4 ms·

I have never lived in SF, nor have any plans to — but what are your reasons to be there? Surely it'd be easier (or should I say cheaper) to work out of Seattle?

by ashleyw 17y ago

mannicken 17y ago
I compared living costs using Craigslist. Turns out apartment prices all almost the same. The only cheaper thing is 200 bucks for gasoline to go there/back. EDIT: I think that the advantage that moving down there will give me will outweigh the $200.
- aristoxenus 17y ago
  You probably figured this out already, but living a little bit out of town (along the peninsula for example) can cut your rent by 40%, which would be more than the caltrain/bart fare to get you into town every day. Depending on your motivations, it could completely defeat the purpose of heading here though.
- smokey_the_bear 17y ago
  I really wouldn't bring your car. There are no places to park, and you'll get parking tickets unless you're really good at getting up at 7:45 am to go drive your car until the street cleaners have passed. There's cheap airfare, amtrak, and craigslist rideshare to get down there. Also, I generally found while looking for a place on craigslist, that while there are a lot of cheap places listed, they're heavily competed due to rent control. Places with a room for 500-600 will get hundreds and hundreds of responses, and you'll have to do an awkward interview for the room, which is like a combination date/job interview. It will take time to find a room. Nearly everyone I know that has moved to the bay area has crashed on a friend's couch for 2-3 months, or take an expensive, short term sublet.
- anigbrowl 17y ago
  Take the train or fly, buy a bicycle or walk and take the bus. This city isn't that car friendly but the transit is alright. You're not coming here to sit in traffic or improve your parallel parking skills, are you? Thought not :-)
dennmart 17y ago
I surely can't speak for him, but I can offer my own experiences. I was born in Chicago, but moved to Puerto Rico when I was a kid and lived there for 20 years. Puerto Rico is much, much cheaper than anywhere in the United States (My rent for the two-bedroom apartment I was living in was $250 per month). But after being stuck in a meaningless PHP gig (where I was more of the company sysadmin than a developer) and having a difficult time getting a programming job, I started looking to the U.S. for a better opportunity. I landed a job in New York City, where I'm currently living at. The city is awesome and my job is fun. But in reality, the Bay Area was my first choice, and it's still dream of mine to be able to land a job over there. I'm in the process of getting more information to further my skills so I can begin actively searching for work over there. I was doing well in Puerto Rico (earning more money than most people I knew, living close to beach with constantly great weather, all my friends and family living there, etc.) and I'm certainly doing well in New York City. But if I had the chance to move to San Francisco, I wouldn't think twice about it. Maybe I'm wrong, but the Bay Area is kind of like the Mecca for developers and aspiring entrepreneurs like myself. Like I said, I certainly can't speak for mannicken. I'm sure he has his own reasons, perhaps even similar to my own reasons. But if he's really willing to do it, that should be reason enough, regardless of where he is now.

I have never lived in SF, nor have any plans to — but what are your reasons to be there? Surely it'd be easier (or should I say cheaper) to work out of Seattle?

by ashleyw 17y ago

I have never lived in SF, nor have any plans to — but what are your reasons to be there? Surely it'd be easier (or should I say cheaper) to work out of Seattle?

mannicken 17y ago

I compared living costs using Craigslist. Turns out apartment prices all almost the same. The only cheaper thing is 200 bucks for gasoline to go there/back. EDIT: I think that the advantage that moving down there will give me will outweigh the $200.

aristoxenus 17y ago
You probably figured this out already, but living a little bit out of town (along the peninsula for example) can cut your rent by 40%, which would be more than the caltrain/bart fare to get you into town every day. Depending on your motivations, it could completely defeat the purpose of heading here though.
smokey_the_bear 17y ago
I really wouldn't bring your car. There are no places to park, and you'll get parking tickets unless you're really good at getting up at 7:45 am to go drive your car until the street cleaners have passed. There's cheap airfare, amtrak, and craigslist rideshare to get down there. Also, I generally found while looking for a place on craigslist, that while there are a lot of cheap places listed, they're heavily competed due to rent control. Places with a room for 500-600 will get hundreds and hundreds of responses, and you'll have to do an awkward interview for the room, which is like a combination date/job interview. It will take time to find a room. Nearly everyone I know that has moved to the bay area has crashed on a friend's couch for 2-3 months, or take an expensive, short term sublet.
anigbrowl 17y ago
Take the train or fly, buy a bicycle or walk and take the bus. This city isn't that car friendly but the transit is alright. You're not coming here to sit in traffic or improve your parallel parking skills, are you? Thought not :-)

dennmart 17y ago

I surely can't speak for him, but I can offer my own experiences. I was born in Chicago, but moved to Puerto Rico when I was a kid and lived there for 20 years. Puerto Rico is much, much cheaper than anywhere in the United States (My rent for the two-bedroom apartment I was living in was $250 per month). But after being stuck in a meaningless PHP gig (where I was more of the company sysadmin than a developer) and having a difficult time getting a programming job, I started looking to the U.S. for a better opportunity. I landed a job in New York City, where I'm currently living at. The city is awesome and my job is fun. But in reality, the Bay Area was my first choice, and it's still dream of mine to be able to land a job over there. I'm in the process of getting more information to further my skills so I can begin actively searching for work over there. I was doing well in Puerto Rico (earning more money than most people I knew, living close to beach with constantly great weather, all my friends and family living there, etc.) and I'm certainly doing well in New York City. But if I had the chance to move to San Francisco, I wouldn't think twice about it. Maybe I'm wrong, but the Bay Area is kind of like the Mecca for developers and aspiring entrepreneurs like myself. Like I said, I certainly can't speak for mannicken. I'm sure he has his own reasons, perhaps even similar to my own reasons. But if he's really willing to do it, that should be reason enough, regardless of where he is now.