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Old 08-16-2008, 07:52 PM
 
Location: Hollywood, CA
258 posts, read 1,502,114 times
Reputation: 149

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I am considering a move to San Francisco and would like some advice from people who have actually lived there or do currently live there. I've visited briefly before but its not the same as living there. I want to know in general what to expect before I move. The main thing that attracts me to SF is the number of available jobs and the outdoor activities it has to offer. I'm out of college and have the money saved up to move and am thinking this might be the place to start a career. For the people that moved to SF, what is some advice you wish someone who have given you before you moved? Do you still live there, if not do you want to move back? Whats a good area for someone like myself to live in? Whats a good way to go about looking for jobs, or is this something that can only be done once in SF? Is this place over hyped or is it really worth living there?
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Old 08-17-2008, 01:54 AM
 
473 posts, read 1,698,768 times
Reputation: 94
Quote:
Originally Posted by SiddharthaGautama View Post
I am considering a move to San Francisco and would like some advice from people who have actually lived there or do currently live there. I've visited briefly before but its not the same as living there. I want to know in general what to expect before I move. The main thing that attracts me to SF is the number of available jobs and the outdoor activities it has to offer. I'm out of college and have the money saved up to move and am thinking this might be the place to start a career. For the people that moved to SF, what is some advice you wish someone who have given you before you moved? Do you still live there, if not do you want to move back? Whats a good area for someone like myself to live in? Whats a good way to go about looking for jobs, or is this something that can only be done once in SF? Is this place over hyped or is it really worth living there?
I'm a native of SF and it is very very $$$ expensive to live here. If you are a single male forget about meeting a female in SF as there are more dudes here than anything else and jobs here are plentiful if you want to work in McDonald's or in the restaurant industry.
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Old 08-17-2008, 03:56 AM
 
Location: Munich / Bavaria / Germany
4 posts, read 11,674 times
Reputation: 12
A lot of dirt, drug problems and ragged people
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Old 08-17-2008, 05:37 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,745,829 times
Reputation: 23658
Ragged people? What's that supposed to mean? And if you think San Francisco is dirty, I guess you haven't been to many other US cities!

To answer the OP's question, it will be what you make of it. As you can see from the above posts, some people aren't happy here, which makes me wonder why they stay - or if they'd be happy anywhere else. As for myself, I have loved living in SF, and put up with a 50-mile (roundtrip) commute because I don't want to move. It's a vibrant and unique city, with a heck of a lot to offer... but expect to deal with the usual city issues, like parking woes, traffic jams (at ANY time/day), expensive rent & gas, etc. In return you get wonderfully mild weather, beautiful scenery, shopping, cultural & outdoor activities, and the opportunity to meet some interesting people. Just come with an open mind, and I think you will be fine here.
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Old 08-17-2008, 10:22 AM
 
14 posts, read 55,764 times
Reputation: 14
For the people that moved to SF, what is some advice you wish someone who have given you before you moved?

I don't think there was really anything that I needed to know. Moving to San Francisco was a welcome change after spending four years in Indiana.

Do you still live there, if not do you want to move back?

I lived there for 2 years, moved to Upstate NY for 2 years, and just accepted a job offer in Menlo Park and will be moving back in October. I love the Bay Area because it has so much to offer. I love Upstate NY because even though there isn't as much going on -- I can afford to take advantage of what *is* here (i.e. The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra might not be as good as the San Francisco Symphony, but I can afford season tickets to the RPO - I only saw SFS five times in the two years I was in the Bay Area). It all depends on what your priorities are.

Whats a good area for someone like myself to live in?

That totally depends on you and what you value. If you have kids or want a family and need good schools, the answer will be totally different than if you don't. If you like nightlife and want to party, the answer will be totally different than if you like to go hiking with you two big dogs. You ask about an area for 'someone like yourself', but you dont' really tell us anything about yourself...

Whats a good way to go about looking for jobs, or is this something that can only be done once in SF?

When I was moving back to SF, I checked out CL. I found a posting that fit, and sent them my resume. Within 3 hours they had emailed me back. And I had a job offer 2 weeks later. Actually, both times that I moved to San Francisco I used craigslist to find my job.

Is this place over hyped or is it really worth living there?

The bay area is nice. But the median house price is more than five times what it is in Rochester NY (where I currently am). Is the bay area more than five times as nice as Rochester, probably not. But I'm moving back anyways.
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Old 08-17-2008, 09:52 PM
 
93 posts, read 233,680 times
Reputation: 59
I hate to say this but you have to understand that peope who live here and say they hate it but are still here probably say they hate it more to deter other people from coming here than to really mean they hate it so much that they want to leave. So be apprehensive when people tell you how bad it is here.

The cost of living is high, which is always the case when too many people in the same place all chasing the same things. Thus I would not be the one who encourages people to come. But I am not leaving any time soon either..
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Old 08-18-2008, 12:07 AM
 
Location: Hollywood, CA
258 posts, read 1,502,114 times
Reputation: 149
Excellent Point pflau
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Old 08-18-2008, 01:43 AM
 
3,229 posts, read 6,256,799 times
Reputation: 4883
When people here say they hate it they really mean it! There are even websites on how much people hate it.

A quote from one of them sums up SF quite well: "Aside from the obvious, traffic, high cost of living, lousy child-care and schools, what really drives us crazy are the miserable people. I can't get used to the fact that strangers will not make eye contact or even acknowledge one-another's presence, using even the most civil of informal greetings. I've lived in big cities, e.g. Chicago, but I've never experienced the complete disregard for civility and humanity that I encounter on an hourly basis here. The "me-first" and "me-only" attitude that is evident from getting cut off and glared at while commuting to the rudeness of clerks and waiters really is taking a toll on us."

Top 10 Reasons I Hate San Francisco
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Old 08-18-2008, 02:12 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,745,829 times
Reputation: 23658
There are people who hate every place... not saying their points are never valid, but I've learned that some are just "negative nellies" in general.
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Old 08-18-2008, 12:03 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,963 posts, read 32,437,457 times
Reputation: 13609
Quote:
Originally Posted by pflau View Post
I hate to say this but you have to understand that peope who live here and say they hate it but are still here probably say they hate it more to deter other people from coming here than to really mean they hate it so much that they want to leave. So be apprehensive when people tell you how bad it is here.

The cost of living is high, which is always the case when too many people in the same place all chasing the same things. Thus I would not be the one who encourages people to come. But I am not leaving any time soon either..
haha, keep telling yourself that if it helps....... Like convincing a few people on an online forum it to move here is going to drive up the cost of living. The Bay Area has a negative net migration and it's only births and immigration driving it's population up. People are so delusional to think everyone still wants to live in CA or the Bay Area just to live here. Believe it or not, some people do actually think this place is overrated and not worth it, including natives like myself. Only in the Bay Area would someone be so smug to assume those that say they dislike it do so b/c they don't want anyone else moving to the Bay Area.
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