San Francisco to live - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**LostFarmboy** · 03-27-2007, 03:23 AM

Well, I'm planning on moving to the US at the end of this year to work and play for the duration of my 2 year work visa (provided i get one, which i should). One place that i'm seriously considering moving to is San Francisco.

Now, i've heard that San Fran is a bloody awesome place, but i've only heard this from people that have been there on their travels. What i want to know is what it's like to actually live there. Is it a crazy busy touristy place?? Or is it a pretty chilled out easy going place?? What are the people like? Is it an expensive place to live?

Cheers guys

**space virgin** · 03-27-2007, 08:44 AM

It is bloody awesome... but it's bloody expensive too!

Can you take a trip out there to check it out first? Omid will be along to tell you all about it, I'm sure.

**omisan** · 03-27-2007, 09:47 AM

It's fucking expensive, but you can still live here comfortably if you're willing to sacrifice space and be willing to live with a lot of flatmates.

The tourists mainly just stick to the Fisherman's Wharf/Marina/Golden Gate Bridge area, so it's not like the whole city's crawling with tourists - though there are parts that get gunked up with tour buses in the peak season. No more so than any other picturesque town.

One of the things a lot of visitors to SF don't notice is that street crime is fairly high and surprisingly tolerated. This is due in large part to the expensive housing, so we have a lot of homeless and a lot of crackheads, most of whom have a criminal bent. So there are a *lot* of car break-ins and drug issues that the police don't even bother with, so if that sort of urban grit bothers you ,it can be a bad place.

Overall, I LOVE it. I wouldn't leave here unless it was for another country (or perhaps New York). Between the city itself and the proximity to so much other stuff (oceans, lakes, mountains, desert) it's pretty awesome.

**LostFarmboy** · 03-27-2007, 03:34 PM

Hmmm....what about the smaller towns around that area? Does anyone know anything about Stockton, Lodi, Modesta, Santa Cruz (is this the place they make the skateboards??), or any other smaller place around the San Fran area that might be cool to live. What can i say, I'm a country boy, cities kinda intimidate me a little.

SV - I may HAVE to take a trip over there first to find a job, because i can't apply for the E3 work visa without a job already lined up. But the real kicker is that i can't apply for the work visa from within America, so i would have to duck down to Mexico to submit my visa application once i found a job. Crazy eh?

**omisan** · 03-27-2007, 04:00 PM

Stockton, Lodi and Modesto are a big NO in my book - unless you like the provincial redneck and meth lab culture

Actually, the Central Valley (where they are located) can be very nice, and I have many friends from there, but it's somewhat isolated in that you can't easily hop on a bus/train to get to the big bad city should you so wish. It is really cheap to live out there, though.

Santa Cruz is very cool - a bit on the hippie side for me - but it's by the ocean, surrounded by the woods and the mountains, and has a very relaxed vibe. And it's only a short drive down to gorgeous Monterey and Big Sur, and not that far off from the SF Bay Area. Unfortunately, it's not all that much cheaper. Think of it as Nimbin's California cousin, only closer to the whole Silicon Valley thing.

All the Aussies I know around here are very outdoorsy and aren't too keen on city life, but they live in SF and just get out to the country, sea, and mountains more often than others.

If you still want access to what SF has to offer but want a bit less big city atmosphere, there's the East Bay (i.e. Concord, Walnut Creek, etc.) and the Peninsula (San Mateo, Belmont, etc.) but you won't find quite as many young folk to hang out with.

Ultimately, it's probably where your job leads you and where you can commute to/from that will determine where you'd end up living. At least, that's how it is for most people here. Personally, I work in San Jose and endure a long commute to/from home in San Francisco, but I think I'm a bit more of the exception than the norm.

**joanofarc** · 03-27-2007, 04:36 PM

Nice topic.

Look, I hadn’t been to SF in 10 years until this weekend and even then, it was only a 24-hour reconnaissance mission BUT I’m completely smitten by the place.

I was such a nerd all weekend ooohing and aaahing around every corner. As soon as we approached the bay bridge crossing and I saw the city across the water, I just had this feeling that I was falling in love. The city and a lot of the surrounding area are just stunning. Absolutely beautiful.

There was something about the vibe of the place too. I’m from San Diego and I always kind of prided us on being super relaxed and easy going but there was something about those people up there in the Bay. I went out with some friends to this bar/club thing on Saturday night and everyone was having so much fun. I never see people having fun that way where I’m from. A good song would come on and everyone would sing along and get really in to it. By San Diegan standards it was a little cheesy – but not really. Not to me. I thought it was really sweet. The architecture is really awesome too. Plus everything is so green and there are so many pine trees. I’m tired of all the damn Eucalyptus we have going down here.

BOTTOM LINE: Now I’m considering moving to San Francisco.

I’ve been in San Diego for 26 years and I’m ready for a change. I THINK I would like to live in another country some day and I feel that a move like this would be a good test to see if I actually have the balls to go all the way. I don’t know. I’m not gonna be hasty with a decision like this, but I’m thinking about it. I’ll be back in the city for a few days in late April and I’m going to be checking everything out and just kind of feeling my way through it. We’ll see.

Anyway, about your small town question. I saw a city that looked really charming on my way across the bridge = Piedmont. I immediately thought I might like to live there. It’s so close to SF that you could easily live/work in that smaller community but zip in to the city on the weekends or for special occasions. Who knows. I’m gonna look in to it myself.

**Somnambulation** · 04-12-2007, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omisan

Stockton, Lodi and Modesto are a big NO in my book - unless you like the provincial redneck and meth lab culture

Why you gotta hate?

But yeah you should try and live in SF itself and not an outlying area. There is nothing like actually living in one of the greatest cities on earth.

**Canadian Bacon** · 04-03-2007, 08:20 AM

Can't say much about the city, never been there.

But best of luck wherever you choose... it's an adventure to move and work in a new city =)

**omisan** · 04-03-2007, 11:02 AM

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" - Mark Twain

SF can get downright cold, depending on where you are. The west side of the city, closest to the ocean, gets cold and foggy quite often, and the beaches aren't all that warm. (Although a sunny day on Baker Beach can be glorious, despite the hideous nudists...)

Some neighborhoods are shielded from this constant fog and wind. Those would be Alamo Square/NOPA, Hayes Valley, The Mission, and SOMA. But looking for a place is much farther down the line for you.

**BelfastFlyer** · 04-03-2007, 02:44 PM

I'm looking to move to SF for a few years as well (I can apply for a green card since I'm from norn iron!). It is an amazing place nowhere like it in america!

iomaggio · 04-09-2007, 12:32 PM

If you're interested in a technology job -- you said mapping/GIS, right? -- then consider Silicon Valley, that is, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto. The heart of the tech industry. Stanford U. is right there, so there are plenty of young people of all types. Lots of good Asian food, since there are so many Asian people there. There's also the CalTrain, which takes you directly into San Fran, near the Giants' ballpark (or you'd take the CalTrain to Milbrae, transfer to the BART, and take that to the middle of SF). The weather is also slightly warmer and sunnier in the southern portions of the Bay, if that makes a difference.

**marc873** · 04-09-2007, 03:06 PM

For what its worth, SF is one of the few places in the states I would move to. I have lived here and there, and hoping to move internationally, but SF is actually a option in the U.S. for us. Good luck to ya

**LostFarmboy** · 04-12-2007, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iomaggio

If you're interested in a technology job -- you said mapping/GIS, right? -- then consider Silicon Valley, that is, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto. The heart of the tech industry. Stanford U. is right there, so there are plenty of young people of all types. Lots of good Asian food, since there are so many Asian people there. There's also the CalTrain, which takes you directly into San Fran, near the Giants' ballpark (or you'd take the CalTrain to Milbrae, transfer to the BART, and take that to the middle of SF). The weather is also slightly warmer and sunnier in the southern portions of the Bay, if that makes a difference.

Ohhhhh, so that's why it's called Silicon Valley. I thought it was called that because of another slightly different, but equally useful silicon product implanted in certain areas of the female body. Oh well, silicon chips are cool too i guess

. Cheers for the info iomaggio.

Ok, so another place that i thought might be cool is San Diego. It satisfies the good weather and abundant rock climbing criteria, and has the added bonus of being extremely close to the Mexican border (a country that i want to do a lot more travelling through). So, do any of you guys know what San Diego life is actually like? How would it compare to San Fran life?