Cost of living in SF... (San Francisco, Oakland: apartment, rent, how much)

[speedoflight]

Many have come here to ask about how much it takes to live in SF. Here's an article that touches on this aspect, even though the main aspect of the article is about hunger in SF.

Click on link:
Hungry -- even in San Francisco

Notable excerpt from article:
"...the California Budget Project estimates a family of three needs to make ends meet in the Bay Area -- $62,969. Confronted with such a high cost of living, hundreds of thousands of people in the Bay Area are forced to make painful choices between paying for medicine or food, school supplies or food, rent or food. And far too often, in our experience, it is food that loses out."

[jondotkom]

Hey There,

Man, I was considering moving to the San Francisco, knowing that the cost of living is high, but sheez--now I'm beginning to rethink my plans.

I know rents are high, but is there any chance of scoring a cheap apt somewhere in San Francisco? Or should I consider Oakland which, oddly enough, also seems rather high.

I presently live in Seattle, and it's fairly expensive here too. In fact, I believe it's rapidly becoming as pricey as the Bay Area.

Any ideas?

[speedoflight]

"Cheap" in the Bay Area translates to: Bad neighborhood, crime-ridden, bad/poor quality apartment buildings, old buildings that have a lot of problems, etc. There's truth to the statement, "You get what you pay for." Cheap in Oakland? I wouldn't go near any of the bad neighborhoods there. Most are crime-ridden, drug infested and are very dangerous to be in.

The article (URL in my previous posting) I'd posted has a LOT of truth in it. Most of the SF Food Bank's clients aren't poor homeless people. They are "working poor" people who do have jobs but can't make ends meet for as the article states, it's either food or rent for a lot of people. These are not lazy people who don't try to make a life for themselves. Rather, it's the area/city that doesn't allow for them to make a home/life for themselves. The "working poor" group demographics is expanding year after year as cost of living rises rapidly in the Bay Area. Buying a mediocre home in a so-so neighborhood here is a huge dream that a lot of people cannot afford despite having excellent salaries and in this, I don't mean poor people. These are educated people with good jobs that pay well. The bottom line is, sure, the weather is great and there's relatively lots of things to do here but fact is, if you can't afford it, you won't get to do most of these things. Most people who live in the Bay Area work very hard, sometimes 2 jobs at the minimum, don't own yachts or cruise around on the bay and can barely afford their super high mortgage. If this is not a lifestyle you want, you need to be really honest with yourself if this is the place for you. I don't intend to scare you. Just being really direct and honest with you.