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Thread summary:

Dallas resident possible move to San Francisco; seeking information on taxes, BART transportation from Oakland to SF, negotiating salary, living without car

 
Old 03-31-2007, 12:16 AM
 
7 posts, read 103,475 times
Reputation: 19

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Might be taking a job in downtown. Currently I live in Dallas making $80k. A friend of mine used to live in SF and told me that the percentage of your income that is eaten up by taxes is significant. Can anyone give me a general idea of this? I know rent is crazy expensive, but I can deal with that. I'm just worried about the other expenses that might pile up that I can't account for.

My second question would be this: has anyone had any experience in negotiating a salary in SF that matches the cost of living increase? Or are you basically expected to sacrifice your comforts in order to live in a pretty cool city?

And my third question... if I were to look at a place like Oakland, what kind of commute should I expect to downtown every day? I would definitely not want to have a car, so I'd be curious to see how long the BART takes. And if I live in Oakland, is it still pretty easy to get around to the grocery store and running various errands? I must confess, I know very little about Oakland.

Thanks! I hope to move there, but it is a little intimidating.
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Old 03-31-2007, 12:45 PM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,739,844 times
Reputation: 23653
I work for the city of San Francisco, so I can answer a few of your questions. My salary wasn't negotiable, so I don't know about that part, but they do eat up a TON in taxes!!! I was actually shocked when my first paycheck arrived, and they'd taken almost 50%. But I think that's partly because I took a deduction, at my sister's (a lawyer) suggestion... she said I'd get a bigger refund that way, but now I'm realizing I'd rather have the money now - ya know, because the astronomical rent needs to be covered. So I'm planning to remove that deduction, and then hopefully it will drop to around 30% (still crazy, imo). Good news is that they do pay very well, especially when you're in a government job like mine... librarians in other counties & states make an average of 40% less than what I get here! So for me it's worth the overall sacrifices, especially since this has been "home" for 25 years.

As for your other question, many people commute from Oakland to SF, and say it's pretty easy... I'm not totally sure, but I think it takes about 20 minutes on BART. Fyi, if you happen to get a government/city job, they'll reimburse you for the cost of transportation. In Oakland itself, BART can get you to all the major stuff, though I'm also not an expert. I think it's definitely a viable option, and you could find something nice around Lake Merritt or west Oakland... you might look into Berkeley as well, which is a super cool town. Good luck!
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Old 03-31-2007, 01:43 PM
 
7 posts, read 103,475 times
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Thanks for the response! I had also heard about the 50% taxes thing from a coworker who used to live there. I hoped that he was simply exaggerating, but it appears not.

I guess the thing I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around is the statistics. I’ve read that to move from my current city to SF, it’s a 75% cost of living increase, but that the salaries generally only pay 15% higher. If this is true, then I can’t quite figure out how people make that work… and yet they seem to.
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Old 03-31-2007, 07:21 PM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,739,844 times
Reputation: 23653
Quote:
Originally Posted by telarium View Post
Thanks for the response! I had also heard about the 50% taxes thing from a coworker who used to live there. I hoped that he was simply exaggerating, but it appears not.

I guess the thing I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around is the statistics. I’ve read that to move from my current city to SF, it’s a 75% cost of living increase, but that the salaries generally only pay 15% higher. If this is true, then I can’t quite figure out how people make that work… and yet they seem to.
No problemo. You're right about the statistics, and how it doesn't quite add up... but people do manage it somehow. We just make other sacrifices, namely renting (often with roommates) rather than buying, which is just a fact of life here. In states with lower costs-of-living, most people will buy a home by age 35-ish, whereas here that isn't common. I do know some young homeowners - but they're either married with 2 high incomes, or live in tiny condos in less desirable neighborhoods.

Also, lots of SF residents don't own a car, and rely on BART or Muni to get around... that cuts out costs of gas, insurance, registration, parking, etc. I personally still have a car, since my neighborhood is too far from public transit. Anyway, I guess if you want to be here badly enough, you just make it work!
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Old 04-07-2007, 04:41 PM
 
Location: Sacramento, CA
4 posts, read 50,432 times
Reputation: 11
The BART commute from Oakland is really quick. 15 to 20 minutes, and even better that the job under consideration is downtown because you won't have to walk very far once you get off the train. Actually, the BART commute from anywhere there is BART is fairly quick. 35 minutes from Walnut Creek. And while people make it work, you just have to get used to the fact that you're gonna be paying more, or living in smaller places, or a combination of the two than in most other areas of the country. I would say, bring your lunch with you on most days to work so you have more spending cash for weekends. And while most people do have cars, they don't use them, or shouldn't use them if their job and place of residence are located near BART stations.
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