Someone explain the appeal of the Bay Area to me. (San Francisco: house, school)

[BayAreaDave]

Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by BayAreaDave

Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.

I think an analogy is that for 1/100 the price of a tiny Lamborghini Veneno that sits only two people, one can have a huge van that sits as many as seven. No doubt the van is a better bargain, but if you can afford it, the tiny two-seater is more fun.
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[BayAreaDave]

Originally Posted by beb0p

I think an analogy is that for 1/100 the price of a tiny Lamborghini Veneno that sits only two people, one can have a huge van that sits as many as seven. No doubt the van is a better bargain, but if you can afford it, the tiny two-seater is more fun.
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Thats a creative analogy. But I think a lot of people living here can not afford it practically. Especially in San Francisco/Oakland today.

[aramax666]

1. Jobs . Lots and lots of new startups. Lots of old school employers. Exploding growth.
2. Money. Between Housing and Company Stock, You can make a LOT of money, if you are lucky. Everyone thinks they will get lucky
3. Weather. Most days of the year, I could deb outside playing with the little one. It does get a bit hot for my liking though
4. Outdoors. Tons of parks, Wineries, biking hiking trails within 20-30 minutes.
5. Diversity. In cuisine and people.
6. Parking is not too bad in most establishment in the south bay. Getting worse.


Hope that helps.

[LoriBee62]

Jobs, weather, progressive thinking.

Not everyone wants a McMansion. I had one, here in California. Sold it and downsized after realizing all that square footage was just a lot of work, expense and upkeep. Especially here, where you can spend so much time outdoors and there's more to do than vacuum stairs all weekend.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by BayAreaDave

Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.

It's my home. I'm from here and not a transplant. I don't need, want, or even own a McMansion in either case...my house was built in 1960 and no, it didn't cost us a million.

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by BayAreaDave

Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.

Like others have said, living in a huge cookie cutter house in some bland subdivision doesn't do it for me. I really enjoy being outside, photography, good food/wine, art/culture/live music, and I enjoy parking my car for the weekend and getting around on foot when the weather is nice, which is about 85% of the time in Oakland. When you throw in close proximity to Tahoe/Sierra, Wine Country, Big Sur, the North Coast, and reasonable proximity to Southern CA (beaches, Palm Springs, etc), and three decent airports that can get your practically anywhere in the world at semi-reasonable rates, I think living here is totally worth it if you enjoy traveling and being outside as much as I do.

If I had a large family and kids to raise, I'd probably move to Sacramento, or out of the state all together. Unless you're wealthy or inherited property, the Bay Area is a terrible place to raise kids imo.

[sav858]

I honestly don't get the appeal of McMansions unless you can afford to pay someone to help clean and maintain it or have a lot of spare time to do so. My house is just under 1200 square feet and it's plenty of work to clean and maintain it. Unless if you have a lot of kids it just seems like an unnecessary pain dealing with all that extra space.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Like others have said, living in a huge cookie cutter house in some bland subdivision doesn't do it for me. I really enjoy being outside, photography, good food/wine, art/culture/live music, and I enjoy parking my car for the weekend and getting around on foot when the weather is nice, which is about 85% of the time in Oakland. When you throw in close proximity to Tahoe/Sierra, Wine Country, Big Sur, the North Coast, and reasonable proximity to Southern CA (beaches, Palm Springs, etc), and three decent airports that can get your practically anywhere in the world at semi-reasonable rates, I think living here is totally worth it if you enjoy traveling and being outside as much as I do.

If I had a large family and kids to raise, I'd probably move to Sacramento, or out of the state all together. Unless you're wealthy or inherited property, the Bay Area is a terrible place to raise kids imo.

I'm curious, 04kL4nD, why you think the Bay Area is a terrible place to raise kids? We actually lived in the Sac area for a few years, but we're back in the Bay Area now and my kids are doing very well (all four of them). From my experience as a mother, children do well when they have a stable home life and their parents are happy. Sacramento was no better or worse for kids, imo. Actually, Ireland was preferable since children had a ridiculous amount of freedom, but that's another story.. maybe we'll retire there when the time comes.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by BayAreaDave

Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.

Not everybody's goal is to own a McMansion. Ultimately, I do plan to leave the Bay Area in a couple of years though because it's too expensive and it's almost impossible for most families to get ahead.

On the other hand, I do love the Bay Area and it will always be home to me. There aren't a whole lot of places in the country that can match its natural beauty and near-perfect weather. Those qualities can't be manufactured.

I took my son to Tilden Regional Park a couple weeks ago and the drive along Grizzly Peak Blvd. gave me a clear reminder of why I love the Bay Area so much. If the cost of living wasn't a factor, I'd never consider moving away.