Moving to Oakland or San Francisco (Sausalito: renting, home, neighborhoods)

[04kL4nD]

If nothing any of us has said so far is enough to get you to reconsider, I doubt anything will. Blow through all your savings and investments if youre this dead set on making the move. Good luck and I hope it all works out. You've been forewarned.

[daepro]

Go for it guys. You will regret it for the rest of your lives if you don't.

[04kL4nD]

I would give up on the idea of finding a Temescal apartment, and start looking at renting out rooms in a large house with other people in West Oakland. I know lots of servers, artists, teachers, etc that share a 5-6 bedroom house and they seem happy enough with the situation. It'll be annoying to have to deal with some of the turnover (i.e. people constantly moving in/out because they can't afford the Bay Area), but it's a much wiser move than dumping 2500-3000 a month to live in a hip/trendy neighborhood you really can't afford. You can probably find some places for under $800 a month per person, or maybe even a situation where you both can share a room.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

I would give up on the idea of finding a Temescal apartment, and start looking at renting out rooms in a large house with other people in West Oakland. I know lots of servers, artists, teachers, etc that share a 5-6 bedroom house and they seem happy enough with the situation. It'll be annoying to have to deal with some of the turnover (i.e. people constantly moving in/out because they can't afford the Bay Area), but it's a much wiser move than dumping 2500-3000 a month to live in a hip/trendy neighborhood you really can't afford. You can probably find some places for under $800 a month per person, or maybe even a situation where you both can share a room.

Good advice. Your budget is out of reach for areas around BART in north Oaklznd or Berkeley. Eliminate the idea of getting an apartment to yourselves.

[JohnS_15]

Originally Posted by bundiddly

Thanks for all of the sound advice, inspiring support, and thoughtful reality checks. So here's some more info...

1. We are moving with about 100k in stocks and 40k in savings. So I think we have a strong enough safety net. Some may think we would be wasting too much of this money and would be better of spending it/saving it otherwise, but oh well.

2. With that safety net, I seriously doubt the BF won't be able to find work in time. It's not like we are trying to live of of 50k total over the course of years. He has plenty to pay his way.

3. Our college debt is minimal.

4. If things aren't working out in our favor (ie I don't get a healthy raise in ~2 years, BF can't find a job, savings are getting lower than we would like) then we will move somewhere like NYC where we will both have plenty of prospects.

5. We currently share 800sqft with 1 roommate. I've shared less than 200 with a roommate in Hong Kong for four months...We are really close. We can live in small quarters. We also don't really value material possessions. More about experiences. Also, we are down to live with cool roommates while we are young (like we do now).

All that being said, does this still sound like a completely irrational plan? I feel like our savings are substantial enough and if things don't work out, I've gained a bit of work experience and a nice resume booster. Also the job does include a severance package.

PS I've already signed and am currently working remotely. So don't tell me to not take the job.

PPS We are both guys

It does not sound irrational. If you are willing to live in small crappy space then you'll be just fine. If you are signing a year lease just make sure you can cover it on your salary alone. It's easy to get tempted into the $2500+ bracket when you realize how crappy and how few apartments are <$2000. But there are options in that $1500-$2000... even in the walkable areas close to BART stations. Note. they will be tiny and they will be crappy. I'm sure you've had a look on Craigslist to see what is out there in the different neighborhoods.


The shared housing option is also worth a look too. Sometimes you'll find someone that's stayed on a rent controlled lease for a number of years and just subleases rooms out. Better to find something like that through a contact you trust or you'll end up covering the whole house rent while the dude on the lease gets a free ride.


If you've lived in Hong Kong - the places here won't seem so expensive, small and crappy afterall!


Good luck to the both of you. Give an update to let us know how it turns out!

[smashystyle]

I don't think all the fearmongering about the cost of the Bay Area is all that useful. The Bay is expensive, but hopefully decisions about whether to move to the area are informed by more substantive information than warnings - hyperbole or not - about the high cost of living.

Here's what would be more helpful. Pencil out a budget with alternatives based on your income alone, and your income with a conservative estimate of your BF's income. Based on that budget, figure out what your housing budget is. If you can't make the budget work without dipping in to your savings, except for maybe to cover the transition period of the move, don't come. If you do have a reasonable housing budget (if I were you, that would be at least $1500-$2000/month), people on the board can help you with finding specific neighborhoods/options to consider.

I am pretty much on the side of people who say "go for it," but I do think you should make a decision based on all the financial information you have, which means making a budget.

[04kL4nD]

There's a pretty huge difference between fear mongering and presenting a well needed dose of reality. Some of us have been in similar situations as the OP and things have definitely changed for the worse in the Bay Area in terms of affordability. Personally, I think it's more important to be honest than optimistic in situations like these.

[likealady]

Eh, I live in a studio apartment with my husband and know others who've done the same. It's not like it's a weird situation. The Bay Area really isn't great for fashion industry jobs so I'd say get the experience you need and then move to NYC to grow your career.

[bundiddly]

Originally Posted by likealady

Eh, I live in a studio apartment with my husband and know others who've done the same. It's not like it's a weird situation. The Bay Area really isn't great for fashion industry jobs so I'd say get the experience you need and then move to NYC to grow your career.

Ehh that's the plan, the employer plans to send me to NYC after establishing the SF brand. It's complex so I won't go into too much detail.

[Yellow buttercup]

Congratulations on your job opportunity!

You might consider renting a bedroom in a shared house in Berkeley near a BART station. There are plenty of houses that rent to students and young professionals, and Berkeley feels safer to me than Temescal. BART is definitely the best option for commutes across the bay, and you will want housing that is walkable from BART. I used to walk 30 minutes to get from my apartment to BART, and that was considered a reasonable "walkable" distance by my friends. In winter months, your walk home will be in the dark since it gets dark here starting at 4:30pm, so keep that in mind when you are looking for a place to live. Berkeley is beautiful, walkable, and is very vegan-friendly.

The rent for a single bedroom in a shared house is obscenely high. They are probably about $1200/month right now (I think). I agree with the advice to create a budget and not spend your nest egg on daily living expenses. If you fall in love with the Bay Area, you will really need that money as a down payment on a condo/house later.

Also, there is a free BART app with prices and train schedules. You might want to use it to help estimate your commute costs and time--BART isn't cheap.

Best of luck to you!