San Fran on 110K a year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into it. Visit. So you want to live in SF? Have kids (I assume not)? Looking to rent or buy? It is definitely more expensive than DC, but commutes can be totally manageable depending on where you live.

I would look into Berkeley and certain areas of Oakland - Rockridge, Temescal, etc. If you live close to BART, commutes to SF are doable.

I don't think you will like Contra Costa county if you are liberal - it is very, very suburban. And you an totally live in SF w/o a car. It would be difficult in the East Bay and impossible in Marin.

She said in her OP that she has 2 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is really expensive to live there. I lived there for 10 years though and absolutely loved it. My bigger question is how old are your kids? Where will you be living? The school situation is something you need to look at very carefully as there are many places you could live that you would want your kids to go private vs. public....Just look carefully

Read: There is a certain, shall we say element, that you of course wouldn't want your DC to associate with. Some neighborhoods are more COLORFUL than others...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mother's house in the East Bay is valued at about $450k, has a very large yard, 1 mile from a BART sta. in a suburb w/great schools - about 20 mins from downtown SF. it's do-able.

Really? Where?

[Anonymous]

We just moved from SF. We lived in the Mission. At least once a month there'd be a dead body (either drug overdose or murder) at the park near our house. There was a homeless guy living in a doorway near us who used to crap on the sidewalk on our block. If this is what the PP meant by COLORFUL, then yes, it was certainly that. I would never move back. Ever.

[Anonymous]

No and I LOVE San Fran, plus I'm from Seattle. Reasoning? I have a family now and a 'good' lifestyle we can barely afford here in DC on 165K much less 110K in a more expensive place.

San Fran is awesome only if after paying 700-900 thousand for a house you can afford private school, trips to napa, and tahoe. (half joking about the last two). But seriously, it's like being middle income in NYC everything around you is tempting to spend money that you won't have. Personally it sounds like torture to me. I highly recommend Portland and Seattle Btw!

[Anonymous]

I lived there throughout my 20s on about 25k/year. No kids or husband or home ownership, of course, but life was good. If you were willing to live in the east bay (check out places like El Cerrito, I don't know about schools) it can be do-able but would be tight.

[Anonymous]

I have the dreamy memories of the Bay Area too, having gone to grad school there, but my experience is so dated and limited that I couldn't give you any useful advice.

Check the Berkeley Parents Network website: http://parents.berkeley.edu/ It has information about neighborhoods, schools and much more, for much of the area (doesn't cover SF proper, I think). I'd love to go back if family and money weren't an issue. But they are, so here I am.

[Anonymous]

Living in the city would be tough on $110k, ESPECIALLY with school-age kids. They have a screwy system, ostensibly to "balance" the schools racially, which seems to always result in your kids assigned to the school farthest from your house. Look into Moraga/Orinda/Lafayette or Pleasanton/Dublin-- both have great schools and are on BART lines. They're not cheap but you could rent.


Also, NEVER refer to it as "San Fran" (or Frisco)-- it's "The City" or you will be dismissed as a tourist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a homeless guy living in a doorway near us who used to crap on the sidewalk on our block.

Sounds like my "neighbor" who lives on 14th Street and Q. He generally doesn't crap on the sidewalk but does pee in my alley. Yay for city living! My brother lived in the Mission for seven years, great for a single guy but not really family friendly. Lots of other great urban areas and East Bay is doable. I would move to SF in a second if the opportunity was there and we didn't have local family.

[Anonymous]

If you go to greatschools.net and pull up equal scoring high schools in our area (Bethesda, Vienna, Falls Church) to California you will end up in neighborhoods at the below links. In our area you could get the equivillent homes w/o basements, same size at about 350-400k

Most of the inner city school are a bit rough think of Coolio and Gangsta Paradise

CA Homes.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7-Farm-Rd_Los-Altos_CA_94024_M18611-86559

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/6059-Bollinger-Rd_Cupertino_CA_95014_M27093-61794

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/73-Mercy-St_Mountain-View_CA_94041_M13716-86267

[Anonymous]

PP, here one more thing to add. My wife was offered a director position in San Jose a few years back that would bump her salary from 120k to 140k, and mine from 75k to 100k and we did the cost benifit analysis and it wouldnt make sense unless we wanted to downgrade to a lower caliber neighborhood. All in all I hate to say it but I think the best area at the moment is DC in terms of housing costs, COL and jobs.

You know what sucks? Seeing what you can get for 200-300k or even 500k in North Carolina in a good school district

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4744-Swordfish-Drive_Raleigh_NC_27603_M63438-79594

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/8608-Bluff-Pointe-CT_Raleigh_NC_27615_M52316-88576

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2320-Finley-Ridge-Ln_Raleigh_NC_27615_M53419-39393

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7600-Rainwater-Rd_Raleigh_NC_27615_M58804-94933

I still don't get why new construction costs twice as much in our area (not including the land)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, whoops, I used the wrong acronym. We are married. Sorry.

Thanks for the responses. We are a bit wistful because whenever San Fran or Berkeley comes up in conversation with others, people who know it get all dreamy and lovey, like it was Italy or something. I have never been there so I can't say. My husband has visited and was brought out for a round of final interviews so he has more of an opinion. He said it was gorgeous, and also seemed to have a less uptight, less competitive feel.

That said, the two cities seem to have some of the same challenges: long commutes, school quality, high cost of living.

I do know Seattle and Portland and love both. Not sure if they are similar to San Fran or not. We are not DC haters, we both like our DC neighborhood and neighbors here.

For what it's worth, SF is NOT Italy. I lived there for 4 years after college. It was a total blast but I shared a flat with 3 roommates, we had no parking, and we really had no money. I remember thinking Wow! It's sure fun to be single here but how could anyone in their right mind raise a family here unless you were very very well off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Living in the city would be tough on $110k, ESPECIALLY with school-age kids. They have a screwy system, ostensibly to "balance" the schools racially, which seems to always result in your kids assigned to the school farthest from your house. Look into Moraga/Orinda/Lafayette or Pleasanton/Dublin-- both have great schools and are on BART lines. They're not cheap but you could rent.


Also, NEVER refer to it as "San Fran" (or Frisco)-- it's "The City" or you will be dismissed as a tourist

Yes, this!

[Anonymous]

Yes, thank you. NEVER "San Fran" or the other word. The economy is very depressed so it's much easier to do it now than previously. In what part of the Bay would DH be working? In the City proper or elsewhere? Agree with PP, East Bay is great option. Tiburon post made me laugh. LaMorinda or Pleasanton/Dublin good options but do your research first. Start reading Contra Costa Times online. Good luck. If you want the West Coast lifestyle and want to use it for a platform to something else, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is really expensive to live there. I lived there for 10 years though and absolutely loved it. My bigger question is how old are your kids? Where will you be living? The school situation is something you need to look at very carefully as there are many places you could live that you would want your kids to go private vs. public....Just look carefully

Read: There is a certain, shall we say element, that you of course wouldn't want your DC to associate with. Some neighborhoods are more COLORFUL than others...

No, I think you misread that person's intent.

There are some really, really awful public schools in California. These are in good areas, not just the slummy ones. The standards in that state are so very low, especially when you compare them to what someone from the DC area is used to. The "good" schools there are comparable to the mediocre public schools here. Due to the state of their economy and the stronghold of the teachers unions, they have a lot of really ineffective teachers that are untouchable and a lot of demoralized good teachers.

This cuts accross all areas, from the "nice" places to the slums. You really, really have to look carefully at the schools if you are moving to California.