Ask HN: Any tips for living cheaply in SF?

Hi!

I'm a young wannabe-hacker looking to move for a summer to SF area. I'm working on a web project (Rails) and will try to reach ramen profitability over summer. If I fail I'll go back to living with my parents/continue college in the fall.

I can't move until June 13 since I'll only be 18 then (and be able to rent). So 2.5 months of living.

I already have around $3000 (paid taxes recently) and mainly telecommute part-time on C++/COM gigs. I might continue working with my current employer down there but I don't think I should rely on that. I'd rather rely on what I already have rather than hope I don't get cut off :)

Can somewhere answer these questions:

a) Will it be easier to pick up some part-time C++/Rails gigs in SF bay than Seattle? I'd really like to have some continuous source of income so I'd have money to come back/extend my runway.

b) Is it possible to live on $1000/month in SF? I subtract $600 for transit gas, emergency, etc.

For the rest, I summed up rent+utilities to be around $700, $100 for food, and $200 for everything else.

Am I correct in my calculations? Is there anything I'm missing?

c) How is the weather down there? Is it much hotter than Seattle?

e) Am I fucking crazy?

Thank you much.

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?

Regarding the weather, I've lived in both places, San Francisco is much colder in the summer than Seattle. San Francisco, and most of coastal Northern California, barely has seasons. Though Silicon Valley and the East Bay (Oakland, San Jose, etc) do get warmer, San Francisco, being surrounded by water on 3 sides, just doesn't get hot in the summer beyond a random handful of days. (On the the other hand, it also barely has winter :D) Bring your jacket(s)!

I would really try to get a little bit of additional income, your numbers are very tight. Plus, you don't want to move to another city to stay in your room the whole time because you're broke, you want to enjoy your time in SF. $700/room is doable but still quite rare (especially without strange catches, like "3 bus rides away from X.") I'd put a bunch of energy into finding the room before you take off, maybe check out AirBNB? Have a separate post about housing hookup?

a) probably -- SF is full of programming jobs b) maybe -- rent isn't cheap (unless you live in a scary neighborhood) and finding a room to rent might be tough c) it's rarely hot in SF -- it's usually mild to cool during the day, and often cool to cold at night e) nope -- you should have a good time, especially if you live in a fun neighborhood (like the Mission)