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Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,137,259 times
Reputation: 3145
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Yes, I am THAT Dalparadise. I moved to SF to fulfill a dream I've had since I was about 15 years old. I should have done it about 12 years ago. I constantly find myself getting irritated that I waited so long to move, whenever I discover something great about this city. Spoiler alert-that happens almost daily.
I have been out here since October, living in a house share arrangement, and moved permanently into a great apartment in June. It took about 6 weeks to find a job, but that was around the holidays, when it was a bit tougher. I think things are better in that regard now.
You sound like you have the right ideas about costs and what to eliminate, so I would imagine you will do fine. SF is not a choice to be made strictly with your head. If it were, nobody would come here. You follow your heart and learn the ways of the City here. It is more different from Houston than you can imagine -- in very good ways.
Honestly, life in Houston, while enjoyable for me for more than 20 years, seems like suburban living compared to SF. Yes, Houston has a few really great restaurants, but they would be merely the mid-range of SF offerings and Sf has three times as many. Then, there are the low-end places, where Sf shines and the near total lack of franchises here. Houston-style Generica cannot be found here.
I leave my screen-less windows open 24/7 without fear of any bugs coming in. Not one. I get a constant cool westerly breeze that I moderate with a radiator and am always comfortable. It's amazing. The water is clean, fresh and cool out of the tap. The air smells beautiful and skies are clear. It rains from Dec-Feb, off and on, then NOT AT ALL through the summer. In the city, the temp will almost never top 80 or dip below 40. It's about 55 at night and 68-73 during the day practically year-round. Most days, east of Divis. are sunny. Out in the Avenues, they can go weeks with fog, I hear.
City life, when you walk everywhere, is amazing. There's nothing to compare in Houston. SF is a great bar, pub and cafe town. People are out every evening and there are many dense districts to discover. Polk St., Union St. The Marina and North Beach are all easy walking distance from my apartment. We walk to Giants games after work and there are blocks of bars and brewpubs along the way, all packed with people. Street cars and buses can easily get you anywhere else, like around the Embarcadero, into Lower Haight, SOMA, The Mission or beyond. Every weekend, from May-November, there is some kind of street fair, music festival or heritage celebration to attend that's on par with how The Westheimer Street festival USED to be. Plus, parks and open spaces are everywhere and are truly beautiful. Day trips to Wine Country, Marin, Santa Cruz, Monterrey or even quick weekends to Tahoe or Yosemite are easy and spectacular. There is no shortage of either urban or outdoor activities here.
SF people are better educated than Houstonians and are much more urban-minded. They care about real issues and seem very well versed in the goings on inside city government and policies that affect their daily lives. I found that Houstonians, while being generally kind people, tended to blather on about heights of skyscrapers and 4th largest this and that and Orange Shows as indicative of their high quality of life. It seems really naive and silly from an SF perspective. Houston is a fine place to raise a family, but it offers very few urban pleasures to those who have traveled and experienced truly great cities.
You will love SF if you can adapt. For my money, it's expensive, but perhaps one of only a couple of places in the country that is actually worth the cost and overall, America's best city for quality of life in all aspects.
Last edited by dalparadise; 08-11-2012 at 12:20 PM..
Thanks a ton for the comments, dalparadise. I especially liked your comment about the lack of bugs -- a city without mosquitoes is as close to paradise as I can imagine.
Right now I feel a bit of a psychic connection -- my motivations are almost identical to yours, as are my previous experiences in SF. I was 16 the first time I went to SF, and knew I'd live there some day. I feel the same sense of urgency. My wife and I are coming up on 30, and now that I'm finishing up my graduate program (after many years....), it's the best opportunity we have to make this kind of change. Even if we go to SF and it doesn't work out, or we don't like it, or whatever, I think it's something we need to do, or else we'll regret it for the rest of my life.
Logistically speaking, how did your process go? You said you moved out first and spent some time in a month-to-month housesharing arrangement. Did your wife come and find work after you had a toe-hold? Scientists often joke about the "2 body" problem when moving. Fortunately, the job market for both of our areas looks pretty healthy in SF.
I imagine our timeline would be something like this:
1. List house. Live with nearby family after the house sells. Put furniture, etc., in a storage unit.
2. Start sending out resumes and actively courting jobs in SF for myself.
3. After an offer, arrange a month-to-month furnished lease for a small place.
4. After an offer, Wife starts contacting recruiters
5. Move out to start work; hopefully wife finds something quickly, if not continues search from SF
6. Explore the city and get a feel for each neighborhood
7. Start "competing" for a long-term apartment lease.
8. Fly back to Houston and drive a U-Haul back.
I figure that is a 6-12 month timeline, and we'd start next Spring, with a goal of being in SF by Jan 2014.
I spent some time looking at job postings, and think I might be able to up a theoretical budget to 3500-4000/mo, and get a 2 bedroom in a good area for that price.
A 2 bedroom would also allow my sister to come live with us -- she wants out of TX even more than we do. She's lived with us previously and it worked out well. Actually... my whole family is on board with the idea and wants to move out to CA with us... so I might need a 4-bedroom house at some point in the future e.g., something glorious in the East Bay like this: 938 Grizzly Peak Blvd, Berkeley, CA 94708 | MLS# 40579545 | Redfin
Anyway... enough daydreaming for today. Back to getting enough work done to make it happen.
Last edited by wooliemonster; 08-12-2012 at 06:37 AM..
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,137,259 times
Reputation: 3145
That sounds like it could work. But, since you asked for my perspective...
Remember, SF is a much more creative community than Houston -- even in areas of technology, engineering, biotech and other seemingly non-creative fields. That means your job prospects may depend as much on your ability to market yourself as your academic or professional credentials. In fact, I can almost guarantee without knowing your background, that there are many, many here with better credentials. So, you will need to make an impression and distinguish yourself. It's a competitive market and you will be competing on more than just paper. In other words, you will do better IMO, searching for a job here, rather than from Houston.
That is how I did it. I rented a room in SF and left my wife back in Houston. It was tough, but we managed. She visited a couple of times and I did go home for the Holidays, but it took about seven months to get it all figured out for her to move. Her job was to get the house sold. We used a Realtor I trust, so that helped and he was able to guide her through all the ins and outs. I was in contact with him from SF. We got a contract in about 3 weeks, with a long closing for a month later. So, that set our move parameters. I booked tickets to fly home to Houston for that week, to finish up the details, sign the papers and move my wife to SF. We opted to let a moving company take our stuff, as I had already gone across the desert four times (two round trips) in the previous six months in a Mini Cooper and didn't want to do it again.
As for your apartment search, I might suggest taking a bit more of a "when in San Francisco..." approach. Think a bit smaller and closer to the eastern side of the City for commuting and entertainment. You will also be looking at older buildings. The listing you posted seems expensive and lacks the charm that is really everywhere here. Remember, too, unlike Houston, you are choosing neighborhood as much as apartment. You won't need as much space, because you won't spend as much time in your apartment here.
My apartment is in an eight story building built in 1923, on the western side of Russian Hill. I can walk to upper Polk or Union St. Easily, or even into North Beach or The Marina, with a bit more effort. In other words, we spend evenings outside our apartment, either having dinner, going on walks around Union Square, in a quiet bar or watching the game at a local pub. Weekends are for road trips or festivals. We just aren't home very much. Remember, "When in SF, do as the San Franciscans."
You'll shake off your Houston world view within about a week of living here. Good luck!
Yes, I am THAT Dalparadise. I moved to SF to fulfill a dream I've had since I was about 15 years old. I should have done it about 12 years ago. I constantly find myself getting irritated that I waited so long to move, whenever I discover something great about this city. Spoiler alert-that happens almost daily.
I have been out here since October, living in a house share arrangement, and moved permanently into a great apartment in June. It took about 6 weeks to find a job, but that was around the holidays, when it was a bit tougher. I think things are better in that regard now.
You sound like you have the right ideas about costs and what to eliminate, so I would imagine you will do fine. SF is not a choice to be made strictly with your head. If it were, nobody would come here. You follow your heart and learn the ways of the City here. It is more different from Houston than you can imagine -- in very good ways.
Honestly, life in Houston, while enjoyable for me for more than 20 years, seems like suburban living compared to SF. Yes, Houston has a few really great restaurants, but they would be merely the mid-range of SF offerings and Sf has three times as many. Then, there are the low-end places, where Sf shines and the near total lack of franchises here. Houston-style Generica cannot be found here.
I leave my screen-less windows open 24/7 without fear of any bugs coming in. Not one. I get a constant cool westerly breeze that I moderate with a radiator and am always comfortable. It's amazing. The water is clean, fresh and cool out of the tap. The air smells beautiful and skies are clear. It rains from Dec-Feb, off and on, then NOT AT ALL through the summer. In the city, the temp will almost never top 80 or dip below 40. It's about 55 at night and 68-73 during the day practically year-round. Most days, east of Divis. are sunny. Out in the Avenues, they can go weeks with fog, I hear.
City life, when you walk everywhere, is amazing. There's nothing to compare in Houston. SF is a great bar, pub and cafe town. People are out every evening and there are many dense districts to discover. Polk St., Union St. The Marina and North Beach are all easy walking distance from my apartment. We walk to Giants games after work and there are blocks of bars and brewpubs along the way, all packed with people. Street cars and buses can easily get you anywhere else, like around the Embarcadero, into Lower Haight, SOMA, The Mission or beyond. Every weekend, from May-November, there is some kind of street fair, music festival or heritage celebration to attend that's on par with how The Westheimer Street festival USED to be. Plus, parks and open spaces are everywhere and are truly beautiful. Day trips to Wine Country, Marin, Santa Cruz, Monterrey or even quick weekends to Tahoe or Yosemite are easy and spectacular. There is no shortage of either urban or outdoor activities here.
SF people are better educated than Houstonians and are much more urban-minded. They care about real issues and seem very well versed in the goings on inside city government and policies that affect their daily lives. I found that Houstonians, while being generally kind people, tended to blather on about heights of skyscrapers and 4th largest this and that and Orange Shows as indicative of their high quality of life. It seems really naive and silly from an SF perspective. Houston is a fine place to raise a family, but it offers very few urban pleasures to those who have traveled and experienced truly great cities.
You will love SF if you can adapt. For my money, it's expensive, but perhaps one of only a couple of places in the country that is actually worth the cost and overall, America's best city for quality of life in all aspects.
I finally decided to register and reply to this post after reading the forums for months. Your description is exactly why I want to move to San Francisco. After visiting San Francisco and other 10 European cities, I finally realized San Francisco is where my heart is. And similarly to the OP I just now figured out there is nothing holding me back for my San Francisco dreams. Now I just hope the job market in financial industry is stabilizing then I'm ready to pack up my stuff and say goodbye to Houston.
Thanks a ton for the comments, dalparadise. I especially liked your comment about the lack of bugs -- a city without mosquitoes is as close to paradise as I can imagine.
Right now I feel a bit of a psychic connection -- my motivations are almost identical to yours, as are my previous experiences in SF. I was 16 the first time I went to SF, and knew I'd live there some day. I feel the same sense of urgency. My wife and I are coming up on 30, and now that I'm finishing up my graduate program (after many years....), it's the best opportunity we have to make this kind of change. Even if we go to SF and it doesn't work out, or we don't like it, or whatever, I think it's something we need to do, or else we'll regret it for the rest of my life.
Logistically speaking, how did your process go? You said you moved out first and spent some time in a month-to-month housesharing arrangement. Did your wife come and find work after you had a toe-hold? Scientists often joke about the "2 body" problem when moving. Fortunately, the job market for both of our areas looks pretty healthy in SF.
I imagine our timeline would be something like this:
1. List house. Live with nearby family after the house sells. Put furniture, etc., in a storage unit.
2. Start sending out resumes and actively courting jobs in SF for myself.
3. After an offer, arrange a month-to-month furnished lease for a small place.
4. After an offer, Wife starts contacting recruiters
5. Move out to start work; hopefully wife finds something quickly, if not continues search from SF
6. Explore the city and get a feel for each neighborhood
7. Start "competing" for a long-term apartment lease.
8. Fly back to Houston and drive a U-Haul back.
I figure that is a 6-12 month timeline, and we'd start next Spring, with a goal of being in SF by Jan 2014.
I spent some time looking at job postings, and think I might be able to up a theoretical budget to 3500-4000/mo, and get a 2 bedroom in a good area for that price.
Something like this would be perfect:
[url=http://vanguardsf.com/VG-1493.php]Listing 1493: 1635 California St 25 San Francisco, CA 94109[/url]
A 2 bedroom would also allow my sister to come live with us -- she wants out of TX even more than we do. She's lived with us previously and it worked out well. Actually... my whole family is on board with the idea and wants to move out to CA with us... so I might need a 4-bedroom house at some point in the future e.g., something glorious in the East Bay like this:
[url=http://www.redfin.com/CA/Berkeley/168-Forest-Ln-94708/home/1982812]938 Grizzly Peak Blvd, Berkeley, CA 94708 | MLS# 40579545 | Redfin[/url]
Anyway... enough daydreaming for today. Back to getting enough work done to make it happen.
LOL I really should stop daydreaming and get back to work as well...
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,137,259 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by Changing4Good
I finally decided to register and reply to this post after reading the forums for months. Your description is exactly why I want to move to San Francisco. After visiting San Francisco and other 10 European cities, I finally realized San Francisco is where my heart is. And similarly to the OP I just now figured out there is nothing holding me back for my San Francisco dreams. Now I just hope the job market in financial industry is stabilizing then I'm ready to pack up my stuff and say goodbye to Houston.
I believe jobs in finance are strong here now. I would venture a guess that things are at least as good or better in that sector in SF as in Houston. Tech is our focus here, though. The City seems willing to do whatever it takes to bring in tech jobs.
I'm a big fan of following dreams. Do so with open eyes, though. Plan and budget. It won't be easy at first, but eventually, you'll hit your stride and start moving up. This is a great place to be. It just takes a bit of effort and drive to make it here compared to Houston. For some with families and different priorities, that makes SF less desirable, which is okay. For me, it was what made The City so attractive.
I believe jobs in finance are strong here now. I would venture a guess that things are at least as good or better in that sector in SF as in Houston. Tech is our focus here, though. The City seems willing to do whatever it takes to bring in tech jobs.
And of course tech companies need finance people too.
I thought I'd update my thread. Since my last update, I've finished my Ph.D. (which means I can actually relocate, now) and my wife and I took a trip in December for a week. We had a great time, and she's as eager to get out of Texas as I am.
I need to start seriously looking for positions and contacting recruiters to see if my skills are worth something (anything?). If you're looking for an experienced python/web developer coming from a biomedical research background, feel free to contact me, lol. This drama with the Fiscal Cliff/Sequester could force an immediate and involuntary career change on my part, as my funding could vanish overnight. Regardless, it's a move I'll need to make at some point if I want to move to SF.
Anyway, a good chance I'll make the dream a reality this year. Still adjusting to the idea of 4000/mo rents, which is a little more than double my current house expenses.
The water is clean, fresh and cool out of the tap. The air smells beautiful and skies are clear.
I have to comment on this. I assumed it was a rhetorical flourish, but the truth shocked me. We stayed in condo found on AirBnB and the tap water is delicious -- unfiltered. Houston's, well, it's ok for showering and doing dishes. And the air was also noticeably different, especially when we drove out to the Muir Woods. It was just incredible.
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e.g., something glorious in the East Bay like this:
