Making it in SF on little money (rent, insurance)

[ffknight918]

I live in Milwaukee, WI. I'm a part-time firefighter and just finished my AA in Fire Protection. I am 21-years-old. My ultimate goal is to be a firefighter in CA. However, for the smaller departments, I can't. Fire certifications don't transfer to CA. I have a friend that is moving to SF in May for an internship until September. I am considering going with. I love everywhere I've been in CA, especially SF. However, living there might change my mind. This would be a good opportunity to see if it is right for me since you can't just relocate as a firefighter like you can for other jobs due to there being about 200 applicants for every position.

I am pretty broke at the moment due to just finishing school and only working part-time. We would share a place wherever we can. His job will be in the Mission District. I would most likely need to find any type of job possible to hopefully afford everything. If all goes well, I would like to stay for the Fall and attend the CA Fire Academy. It would be nice to also volunteer at a fire house, but then I would need to move out of the city.

So I'm pretty much just asking how easy it is to pick up and move over there for the summer. Staying for the fall will depend on how I like it and if I find a decent job. How much would I need to make the move? Is it easy enough to find a job that can at least get me by? I have a nicer car all paid for, but I'm not sure if I could afford the insurance in SF. Depending on where my job is though, I might need it. Thanks for any advice in advance.

[soccerbabe]

I came to the bay area with less than $2,000 in savings, and no employment prospects. It took me about a month before I found a part-time teaching position, and another three months before I found a temp/ contract job. You can do it if you live cheaply (to begin with, I was living in someone's living room, and sharing it with two people). A year later, I have my own 2 BR place. I would start looking on job boards now, and try to pick up temporary or contract jobs because you'll need to have income coming in. Also, a lot of apts require a month's security deposit (so having a roomate is key).

I would check in with the Firefighter Academy, and call their office to see if there are any positions for students (or websites to check). If there's a will, there's a way. Everyone thinks the Bay Area is expensive, but you can live cheaply. I had roommates, and cooked my own food, and shopped at Costco. I did everything I could do to keep my costs low while pounding the pavement, and sending out resumes. If you do that, you'll be fine.

[DMenscha]

You may want to apply with CALFire for a seasonal ff position. It's how I got started many many years ago.

[ffknight918]

Thanks soccerbabe. Just wanted to hear from someone that went through the same thing. Chances are I might only stay for the summer. It's going to be tough because I've accomplished so much over here, but it all means nothing in CA. They won't take any of my fire certs. If things go well though, I would stay for the fall. I've talked to a few volunteer depts in Marin county that said they would be more than happy to have me join and they would pay for the fire academy. However, I couldn't live in SF then. My friend NEEDS to live in SF since he won't have a car and will be workign 5 days/week. I would also like to live in the city for at least a few months. Thanks again.

DMenscha... I'm sending you a private message. I already thought about CALFire and US Forestry. Definitely interested and would love more information.

[DMenscha]

The feds are really amateurs at firefighting, go to them only as a last resort.

[nirea82]

One good thing is costs will be way less in Marin, SF is very expensive. I moved here 5 years ago with under $1500 and first months rent paid for $550 it's hard for some time but worth it in the end. I was lucky to get a job the first week of looking though and things turned out great.

[grapico]

It can be done... biggest sticker shock is of course the rent, after that though, if you don't have car expenses and shop the ethnic stores for food it can be done.