How much more expensive is the SF Bay Area compared to the DC metro area? (San Francisco: condo, home)

[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?

[jade408]

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?

Family or no family? Kids or no kids?

[gaijin_samurai]

Originally Posted by jade408

Family or no family? Kids or no kids?

How does that factor in?

[jade408]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

How does that factor in?

For a single person, $100k in DC is roughly equivalent to SF. For a family, DC is way better. There are not moderate priced areas with good schools in the Bay Area, in reasonable distance of any job centers.

To live in a decent to good school district, you still need $500k for a 2 bedroom condo, unless you want a 60 mile one-way commute.

For a 3 bedroom fixer home, you really want to have about $700k, and that means a terrible commute to Silicon Valley if your job is there. For an easier commute to Silicon Valley, you really need about $900k.

Mediocre to Average school district costs about $400k, and you are far away from most of the job centers (like 40 miles).

DC, although expensive, you can still live in reasonable commuting distance for ike $400k. It will be a nicer home in a much nicer neighborhood.

[gaijin_samurai]

Originally Posted by jade408

For a single person, $100k in DC is roughly equivalent to SF. For a family, DC is way better. There are not moderate priced areas with good schools in the Bay Area, in reasonable distance of any job centers.

To live in a decent to good school district, you still need $500k for a 2 bedroom condo, unless you want a 60 mile one-way commute.

For a 3 bedroom fixer home, you really want to have about $700k, and that means a terrible commute to Silicon Valley if your job is there. For an easier commute to Silicon Valley, you really need about $900k.

Mediocre to Average school district costs about $400k, and you are far away from most of the job centers (like 40 miles).

DC, although expensive, you can still live in reasonable commuting distance for ike $400k. It will be a nicer home in a much nicer neighborhood.

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

[sav858]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

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

as well as family ties, familiarity, some people are just used to it, etc..

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

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

Can't overstate how much the weather factors in, though I would just as soon live in a place that was a little less nice if I didn't have to deal with the allergies.

[Kurinji]

Originally Posted by gaijin_samurai

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

Come visit and see for yourself.

[ruckerz]

CA has fresh produce *all year*. That's a clincher for me.

And the weather of course helps.

[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.