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I recently had an opportunity to move out to the Bay Area with my current job (I am currently at a satellite office). The commute time combined with CoL and a f

I recently had an opportunity to move out to the Bay Area with my current job (I am currently at a satellite office). The commute time combined with CoL and a few other factors made the decision easy to not go. I currently have a 3 minute commute and I would honestly lose my mind if I had to commute 90 mins one way. I have also been seeing a general rise of articles mentioning how many people are leaving, how insane the commutes are becoming, and general unpleasantness of living there if you aren't in the top 10%. Don't get me wrong, I fully enjoy the area when I visit but unless there are significant changes I don't see myself ever being able to move there.

octorian 8y ago
If people were actually leaving, then these problems would be getting better... not worse. If you can live somewhere that public transit (by rail) is feasible, then its quite tolerable. Of course this is the US, where that's less common than it should be.
aphextron 8y ago
>. I have also been seeing a general rise of articles mentioning how many people are leaving, how insane the commutes are becoming, and general unpleasantness of living there if you aren't in the top 10%. But if you are in the top 10%, life is amazing here. It's an absolute paradise. Every single time I'm sitting in traffic hating my life, I try to do a pro/con on getting the hell out of here. Every single time I just can't justify it. The weather, the scenery, the ocean, the food, the people, the tech. There is literally nowhere else in the US even remotely on par. LA is pretty close, but the bay is much more "livable" IMO. People may be leaving in droves, but it's only because they have to, not really because they want to.
- bllguo 8y ago
  LA has similar problems as well, so you're stuck either way. Price of paradise I suppose.
- abritinthebay 8y ago
  And missing in the (usually propaganda) discussion of the "leaving in droves" is that CA and the Bay have a net increase in population. So while many are leaving it's not like they aren't being replaced!
  - jsweojtj 8y ago
    That's not true for California at least, http://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/265 http://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/265 Nor for SF itself, "San Francisco had a 2017 net domestic migration of -2,332." according to https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/Bay-Area-outward-migration-exodus-sf-redfin-12563337.php https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/Bay-A...
    - muzz 8y ago
      That's only the domestic component. People are coming to SF from other countries, resulting a net population increase. http://www.sfweekly.com/news/san-francisco-hits-new-all-time-high-population-884363/ http://www.sfweekly.com/news/san-francisco-hits-new-all-time...
- fokinsean 8y ago
  > But if you are in the top 10%, life is amazing here I totally agree. I wouldn't be in the top 10% if I moved out there even _with_ a relatively good tech job.
justherefortart 8y ago
I lived in the city (SF) and outside the city. My commute to the Embarcardero wasn't too bad when I lived in Pacifica. Just drive over the hill to Colma, park and take BART. I'd read on the way into the city and walk to work. Probably the best commute I've ever had except working from home. Pacifica felt like a small town separated from it all. But I lived in the Manor area. Living down in Linda Mar (anything past Sharp Park) and dealing with Hwy 1 traffic would be frustrating.
- abritinthebay 8y ago
  Hello former neighbor! I used to live on the Bluffs right in the Manor area. I agree with everything you said - but the commute sucked if you didn't have a car or shared a car with a spouse who didn't work in the same area as you. Why? Because the transit out there is terrible. It's served by one single SamTrans bus line that takes 45 minutes to get from Pacifica to Daly City BART (a 5ish minute drive). If it wasn't for that I'd probably still be living there. It's just impossible without a car - something that cannot be said for most of the Bay.
  - justherefortart 8y ago
    Well being an Okie, I had plenty of cars already. I put less than 1k miles on my truck in the 3 or so years I lived in the area. I really enjoyed the hometown feel of Pacifica, the people were super nice too. And we used to go hiking almost every weekend up at San Pedro Park. Plus, best Taco Bell in the world! ;-)
    - abritinthebay 8y ago
      Most epic Taco Bell in existence

octorian 8y ago

If people were actually leaving, then these problems would be getting better... not worse. If you can live somewhere that public transit (by rail) is feasible, then its quite tolerable. Of course this is the US, where that's less common than it should be.

aphextron 8y ago

>. I have also been seeing a general rise of articles mentioning how many people are leaving, how insane the commutes are becoming, and general unpleasantness of living there if you aren't in the top 10%. But if you are in the top 10%, life is amazing here. It's an absolute paradise. Every single time I'm sitting in traffic hating my life, I try to do a pro/con on getting the hell out of here. Every single time I just can't justify it. The weather, the scenery, the ocean, the food, the people, the tech. There is literally nowhere else in the US even remotely on par. LA is pretty close, but the bay is much more "livable" IMO. People may be leaving in droves, but it's only because they have to, not really because they want to.

bllguo 8y ago
LA has similar problems as well, so you're stuck either way. Price of paradise I suppose.
abritinthebay 8y ago
And missing in the (usually propaganda) discussion of the "leaving in droves" is that CA and the Bay have a net increase in population. So while many are leaving it's not like they aren't being replaced!
- jsweojtj 8y ago
  That's not true for California at least, http://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/265 http://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/265 Nor for SF itself, "San Francisco had a 2017 net domestic migration of -2,332." according to https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/Bay-Area-outward-migration-exodus-sf-redfin-12563337.php https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/Bay-A...
  - muzz 8y ago
    That's only the domestic component. People are coming to SF from other countries, resulting a net population increase. http://www.sfweekly.com/news/san-francisco-hits-new-all-time-high-population-884363/ http://www.sfweekly.com/news/san-francisco-hits-new-all-time...
fokinsean 8y ago
> But if you are in the top 10%, life is amazing here I totally agree. I wouldn't be in the top 10% if I moved out there even _with_ a relatively good tech job.

justherefortart 8y ago

I lived in the city (SF) and outside the city. My commute to the Embarcardero wasn't too bad when I lived in Pacifica. Just drive over the hill to Colma, park and take BART. I'd read on the way into the city and walk to work. Probably the best commute I've ever had except working from home. Pacifica felt like a small town separated from it all. But I lived in the Manor area. Living down in Linda Mar (anything past Sharp Park) and dealing with Hwy 1 traffic would be frustrating.

abritinthebay 8y ago
Hello former neighbor! I used to live on the Bluffs right in the Manor area. I agree with everything you said - but the commute sucked if you didn't have a car or shared a car with a spouse who didn't work in the same area as you. Why? Because the transit out there is terrible. It's served by one single SamTrans bus line that takes 45 minutes to get from Pacifica to Daly City BART (a 5ish minute drive). If it wasn't for that I'd probably still be living there. It's just impossible without a car - something that cannot be said for most of the Bay.
- justherefortart 8y ago
  Well being an Okie, I had plenty of cars already. I put less than 1k miles on my truck in the 3 or so years I lived in the area. I really enjoyed the hometown feel of Pacifica, the people were super nice too. And we used to go hiking almost every weekend up at San Pedro Park. Plus, best Taco Bell in the world! ;-)
  - abritinthebay 8y ago
    Most epic Taco Bell in existence