Affordable to live in the city on 50k a year? (Berkeley: 2013, for rent)

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Azmordean

50K? I hate to be the first to say it, but forget the city. And 2K a month on rent? I don't think you can afford that on 50K. I make almost 3x that and my rent is $2500 and that's almost half my take home after taxes, 401K, and all that good stuff. I think making 50K you'll be lucky to clear 30ish net, so obviously spending 24 of that on rent is not doable.

I'd look in Menlo close to work for a place with roommates. Barring that I think Redwood City, San Bruno, South SF, Pacifica, etc all have some cheaper housing option. Another option might be Fremont - I think Menlo isn't a bad trip just across the Dumbarton Bridge.

Going across the Dumbarton will entail a $5 toll westbound (towards Menlo Park), which may negate any cost savings living in Fremont, Newark or Union City, which would be a bite out of a relatively modest salary for the area. Otherwise, I agree with looking closer to work. Menlo Park is pricey, but RC is cheaper and it's right next to MP.

[Azmordean]

Originally Posted by silverkris

Going across the Dumbarton will entail a $5 toll westbound (towards Menlo Park), which may negate any cost savings living in Fremont, Newark or Union City, which would be a bite out of a relatively modest salary for the area. Otherwise, I agree with looking closer to work. Menlo Park is pricey, but RC is cheaper and it's right next to MP.

Yeah I didn't think about the toll - though depending on what OP finds, it may be worth it assuming tolls would run $100/mo or so. Of course, Redwood City might be preferable to Fremont anyway (I'm not too familiar with it). The other upshot would be if OP's employer runs shuttles or anything of the sort!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by halcyon85

I recently accepted a position in Menlo Park and will be moving at the end of August from Boston. I'm single and in my late 20s and would really prefer to live in the city and, if possible, take the train to Menlo Park. The position pays approximately $50,000 per year. Is this doable? If so, are there any areas you would recommend I focus my search on that are not outrageously experience (less than $2,000 per month, preferably for a 1 bedroom but a studio is doable), reasonably safe, and at least somewhat convenient to get to the Caltrain station? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

It depends on how much you want to scrape? Remember that $50,000 won't be all that much after taxes and other deductions. Saying even a studio will work, well, I have no clue what you are living in not, but studios can get pretty tiresome and crowded after a while. $2000 a month will be a huge chunck of your take home pay and not leave a lot for enjoying the city and all it has to offer. You are probably looking at moving in with a few roommates. That will work, but living alone will be tough..Good luck,

Nita

[Lost Leaf]

Only if you're okay with the two R's, roommates and ramen.

[CFL_City]

It's definitely possible, if you live with roommates and without a car. I ran the numbers on a slightly higher salary, assuming $1,200 in rent and would still have been able to save a good chunk for retirement and have some fun on the weekends. I would not have been able to make much progress towards my other long-term savings goals (down payment)

I ended up staying in Berkeley, but that was entirely because I'm not as willing to do roommates anymore.

[thechoson]

My wife and I each make right around there. It's obviously a lot easier if you can split expenses, so I'd strongly suggest a roommate. With a roommate I think this is easy, by yourself I'd say you'd be struggling.

Go to Paycheck Calculators | Online Payroll Calculators | Paycheck City and play around with the calculators there to see what your NET pay will be. After taxes (CA state income tax is a killer), and the standard assortment of deductions (health insurance, 401k up to the company match), I'd say you may be taking home around 3k/ month.

If you blow 2k of that on rent alone, you can see why you'd be struggling. Food, utilities, transportation, etc, and you are looking at having nothing left over at the end of the month.

Remember, the biggest expense is housing. With a roommate or two you are greatly reducing that, so it makes a huge difference for how much money you can have to spend on other stuff.

[luau]

Originally Posted by halcyon85

I recently accepted a position in Menlo Park and will be moving at the end of August from Boston. I'm single and in my late 20s and would really prefer to live in the city and, if possible, take the train to Menlo Park. The position pays approximately $50,000 per year. Is this doable? If so, are there any areas you would recommend I focus my search on that are not outrageously experience (less than $2,000 per month, preferably for a 1 bedroom but a studio is doable), reasonably safe, and at least somewhat convenient to get to the Caltrain station? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Please post a video of your escapades finding an apartment in San Francisco. Make sure to tell the landlord the following:

"Yeah, I'm not really looking for studios but I guess it's OK."
"How much do you make a year?"
"50K"

Reaction: Priceless

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by thechoson

My wife and I each make right around there. It's obviously a lot easier if you can split expenses, so I'd strongly suggest a roommate. With a roommate I think this is easy, by yourself I'd say you'd be struggling.

Go to Paycheck Calculators | Online Payroll Calculators | Paycheck City and play around with the calculators there to see what your NET pay will be. After taxes (CA state income tax is a killer), and the standard assortment of deductions (health insurance, 401k up to the company match), I'd say you may be taking home around 3k/ month.

If you blow 2k of that on rent alone, you can see why you'd be struggling. Food, utilities, transportation, etc, and you are looking at having nothing left over at the end of the month.

Remember, the biggest expense is housing. With a roommate or two you are greatly reducing that, so it makes a huge difference for how much money you can have to spend on other stuff.

I'll second this, although I'd say get at least two or three roommates. This will bring the rent down tremendously.
If the OP can get it down to ~1200 or less, he will be fine.

[rgweiser53]

San Mateo -- good halfway point -- good luck

[allen96817]

When I last lived in sf in 2002 (11 yrs ago), I made 49,500 and took home about 2,700/month (give or take a hundred maybe).

You all are saying that with a shared roommate situation, (which I see many for under 1,000, i've even seen Treasure Island share for $600 even recently), you dont think a person could live some sort of good life? Not everybody is contributing a huge amount to 401k or has a car, but spending about 1k on rent (shared) and having almost 2k left over for the month, seems like a GOOD situation to me! (I dont need much I guess).

I'm just curious how many of you who answer these questinons actually know and perhaps even live the lifestyle the person may want to live. Growing up in SF during the 80,90s, it always had this sort of bohemian lifestyle with people sharing. I know SF has changed, but it always has. I cannot imagine not being able to eek out some sort of life in that pay range.