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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

#451

Post by fosk »

If you are more interested in the economical aspect, or you're an entrepreneur who wants to move to SF, this is how me and my co-founders lived with 1.1k/month in San Francisco, including the rent.

http://www.quora.com/How-do-you-live-comfortably-on-a-40k-sa...

Rents are more expensive now, but you can still find workarounds. At the time I remember we didn't have lots of comforts (if any!) but we were happy with it. We landed in SF from Italy, and had to survive somehow while living the dream.

I don't suggest doing this for a long period of time though, except if you're happy and really don't care. Personally, I didn't.

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

#452

Post by cpeterso »

Aloisius wrote: post #15
kaolinite wrote: post #2

Palo Alto and Mountain View are farther away than you think Hm, when I visited it felt like a pretty quick journey - no more than 30 minutes via Caltrain. Perhaps it was just excitement though!

I commuted to Mountain View from San Francisco on Caltrain. It is doable, but it gets old pretty quick. Also those sports fans that the OP say don't exist much? They all take Caltrain to go to the ballpark at peak commute hours during the season. Also, they allow alcohol on Caltrain. Imagine a packed train full of orange and black with lots of alcohol. With the coming electrification of Caltrain in preparation for hi…

That's why someone created http://isthereagiantsgametoday.com

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

#453

Post by jessedhillon »

noname123 wrote: post #355
munificent wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It make no sense for most people to pay off their house aggressively. Refinance periodically if you want to lower your payments, but blowing a lump sum on your mortgage principal over a compressed time period is almost always more expensive in opportunity costs.

Quick question: I put $100k in your pocket right now. Would your life be more improved if your mortgage principal was reduced by $100k, or if you went and did something else with it? I think most people could find something better to do -- start a company perhaps? Invest in a rental property? Start a kids college fund?

And again, if you did want to put that into your mortgage: refi.

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

#454

Post by cpeterso »

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.

Or "San Frisco"

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

#455

Post by oeufsaujambon »

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?

I've lived in a Austin (5 years), NYC (6 years), and recently moved to SF. In my experience, Austin has many more attractive people, in general, than SF. NYC has more than both of them, but also 10 times the population, so there's that...

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

#456

Post by fennecfoxen »

svachalek wrote: post #263
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…

All of the classic planning advice is based on about a century of economic history, most of that time period having little resemblance to today and things are only getting weirder, faster. Inflation is increasing (and increasingly under-reported), investment returns just--to put it bluntly--suck, social safety nets are falling apart, and we're expected to work for much longer in a world where age and experience don't…

This statement about inflation contradicts a variety of recent economic studies suggesting that the CPI understates inflation by a percentage point or so (thus inflating the cost of inflation-linked things like Social Security). Any particular source for your sentiment that it's "increasingly under-reported"? http://goo.gl/wbnUu

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

#457

Post by cynicalkane »

noname123 wrote: post #397
Wilduck wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Inflation is increasing (and increasingly under-reported), investment returns just--to put it bluntly--suck. This is nearly a self contradictory statement. That is, if inflation were getting out of control, we would see high interest rates accompanying that change. I'm not saying your advice it bad (savings are a good idea), although maybe a little extreme sounding (too much doomsday feel for my taste). I do, howev…

The issue is USD is losing its status as the reserve currency and declining exchange rate with BRIC countries are making consumer goods more expensive. Chinese RMB used to be 8:1 in the late 90's, now it's 6:1 and declining. Also due to several rounds of quantitative easing, the Fed injected a lot of money into the money supply. However, banks are not lending as much money to stimulate the economy which doesn't trick…

"real inflation to the money supply"

Inflation is what happens to prices, by definition. "Inflation to the money supply" is nonsense, like if you said int x = "foo" or talked about installing new RAM to store your photo album.

Also, the notion that banks can cause inflation by not spending reserves is baffling.

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

#458

Post by illuminate »

aliston wrote: post #430
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having moved from SF to Seattle, I just want to say that Seattle is terrible, and you should warn everybody you know to stay away. ;)

Serious question -- did you have trouble adjusting to the lack of sunshine?

I came from the Southeast, and I haven't exactly. I get crabby, but the beauty of seeing Rainier and all the ecotourism and density makes up for everything. Plus, before I moved I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy the beaches and outdoor areas because I was too busy being stuck in traffic and sprawl.

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

#460

Post by fennecfoxen »

SonicSoul wrote: post #374
bherms wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not my opinion, but I once read somewhere that you should aim for a savings (+investments) of 1x salary by 30, 5x by 40, 10+x by 50.

in light of these new guidelines i'll be getting a job with a drastically lower salary this year. definitely don't want to be behind on savings!

The idea is that if you meet the guidelines with your existing salary, you can expect a lifestyle similar to the one you are already used to. If getting a lower-salary job lowers your lifestyle expectations, it could work. :P
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