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Rent is the killer in SF. Forget about Brazil and imagine even a cheap American city. 1BR apartment in SF is ~$3300 1BR apartment in New Orleans is ~$1300. $

Rent is the killer in SF. Forget about Brazil and imagine even a cheap American city. 1BR apartment in SF is ~$3300 1BR apartment in New Orleans is ~$1300. $24K/yr in savings on rent alone. Even if you fly in 8 times per year, for a round trip cost of $1K with food and accommodations, you're still well ahead. If you live abroad, and can earn USD and take advantage of the exchange rate, you're even farther ahead. A 1BR apartment in Sao Paolo is ~600USD.

kbenson 10y ago
> 1BR apartment in New Orleans is ~$1300. Sure, but my point was that if you view SF as integral for some reason, you can find 1BR apartment rentals for ~$1300 (and 2 bedroom for $1400) an hour North of SF. If you're willing to go slightly over 2 hours from SF (which if you've considering flying in occasionally isn't bad at all), you can find 2 BR apartments for <$1000 in Ukiah. It's not a beach in a tropical climate, but it sure is cheaper, and you could actually swing commuting in once or twice a week without too much strain (depending on whether you do it during rush hour). Too rural for you? Sacramento, the state capital, has apartments available for not much more (and a similar non-rush hour commute). There's a trade-off going on here, and I'm wondering at what point it makes more sense to fly in from outside the country compared to just commuting a few hours occasionally.
- rokhayakebe 10y ago
  I am sure living in Ukiah is different from Sao Paolo.
  - kbenson 10y ago
    Well, yeah. But living in SF is different than Sao Paolo as well. The point is one lets you get to SF (which we are assuming is important for the purposes of this discussion) within a couple hours with a car at the cost of gas and you can go back home a the end of the day. The other requires 12+ hours in a plane and costs of $600+ per trip, and you need to find a place to stay when you get into SF. Each have benefits and drawbacks. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss those.
pmoriarty 10y ago
You don't need to go as far as New Orleans to pay ~$1300 for a 1BR. There are lots of place in the Bay Area where you can get that, but you may have to sacrifice convenience, safety, age or condition of the apartment, commuting distance, or some other desirable traits. The best, though, if you can swing it, is telecommuting. Then you can work most anywhere with an internet connection. And there are, arguably, far more interesting places to live (or at least visit) than the Bay Area. Travel gets old after a while, but I think you're really missing out if you haven't at least gone to a few countries that are radically different from where you grew up.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
walterstucco 10y ago
LOL Silicon Valley I can rent 1BR appartament in Rome or Milan for 600-700 euros/month. Much less in a smaller city. I have friends living close to Como lake that spend 500 euros for a private house with private garden.

kbenson 10y ago

> 1BR apartment in New Orleans is ~$1300. Sure, but my point was that if you view SF as integral for some reason, you can find 1BR apartment rentals for ~$1300 (and 2 bedroom for $1400) an hour North of SF. If you're willing to go slightly over 2 hours from SF (which if you've considering flying in occasionally isn't bad at all), you can find 2 BR apartments for <$1000 in Ukiah. It's not a beach in a tropical climate, but it sure is cheaper, and you could actually swing commuting in once or twice a week without too much strain (depending on whether you do it during rush hour). Too rural for you? Sacramento, the state capital, has apartments available for not much more (and a similar non-rush hour commute). There's a trade-off going on here, and I'm wondering at what point it makes more sense to fly in from outside the country compared to just commuting a few hours occasionally.

rokhayakebe 10y ago
I am sure living in Ukiah is different from Sao Paolo.
- kbenson 10y ago
  Well, yeah. But living in SF is different than Sao Paolo as well. The point is one lets you get to SF (which we are assuming is important for the purposes of this discussion) within a couple hours with a car at the cost of gas and you can go back home a the end of the day. The other requires 12+ hours in a plane and costs of $600+ per trip, and you need to find a place to stay when you get into SF. Each have benefits and drawbacks. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss those.

pmoriarty 10y ago

You don't need to go as far as New Orleans to pay ~$1300 for a 1BR. There are lots of place in the Bay Area where you can get that, but you may have to sacrifice convenience, safety, age or condition of the apartment, commuting distance, or some other desirable traits. The best, though, if you can swing it, is telecommuting. Then you can work most anywhere with an internet connection. And there are, arguably, far more interesting places to live (or at least visit) than the Bay Area. Travel gets old after a while, but I think you're really missing out if you haven't at least gone to a few countries that are radically different from where you grew up.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

walterstucco 10y ago

LOL Silicon Valley I can rent 1BR appartament in Rome or Milan for 600-700 euros/month. Much less in a smaller city. I have friends living close to Como lake that spend 500 euros for a private house with private garden.