How much more expensive is the SF Bay Area compared to the DC metro area? (Modesto: mortgage, townhouse)

[Kurinji]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

"Nice weather" needs to be put into a California context. We don't simply have lots of great weather, our CLIMATE is the finest in the world...and it's even more than that:

I leave my windows open without screens 24/7/365. That means comfortable temps and NO BUGS year-round.

Humidity levels actually fluctuate from moderate to dry, but seem to regulate the "feels like" temperature very nicely.

The water out of my tap comes from here:
Hetch Hetchy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The only water treatment in San Francisco is for waste water that is discharged into the ocean, not recycled into the drinking water supply.

There is a prevailing breeze of clean air off the Pacific that makes the sky routinely clear blue and brings in the marine layer in the evenings to cool things off.

The areas around me, within easy day-trip distance, include beautiful national seashores, Wine Country, Yosemite, The Sierra, one of the richest agricultural areas in the world, etc. each has its own amazing scenery, topography, and microclimates that make exploring them even more interesting.

It's an amazing place to live. I don't have kids, so it's easily worth it for me. It might be another story otherwise.

No bugs have entered? You're quite fortunate. I've seen a few mosquitoes recently indoors in the late evening, early morning hours. It's time to buy an adjustable screen.

[CirclingLogan]

mod cut - orphanedI moved to Oakland from DC seven months ago. This has been true for December, part of January, July and part of August.

Last 1/2 of January, February, March, April, May, June and the last 1/2 of August have been nearly perfect blue skies all day long. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect moving to the Bay Area, but Oakland has had the best weather I've ever experienced in my life. My building has a roof deck from which I can often see the fog hanging over SF as the sun drenches me.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

So people put up with all this in the Bay Area just for the weather and scenery?

Put up with what?

[18Montclair]

Anyway, apart from the issues that come along with life in any large metro area, San Francisco is a top tier, world class, extremely vibrant, chic, sophisticated and urbane place that happens to be set in one of the most beautiful physical locations of any city in the world.

But set aside the charms of SF and the obscenely great bay area weather and natural setting, hills, mountains, oceanfront, wine country, rugged terrain etc.

Set all of that aside.

The Bay Area, with a relatively small population of 8 million, has the second highest concentration of billion-dollar companies in the Americas and ranks 5th in the world as far as corporate revenue behind Tokyo, New York, Paris and London-in that order.

The Bay Area ranks 5th in population but the metro/city GDP is 3rd largest in the US, and 8th largest in the world behind Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Osaka, Paris, London and Seoul-in that order.

The Bay Area is the epicenter of high technology and is a major player in the world economy.

I could go on and on but all of this grandiose economic pretentiousness^ has made the region a major destination of the nation's engineering, intellectual and pedigree'd business elite:

A very interesting article that is actually about LA reveals
extremely valuable insight on the geography of
where the alumni of our most prestigious schools
live:

Ivy League Schools, Top 3 Alumni Concentrations by Metro Area

Harvard
1 Boston
2 New York
3 San Francisco

Yale
1 New York
2 San Francisco
3 Boston

Princeton
1 New York
2 San Francisco
3 Washington DC

Brown
1 New York
2 Boston
3 Providence

Columbia
1 New York
2 San Francisco
3 Washington DC

Penn
1 Philadelphia
2 New York
3 Washington DC

Dartmouth
1 Boston
2 New York
3 Washington DC

Cornell
1 New York
2 Ithaca
3 San Francisco

US News Best Engineering Schools, Top 3 Alumni
Concentrations

MIT
1 Boston
2 San Francisco
3 New York

Stanford
1 San Francisco
2 New York
3 Los Angeles

CalTech
1 Los Angeles
2 San Francisco
3 New York

Berkeley
1 San Francisco
2 Los Angeles
3 New York

Georgia Tech
1 Atlanta
2 San Francisco
3 Washington DC

Illinois-Urbana
1 Chicago
2 Urbana
3 San Francisco

Michigan
1 Detroit
2 New York
3 San Francisco

Carnegie-Mellon
1 Pittsburgh
2 New York
3 San Francisco

Cornell
1 New York
2 Ithaca
3 San Francisco

Princeton
1 New York
2 Washington DC
3 Boston

Inside LA

[gaijin_samurai]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Put up with what?

The housing prices. I guess unless you were lucky enough to inherit property.

[the resident09]

The Bay Area and DC metro have always been like the East and West coast versions of each other to me in the US. They have so many qualities that make them polar opposites, yet have so many similarities between them when you break it down. But to the average person from the DC area going to the Bay, I would say it seems slightly more expensive to live there than in DC.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

The housing prices. I guess unless you were lucky enough to inherit property.

Yes we've grapple with subpar options for families in the under $500,000 range, and it's been like that for a while.

Unfortunately.

[Tor_Nado]

It's near impossible to survive in San Francisco on only $100K per year. Apartments are $2,500 on the low end, and average around $3,500 for a 1br

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

So people put up with all this in the Bay Area just for the weather and scenery?

Partially. If your family is nearby, that's a draw. Also, if you're in high tech, there are a lot more job opportunities. Another reason is the amazing weekend getaways (Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, Tahoe, Yosemite). Still, it does bring into question whether it is all worth the trade off, especially when you are raising a family and your costs/needs increase.

[gaijin_samurai]

Originally Posted by Tor_Nado

It's near impossible to survive in San Francisco on only $100K per year. Apartments are $2,500 on the low end, and average around $3,500 for a 1br

That is so sad...you could live like a king in most parts of the country with that income.