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What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

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

#351

Post by da02 »

w1ntermute wrote: post #295
aliston wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

^This. I've lived in both SF and Austin. Austin is a bad ass city. In terms of quality of life, as a young and single male, it is a complete and total no brainer that Austin is better than SF. Better nightlife, more attractive women, cheaper cost of living, less bums, more sunlight, better weather (if you prefer hot to cold), better urban/outdoor balance... BUT, in terms of the startup scene, SF is in another league.…

Are the women really more attractive in Austin? One of the things mentioned in the article is that in SF, people are in shape. How are things in Austin?

Maybe date in California and move to Austin?

I also heard Austin is like a Californian oasis in TX (when it comes to politics/race/etc.)

There is also visiting a different country if you want to find a spouse. The foreigner mystique (esp. if you are pale and Caucasian) is still somewhat alive... based on the vlogs/blogs I've read about: South Korea, Japan, China, etc. Foreigners who blog/vlog eventually talk about foreign guys who date outside of their league because of the foreigner mystique. "Why are so many beautiful women have ugly white boyfriends?"

The paleness comes in handy because of some dumb stereotype: People who are pale work in offices, not in fields, and are wealthier.

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

#352

Post by afterburner »

tsotha wrote: post #264
_pius wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I considered moving to SF but chose Austin instead. I refuse to live in a state with such a dysfunctional government ... You do realize you live in Texas, right?

Yeah, the state with the surplus. The weather in Texas isn't anything to write home about, but in every way that matters it's a more competently run state.

They probably have a surplus because they underfund health care system, among other things... (I remember being surprised at the full-time firefighting budget cuts not long before the huge fires two years ago)

EDIT: Oh and apparently there is no surplus

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/04/us-usa-deficits-st...

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

#353

Post by meh01 »

gambiting wrote: post #97

Oh US and your complaining about taxes. "You leave with ONLY 65% of your income after paying taxes". In Denmark you pay 60% in taxes, so you leave with 40% of your income in your pocket. And petrol is now more than $10/US gallon.

You wouldn't understand the complaint unless you move here (I moved from a "high tax" country to SF).

The taxes are still high (any claims that the US is low tax are inherently just BS spouted by people who don't understand taxes) but you get nothing in return. That's the problem.

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

#354

Post by geebee »

fennecfoxen wrote: post #171
coloneltcb wrote: post #112

As a San Francisco native, I can say that this is the single best post of its kind that I have ever read. I wouldn't change a thing, except to add the pro tip that you should never, under any circumstances, call it "San Fran".

Alternatively, call it San Fran all the time to annoy everyone. Also, 'Frisco'. Frisco frisco crisco frisco.

Definitely go down to the hells angels headquarters and let them all know that they aren't really from here because they call it the "frisco" chapter.

Post back and let us know your experience! ;)

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

#355

Post by noname123 »

munificent wrote: post #317
noname123 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems to me the most difficult is saving 5x between 30-40, especially at that age when a lot of folks get married, have kids and purchase property. How do you save up to 5x - which for a household income of $100,000/yr is half a million dollar; do you really get a lot of tax breaks on mortgages, kids and filing jointly? Also, at the current rate of US inflation; by the time I retire which is in about 40 years, $30K/y…

Caveat: I know next to nothing about finance. Things that come to mind that help you save more as you get older: 1. Your previous savings will be compounding. 2. If you're lucky, you'll finish paying off a house which frees up a good chunk. 3. If your career is going well, your salary will keep going up, hopefully faster than inflation.

Lesson I will take is: 1) Save like mad. 2) If buy a house, buy with 10%-20% down-payment and financed with aggressive mortgage payback timeline. 3) Climb the ladder and take the money.

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

#356

Post by meh01 »

w1ntermute wrote: post #289
natrius wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Texas used to not have a business income tax, but in 2006, a business "margin" tax was enacted that is pretty much the same thing. http://heartland.org/sites/default/files/03-02-12_drenner-le... (PDF)

Damn, that sucks. Are there any other big states that have more favorable tax laws? The problem with Texas is that the growing Hispanic population is going to lead to it turning into another California in the next 10 to 15 years. It'll turn blue and the taxes will skyrocket.

You don't know what you're talking about.

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

#357

Post by meh01 »

jacoblyles wrote: post #103
gambiting wrote: post #97

Oh US and your complaining about taxes. "You leave with ONLY 65% of your income after paying taxes". In Denmark you pay 60% in taxes, so you leave with 40% of your income in your pocket. And petrol is now more than $10/US gallon.

How healthy is the angel funding scene in Denmark? The western European model seems great if you want a life safely doing what has always been done.

Yay for generalization!

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

#358

Post by geebee »

justin wrote: post #247
DigitalJack wrote: post #242

I saw PBR in wholefoods the other day here in Portland, OR. I was kind of shocked. I always considered PBR to be on par with Milwaukee's Best... In other words, nasty cheap beer that people only drink to get drunk. So I'm wrong?

I thought most of the article was pretty spot on, except for the PBR being the drink of SF. PBR is all over hipster bars in the Mission, but there are plenty of places where you can't get it (most bars in the rest of the city). The true drink of SF in my opinion is Fernet, which is heavily consumed by long time San Franciscans. Fernet has a long history in the Bay Area (SF is even listed in the Wikipedia page on Fern…

Fernet? Wow, never heard of it. Sounds kinda cool.

If we're talking beer, I'd say Anchor Steam is the drink of SF.

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

#359

Post by cookiecaper »

JabavuAdams wrote: post #299
nugget wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who lives around and deals with these people every day, let's call a spade a spade and not cover it up. Have you seen a zombie movie lately? These people basically ARE zombies - they hobble around, mutter to themselves, smell like shit, randomly attack people, and will infect you with disease if you touch them. Whether they scream at/spit on/push around my sister or female employees because they are on cra…

That's not a good solution because you're doing something to someone who is effectively powerless, and they have no recourse. It's a recipe for large-scale, institutionalized abuse. All I have to do is label you crazy etc., and then I can do whatever I want with you, while no one has to see it. Any case where we argue that we should compel someone to do something for social order needs to be handled with the utmost i…

Vagrancy is a different standard than "craziness".

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

#360

Post by dr_ »

jseliger wrote: post #275
bluekite2000 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same goes w/ NYC. I have been here for a while now and have met so many young girls following Sex in the City dream, which invariably turned out badly.

Agreed. I just moved here from Tucson, and there's virtually no way I'd be here if not for the fact that I'm living with a medical resident in an apartment subsidized by her hospital. Given a choice among SF, NYC, and Seattle, and I'd choose Seattle: It has much of what makes the first two desirable, but at 60% of the cost. BTW, to the extent that you want to make cities like SF and NYC more affordable, favor the rem…

NYC is a big place and its not all the same. One could, for example, live in Brooklyn, pay a more reasonable rent and be surrounded by interesting people all with access to great food and bars. I suppose you could stretch that a bit further to Queens as well. Manhattan itself is quickly changing into a business district. You go there to work, grab dinner or hit the theater, then leave.
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