6 ms·

I live in a high rise in SF and pay $4400 for a one bedroom. Although it sounds expensive but it's like $800 more than the least expensive place we could find n

by msoad 11y ago

I live in a high rise in SF and pay $4400 for a one bedroom. Although it sounds expensive but it's like $800 more than the least expensive place we could find near this place but it's a well built apartment with lots of amenities. I thought about moving out of SF but I don't have any social connection outside of San Francisco. Plus weather is very nice here and there are lots of diverse cultural events happening in San Francisco. Add very thick job market on top of it. I was able to interview 50 companies when I was looking for a new job. I'm saying I, as a case study is paying this rent because of reasons and I'm well aware how much more it is compared to other cities. There are 600 apartments in this high rise and out unit is one of cheapest ones. Most of units are having residents, so there are people who pay those rents.

msoad 11y ago
I don't know why I'm getting downvoted! Don't you want to hear WHY people paying those rents or you want to believe everybody paying those rents are just plain stupid?! Markets are smart!
- justinhj 11y ago
  You shouldn't be getting downvoted because it's interesting to hear from someone paying relatively high rent. I'm in a similar situation in that I live somewhere where buying a place is out of reach, but I have too much attachment to the area to go live somewhere cheaper.
- whitenoice 11y ago
  Up-voted, Are average SF rents that high? Boston is probably less than half that cost, with salaries comparable to the west coast and similar cultural events and excellent public and private schools. Weather is not that great though. Genuinely asking - So what makes SF so worth it, that it justifies its high cost of living? in comparison to other top class states, is it just the weather?
  - x0x0 11y ago
    jobs. You can be a half-assed engineer here and be employed; if you're good, you have dozens of choices of place to work. Whenever I ponder leaving (and I'm a data scientist, so more specialized) I look around at cities like Salt Lake or Denver or other places close to good skiing and see like 3 employers. Total. What happens if I don't like my job / my boss changes / whatever? I'd probably have to move. It's just a ton of risk for the employee. And not just jobs, but other people who do the same thing that you can learn from. And full stack: from the people building javascript libs to new programming languages (swift, rust) to chips (Apple, Intel, hardware startups), etc. Proximity to the outdoors. If you want great surfing, hiking, skiing (well, ex the drought years), climbing, camping, etc -- it's here. And the state is dry, so no mosquitos or flies. ie it's much more enjoyable to be outside than in the midwest. It's fun to be outside 340+ days/year. Non-competes are invalid by state law. And this isn't a theoretical problem; I had a job offer withdrawn in NY because the new employer's counsel determined they were covered by then-current employers non-compete contract and they didn't want the hassle. People who view quitting their jobs and starting companies as merely modestly crazy/risky, instead of something only a lunatic would do. Oh, and as for your average rents: yes. You can get cheaper rents, but at the price of shitty public transport, a terrible commute, and a lack of local services where you live. Which is particularly punishing if you don't own a car. sf as a city is run by worthless idiots who decided to play city, so big pieces of it have terrible (unreliable, slow, unsafe, etc) public transport (yet it manages to be some of the most expensive transit in the nation as the cherry on top). Plus there are 3 public transport systems that essentially were built independently and operate without any coordination, two of which only serve pieces of the city (muni, bart, caltrain). And until the age of uber a taxi system that specialized in shitting on their customers. Because where, besides sf, would a taxi that actually comes be worth paying a 50% premium ala uber when it debuted? So yeah, wildly incompetent city government.
    - whitenoice 11y ago
      thanks but I find none of those unique to SF, you can get the same in other top cities. I don't know about Denver but in Boston/NY you have tons of good job opportunities, excellent engineering and scientific community with top firms/startups and excellent eng, business, and med schools. Close proximity to outdoors (New Hamshire, Maine). No doubt there are more startups/jobs in SF but at the same time it seems that its very exaggerated.
MrMullen 11y ago
That is a bit surprising. I think I have an expensive Condo in San Diego, and your rent on a one bedroom is still $1400 more than my 2 bedroom condo off of Balboa Park, 2 minutes from Downtown and 10 minutes from the beach.
- epa 11y ago
  Location is everything. Where you live is the 'outskirts' compared to where they are..
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
mahyarm 11y ago
Why not move to oakland or similar? Rent is like half in the nice areas, and even less in the not so nice areas.
- CamperBob2 11y ago
  Life's too short to spend any more of it in Oakland than necessary.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - plcancel 11y ago
    Your comment is rude, unnecessary, and funny.
  - davidgay 11y ago
    Yes, keep up the propaganda! It keeps Rockridge nice and pleasant for the rest of us!
- msoad 11y ago
  Because I don't want to commute. 2 hours a day worths more than $2000/mo to me. -----
  - mahyarm 11y ago
    It's more like 1 hr a day on a train if you're close to a bart station. It's closer than living in the sunset for most jobs!
    - JoshTriplett 11y ago
      > It's more like 1 hr a day on a train if you're close to a bart station. My commute currently takes 4 minutes. Any longer than 10 and I'd start searching for a closer place to live A quick search suggests that the closest home for sale near our corporate headquarters in Silicon Valley would be a 16-24 minute commute, list price $1M. Or 25-40 minutes for $600k. Assuming you commute 5 days a week, twice a day, multiply your commute by 10 to get the time per week, or ~480 to get the time per year. A one hour commute is 480 hours a year, or 20 full days (or 80 8-hour periods).
scurvy 11y ago
Why do tech people insist on living in luxury, brand-new hotels err high rise buildings in SF? Do they think that's what it is to "make it?" There are much, much nicer places to live in SF rather than SOMA or Market St. Most of the city doesn't live there; you should branch out and see more of the city rather than just living super close to work. Crazy to think, but these other neighborhoods are nicer and cheaper to live in. Don't fall prey to paying the "tech tax" of SOMA.

by msoad 11y ago

msoad 11y ago

I don't know why I'm getting downvoted! Don't you want to hear WHY people paying those rents or you want to believe everybody paying those rents are just plain stupid?! Markets are smart!

justinhj 11y ago
You shouldn't be getting downvoted because it's interesting to hear from someone paying relatively high rent. I'm in a similar situation in that I live somewhere where buying a place is out of reach, but I have too much attachment to the area to go live somewhere cheaper.
whitenoice 11y ago
Up-voted, Are average SF rents that high? Boston is probably less than half that cost, with salaries comparable to the west coast and similar cultural events and excellent public and private schools. Weather is not that great though. Genuinely asking - So what makes SF so worth it, that it justifies its high cost of living? in comparison to other top class states, is it just the weather?
- x0x0 11y ago
  jobs. You can be a half-assed engineer here and be employed; if you're good, you have dozens of choices of place to work. Whenever I ponder leaving (and I'm a data scientist, so more specialized) I look around at cities like Salt Lake or Denver or other places close to good skiing and see like 3 employers. Total. What happens if I don't like my job / my boss changes / whatever? I'd probably have to move. It's just a ton of risk for the employee. And not just jobs, but other people who do the same thing that you can learn from. And full stack: from the people building javascript libs to new programming languages (swift, rust) to chips (Apple, Intel, hardware startups), etc. Proximity to the outdoors. If you want great surfing, hiking, skiing (well, ex the drought years), climbing, camping, etc -- it's here. And the state is dry, so no mosquitos or flies. ie it's much more enjoyable to be outside than in the midwest. It's fun to be outside 340+ days/year. Non-competes are invalid by state law. And this isn't a theoretical problem; I had a job offer withdrawn in NY because the new employer's counsel determined they were covered by then-current employers non-compete contract and they didn't want the hassle. People who view quitting their jobs and starting companies as merely modestly crazy/risky, instead of something only a lunatic would do. Oh, and as for your average rents: yes. You can get cheaper rents, but at the price of shitty public transport, a terrible commute, and a lack of local services where you live. Which is particularly punishing if you don't own a car. sf as a city is run by worthless idiots who decided to play city, so big pieces of it have terrible (unreliable, slow, unsafe, etc) public transport (yet it manages to be some of the most expensive transit in the nation as the cherry on top). Plus there are 3 public transport systems that essentially were built independently and operate without any coordination, two of which only serve pieces of the city (muni, bart, caltrain). And until the age of uber a taxi system that specialized in shitting on their customers. Because where, besides sf, would a taxi that actually comes be worth paying a 50% premium ala uber when it debuted? So yeah, wildly incompetent city government.
  - whitenoice 11y ago
    thanks but I find none of those unique to SF, you can get the same in other top cities. I don't know about Denver but in Boston/NY you have tons of good job opportunities, excellent engineering and scientific community with top firms/startups and excellent eng, business, and med schools. Close proximity to outdoors (New Hamshire, Maine). No doubt there are more startups/jobs in SF but at the same time it seems that its very exaggerated.

MrMullen 11y ago

That is a bit surprising. I think I have an expensive Condo in San Diego, and your rent on a one bedroom is still $1400 more than my 2 bedroom condo off of Balboa Park, 2 minutes from Downtown and 10 minutes from the beach.

epa 11y ago
Location is everything. Where you live is the 'outskirts' compared to where they are..
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

mahyarm 11y ago

Why not move to oakland or similar? Rent is like half in the nice areas, and even less in the not so nice areas.

CamperBob2 11y ago
Life's too short to spend any more of it in Oakland than necessary.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- plcancel 11y ago
  Your comment is rude, unnecessary, and funny.
- davidgay 11y ago
  Yes, keep up the propaganda! It keeps Rockridge nice and pleasant for the rest of us!
msoad 11y ago
Because I don't want to commute. 2 hours a day worths more than $2000/mo to me. -----
- mahyarm 11y ago
  It's more like 1 hr a day on a train if you're close to a bart station. It's closer than living in the sunset for most jobs!
  - JoshTriplett 11y ago
    > It's more like 1 hr a day on a train if you're close to a bart station. My commute currently takes 4 minutes. Any longer than 10 and I'd start searching for a closer place to live A quick search suggests that the closest home for sale near our corporate headquarters in Silicon Valley would be a 16-24 minute commute, list price $1M. Or 25-40 minutes for $600k. Assuming you commute 5 days a week, twice a day, multiply your commute by 10 to get the time per week, or ~480 to get the time per year. A one hour commute is 480 hours a year, or 20 full days (or 80 8-hour periods).

scurvy 11y ago

Why do tech people insist on living in luxury, brand-new hotels err high rise buildings in SF? Do they think that's what it is to "make it?" There are much, much nicer places to live in SF rather than SOMA or Market St. Most of the city doesn't live there; you should branch out and see more of the city rather than just living super close to work. Crazy to think, but these other neighborhoods are nicer and cheaper to live in. Don't fall prey to paying the "tech tax" of SOMA.