Can I live in the Bay area for cheap (Danville: rental, student loans)

[edwardsmyth]

History and Money. In 1973 I got a part time job at Safeway in San Francisco. I started as a bag boy at $5.50 an hour. That’s about $880 a month or 10,560 a year. It was a great part-time job if you were a student and, after several years work, a decent paying fulltime job for the average adult. It included union medical insurance and retirement benefits.

In 2020 dollars $5.50 an hour would be $32 an hour, $5120 a month, or $61,440 a year.
[url]https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/[/url]

“Currently, the cost of living in San Francisco is 62.5% higher than the national average. A monthly income of $5,000 allows you to live in an average apartment and meet basic expenses each month while having money left over to save or use toward unexpected costs, such as car repairs or dental work. That amounts to $60,000 per year.”
[url]https://www.salary.com/research/cost-of-living/san-francisco-ca[/url]

In 2020, Safeway pays a starting wage of $12 an hour in San Francisco, $1920 a month, or $23,040 a year. This is a net decrease in real wages of $38,400 or, coincidentally, 62.5% less for the same work. The stockholders are happy.
[url]https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/san-francisco-grocery-clerk-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,13_IC1147401_KO14,27.htm[/url]

62.5% less in inflated dollars. 62.5% more in the average cost of living. So, if you’ve ever wondered if San Francisco is worth the money, do the math.

I live in Tokyo, Japan and run a small business.

[SFBayBoomer]

Originally Posted by edwardsmyth

I live in Tokyo, Japan and run a small business.

I've been to Tokyo. Your zip code, which you listed in your brand new profile, 94132, is not in Tokyo.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by edwardsmyth

In 2020 dollars $5.50 an hour would be $32 an hour, $5120 a month, or $61,440 a year.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

“Currently, the cost of living in San Francisco is 62.5% higher than the national average. A monthly income of $5,000 allows you to live in an average apartment and meet basic expenses each month while having money left over to save or use toward unexpected costs, such as car repairs or dental work. That amounts to $60,000 per year.”
https://www.salary.com/research/cost...n-francisco-ca

You do realize that a large portion of that money is taken out for taxes, right? It's not like that $60k/year income is take-home pay. The only people living a comfortable lifestyle in SF at that income level income have a home that's paid off or was purchased a long time ago or they're benefiting from rent control or they live in a below market rate unit. If you're referring to the entire Bay Area and not just the city of SF, yes $60k/year is doable but still tight.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by indigo100

I am an IT professional from the east coast. I am wanting to move to the Bay area for a couple of years to save money. Are there any affordable areas in SF, SJ or surrounding? My monthly expenses, minus rent are around $2500.

You can rent a couch from somebody's living room, get rid of your car if you have one and then yes, you should have no problem saving money with a decent job. Whether or not you will find it worth it is the question.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by edwardsmyth

History and Money. In 1973 I got a part time job at Safeway in San Francisco. I started as a bag boy at $5.50 an hour. That’s about $880 a month or 10,560 a year. It was a great part-time job if you were a student and, after several years work, a decent paying fulltime job for the average adult. It included union medical insurance and retirement benefits.

In 2020 dollars $5.50 an hour would be $32 an hour, $5120 a month, or $61,440 a year.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

“Currently, the cost of living in San Francisco is 62.5% higher than the national average. A monthly income of $5,000 allows you to live in an average apartment and meet basic expenses each month while having money left over to save or use toward unexpected costs, such as car repairs or dental work. That amounts to $60,000 per year.”
https://www.salary.com/research/cost...n-francisco-ca

In 2020, Safeway pays a starting wage of $12 an hour in San Francisco, $1920 a month, or $23,040 a year. This is a net decrease in real wages of $38,400 or, coincidentally, 62.5% less for the same work. The stockholders are happy.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/san-fr...01_KO14,27.htm

62.5% less in inflated dollars. 62.5% more in the average cost of living. So, if you’ve ever wondered if San Francisco is worth the money, do the math.

I live in Tokyo, Japan and run a small business.

Thanks for posting! Is Safeway still unionized? Just wondering. I heard years ago, that it was still unionized at that time, and that cashiers in West Coast cities made double what you quoted, but my source may have been wrong, or maybe he knew cashiers, who had been on the job awhile, and had climbed up in the pay scale. Or maybe they're no longer unionized.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Thanks for posting! Is Safeway still unionized? Just wondering. I heard years ago, that it was still unionized at that time, and that cashiers in West Coast cities made double what you quoted, but my source may have been wrong, or maybe he knew cashiers, who had been on the job awhile, and had climbed up in the pay scale. Or maybe they're no longer unionized.

AFAIK, the staff at Safeway are unionized - UFCW. They're in the process of negotiating a new contract.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by silverkris

AFAIK, the staff at Safeway are unionized - UFCW. They're in the process of negotiating a new contract.

Thanks. It means, that in terms of pay, there's no difference between unionized grocers and non-union. Whole Foods pays cashiers $12/hr, starting pay. I don't know how their benefits compare to the unionized employers.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Sure, Bay Area is expensive. But I’m not sure where you get it’s worse (by far: “not even close”??) than D.C., NYC ...


DC ties San Francisco at No. 4 on most-expensive cities list

WASHINGTON — Washington, D.C., and San Francisco tie as the fourth-most expensive cities in North America, based on cost of living, in an annual report.

The Economist Group Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 survey ranks New York and Los Angeles as the two most expensive cities in North America. Minneapolis is third.

Rounding out the 10 most expensive cities in North America are, in order, Chicago, Vancouver, Houston, Seattle and Pittsburgh.

The report ranks cities by comparing prices on more than 150 items in 133 cities around the world.

Good grief! Not the Economist's Most Expensive Cities list again. That list is a load of BS, BS, and more BS. Houston more expensive than Seattle??? What kind of baloney is this???

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Synchromesh

I have no clue where these idiots got their data but it's definitely off. The difference between LA, NYC and SF is that the first 2 are quite large and there are tons of places in them one can find a lower cost of living including rent, etc. No the case with SF which is tiny in comparison and is quite expensive all over. I know some people that live in NYC and you can survive on much smaller salaries there than in SF.

Yeah, that Economist list of most expensive cities is total BULL CRAP. They said Houston was more expensive than Seattle! The outrage!

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Thanks. It means, that in terms of pay, there's no difference between unionized grocers and non-union. Whole Foods pays cashiers $12/hr, starting pay. I don't know how their benefits compare to the unionized employers.

The unionized ones are likely to have better benefits, especially for health care. WF might not be unionized but UFCW has been trying to organize their workforce, against a lot of resistance from Whole Foods, for some time now.

If Whole Foods is offering comparable pay (and maybe benefits) - that is because of the presence of the union - and that's how trade unions, even in companies that aren't unionized, can have an effect on compensation across companies.