moving to Bay area
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- unknown0
never said starving.. its just not as much as you think here.
taxes rape you here hardcore... rent rapes you... bills are killer... gas... car insurance...
all that i have left over I maybe get to buy a pair of pants and a few movies...i aint complaining,, but i was just saying... living in cali with 60k is like living in Seattle or other places with 35k... its that much of a difference... pretty much cut your expenses in half and thats what its like living in other places besides cali
- ecnalab0
I live in San Diego.. which is pretty expensive,but not as bad as SF. Besides gas, rent, taxes, you also have to figure in the High Insurance Rates in CA. If you are into the arts or heavy into underground electronic music SF is the place to be. I take vacations there a few times a year to watch some shows. I am barely getting by in San Diego with a decent Salary, I can imagine how much more difficult it would be in SF. The question is how much are you willing to rough it?
- xrusos0
let's say rent is 1k (eventually my mortgage will be 1.1k~ish)
that's 12k / yearlet's say food is $100/mo for groceries (1.2k/yr)
entertainment expenses $300/mo (3.6k/yr)
car insurance (1.2k/yr)
subtotal so far: 18k
even if you make only 40k after taxes, you still have plenty (22k) for other stuff... shopping, parking, new powerbook, cell phone, gas, etc. and the wonder of it all is that you can save too.
*note that this is a likely story for me. not necessarily qburt. but i think i can get by on the above budget. i live pretty conservatively. (plus, i don't have a car payment, and will likely keep my insurance and license illinois-based to save some more cash, as long as i can)
- unknown0
AHAHAHAHHAAHAH
1k rent................ you cant get a studio for that
your looking at 1800 boy
food... 200-300
insurance is about right
then you have to figure in .. phone.... internet.... washing clothes..... gas.... insurance for other things.... if you want to watch tv... extra..... water... electricity.... parking sometimes.... ..
before you know it... everything little 20-30 dollar bill and bigger adds up till you have nothing left...
it may seem small now but when you get there... you will find out how much money you never see
also you say if you make 40k
take out 10k for taxes to start with...
so figure from 30kthen after your all said and done maybe set aside 1000 in a 401k you realize you have a few extra dollars to buy pants and watch a movie..
- xrusos0
1, i said 40k after taxes.
2, i found a bunch of great places already for less than 1k for rent, and that is only for 2 months anyway. condos/homes i've looked at i could afford for 1.1k/mo - with utilities included.
3, i guess i have different grocery habits than you. you must be feeding a family. growing up my family of 5 had a monthly bill of around $400.as i said, plenty of cash left for savings and even a healthy vacation.
but regardless. i'd rather not bicker about budgeting. i really do okay in that department. as i said, i'm already in chicago and making it fine.
i'm more concerned about what are the best areas to live in the bay area. getting the NT opinion before i settle on a place to look (searching the whole bay would be overwhelming)
- arlo0
I have a friend who's paying $650 for a studio, another who's share of a 4 brdm house is $500, theyre are assloads of places for under 1k. 1k would get you a hot studio.
- mrboywonder0
the weather down the peninsula, south bay and east bay is much warmer than SF proper... if you've got the budget though, live in SF. as someone else mentioned, why come all the way out and then not live in the city – i regret not moving directly to the city when i moved out here.
would you move to the greater chicago area to live in lake forest?
- arlo0
Or to Revere if you could live in Boston?
- xrusos0
food for thought. thanks all.
- eyoto0
where are you living qburt...my friends dont pay 1,800 for rent dude. 1,500 is average...and i know lots of people that pay a grand. When i did live in SF i never NEVER paid 200 a month for groceries. Dude man you are really jaded maybe you should move to the suburbs. The thing about expensive places like SF or NYC is you dont live there to save money you live there for the city. So if you are young than why not! But i KNOW for a fact man the average for studios arent that.
- jeneraa0
I miss the Bay Area so much. (see below next paragraph for places to LIVE)
LA was actually pretty today, though. Snow on the mountains, blue sky with white puffy clouds... but not quite the gorgeousness of my lovely Bay Area :^(
So, places to live (if not in the city):
*Burlingame (W. of El Camino Real or very near to it, South of Millbrae a ways -- Millbrae is yucky, but the airport part of it is decent)
*San Mateo (once again, W. of El Camino, closer to Burlingame/parts in the hills are very nice)
* Sausalito (N. of the GG--very cute, pricey, plus beaucoup bridge toll)
* Menlo Park & Palo Alto are very cute too Yes, yes! (Avoid East P.A.)
and, yeah... I don't know har far you'd want to commute from, but I'd say San Mateo should be your Southern border to keep the commute decent (if you're going to SF). Otherwise Oakland hills and parts of San Leandro are pretty cute (I'm not tooooo familiar with the two though).
Avoid Pacifica and other places on the ocean coastline unless you want fog often...
uh huh.
- kpl0
I live in oakland.
but it's mostly because I went to berkeley and I'm living with people who go there.
Plus, it's pretty close to the crack dealers. (ha!)
- kpl0
and one note: jobs do exist in SF. I should know, I just got one.
But, the competition is stiff. My resume was one of 120 they looked at... they got about 80 or so they considered too late for consideration. And the position is an entry level production/design interactive job, which are easier to come by than art director positions.
As for Seattle, don't even think about it getting a job there. SF is bombed out but Seattle is a graveyard. Trust me, I spent 5 months in Seattle before I came to the bay.
- unknown0
KPL your hardboiled website is tight
xrusos, sorry for being harsh..
Just wanted you to know how hard the competition is here and not to get your hopes up too high.. Competition is stiff.. and you reallly need to be at the top of your game at this time in the economy to get a job.
- xrusos0
no problem qburt. and you're right, kpl's site is tight.
i've learned a little more about what i should be looking at now.
any places i should for sure stay away from?
Jeneraa says no to East Palo Alto.
some of you say watch out for crack houses in oakland.
where in the bay area says, "danger will robinson"?