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Ask HN: Should I move to San Francisco?

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Ask HN: Should I move to San Francisco?

#1

Post by quickaskq »

Hey HN, I’m a long (…long) time lurker, very occasional poster. I am starting my completely remote job soon and have hit a difficult problem that I am having a hard time figuring out: where to live. I have no S.O., no large family, no ethnic/religious community (not trying to be melodramatic here, I’m quite content with my life), which means I have no ties to anywhere. Where do I live?

I love San Francisco. I love walking around Russian hill, Cole valley, Noe valley, getting a burrito in the mission, biking through golden gate park, chilling in Alamo square, etc.

Although I am a techie, I’ve grown away from associating with tech. It’s my 9-5, but afterwards I want to talk about anything else. I do read HN religiously though :)

I am still dating and am at a point in my life where this is very important. At a cis male what is the scene like?

I make good money, but I still have a deep sense of what something should be worth. Paying 2.8k for a 1 bedroom hurts but I can afford it. Otherwise the city seems expensive but not outrageous. I had a sushi roll for $15, which is like $3 more than it should be imo.

I could go on. What I would really appreciate is what long term SF residents think about SF life. Can I find friends here? Make a relationship? Will the insane beauty of twin peaks wear off?

Thanks HN

Re: Ask HN: Should I move to San Francisco?

#3

Post by Trias11 »

Follow your passion!

I left SF and never looked back.

My values maybe different from yours but I refused to buy more taxes than common sense dictates. Especially watching crime and filth level grows in SF and it's surroundings.

However again - follow you passion and excitement.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move to San Francisco?

#4

Post by ottobonn »

I would say you should try it. If it calls you like it called me, it will feel like you're in the right place. Yes, you can meet amazing people and no, the insane beauty of twin peaks never wears off. I would say it's a bit harder to meet people than in Oakland, which feels more approachable. I also met my partner in SF though :)

Re: Ask HN: Should I move to San Francisco?

#9

Post by ranguna »

San Francisco is just another place in this vast and huge world. From what I've heard, it's f'd up over there (like many other places), because of competition and almost no sense of work life balance. Also, people will take advantage of you just because the majority of people make a lot of money there, so everything is crazy expensive.

If you ask me, I see San Francisco as an overly hyped (the hype is going down lately) place, and a very superficial one at that.

But if you enjoy being there for non work reasons and you don't see another option that you like somewhere else, go for it.

I think SF will start to decrease in popularity, so maybe the prices will get better in the future.

Re: Ask HN: Should I move to San Francisco?

#10

Post by borutodev »

I'm in a very similar situation to yours and have lived in SF for past 2 years now. Initially, I was buzzing with excitement, however now I want to leave for a less busy place (kind of "we all want what we don't have situation"). My advice is go for it, just don't get your self stuck with long term rent or other contracts. You'll likely want to live elsewhere for a few months as a "detox" from SF and then come back.
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