Positives about Bay Area (San Jose, San Francisco: to rent, house, job market)

[SEgf0803]

My boyfriend has accepted and started a position at Apple. I will be moving there in mid-December from North Carolina and starting a job search. We've found a house to live in (Sunnyvale) and BF is ok paying all of rent and bills until I find a job. However, I would like to find a job ASAP: I do not like not being able to support myself. I'm doing social work right now, and from what it looks like, people in CA make about the same as what I'm making with only a slight cost of living increase.

I'm finding it pretty difficult to stay positive with all the people that say don't come to the Bay Area, you will regret it, you will be living paycheck to paycheck, etc. So please, tell me, great people who can afford to live in the Bay Area, what are some positive things about the area? What are some good places to eat, nice sights to see, museums, bars, parks, etc? What do you guys LOVE about living there? For background, I'm in my mid-twenties, physically active, and love to explore new places.

[mstnghu2]

Yes, it is expensive. You already know that. It's the number one thing I don't like about living here. My wife and I make quite a bit over $100k/year and can't afford to buy a house in any neighborhood we'd actually want to live in (safe, clean, decent schools, etc.). We're only able to rent in a neighborhood like that, and even than it's just so-so.

I was born and raised here, specifically the South Bay, and I think it really is a great place to live. I'd say that in no particular order, these are some of the things I love about the Bay Area:

-Easy access to nature (regional parks, hiking/biking trails, etc.)

-Weather. Keep in mind that the Bay Area has many micro-climates though and weather can vary greatly in different areas. For example, it can easily be 80 degrees and sunny in the summer in San Jose and it can be 60 degrees and foggy in San Francisco.

-Cultural diversity

-Weather

-Strong food culture and easy access to fresh produce, organic foods, etc.

-Weather

-Natural Scenery

-Many progressive, open-minded, forward-thinking people

-Oh yeah, and the weather too. It's pretty great most of the year.

These are just some of my favorite things that come to mind right away.

[Harpaint]

Coming from NC, you'll have some adjusting to do beyond the COL.

[SEgf0803]

Originally Posted by Harpaint

Coming from NC, you'll have some adjusting to do beyond the COL.

In what way? I was born and raised in Raleigh, which is one of the more liberal cities in NC, but to a Hispanic family, and I work with socioeconomically disadvantaged clients. I do like to believe that people are people no matter where they are.

I do think the weather will be a big adjustment, although not necessarily a bad one. Anywhere less humid than North Carolina will be a relief and maybe a shock to my body.

[ccm123]

There's a high percentage of college graduates here, so the population is generally very well educated. Generally speaking, there's a high correlation between education and income. The job market for certain industries and their "supporting cast" is also quite robust.

[bobby_guz_man]

Maybe if we all stop responding to topics like this, they won't ask it anymore? I mean this has to be the 10th one this week? All revolving around "I heard Bay Area is stupidly expensive, but I think I can make it, what do you think?"

Zzzzz

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by SEgf0803

In what way? I was born and raised in Raleigh, which is one of the more liberal cities in NC, but to a Hispanic family, and I work with socioeconomically disadvantaged clients. I do like to believe that people are people no matter where they are.

I do think the weather will be a big adjustment, although not necessarily a bad one. Anywhere less humid than North Carolina will be a relief and maybe a shock to my body.

The main adjustment is the mere fact it will not be the East Coast. I know The Triangle is not "core" East Coast but I find it to still have many traits similar to the "main line" Mid Atlantic (VA-MD-DE-PA).

We don't have the cultural stability and solid "brick and mortar" ambiance of the East Coast. And even though a major metro Area, The Bay Area is isolated relatively speaking. We have nothing like the string of major metros along I-95 / I-85 etc. Overall population density here in the West is just lower.

We have major topographic and water barriers impeding travel so you'll end up being amazed what a hassle it can be doing something as "minor" as a 20 mile drive across town.

I could write a book but lack time and need to stop here.

[bentobox34]

Originally Posted by SEgf0803

My boyfriend has accepted and started a position at Apple. I will be moving there in mid-December from North Carolina and starting a job search. We've found a house to live in (Sunnyvale) and BF is ok paying all of rent and bills until I find a job. However, I would like to find a job ASAP: I do not like not being able to support myself. I'm doing social work right now, and from what it looks like, people in CA make about the same as what I'm making with only a slight cost of living increase.

I'm finding it pretty difficult to stay positive with all the people that say don't come to the Bay Area, you will regret it, you will be living paycheck to paycheck, etc. So please, tell me, great people who can afford to live in the Bay Area, what are some positive things about the area? What are some good places to eat, nice sights to see, museums, bars, parks, etc? What do you guys LOVE about living there? For background, I'm in my mid-twenties, physically active, and love to explore new places.

It sounds like you need to work out what exactly the financial arrangement will be with your boyfriend. If he's moving out there for a job at Apple, that sounds pretty stable, but later down you worry about "living paycheck to paycheck." In my opinion, it's not realistic for an Apple techie/social worker couple to split expenses down the middle, but that's just me - my wife and I have always taken the "throw 100% of both our incomes into a single bank account to cover all expenses" approach to couples finance, since long before we were married, but others do it differently.

[crouching_tiger]

Negative: COL

Positive: Everything else

[SEgf0803]

Originally Posted by bentobox34

It sounds like you need to work out what exactly the financial arrangement will be with your boyfriend. If he's moving out there for a job at Apple, that sounds pretty stable, but later down you worry about "living paycheck to paycheck." In my opinion, it's not realistic for an Apple techie/social worker couple to split expenses down the middle, but that's just me - my wife and I have always taken the "throw 100% of both our incomes into a single bank account to cover all expenses" approach to couples finance, since long before we were married, but others do it differently.

We currently have a 60/40 situation, and I agree it wouldn't be feasible to split expenses down the middle. We are planning on sharing finances once the move is final. We try to stick to a pretty tight budget anyway and live pretty frugally in order to save up for vacations, emergency funds, etc. I'm not worried about us living paycheck-to-paycheck: I was referring to the fact that I have read people saying that about tech worker salary in many different threads about the Bay Area. It's discouraging to read about the negatives, so I was searching for the positives.

He is going to be making ~$125,000/year gross and our rent is $3700/month so I think we will be OK in terms of being able to build up a savings fund while still being able to afford to buy ourselves some nice whiskey every now and then. Especially if I can land a job that pays anything at all. I would just like to make enough money so that I can build myself some raised beds and buy some ornamental cacti without my boyfriend asking me what happened to the money he had budgeted to buy Fallout 4.

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

The main adjustment is the mere fact it will not be the East Coast. I know The Triangle is not "core" East Coast but I find it to still have many traits similar to the "main line" Mid Atlantic (VA-MD-DE-PA).

We don't have the cultural stability and solid "brick and mortar" ambiance of the East Coast. And even though a major metro Area, The Bay Area is isolated relatively speaking. We have nothing like the string of major metros along I-95 / I-85 etc. Overall population density here in the West is just lower.

We have major topographic and water barriers impeding travel so you'll end up being amazed what a hassle it can be doing something as "minor" as a 20 mile drive across town.

I could write a book but lack time and need to stop here.

I'll try to take that as a positive because I have no idea how I will react to it, so we'll see!!

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Yes, it is expensive. You already know that. It's the number one thing I don't like about living here. My wife and I make quite a bit over $100k/year and can't afford to buy a house in any neighborhood we'd actually want to live in (safe, clean, decent schools, etc.). We're only able to rent in a neighborhood like that, and even than it's just so-so.

I was born and raised here, specifically the South Bay, and I think it really is a great place to live. I'd say that in no particular order, these are some of the things I love about the Bay Area:

-Easy access to nature (regional parks, hiking/biking trails, etc.)

-Weather. Keep in mind that the Bay Area has many micro-climates though and weather can vary greatly in different areas. For example, it can easily be 80 degrees and sunny in the summer in San Jose and it can be 60 degrees and foggy in San Francisco.

-Cultural diversity

-Weather

-Strong food culture and easy access to fresh produce, organic foods, etc.

-Weather

-Natural Scenery

-Many progressive, open-minded, forward-thinking people

-Oh yeah, and the weather too. It's pretty great most of the year.

These are just some of my favorite things that come to mind right away.

These all sounds like great things! Do you have any suggestions for local farms, farmer's markets, or farm-to-table restaurants not in SF? Most of the recommendations for farm-to-table places have been in SF, which is why I ask specifically for outside of it. I plan on growing most of our veggies as I do here, so I'm mostly interested in eggs and RAW MILK. I'm so excited to be going to a place where raw milk is sold legally! I had just bought a quarter of a cow in a carpool here so I am actually bringing that with me across the country. I'm really glad Apple reimburses my moving costs The food culture is a huge draw for me. I love to cook, which helps greatly with frugality, and I love to eat what others cook well, which does not help with frugality.

Definitely looking forward to open-minded people. I'm in a more liberal area of the South, but I do still run into narrow-mindedness pretty frequently.

I like your emphasis on weather. I am looking forward to experiencing a different climate for an extended period of time. I'm told I might miss seasons, but I think I can do without seasons. I'm pretty sure I won't miss them.

Further question: what are some recommended volunteer opportunities? I volunteer as an animal care volunteer for a Big Cat Rescue here in NC, and I have volunteered and worked for different farms. Are there any recommended farms or animal sanctuaries that accept volunteers?


Thank you to everyone for the replies!