Moving to San Francisco

amandabullock120

Hi,

My family and I are moving to San Francisco from Seattle in a few months.

Can anyone tell me how much they pay in rent/mortage for a house with 3 bedrooms and an average on utilities? How much are groceries, gas ect....?

Thanks

FrauHaas2013

Um, you are moving to SAN FRANCISCO, and not one of the outlying cities, correct? SF is one of THE MOST expensive places to live in the country, hate to tell you! For example, a STUDIO in most neighborhoods is over $2,000/month.

http://www.sfgate.com/rentals/
http://sfist.com/2013/03/07/map_average_rent_for_1br_in_san_fra.php
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/what-does-it-really-cost-to-live-in-san-francisco-apartment-therapys-cost-of-living-report-193256

I'm not sure about utilities, and groceries will depend on where you shop; gas is about $3.70/gallon
http://www.sanfrangasprices.com/

Here's a link to a quick list of pretty much everything:
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+States&city=San+Francisco,+CA

Best of luck - and welcome to the Bay Area! :-D

stumblinthrulife

Things will have changed a lot since I lived there, but ten years ago I paid about $2000 a month rent on a nice one bedroom appt + garage in Inner Richmond (the garage should have been an extra $200, but the landlord threw it in because he liked me). Gas prices you'll be able to find online. I found utilities were pretty reasonable because of the mild climate, but then again I spent very little time in my apartment anyway.

You cost will vary massively depending on where you want to live. Presidio or Marina are going to be way more expensive than Sunset or Richmond.

You will definitely be seeing an increase in cost of living from Seattle to San Francisco.

_Bajiggity

My Condo is over $3000 a month. It depends on which district you live in also. but its is VERY expensive.

TheSlorax

Hi OP - check out citydata.com. MFP is probably not going to give you the answers you need. Good luck and welcome to SF.

amandabullock120

Thanks for the information.

My husband will be working in Foster City. We are still trying to figure out what areas would be feasible to live in. We don't want to live too far because traffic and commute times but don't want to pay out the wazoo for living expenses.

aseymour13

Hi OP - check out citydata.com. MFP is probably not going to give you the answers you need. Good luck and welcome to SF.

Good info. Seattle is not exactly an inexpensive place to live either. Just like Seattle, it will depend on what you want in terms of lifestyle, schools (if needed) etc. There are some very good alternatives and the mass transit is decent for the most part from East Bay or South Bay. Farther inland you go, the warmer it will be but cost of living is more reasonable. Trade-off is commute time if you are going to the city for work.

You will love it - very similar to Seattle - less rain, more fog, no snow so overall better weather. and easy run to to Tahoe if you like to ski.

redredy9

Thanks for the information.

My husband will be working in Foster City. We are still trying to figure out what areas would be feasible to live in. We don't want to live too far because traffic and commute times but don't want to pay out the wazoo for living expenses.

Whew! Foster city is much cheaper than SF proper. I love padmapper.com - it pulls in ads from all over the internet and maps them for you making it easy to look for places close to public transit or freeway. I grew up in SF and haven't spent much time there, but there are some pretty areas near the water. Also good places to look will be San Mateo, Burlingame, Millbrae or Belmont.

I have no idea what your budget is but if you are looking for the cheapest - Hayward on the other side of the San Mateo Bridge is probably going to be your best bet. Not sure about traffic though.

stumblinthrulife

Thanks for the information.

My husband will be working in Foster City. We are still trying to figure out what areas would be feasible to live in. We don't want to live too far because traffic and commute times but don't want to pay out the wazoo for living expenses.

Whew! Foster city is much cheaper than SF proper. I love padmapper.com - it pulls in ads from all over the internet and maps them for you making it easy to look for places close to public transit or freeway. I grew up in SF and haven't spent much time there, but there are some pretty areas near the water. Also good places to look will be San Mateo, Burlingame, Millbrae or Belmont.

I have no idea what your budget is but if you are looking for the cheapest - Hayward on the other side of the San Mateo Bridge is probably going to be your best bet. Not sure about traffic though.

^This is good. Be sure to factor in gas prices and bridge tolls if you go over to the East Bay. It may end up just as expensive as living closer, with a hefty dose of stress into the bargain. The bridge commutes really suck, and personally I'd not want to do them everyday. The only way I'd consider it would be if I had a lot of flexibility with my hours so I could avoid rush periods.

Ultimately the cost of living is going to depend massively on how much time your husband is willing to sacrifice on the commute, and how much flexibility he has with hours. If he can work from home and go into the office once a week, then I'd head down to the South Bay, or further inland.

TheSlorax

Thanks for the information.

My husband will be working in Foster City. We are still trying to figure out what areas would be feasible to live in. We don't want to live too far because traffic and commute times but don't want to pay out the wazoo for living expenses.

Foster City is on the peninsula so it can still be pretty pricey. seriously though, check out city data, they helped me a lot in picking a new place to move when I switched to a job and hour and a half away from my then home. Just be forewarned they are super overdramatic about commuting, supposed "crime", and sometimes cost of living, but they do know the area really well. Good luck.