Am I In Trouble??? - Making Enough To Live in N. SF?? (San Francisco: cul-de-sac, short sale)

[rhinoUF]

I'm hoping to have some locals from San Fran help me out. Since Im just a screenname Im going to be honest with all my financals and beg for some advice on my situation.

Just put down money on an apt near Union ST. for 1690/mo. W/S/E not included Job out there is paying 40,000 (5k bonus possible). Girlfriend is moving with and is a CNA but license wont transfer for months so we're talking any job she can get waitressing/etc.

My friend convinced me to get the apt as its in a fantastic location near Union Street, a great apt with a big yard for my dog. Im scared now that 1690 is going to eat me alive in SF at that salary level. I sold my car and will be busing it (work subsidized), and Im a bit of a cook so I wont be eating out. But do owe 133/mo in last years taxes and 225 ish in credit cards and student loans.

What perenctage of my income can I expect to bring home after taxes, decent medical insurance, etc?

Any advice, would be very welcomed. At first I felt blest to have an apt in such a good area so perfect, but doing the math is making me a bit worried.

Thanks to anyone that has some good advice!

Also if anyone has ANY clue about how to transfer a CNA license to San Francisco from Florida, thats my next ulser.

[City Boy]

40k Before taxes? and you're going to live in a 1700 a month apt with other bills even if small? Why would you do that? You picked one of the more expensive area's of SF to live. At that price i'm guessing it's a studio or Jr. 1 bedroom .

[rhinoUF]

Well I also have income from my girlfriend which will be somewhere arround 500 dollars of the rent. Reason I did it though was on the reconmendation of my friend who got my my job out there. He said the place should have gone from more like 2,500.

850 sq ft 1 bdroom in cul-de-sac updated awesome appliances, new flooring, park sized fenced in back yard

It also didnt hurt that the owner didnt want a credit check/dog cert (I have a nice pittbul). I was so relieved to have a place for my dog in a good neighborhood.

It's certainly going to be a challenge, I just hope its even possible.

What percent of my income do you think I should plan on being gone due to state/federal taxes etc. 30% sound close to right to estimate a budget? More?

40k isnt a long term plan for me. I was making 70k in Southwest Florida as a Land Developer, no work in that anymore. So its an entry level job in a big corp. Lots of room to grow.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by rhinoUF

Well I also have income from my girlfriend which will be somewhere arround 500 dollars of the rent. Reason I did it though was on the reconmendation of my friend who got my my job out there. He said the place should have gone from more like 2,500.

It also didnt hurt that the owner didnt want a credit check/dog cert (I have a nice pittbul). I was so relieved to have a place for my dog in a good neighborhood.

It's certainly going to be a challenge, I just hope its even possible.

What percent of my income do you think I should plan on being gone due to state/federal taxes etc. 30% sound close to right to estimate a budget? More?

30% for taxes sounds about right.

I think you are spending too much of your income on rent, even with your girlfriend's contribution. You're setting yourself up to live payday to payday for quite a while. And that can become a habit, so that even if your gf gets a decent paying job, since you'll be used to living payday to payday, you'll continue doing so.

[rhinoUF]

I hear you mystical. Its a bad situation all arround the board, and I knew what I was in for when I decided to take a huge paycut to move to a city that cost 50% more to live in. The plan was to make enough to survive until my first promotion. Pawning it all on my ability to advance at work in a great company. There going to pay for the rest of my MBA too If the promotion never comes I'd go back to being a land developer and move out of San Fran when the market comes back. The trick will be suriving for the next year. I'm thinking of it like a great adventure.

Anyone Out There Think This Is Possible?

Or am I BONED?

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by rhinoUF

I hear you mystical. Its a bad situation all arround the board, and I knew what I was in for when I decided to take a huge paycut to move to a city that cost 50% more to live in. The plan was to make enough to survive until my first promotion. Pawning it all on my ability to advance at work in a great company. There going to pay for the rest of my MBA too If the promotion never comes I'd go back to being a land developer and move out of San Fran when the market comes back. The trick will be suriving for the next year. I'm thinking of it like a great adventure.

Anyone Out There Think This Is Possible?

Or am I BONED?

I do think what you are doing is possible, but you are definitely pushing it. If you can live without a car, that would help. But if one or a few things go wrong, you could end up royally screwed.

And I know you don't want to hear this, (but maybe future pet owners will read this and see what I'm saying) but I think having a pet, especially a dog, is a really bad idea if you are a renter. You lose a lot of flexibility and end up paying a lot more in rent and deposits as a result.

[rhinoUF]

You arnt lying mystical, I was having night terrors about not being even able to get a place to live because of the dog etc. Giving her away or taking her to the pound was even discussed, which was heartbreaking. I would say from looking for 3 months or so that out of finding 25-30 places for rent in the 3-4 sections of the city I was looking, 1-4 would allow a do of mine's size. Its like a noose arround the neck. Combine that with a short sale on my house that I bought for 190,000 and is selling for 69,000... not a chance in hell I thought I would land a place to live.

P.S. I am a well educated, hard working, nice person who was doing everything your supposed to do and progressing great until the market died and my job base shrunk to 0. This whole thing has been one giant shock.

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by rhinoUF

I'm hoping to have some locals from San Fran help me out. Since Im just a screenname Im going to be honest with all my financals and beg for some advice on my situation.

Just put down money on an apt near Union ST. for 1690/mo. W/S/E not included Job out there is paying 40,000 (5k bonus possible). Girlfriend is moving with and is a CNA but license wont transfer for months so we're talking any job she can get waitressing/etc.

My friend convinced me to get the apt as its in a fantastic location near Union Street, a great apt with a big yard for my dog. Im scared now that 1690 is going to eat me alive in SF at that salary level. I sold my car and will be busing it (work subsidized), and Im a bit of a cook so I wont be eating out. But do owe 133/mo in last years taxes and 225 ish in credit cards and student loans.

What perenctage of my income can I expect to bring home after taxes, decent medical insurance, etc?

Any advice, would be very welcomed. At first I felt blest to have an apt in such a good area so perfect, but doing the math is making me a bit worried.

Thanks to anyone that has some good advice!

Also if anyone has ANY clue about how to transfer a CNA license to San Francisco from Florida, thats my next ulser.

If you split expenses you will be okay as long as you keep track of your expenses.

[mdwstrnkid]

Realistically speaking, if you are living close to Union Street, you will be tempted to go out for drinks, eat out, etc., so it will be a challenge for you to live within your budget. It doesn't take very much effort to drop a hundred bucks on drinks and dinner for two in San Francisco, especially not in an area like Cow Hollow.

[parle75]

Originally Posted by rhinoUF

I hear you mystical. Its a bad situation all arround the board, and I knew what I was in for when I decided to take a huge paycut to move to a city that cost 50% more to live in. The plan was to make enough to survive until my first promotion. Pawning it all on my ability to advance at work in a great company. There going to pay for the rest of my MBA too If the promotion never comes I'd go back to being a land developer and move out of San Fran when the market comes back. The trick will be suriving for the next year. I'm thinking of it like a great adventure.

Anyone Out There Think This Is Possible?

Or am I BONED?

Just a word of caution: Don't spend money you haven't made yet. Have a backup plan to take care of the bills in case that promotion doesn't come through. A situation could come up that doesn't allow the company to advance you at the rate you think you deserve to advance, esp. in such a shaky economy.

A lot can change unexpectedly when you count chickens that haven't hatched. Been there, done that. I took an apartment in expensive South Fla., thinking that a raise somewhere down the line would help with the bills. The kind of raise I felt I deserved never came and when raises did come, they were hardly enough to make a real difference. There were times when I was stretched really thin and the credit card bills just racked up. So, just wanted to say be careful and plan your finances with solid info. Raises and promotions are tricky things. Sometimes, things may not work out and you don't want to get stuck like Chuck if they don't.

Good luck with everything. I am in Florida, too, and San Francisco is on my list of places to live. I'm going back later this year to check it out again to see if I can really afford to live there. The rents out there scare the crapola outta me, tho. Glad you found a place that you like.