Live data from Hacker News

What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

jasonevanish.com

81–90 of 573 posts

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#81

> I have no idea how anyone who isn’t working in a high tech role that pays an above average salary can live here. I wondered that too. Anyone care to share how to get by with a non-tech salary in the bay area?

Work in residential property management. Either your salary is decent enough for SF (the higher ups), or your rent is free (the front line managers.)

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#82
Wonders how anyone can live without being in the tech industry... then chooses not to buy local..

You are making things a lot harder on the families of SF that have been here for a long time by not shopping local.. please think of that next time you order on amazon from your soma office.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#83
I considered moving to SF but chose Austin instead. I refuse to live in a state with such a dysfunctional government and ridiculously high taxes. Some of the same reasons I left NY.

You can do tech anywhere. You do not need to live in the bay area. If you really like the city pick a place (like Austin) with inexpensive direct flights and go a few times a month. You'll still save money.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, for one, if you knew as much as you say you do about SF you would know nobody calls it "San Fran".

As someone interested in languages and dialects, these types of things interest me immensely. In Vancouver, Canada, we call it "San Fran", as well. I don't know anybody there that would even recognise it if it was called "Frisco" much less "The Bay (Area)", unless more context was given.

Only rappers say "Frisco" any more, probably because it's easy to rhyme. The most common abbreviation I hear is simply "SF" for San Francisco itself. "East Bay" for Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley. etc. "The Peninsula" or "The Valley" for anywhere south of SF and "Bay Area" for the whole thing.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#86

Meanwhile, NFL Sundays will never be the same as 10am kickoffs is something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. Born and raised in Seattle. Some of my fondest memories growing up were rolling out of bed at 9:45 and sitting down to watch some football in my underwear with a bowl of cereal in my lap. (In college, sweatpants replaced underwear and screwdrivers replaced the cereal.) Now I live in D.C. and it's weird tha…

All of my friends who have lived on both the east and west coast absolutely prefer west coast football times. I find it difficult to stay up until midnight or 1 AM watching Sunday or Monday night football and make it to work the next day. I feel sorry for those who attend the games. On Sunday mornings, there is no time to kill before the games start, and the local teams usually kick off at 1 PM.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#87

You nailed pretty much everything, but shouldn't the Castro bike be missing a saddle? I quite enjoy visiting SF, I actually love the place & diversity. Favourite season has got to be the Indian Summers :).

shouldn't the Castro bike be missing a saddle? Wow. Really?

because it got stolen, what did you think he meant

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#88

This seems more of a "West Coast vs. East Coast" article than it is a "San Fran" article. For the most part, the author is highlighting the differences that anybody living on the East Coast will experience in moving to one of the western coastal cities, save perhaps LA, which as everyone already knows is its own little planet. Most of these "hints" hold true for San Diego, San Fran, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. T…

I'm sorry, I just don't think these points are true for the other cities you mention. As a Seattle inhabitant, the descriptions of San Francisco-specific weather, rent, cost of living, costumes, events, transients, canine-friendliness, fog, commuting, and other things just do not apply here. Of the first few things mentioned, only the strong neighborhood identity is something we share.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, for one, if you knew as much as you say you do about SF you would know nobody calls it "San Fran".

So, so true. In my group of east-coast friends and family: Under 50ish: it's San Fran Over: Frisco Locally? Bay Area. The City. Etc.

I think everyone who lives near a major city calls that city "The City" in everyday conversation. I live near NYC, and I do it in reference to Manhattan. (Less so the other parts of NYC, such as Queens and the Bronx.)

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#90
post #42

OP, did you honestly not know how expensive it was, as well as a few of these other points in the article? I would be shocked if that's the case. Most of the items in the post are pretty well-known things about the San Fran area. More or less, the title is a bit of link bait, and I doubt most of you don't already know these things about San Fran (or the bay area, for that matter).

It has been getting more expensive quickly, so no, most people don't know how expensive it is. In particular, the rental situation is now back to 1999 levels of crazy. As to many of the rest, they were exactly the things that I was surprised by when I moved here, and they are things I hear about from noobs all the time.

How much of that is just that when you move to a place, these sorts of differences are conversation starters?

When I decided to move I was painfully aware of the cost of living and housing issues. They factored heavily into my decision and I made sure the numbers added up. When I got here, did I still complain about it to anyone who'd ask, and some who didn't? You bet.

Also, though by the time I got to SF I had been out west for a while already, let's not forget that for many of us east coasters, complaining is a big part of the culture. :-)

Post reply on HN