Can a couple of young professionals make it in SF for ~150k total?

[Chuck5000]

At 150k you're well within the affordability range for renting outside of SF, but it would be tight inside of SF (space, savings, etc). Renting in nice areas is very very competitive, you must be able to jump on things instantly. You might get skipped by some landlords in favor of applicants earning more. Landlords in the Bay Area do not like dogs, and having one complicates your search a lot. You'll still find something, though, but it could take time. You'll probably have to compromise on commute or city. Agree that East Bay is best choice, by far. I'm a fan of Oakland, have spent much time there. It is rapidly getting more expensive, but still OK. I've lived in SF and now live on the Peninsula.

Before you move here, if you think you'll want to stay, you need to know that to be able to purchase a home in SF, if you don't have family money, and you want 2-3 bedrooms, you'll need to earn $300k/year minimum, maybe $350k+ as a household. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, $250k+ household can get you in to purchase at the bottom level of a few nice suburbs with decent schools. Decent schools are hard to find. $200k income is borderline for a decent purchase w/schools, you can rent pretty well, but you won't have many choices for buying unless you go very far from the city or get a very small place (like 1200 sq feet) in a very non-prime location. Commuting and transportation looks good on paper, but it doesn't function well here. Commutes are long.

If your career does not offer you upward mobility, you can get trapped into a not-great lifestyle pretty easily. You gotta be down to "make it" here.

[CBB_bear]

Short version: yes you will be fine. You will have a higher rent for less space if you choose to live in SF (rather than Berkeley or Oakland) and can probably only afford a 1 bedroom. The hardest thing will be finding someplace that will rent to you with a dog, especially if you have a larger dog. It will require more tenacity to find a dog friendly rental and obviously limits your options.

I have friends who have bull**** certified their dog as a service dog ("emotional support" or whatever) so their landlord will be required to rent to them with the animal under the american with disabilities act unless they take them to court and prove that it is a bogus service animal (which is a hassle, so no one does that). Going that route is on your conscience. I wonder how much of the disparity between the number of dogs in SF and the landlord pet policies is due to people going that route.

[dalparadise]

Also, if you really want to live in SF, ditch one or both of your cars. Don't even think about it. Having one car is an expensive, mostly unnecessary luxury throughout much of the City, particularly the eastern half. Having two and trying to find parking on the street would be terrible.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

Also, if you really want to live in SF, ditch one or both of your cars. Don't even think about it. Having one car is an expensive, mostly unnecessary luxury throughout much of the City, particularly the eastern half. Having two and trying to find parking on the street would be terrible.

Agree for the eastern part of the City. Can do it pretty easily in the Avenues, though (the Richmond and the Sunset).

Note: I did this for a few years in the Inner Richmond with my girlfriend (we both had cars), never had an issue finding a spot, especially if you were moving it in the morning (parking in meters at night).

[PixelatedTherapy]

Originally Posted by vop92

Hi everyone

Me and my GF are finishing graduate school and thinking about moving to San Francisco. We have some job prospects there plus both of us fell in love with that city, absolutely breathtaking place. The problem is, of course, affordability. We are expecting to make around 140-150k total as a start, which translates to ~100k after taxes. I read a lot of numbers, but the opinion of people who actually live there matters much more.

Can we make a middle-class living with this kind of money? By middle class I mean renting a decent 600-700 sq. ft. 1 bedroom dog-friendly apartment in a nice (not fancy, just nice) area, with some money left for entertainment, travel and savings? We are not really party/drinking people, so by entertainment I mean concerts and eating out in a restaraunt couple times a week.

East Bay is an option open for consideration if SF is unrealistic, as long as it is a safe neighboorhood and it is close to BART for easy commute.

Thanks for your help.

If you want SF really badly I'd say go for the Portola district. It's a nice area, it's away from downtown so it's not as expensive. However, I'd checkout the East Bay, anywhere with a Bart Station will do.