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Old 05-09-2012, 04:26 PM
 
5 posts, read 6,376 times
Reputation: 12

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Hi all,
I'm currently in St. Louis working in corporate IT (Project Management). My wife is a part-time elementary school teacher. I've lived here all of my life, and while there are things that I love that are here (family, Cardinals baseball, cheap cost of living), I feel like a change may be due. My wife and I (no kids, not for at least 3 more years or so) have visited many places, and one of our favorites has been San Francisco and the surrounding Silicon Valley area. We visited there last year and LOVED the weather and the culture. The weather here in STL makes it much more difficult to enjoy outdoor activities year-round. Plus, in much of the Bay area, you are a drive away from great beaches and Napa valley. I'm kind of tired of being in a ocean-less state with nothing but the muddy rivers around me.

As for where I'd consider living, I probably wouldn't be looking to live in downtown SF. Most likely, due to the IT market, I'd probably try to shoot for Silicon Valley more (Sunnyvale, Mountain View, etc.). If I had a job in SF, I'm not sure if I'd want to live downtown or not.....depends on the pain of commuting and whatnot.

Obviously, I realize that there are some glaring differences between the two, mainly the cost-of-living aspect of the Bay area. Also, I realize that the Bay area is quite large and there are huge differences between SF and Silicon Valley, and there are nice suburbs (most of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, etc.) and not-so-nice ones (San Leandro, East Palo Alto, parts of San Jose, etc. from what I've heard). St. Louis metro area definitely has its nice and not-so-nice parts as well, that's for sure.... Also, I've heard mixed things about the current state of the IT job market in the Bay area. But I feel like St. Louis is constantly losing jobs thanks to many companies leaving the area and merging (Anheuser Busch, AG Edwards, Boatman's Bank, TWA).

What are your guys' thoughts between the two? Is it worth the cost-of-living in SF, particularly when you start raising a family? While this isn't a concern yet, it will be someday.

I'd appreciate any thoughts (particularly IT folk or people who have lived in both places) have about the Bay Area! Thanks
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Old 05-09-2012, 06:12 PM
 
Location: Manhattan
1,160 posts, read 2,950,980 times
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I'm not in IT nor have I ever lived in St. Louis, but I have lived in SF in the past and I will answer one of your questions and that is that SF/Bay Area is definitely worth the cost of living. It's a wonderful area to live in.

The Bay Area is a good place for IT, but there are tons of IT workers in every major city so I'm not sure it's THAT much better than St. Louis in that respect. It is obviously a much larger metro area though, so you'll have a wider range of potential opportunities there.

You say you liked the Bay Area so I would suggest looking for jobs there and if you get an offer and a salary you are comfortable living there with, go for it. It's a nice place to live, you certainly won't regret a move there.
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Old 05-09-2012, 06:15 PM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,639 posts, read 67,251,790 times
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San Leandro is not bad. lol
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Old 05-09-2012, 07:35 PM
 
Location: South Beach and DT Raleigh
13,966 posts, read 24,052,244 times
Reputation: 14760
It's all expensive in the Bay Area. If you get a job offer, make sure to do your due diligence to determine that you can live on that salary. Coming from a low cost area to the Bay Area will definitely be a complete shock. Do your homework!
FWIW, I work for a Valley company and have been there many, many, many times. My company tried to get me to move there several times. Plus, I grew up there as a kid. I don't know everything about it but I know more than many.
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Old 05-09-2012, 08:32 PM
 
5 posts, read 6,376 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
San Leandro is not bad. lol
Haha, good one. I'll lead you through North/East St. Louis if you're ever in town here, I hear it's beautiful too

Quote:
Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl View Post
It's all expensive in the Bay Area. If you get a job offer, make sure to do your due diligence to determine that you can live on that salary. Coming from a low cost area to the Bay Area will definitely be a complete shock. Do your homework!
FWIW, I work for a Valley company and have been there many, many, many times. My company tried to get me to move there several times. Plus, I grew up there as a kid. I don't know everything about it but I know more than many.
Thanks for the insight! I've figured housing and other incidental expenses are going to be brutal compared to St. Louis, one of the cheapest metro areas in the country, so I'm prepared for that.
I'd just love to be in such a tech-heavy area like SV. We have a good deal of IT jobs here in St. Louis, but the majority are in financial firms, which gets kind of boring.
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