Should I move to San Francisco?

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: Malak

Originally posted by: trmiv
I live in Fremont. Although Fremont is near SF, I wouldn't call moving to Fremont moving to SF. You're still about a 40 minute drive away from the SF. It's expensive to live here, so prepare for that. My wife an I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, and we pay $1744 a month. It's one of the nicest apartment complexes in Fremont, and although you can find cheaper, we preferred to not have to deal with the massive smell of cooking curry every night (99% of the apartments around here have a very very high Indian population) and moved to a rather expensive apartment. My wife's mother lives in a place nearby, and she pays around $1150 for a one bedroom.

Holy crap I don't think I could find apartments that rich here! I can get a 3 bedroom for that price.

You could get a 4 bedroom for that price in East SJ or South SJ even.

Fremont's not even that expensive. And I think you're getting ripped off. But maybe that's because you're living in a really new apartment.

Who wants to live in East San Jose? I used to live in the Willow Glen area and I was paying $975/month for a one bedroom about 3 years ago, which was pretty good. Yea, this is one of the newer complex's in the area, it's also gated, they pick your trash up at your door, etc. The biggest plus was not having to smell 200 units cooking curry starting at 5pm every night. That alone makes it worth the money. We had a cheap place for only $1150 across the street, but the constant curry smell drove us off.

 

[animalia]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
In July I will be relocating for work for a year. At the end of that year I have been pretty much guaranteed, as much as a company will, that I can switch locations again if I wish to.

I've lived in the Midwest my whole life. Grew up in Ohio, went to college in Illinois, and now working in Kentucky. Getting out of this area for a little while would probably be good for me.

After some consideration I've narrowed down my relocation preferences to San Francisco (Fremont in particular) and Toronto (west suburbs, sorta around Waterloo). Yes San Francisco will be expensive. But I'd be moving out there with around a dozen other people so I really hope some of us would room together.

Should I worry about the cost that much? I'm not living paycheck to paycheck right now. Sure I'd like to save up for a car, house, and retirement, but I also want to have fun in life. San Francisco seems like it would be a great spot for all sorts of weekend trips in every direction but west. It definitely would give me a different experience from living in the Midwest.

Any reasons I shouldn't put it as my top relocation preference?

NYC!!!! Baby here I come!

 

[animalia]

Originally posted by: Balt
Only move to San Fran if you're a liberal pinko commie who hates America.

micahel savage lives in SF because he says it is beautiful. he is anything put a liberal pinko commie. definitely exceptions, but that is the general consensus, yeah

 

[beer]

I live in SF. I work in Sunnyvale. I'm not able to afford a house but I enjoy it nonetheless. I can move back to Texas to own property when the times comes. Now I'm livin it for what it is. If you have specific questions, PM me.

SF proper is not that much more expensive to RENT in than in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. You might get less space for the money, but the rents are about the same (or similar). Purchasing is different.

No, you won't get paid 3x more. You might get paid 20% more, and half of that will disappear in taxes.
I enjoy my life out here, even though I can't do everything I want. I came from Austin, and while I want to go back, living here is amazing.

 

[Ameesh]

Waterloo is boring as ******, i would not live there of my own free will

 

[FilmCamera]

Originally posted by: trmiv
I wouldn't call Fremont boring, it's what you make of it. It's very centrally located with access to San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

Why the hell would you want to go to Oakland?

 

[FilmCamera]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi

Originally posted by: FoBoT
they just passed mandatory paid sick time for everybody

how is your health?

Heh I'm quite healthy. I think we get paid sick time anyway.

Good to know about the curry smell. I had heard some rumors about that, and nice to get it confirmed.

Really there is no need for me to live right in Fremont. That's just where the work location is. I could live more down toward San Jose, or NE toward Pleasanton. Just needs to be somewhere with reasonably quick interstate access to Fremont.

And jeez trmiv your rent is high! But as you say that's the most expensive place in town.

I doubt you'd find any place worth living less than $1100 a month. And depending on what you want, some places even rent for $3000 a month.

If you buy a decent house you could have an $8000 mortgage payment easy.

 

[HamSupLo]

i say move to SF, but leave your car behind

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: FilmCamera

Originally posted by: trmiv
I wouldn't call Fremont boring, it's what you make of it. It's very centrally located with access to San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

Why the hell would you want to go to Oakland?

Warriors game, A's game, Raider game? There are also some decent places to go in Jack London Square.

 

[FilmCamera]

Originally posted by: trmiv

Originally posted by: FilmCamera

Originally posted by: trmiv
I wouldn't call Fremont boring, it's what you make of it. It's very centrally located with access to San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

Why the hell would you want to go to Oakland?

Warriors game, A's game, Raider game? There are also some decent places to go in Jack London Square.

Blah. I just hate Oakland. It has suckage seeping out of it at all times.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: beer
I live in SF. I work in Sunnyvale. I'm not able to afford a house but I enjoy it nonetheless. I can move back to Texas to own property when the times comes. Now I'm livin it for what it is. If you have specific questions, PM me.

SF proper is not that much more expensive to RENT in than in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. You might get less space for the money, but the rents are about the same (or similar). Purchasing is different.

No, you won't get paid 3x more. You might get paid 20% more, and half of that will disappear in taxes.
I enjoy my life out here, even though I can't do everything I want. I came from Austin, and while I want to go back, living here is amazing.

How long does it take for your commute from SF to Sunnyvale?

 

[vladgur]

Fremont is pretty far from San Francisco both by car and by train. Moreover if you want to have "fun" in life consider actually living as close to the city as your commute can allow. Fremont is certainly not a fun place to live.

 

[Kaieye]

San Francisco has clean air, clean water and very good restaurants. Nobody has air conditioning and snow shoveling equipment here. I was born in SF and will die here. I have traveled by car cross country and visited overseas many times but I will always call SF home.

By the way, don't move to the bay area. Too many people living here right now.

 

[kalster]

live in the san mateo/foster city area, pretty close to the city

 

[Steeplerot]

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
i say move to SF, but leave your car behind

QFT

You can always tell the nub SFers as they are always broke paying for all the tickets and complaining about parking.


OP:
IF you live in the city learn to use Muni which runs 24/7 ftw .

A car here is a liability unlike almost anywhere else in America.

No car payments and no insurance is quite liberating.

(Proud auto-free Muni rider for 12+ years now)

SF will always be home, it is as close to being in europe as you can get in the states, beautiful city without the stripmall/drivethrough wasteland America has become sadly.
(No walmarts, no home depots allowed here -the city lives and breathes moms and pops)

People here are usually very openminded which is nice, you can see people relax from all the headtrips the rest of american culture put on people once they start to jive with the city.

West coast at its best.

Outside of SF I really don't know, Fremont is another world away really and just seems like another American suburb town, I have been through there all of about 3 times and never was impressed with any other part of the bay area, same ratrace, same kind of peoples mindsets, but more expensive then just living in some other suburb elsewhere.

Also 510 peeps who visit the city always get stranded after 1 AM in the city as the Bart stops running out to the 'burbs, so you never really get to enjoy the city as you have to go home when things crank up with the locals here.

It becomes such a hassle folks who live in fremont and oakland don't come to the city often over time it seems, so they just wind up paying more to live near somewhere that is a hassle to get back and forth from.

(Oakland and Berkley are alright, I never go there much though, not really any reason if you live in the city already.)

 

[Steeplerot]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

If you can't stand Liberal loonies in power then CA is NOT the place to be. In fact, my friend may leave because he can't stand the political climate.
A VERY gay-friendly town!

If he needs help moving send PM, always glad to help keep the city clean.

 

[sygyzy]

Can you tell us what sort of job you do or what company you work for?

 

[daveymark]

of courth you thould, thilly!

 

[Blazin Trav]

Why not?

But be wary, living expenses are ridiculous. Make sure you have job mobility... meaning that you will be given chances to advance and make more money. Honestly, you'll need the money in the SF bay area. It's quite expensive to live there, especially in the city itself, San Fran.

 

[virtuamike]

I've been stuck in Union City since I was 6. Fremont sucks.

 

[0roo0roo]

A car here is a liability unlike almost anywhere else in America.

No car payments and no insurance is quite liberating.

only works if you want to live in a sf bubble. outside sf its car or screwed.

sf's becoming yuppyland. think families are fleeing that city like crazy because its just unaffordable. but yes more fun than fremont or the rest of silicon valley which is basically culturally dead. but sf is filled with nutters they are trying to get rid of plastic bags at grocery marts, the nutters.

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: beer
I live in SF. I work in Sunnyvale. I'm not able to afford a house but I enjoy it nonetheless. I can move back to Texas to own property when the times comes. Now I'm livin it for what it is. If you have specific questions, PM me.

SF proper is not that much more expensive to RENT in than in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties. You might get less space for the money, but the rents are about the same (or similar). Purchasing is different.

No, you won't get paid 3x more. You might get paid 20% more, and half of that will disappear in taxes.
I enjoy my life out here, even though I can't do everything I want. I came from Austin, and while I want to go back, living here is amazing.

How long does it take for your commute from SF to Sunnyvale?

55 minute express train, walk about a few blocks on both ways = 1 hour

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Steeplerot
A car here is a liability unlike almost anywhere else in America.

No car payments and no insurance is quite liberating.

My friend who works for Goldman Sachs, someone I know you would hate because he's 27 and makes $300K+ and likely to make 2x that within two years, bought himself a BMW 330i Sedan with the Performance Package. I've gone out there several times and driven it along Highway 1 through Santa Cruz to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur, etc. I've also driven it along back roads towards Napa Valley. You know, places where Republican snobs hang out, plot wars and hurricanes to destroy the homes of the poor and where the likes of Steeplerot would shrivel up and die.

Point is, California is home to some of the best driving roads in the world. A nice little sports car is a great thing to have.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
I've gone out there several times and driven it along Highway 1 through Santa Cruz to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur, etc. I've also driven it along back roads towards Napa Valley. You know, places where Republican snobs hang out, plot wars and hurricanes to destroy the homes of the poor and where the likes of Steeplerot would shrivel up and die.

Shhhh... don't destroy the false stereotype that everybody in CA is either a Liberal or a Mexican, it might lure more Midwest Rubes to move there.

 

[thomsbrain]

Fremont is pure suburbia, and has very low crime rates for a city of its size (lowest in the country, last time I heard). it is actually the largest city in the Bay Area by physical size, though it has fewer people than San Jose. there are easy BART (like a subway) connections to San Franciscio.

there isn't much to do in Fremont; it is very much a bedroom community. you will find yourself leaving the city to do everything (work, recreation, shopping, etc). the city government is basically a bunch of retards, and so they let all the good shopping and recreation opportunities fall into the laps of surrounding cities. However, it has a very diverse population, with many Asian, Indian, Middle-Eastern, and Hispanic people in addition to a core group of aging caucasians. This is a good thing because it spices things up a bit and makes local politics always interesting. The children in the school system speak some ungodly number of languages, like over 100. but this is great because the kids grow up more tolerant of different people. It is generally a high-income area, with many people working in the high-tech field.

basically, it has ups and down like any place, but it is a solid place to live and a very good place to raise a family.