How much more expensive is the SF Bay Area compared to the DC metro area?

[Fiddlehead]

Reading through this thread, I hear people praising the blessed climate.

Whenever I considered moving to the SF Bay Area, and having a family and middle class existence, I imagined taking on enough debt to block out the sun.

No thanks.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Talked with a VTA worker years ago who commuted from Modesto to San Jose every morning. I've had coworkers with the following ridiculous commutes:

Morgan Hill to Redwood City
Los Banos to Fresno and San Jose (on different days)
Roseville to San Jose (!)

Compared to that, the Livermore thing seems downright palatable.

Well Livermore is only about 40 miles from San Jose. Those other spots are 70+.

Dublin/Pleasanton are only about 30-35 miles from San Jose.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

Reading through this thread, I hear people praising the blessed climate.

Whenever I considered moving to the SF Bay Area, and having a family and middle class existence, I imagined taking on enough debt to block out the sun.

No thanks.

You're so welcome

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

Reading through this thread, I hear people praising the blessed climate.

Whenever I considered moving to the SF Bay Area, and having a family and middle class existence, I imagined taking on enough debt to block out the sun.

No thanks.

Your priorities are obviously different than ours, and likely your salary is too. Diffr'nt Strokes.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

If you are making say 100K in the DC area, how much more should you be paid in the SF Bay area to have a similar standard of living?

for a single person, if you are not planning on buying a home, you can live in the bay area, but I am guessing your would need about 1/4 more than in DC. The only expense that would be less in San Francisco area is utilities. Otherwise everything will be higher.

I am a fan of DC, so much excitement, so much history, so many things to do, but certainly San Francisco has a lot of charm and plenty to do as well. We have lived in both areas BTW. The one thing going for San Francisco, the people are not as phony as in DC.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

Reading through this thread, I hear people praising the blessed climate.

Whenever I considered moving to the SF Bay Area, and having a family and middle class existence, I imagined taking on enough debt to block out the sun.

No thanks.

Or not getting any sun because you're working constantly.

[MauiPartTimer]

Originally Posted by nmnita

for a single person, if you are not planning on buying a home, you can live in the bay area, but I am guessing your would need about 1/4 more than in DC. The only expense that would be less in San Francisco area is utilities. Otherwise everything will be higher.

Isn't fresh food (especially seafood, produce and meat) going to be less in SF?

[MauiPartTimer]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

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

Everything in life is a trade off. I love San Francisco and yes, what my wife and I pay for housing would get something much larger in most other parts of the country, but that's not important to us. For us, our home is a place to sleep and be comfortable in pleasant surroundings. A lot of extra square footage and a big yard means more stuff to take care of.

What S.F. offers us in exchange:

• The ability to walk to work
• Unparalleled dining choices, including very fair prices
• Entertainment/nightlife/musems/culture
• Spectacular natural/manmade scenery
• Wonderful neighborhoods to explore
• A great climate
• A lot of great friends
• All kinds of stuff to do within a short drive away
• A unique "character" that is all its own. (New Orleans is the only large city I've been that has such a unique vibe all its own)

Many years ago, I lived/worked for a short time in DC and have been back many times and really enjoyed it, but S.F. is preferable for me.

*Full disclosure, our income is over $100K, but the point still stands.

[gaijin_samurai]

So you need a 25% premium to live in a place such as Walnut Creek?