I would like to avoid cookie cutter type suburban areas if at all possible

3. My company will upward adjust my base salary if they approve an office transfer. The alternative is to find a new job at a competitor firm, where I would be asking for a COL factored increase in pay. For those who relocated from the midwest/Chicago, what percentage have you found to be reasonable to sustain a similar lifestyle?

4. I'm also considering LA (western parts) as a possible destination, but feel increasingly drawn to the Bay Area for what seems like (from 2000 miles away at least) a place with lower crime, more like minded people with the silicon valley, milder summers (can't stand 90-100F heat) and similar access to outdoorsy activities. Any pros/cons to LA for someone in my situation?

5. I drive a turbo stick shift car, but I'm debating whether to buy an automatic if I were to move to SF. The hills seemed like no joke even for veteran three-pedalers. Is it worth the hassle? I must say that I felt myself longing for a manual when driving in some of the mountains and PCH on vacation. Also, do gas stations have 93 octane in California? None of the ones I saw had anything higher than 91.

Thanks for patiently reading, if you've made it this far! Appreciate any advice you may have!

[mayorhaggar]

Well, just get a job first and everything else will line up. If you can still make over $120,000 a year (at 25? yeesh, what is this world coming to) then you'll be fine. Deciding between San Francisco and Silicon Valley depends on where you work (if you work in Los Gatos you won't really want to live in SF, too far) and whether you prefer to live in the big city or in a more suburban area.

Sounds like you would enjoy somewhere on the peninsula or parts of Silicon Valley, like Mountain View, San Mateo, maybe Burlingame. Also the weather anywhere south of around Millbrae is warmer and sunnier in summer than in SF which tends to be windy and cool year-round.

[ChitownIL]

Thanks for the suggestions, mayorhaggar! Sorry, my OP was a little confusing - I already have a job at this current salary and it involves out of town travel Mon-Thur and work from home Friday every week. This job also allows me to fly out of any metro US location so my 'commute' will basically be a cab ride to/from SFO. As long as I can find a good place within reasonable distance from the airport (say ~30-45 min one way) I could theoretically move tomorrow. An office transfer (if approved) will simply increase my salary to account for COL and make SF my 'official' home, but it is not a requirement for me to relocate.

I'm definitely a city guy and want to avoid suburban areas if possible. Even though they are small, I loved downtown San Mateo and Palo Alto when I visited, so I wouldn't mind living there and taking public transit to SF when needed as long as there is stuff to do in these towns on the weekends. We have some 'burbs here in Chicago that are family neighborhoods and are pretty dead on weekends even though they have pretty downtown areas. So if that's the case with the places you listed, I'd rather live in SF proper. I'm planning on visiting a couple times in Jan & Feb to check out some neighborhoods

[mayorhaggar]

Well I'd look at these SF neighborhoods which are nice and fairly convenient for getting to SFO:

Glen Park (can hop on BART)
Noe Valley (sorta near the 24th street BART station, but you might as well cab it)
Dolores Park/Western Mission area (basically anything around there west of Valencia is pretty nice, east of it is pretty seedy

Noe Valley and the Dolores Park areas will put you pretty much in the heart of the action, especially the Dolores Park area. Glen Park is a bit sleepier but has a nice little "downtown" area clustered near the BART station, and is a convenient highway or BART trip from SFO.

[California Vagabond]

I don't feel especially well qualified to answer this post, but only mayorhaggar has responded so far, so I might as well pitch in my ill-informed two cents, too. Please bear in mind that I don't know the local rental market.

(1) Some parts of San Francisco get more fog than other parts. The Potrero Hill neighborhood is a lot sunnier than, say, the Sunset, and a quick look at Craigslist suggests you might -- might -- find a 1 br in Potrero Hill for $2,500 or less.

(2) Consider Oakland and Berkeley. If you post a follow-up or search past messages on this forum, you'll find many threads related to which Oakland and Berkeley neighborhoods can be considered 'finds,' and which are best to steer clear of. I was floored by how much nicer Lake Merritt was in person than what I expected, and posted my own thread about the lake back in June: http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-francisco-oakland/1587990-ode-lake-merritt.html

But, I feel obligated to mention that Oakland faces law enforcement challenges unlike any I know of elsewhere in the Bay Area. Two articles:

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/getting-away-with-murder/Content?oid=3390191

Oakland officials drop ball on crime - SFGate

(3) I'm pretty sure that weather cancels many more flights at SFO than at OAK. You can get to OAK via an easy AirBart shuttle bus ride from the Coliseum BART station. If I were in your shoes, I'd investigate services available at both airports before deciding on an East Bay or an S.F. base. You just might be able to do most of your traveling from OAK.

(4) I'd hate to have a manual transmission in San Francisco. As for 93 octane gas: I found this on Google:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...c0b39b271eebed

[BayDude]

I know you value diversity but I wouldn't recommend Oakland. Maybe Berkeley. Crime in Oakland is very high, and the bars/nightlife are lackluster. If your single, you won't be too thrilled.

LA or SF? Depends on your tastes. If you don't mind driving everywhere, prefer an abundance of beautiful women (models, actresses etc) and cool with "flash" and glamour I'd choose LA. There is a growing tech scene there (Silicon beach), lower cost of living than SF and lots of night options for a single guy.

SF is basically the opposite of that. No need for a car, less flash (more grunge) and less attractive people but lots of bars, lots of outdoor stuff and a huge tech presence. Nightlife decent but not as good as LA.

Coming from a big city like Chicago you might be more a SF kind of guy, but you should definitely take a trip to LA and get a taste of what it has to offer. LA is a cool city.

[ChitownIL]

Yeah, Oakland or any east bay location for that matter is probably a no-go for me at this time. Even accounting for cancellations (I'm used to ORD, so not too worried) SFO seems to offer better flight options for my business travel.

Interesting point about Silicon Beach, BayDude. Haven't heard of the term, although I did stay in that area when I visited and it seemed like an OK place to live. I don't mind the LA "flash", but SF sounds like a better fit. I will have a car so I can drive out to the beach, mountains etc. on weekends, but the option of using public transit in SF is very appealing and similar to the Chicago city lifestyle. Having said that, I've started looking online for places in the city and for my budget and sunshine needs it seems like the peninsula would be a good place to start. I could move to the city once I get to know the area better, rather than getting locked into a high rent place in a city neighborhood that may not be my type. Which of these places would you guys recommend:

San Mateo - leaning towards this place since it's close to SFO, and a short drive to BART/Caltrain
Palo Alto - a little farther out but possibly more people my age with its proximity to Stanford?
Mountain View/SJ/South Bay areas - these seem like a bit of a trek to get to the city. Do a lot of the young techie folks live here or do they reverse commute from SF? I've also heard SJ being referred to as Man Jose . 'Sausage fests' don't sound very appealing, I'd rather be in a city where I have a fighting chance with the single ladies, LOL!

[BayDude]

^ If your aim is to have a "fighting chance" with the ladies I'd avoid the south bay entirely. It's the worst place imaginable for a single male. I can think of few place that are worse. Save Saudi Arabia lol!

Have you considered Berkeley? Easy Access to SF and the other parts of the bay via BART. Great year round weather and an abundance of college age cuties. Many of them single.

[jade408]

OP: FYI Much of Oakland is about a 30 minute drive to SFO or less. 45 minutes on BART.

As for singles scene? IT depends on what you like. There are lots of people in their 20s-30s. Do you want college kids? Go to Berkeley, but Oakland has a lot of bars filled with young singles of all types. Better all around value than Berkeley price vs apartment quality.

[BayDude]

There are lots of people in their 20s-30s. Do you want college kids? Go to Berkeley, but Oakland has a lot of bars filled with young singles of all types.

^ OP is single and looking for the optimum spot. Much better looking women Berkeley. They have much better attitudes than Oakland girls as well. In fact, in the Oakland bars that I've been to the most attractive women I've approached have almost always come from Berkeley (or went to UCB). That or some outer east bay city like Walnut Creek.