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What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

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Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#12
post #11

Do 21 year old people at the start of their career really take home $100K in SF? Thats crazy. How much would a 30 year old with a masters in CS get?

Unfortunately salaries in the bay area seem to be inversely proportional to age ;) That's only half kidding. Many companies are willing to pay premiums for what I'd call "future potential" of new hires. With 30 and supposedly 5-10 years of work experience you'd be expected to already have "proven" your potential. Your degree will matter a lot less than what you've actually done in the past. If you don't have much to show for your experience it may well be that you'd actually be offered less than a promising candidate right out of college. However, $100k seems about average. There are people who are offered 150k (+ 100-300k stock grants) out of college at some of the "hottest" startups.

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#13
If you want to live in the City, now is a great time in your life to do this.

You can get your own studio and it will cost you between 2K and 2.5K. A better idea would be to find some roomates. You can get a bigger place, pay less rent, and live with with interesting people.

Good luck!

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#14
You can afford any apartment in the city, but spending a ton on rent isn't the requirement everyone makes it out to be. I live in a new building 2 blocks from the Caltrain and pay $1200 a month. Just be diligent about it (as others have mentioned: roommates, location-specific, etc.). Leverage your network if possible. My friend in finance who makes close to 7 figures just got a room in a rent-controlled apartment and pays 800/month in the heart of the Marina.

Have fun in the city, but be mindful about saving as well.

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#15

You can afford any apartment in the city, but spending a ton on rent isn't the requirement everyone makes it out to be. I live in a new building 2 blocks from the Caltrain and pay $1200 a month. Just be diligent about it (as others have mentioned: roommates, location-specific, etc.). Leverage your network if possible. My friend in finance who makes close to 7 figures just got a room in a rent-controlled apartment and…

How would I go about finding one of these rent controlled apartments??

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#16

You'll probably take home somewhere around $5k a month after taxes. Rent will eat half of that, but living on $2.5k a month is easily manageable and you should be able to put some savings away as well. I prefer to live in the city proper, but many people who prefer a more quiet lifestyle are perfectly content to stay in south SF or across the bay. Commuting is easy, if a bit slow. Between BART, Muni and Caltrain gett…

Thank you!

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#17
post #3

whatever you do keep your costs as low as possible (roommates, live in a motor home, minimize commute, etc.). Strive to save 80% of your take home pay and live off only 20%. If you do this and invest your savings in low cost index funds, then working will be optional for you in less than 6 years. Meaning you can work on what you want. Don't fall into the debt/slave trap. Most fun/happy times happen because of experie…

Just curious. Where do you suggest parking your motor home when living in San Francisco?

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#18

You can afford any apartment in the city, but spending a ton on rent isn't the requirement everyone makes it out to be. I live in a new building 2 blocks from the Caltrain and pay $1200 a month. Just be diligent about it (as others have mentioned: roommates, location-specific, etc.). Leverage your network if possible. My friend in finance who makes close to 7 figures just got a room in a rent-controlled apartment and…

Can you tell a bit more about this friend and his skillset/role? $1M is a lot of money to make.

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#19
post #15

You can afford any apartment in the city, but spending a ton on rent isn't the requirement everyone makes it out to be. I live in a new building 2 blocks from the Caltrain and pay $1200 a month. Just be diligent about it (as others have mentioned: roommates, location-specific, etc.). Leverage your network if possible. My friend in finance who makes close to 7 figures just got a room in a rent-controlled apartment and…

How would I go about finding one of these rent controlled apartments??

I mentioned it mostly to emphasize the fact that your rent doesn't need to scale with salary, but it's definitely going to be tough finding a rent-controlled place. Not impossible though. His friend moved out (got married), so my friend took that spot.

Re: What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k?

#20
post #18

You can afford any apartment in the city, but spending a ton on rent isn't the requirement everyone makes it out to be. I live in a new building 2 blocks from the Caltrain and pay $1200 a month. Just be diligent about it (as others have mentioned: roommates, location-specific, etc.). Leverage your network if possible. My friend in finance who makes close to 7 figures just got a room in a rent-controlled apartment and…

Can you tell a bit more about this friend and his skillset/role? $1M is a lot of money to make.

Options trader at one of the highest performing west coast firms (I think). Bonuses make up most of that figure.
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