Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#21

Post by TomOfTTB » Sun, May 03, 2009, 4:59 PM UTC

I’d do it if I were you.

I won’t lie. In my opinion the chances of success are slim to none. But this is the best time of your life to take a chance. The more adult you get the less able you are to take huge chances. So as long as you hang on to enough money to get yourself home should things go bad I don’t see a down side (where as if you don't you could end up regretting it for the rest of your life)

That said, two pieces of advice....

First, get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Ask-Moon-Get-Percy-Ross/dp/0722529465/...

Percy Ross went from nothing to being a millionare and he attributes most of that to getting help from the right people. In that book he gives his 10 rules on how to ask for people's help and get it. The most important thing to remember if you do this is that 90% of the people in the bay area tech scene have been where you are (aka chasing a dream). If you need help and you ask right I suspect most will do what they can to help you succeed.

Second, look into hostels: http://www.hostels.com/us.ca.sf.html

Hostels are basically cheap dorms for anyone to stay in. They’re not very popular in the U.S. but in Europe there are tons of them and they serve young people with little money very well. The bay area has more than just about any U.S. city so you should be able to find a cheap place to sleep (and most have free wifi)

Anyway, hope it helps.

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#22

Post by csomar » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:03 PM UTC

you still have few time, if you are capable work hard on sites like rent a coder and make some extra cash.. but I'm against going with $3,000 it's way too little and no one knows what may happen

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#23

Post by ashishk » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:05 PM UTC

notdarkyet wrote: post #15

Why? Is there really a point to moving to SF? I see no plan here and really no reason for you to take such a leap, so why bother wasting your money just to move locations for the summer. Anything you would be doing there could be done from where you are. Save your $3000, continue working on what you have, and if it seems to be a good idea, invest it into that product. You gain nothing by moving there (unless you find…

I think your argument is pretty one-sided. This is clearly a decision people have to make for themselves.

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#24

Post by [deleted] » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:06 PM UTC

notdarkyet wrote: post #15

Why? Is there really a point to moving to SF? I see no plan here and really no reason for you to take such a leap, so why bother wasting your money just to move locations for the summer. Anything you would be doing there could be done from where you are. Save your $3000, continue working on what you have, and if it seems to be a good idea, invest it into that product. You gain nothing by moving there (unless you find…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#25

Post by mannicken » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:20 PM UTC

gojomo wrote: post #19

I live in SF, it's a great city, and if "living in SF/bay-area" is your dream, go for it. But that's not quite the same dream as "reach ramen profitability on my web project". In fact, the two dreams may conflict. Moving to and learning a new area takes a bunch of time and money, and the bay area (especially SF proper) is expensive -- compared to Seattle or living with family. For a young techie, the biggest benefit…

http://www.paulgraham.com/startuphubs.html

This, and "I-really-want-to-try-to-live-Cali-and-get-out-of-my-parents'-bedroom" reason. I think this is enough to spend $3000.

Basically, I'm making myself a little YC experience :)

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#26

Post by davidw » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:25 PM UTC

mannicken wrote: post #25

gojomo wrote: post #19

I live in SF, it's a great city, and if "living in SF/bay-area" is your dream, go for it. But that's not quite the same dream as "reach ramen profitability on my web project". In fact, the two dreams may conflict. Moving to and learning a new area takes a bunch of time and money, and the bay area (especially SF proper) is expensive -- compared to Seattle or living with family. For a young techie, the biggest benefit…

http://www.paulgraham.com/startuphubs.html This, and "I-really-want-to-try-to-live-Cali-and-get-out-of-my-parents'-bedroom" reason. I think this is enough to spend $3000. Basically, I'm making myself a little YC experience :)

From what I gather, the 'YC Experience' includes easy access to lots of people, a big network of founders, pg & company's advice, and a lot of other stuff - that's why so many people are keen to get in. I honestly don't know how much of that you can recreate on your own in a short period of time, but my guess is 'not too much'.

One thing might be to consider a shorter trip down there to see if you can connect with some people in the course of a couple weeks, scout out places to live, and so on, and then do a more permanent move at a later date.

BTW, Berkeley might be a better option in some ways - with students leaving for the summer, maybe you could swing some cheaper housing there. It's not a bad place, either.

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#27

Post by ivankirigin » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:42 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #14

If I fail I'll go back to living with my parents/continue college in the fall. Why not just do it from home? I don't really see the benefit of moving to SF. You'll reach Ramen profitability a lot more easily if your costs are $0. You might even start college with something that most students can only dream of: income.

Being somewhere in person helps a lot. I think it is worth moving just for the better network. Networking is exactly how you can maintain a steady stream of projects.

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#28

Post by AmericanOP » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:43 PM UTC

I'm a SF res about to graduate university. If you make it down here I'd be happy to help you survive/show you where locals have fun.

That being said, another student programmer and myself are working on a startup in Ruby. Interested angel, that kind of thing. If you think you can contribute, I'd be willing to pad your ramen budget. Added bonus: one of our early target markets is Seattle, maybe something will come of that.

email is dp4man@gmail.com

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#29

Post by ojbyrne » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:52 PM UTC

cog wrote: post #18

(Background: I came from grad school in Seattle to SF for my job.) (a) Freelance work is heavily dependent on contacts. If you don't have contacts then it's a crapshoot. Maybe you'll luck into something, maybe you won't. (b) For housing, scan http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sub/ ; $700 is not impossible, but you'll be living in a spare room of someone's house, and even then that's the low end & you should expect comp…

In response to b, c and e, I have one word. Oakland.

Re: Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

#30

Post by sgharms » Sun, May 03, 2009, 5:53 PM UTC

A) Extend your runway – heh you may just find a reason to never leave, happens often there.

B) I don't know what your transit costs are going to be, SF has wonderful transit. You could make the investment in a Muni pass and be able to explore one of North America's most beautiful cities.

Many SF apartments include some of the utilities in the rent, just be savvy. SF, being an incredibly choosy market often forces 6-month or 12-month leases: this doesn't apply to you. You probably need to plan on getting a room in a house with some like-minded hackers

C) As Mark Twain said: The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Think LAYERS.

D) Where's D go?

E) Absolutely not. Take a risk, work hard, and meet dangerous fun people. You can live a lot of fun in SF on the cheap because, well, not everyone can be rich as Lergei.