3 ms·

I moved out of SF in March. Not because of the virus, I just had a long-planned move (to London) with interesting timing. Unlike many of my tech peers, I love

by habosa 6y ago

I moved out of SF in March. Not because of the virus, I just had a long-planned move (to London) with interesting timing. Unlike many of my tech peers, I love San Francisco and the Bay Area. It's a beautiful city and surrounded in all directions by even more beautiful places. The food, music, and art scenes are all amazing. Oh and it happens to have near-unlimited job options for my career of choice. The only reason I wasn't thinking about buying and staying forever was because the economy there makes absolutely no sense. Housing prices are out of control and the stock is of pretty low quality. Food, drink, and entertainment prices are also super high with no low end at all. NYC might be just as expensive but you can still get a dollar slice of pizza if you want it. You know SF is bad when all I could think in my first month in central London was "wow it's so cheap here". If things come down to earth a little bit, even if it's still a Top-3 most expensive city in the US, I think I'll go back to SF and stay there. And I think the current exodus is a win-win. People who were only there because their jobs forced them to be there were the source of a lot of the natives-vs-techies clashes which made the environment seem hostile at times.

clappski 6y ago
> all I could think in my first month in central London was "wow it's so cheap here". I think you're possibly the first and last person to have that thought ;)
- disgruntledphd2 6y ago
  I dunno, when I moved from Ireland to London, pretty much everything except rent and travel was much, much cheaper. That probably says more about Ireland than it does about London though.
- robk 6y ago
  London cost of living is really lower than SF nowadays. It's pretty shocking but has been this way a while. Just avg eng salaries are lower but US expats can command a premium and live very well.
- habosa 6y ago
  One huge difference you notice right away is groceries. Groceries in central London are half price or less what you'd pay in most of SF. Rent is definitely lower in London. That said salaries are lower in London too, so the relative "cost of living" may be higher here. I'm still thinking in America Bucks.

by habosa 6y ago

clappski 6y ago

> all I could think in my first month in central London was "wow it's so cheap here". I think you're possibly the first and last person to have that thought ;)

disgruntledphd2 6y ago
I dunno, when I moved from Ireland to London, pretty much everything except rent and travel was much, much cheaper. That probably says more about Ireland than it does about London though.
robk 6y ago
London cost of living is really lower than SF nowadays. It's pretty shocking but has been this way a while. Just avg eng salaries are lower but US expats can command a premium and live very well.
habosa 6y ago
One huge difference you notice right away is groceries. Groceries in central London are half price or less what you'd pay in most of SF. Rent is definitely lower in London. That said salaries are lower in London too, so the relative "cost of living" may be higher here. I'm still thinking in America Bucks.