Moving to San Francisco

You're right, and the cost of the education to find out what the (Dancers) were all about, probably cost me more than all my 2005 pension checks .

Happy New Year to you and Mrs. Deuce Roadster.

 

Don't listen to these hayseeds. If you liked Boston you will like SF. Lots of similarities and if you get lonely you can talk with the many former Bostonians now living here.


Is modern dancer something like a stripper? Hey! It's a joke!
It's good that you are not coming alone. Bring a woman you know and trust. Peace in the home is peace in the heart. Do you have any friends out here already? This area can be a bit cool to newcomers. Unfortunately. And it also likes to take any opportunity to make newcomers pay too much for anything. It's the old Barbary Coast Goldrush mentality. Just like some evil mean old whore.
Just as important as lining up a job is making sure you have a real place to live. Getting a grip on the reality of this fucked up housing and real estate market and all will make you meshuga.
Bring money. Expect to work but expect to make good money too. Expect to spend it just as fast.

No snow, sleet, freezing rain, slush or piles of black snow piled on the corners hanging around into april.
No salt on roads no hideaous rot out. Roads much better than Massachusetts. Road repair work actually gets finished.

Don't worry about bringing any bad habits. You can pick up new ones here.

The bay, and the ocean are the true joy of living here and just about make it worthwhile.

Sorry no job or housing to offer you. Unless you want to come over and split firewood.

 

Hey, as a former East Coaster, I have to agree with Benzine.

It's expensive to live here in SF when you compare it to other places. But guess why it's so expensive? Because it's WORTH IT.

I only have two little pieces of advice:

1. Don't compare SF to any other place you live and you'll be much happier.

2. Find jobs for both of you and THEN find a place to live. There's no sense in spending a lot less for a place in East Bay or South or North if both of you end up working in the city. You'll end up hating your '54 because you'll spend about a full 1/3 of your day in it just getting back and forth to work. I live and work in SF and I really don't have to deal with traffic at all. It's a blessing.

And as far as I'm concerned, if you're interested in cars, art, food, architecture and good living, the city of San Francisco is the best place to live in the United States. But don't tell anyone--we don't want any more people moving here. Except you.

Gimme a call or drop me a line when you get here and I'll show you around...

STONER
chief@garagemagazine.com

 

I agree with stoner and benzine. It's a beautiful place to live. If you like the out doors you'll love it here as well. You can do any thing you want from skiing some of the best snow in the winter (four hours away), to hiking some of the most breath taking scenery in your back yard. Or mountain biking where it all began.

I grew up here and plan on staying here no matter what. It is a struggle, but worth it.

If you can find a job and then get a place relatively close to that would good because comuting in this area can be a bitch. And The "Outer Richmond" district in the city is a bit less expensive and you get more for your money(garage).

Goody luck

Woody

 

My Kid moved out there three months ago, lives in South San Francisco. Says he found a bunch of reasonable two bedrooms if you have a rooomate it cuts costs. He has a one bedroom, off street parking.
As for work, Brizios, The Rodders Journal, Vern Tardel to the North...I'm certainly not an expert on who has work...but it appears there is a ton of stuff going on.

 

Like 345window said, I moved here a few months ago. I can see Gotelli's from my balcony, so that's pretty cool.

I think a lot of the SF-area horror stories in this thread are crazy exaggerated. I was in the DC/Baltimore are for a long time, and the SF traffic is better than DC. The price of living is comparable rent-wise, but I think I drop an extra 5 or 10 bucks every time I hit the grocery store - Chef Boyardee isn't a buck a can anymore. Gas is a push, beer is more expensive, liquor is cheaper, electric is cheaper, and the weather is better.

If you can avoid it, stay out of the city. Districts where things are affordable, like Mission and Tenderloin, smell like heroin and piss (actually, of piss, not like it, because it's totally piss you're smelling). The Castro? All gay (no women's bathrooms in most places) so your gf might feel a bit out of place, what with being a chick and everything. Everywhere else seems just insanely overpriced and congested.

Peninsula living ain't bad. I pay a grand for a big one bedroom in a nice-sized, gated, covered-parking, swimming pool kinda place, 15 mins. from city. Two people should be able to swing a grand easy. Daly City/Pacifica/Colma are all real close, then there's South San Francisco and San Mateo, that's like 15 minutes, then further south there's Millbrae, Boringame (actually Burlingame, but that place sucks a fatty), and then after another half-hour you hit San Jose.

There are a million body/brake/everything else shops out here, but most look really shady. This is some hot rod stuff going on, but it'll take a whole lot to walk into a place like, say, Brizio's and ask about work. But like everything else, if you find a place you dig, prove yourself and take the job.

SF is like any other Metro area, kinda pricy and congested but you can find a way to do your thing. The difference is the people here are convinced they have something special going on, that their highs are higher and their lows are lower than anyone else's. Not true.

If you have specific questions send me a PM man.

 

I moved here, with my wife about six months ago - for her job in the East bay. We ended up finding a place in Concord, which is way east. In retrospect, I am glad we are where we landed. There isn't much "night-life" out here, but I have a house with a garage and a pool, so I don't care.

I grew up as a city kid, so I appreciate everything SF offers. I just don't see any glamor in living in SF proper. I don't need to spend that much time with all of the standardized alternative hipsters that populate the city. Compared to many other big metro areas, SF seems pretty average to me - price and culture wise. Just more gay and with less parking.

I suppose that doesn't add much to what has already been said. I would just echo the thoughts of looking south or east for a place to live, unless you want to hang out at Moby Dick's four nights a week...

 

If you live in Boston, SF won't be shocking. If people think traffic is bad here, at least the effing streets are on a grid, so shit is reasonably easy to find. I live in Menlo Park, about 30 miles south of the city. I do all right with rent without sharing a place. I have a carport. Yeah, SF is expensive, but so is Boston.

Live in the city if you want an urban experience. Live elsewhere if you want a suburban experience. Cheaper (relatively) neighborhoods in the city include the Mission, Sunset, Richmond, Bernal Heights... Outside SF, you can find decent deals in a lot of places if you're patient and willing to look.

As for the "liberal" issue: who gives a shit. If you are liberal, then it'll be like living in Boston, if you aren't, well it ain't going to change your mind living here. And for the gay issue, it really isn't a big deal. Yeah, there are a lot of gay people in SF. Again, who gives a shit? Like most people and barring assholes, you leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. If you don't want to get hit on, stay out of a gay bar.

Like some others have said, it's a metro area--not too different from any other--but it is a very nice place to live.

 

I'm sure I'm echoing what others said above, but you might really love the Bay Area in general. You're just hours from the snow, beach, woods, et. al. I grew up in San Jose (still here). I love it. Yes, it is very expensive. But if you can manage it, go for it.

You may get more bang for your buck in the East Bay or South Bay. Plus, you'll be able to drive--and park--your car! My fiance lived in SF for years before she joined me in San Jose. She never need a car there. But HAS to have one down here.

I love going up to SF for shows and just for the city itself. But I relish the fact, I can come home from the crackheads and uber-hipsters to the decidely unhip and suburban San Jose.

• craigslist.org is indispensible. Use it often!
• in the South Bay, Downtown San Jose and Campbell are the most affordable

Among us Bay Area HAMBers, we can answer any "what's this area/city/neighborhood like?" questions you have.

good luck!

 

Sounds like you're getting good advice. Let me ask you this though... how old are you and what are your priorities? I have lived in the bay area for 27 years so I might be able to help you as well. If you are young, don't mind renting, like going to bars, like sports, like going to see live bands ect. than you probably want to live IN S.F. I live in the Haight area in S.F. now, but I have lived in Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, and Berkeley, when you live outside the city you pick and choose which events you "head into the city" for. When you live IN the city you'll go anywhere, anytime within the city because everything is in your back yard. S.F. is very small and easy to get around (excluding the rush hour traffic). Yeah, parking sucks in many neighborhoods. If you do move here buy a residential parking permit for your neighborhood if necessary ($25 a year) and pay attention to parking signs and you won't get tickets.
However if you are starting to feel older these days, if you are thinking about marriage, kids, buying a small house with a big fat garage and maybe a workshop as well, if you just feel like coming home from work and wrenching on the Ford or relaxing instead of going out... you should probably look outside of S.F. It is just too expensive. I am moving to Portland in two weeks because what I want now more than anything is to own that house with a big fat garage. Between me and my newlywed wife, we pull in a good amount of money but can't afford to buy anything even modest here. You just have to figure out your priorities and base your decision on that. I love San Francisco and don't think any other city will ever hold a light to it. If you have any more questions, just ask. I have plenty more I could ramble on about, but...

 

Well as far as age I am 24 and as far as my priorities, I would like to concentrate on building my career as a craftsman in the hotrod and custom car field.

I would like to rent a 1 bedroom for around a thousand a month with hopefully off street or garage parking. I don't really want to leave my 54 Ford out on the street where it can get broken into or stolen! (would that even be a problem I don't know, but it certainly would in some parts of boston).

I definately feel a little better about moving out there after hereing all the great responses. Living in Boston I know how expensive the city can be and how traffic sucks and this and that. But more or less it sounds like a real good place to live and the hot rod community sounds good as well.

 

Chub Chub, I just did the reverse move. I left a bigger house, with a small two car garage and a two+ bay shop - in the city. My wife and I could never seem to find a job that would pay enough for us to want to stay in Portland. I still like it, though. Portland is like the girl I used to date, fond memories, prettier in the dark.

Blacktopbutcher, you'll be well and fine here. Your current location is as difficult to make work. Get a job lined up first. I had the luxury of taking some time to find the "right" gig, which turns out to be pretty hard when you have no solid contacts. These days I just want a job. Not having something lined up has bled my checkbook extra quick...

 

Yeah I plan on heading out this summer to try and set up some interviews before I move out there in the fall. Is there any shops that I should try and contact first.

 

I'm an SF/Daly City native. I lived in San Mateo for many years, and now live in the East Bay/Berkeley area. You can easily find your one bedroom for $1K per month here in the East Bay. You can get a two bedroom for that too.

As far as SF goes, my friend found a one bedroom in the Marina area of SF for $1200, which includes a garage space just for parking only. Rents are way down from 4 years ago.

If you like wrenching on your own car in your own space, then SF is not the best place just because trying to find a garage in which you can do this is HARD to find. Plus that easily puts you over your $1k figure.

Like I said, I've lived all around this bay, and I LOVE the Oakland/Berkeley area the most. BART is here and its very, very similiar to the public trains you have in Boston. The Penninsula does not have BART, just Cal Train, which I think sucks compared to BART. From the east bay BART can take you pretty much anywhere you need to be in SF, East Bay, and South Bay soon.

BART web site: http://www.bart.gov/index.asp

Like I said, I'm biased towards the East Bay. You need to come out and research a little. I'd also recommend the east bay since its has an edge, but its a little more mellow than SF and may ease your transition. Jumping in to SF is a little more hectic.

Overall I'd have to agree with what others have said in that if you are doing OK in the Boston area, coming out here won't be too much of a shock.

Here's a great tool for anyone that's looking for rental and housing prices in any area of the US. Some guy hooked up Google Map's open API to Craig's list. Brilliant:

www.housingmaps.com

And here are some funny points of view regarding the SF/East Bay thing written by my girlfriend:

SF
East Bay

Good luck!

Mike

 

As for your 1k rental thoughts. I live in Menlo Park (on the peninsula). I have a car port and additional off street parking should I need, a pool, and a one bedroom apartment. My rent is $850. It's a quiet, safe neighborhood. The only downside is basically having to drive everywhere. Maybe that's an upside since you get to drive a classic everyday.

 

It is a terrific area to live in. I would love to move to the LA area, but there is SOMETHING about the SF Bay area that I can't let go of, no matter how hard I bitch about cost of living and traffic. You get that everywhere. That said, I hope this thread has helped answer some of your questions. You got a many different points of view, and opinions from those that have lived/still live in SF proper.

Just hit up some HAMBrs when you visit in the summer.

 

Don't let 'em scare you about the gay thing, estimates are that 5% of humanity is gay, dunno about dogs, seems they don't care who they do. In San Fran there's about 10% gay, it's tolerated so they come there. It just seems like more because they're more overt than other places where it's not tolerated. No straights can afford to live in a gay neighborhood anyway so you're not gonna be around them much. Let's see, a married guy with 2 kids and one job can't afford what 2 gay guy couples who have 4 jobs can pay for rent. It's true! LOL

 

It's sort of strange, there are a LOT of people here in SF from Boston. There's even a Boston sports bar called "R Bar". I would suggest getting some sort of security for the car. I had one of mine stolen here in a safe neighborhood. I got it back, it had the autolock brake lock on it, so they used the park gear as a brake. They only made it two blocks before they abandoned it. If you do move here I'm pretty confident you'll love it. Now is also a good time. The housing market has stabilized a bit, and there's talk of "the bubble bursting" again.
Scott

 

Hopefully nobody will be stupid enough to try and steal my car, but shit if they can drive it I guesse they deserve it. My car has a 5speed with a hand clutch on the shifter, plus numerouse emergency shutoffs, so I don't think they will now how to even start the thing never mine driving it away. But I think by the time I get out there it will probably have an automatic in it.

 

Do the weather research also, San Fran is cold & gets fogged in.
You might want to look in the L.A.-O.C. area as well as San Diego, best year round weather and there are shops in Escondido that you may want to apply @.
Just giving ya options

 

I now live in the East Bay/Oakland/Piedmont area
It's f'n fantastic here. I've lived in rural Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Austin, TX, and NewYork and this is hands down the best place I've ever lived. It's currently rainy season, but I still love it. The last 2 days have been sunny and warm. And in the East Bay you avoid most of the hassles of living in SF.

Gas is currently $2.05 around here.

I don't ever have to drive anywhere. I can walk to everything, and take BART or a bus if I need to get into the city. My nieghborhood's pretty clean and safe.

Rent is $1500 for a real nice old upper house. I have a huge back fenced in area that holds my motorcycles and I can work on my car if needed. $1500 sounds like a lot, but split with a roomate (or girlfriend) it's not bad. Remember wages are higher here too.

Drive 30 minutes north or east and the population suddenly drops and it's a beautiful scenery. North on 101 is coastal driving and redwoods. East is hill land. There's so much more to do here compared to anywhere I've lived. Don't listen to the naysayers. Best Decision I Ever Made.

 

I'm in marin home to yuppies!! but i was lucky my family moved here before it it was yuppieized so the housing market was alot cheaper, now houses on my block are going for close to 1mil but they're one story simple houses, not mansions. the bay is a cool place though, lots of good shows and a very active hot rod "scene"

 

I agree, the only time I go to S.F. is for a show every now and then, and don't plan on bringing your car, ther is no parking any where and when you do find parking after looking arround for 30 min. you have to make sure some jealous hater asshole doesen't scratch your paint!! And yes to many fag's!
Move to the south bay ( san jose, campbell, santa clara, redwood city) it's
much nicer less traffic and you can rent a nice appartment or small house with a garage for what you would pay to rent a room in S.F., becouse you could end up paying more for a safe, covered parking space in S.F. than for a room!
Hey the scene down here in the south bay ain't bad either, some very cool shop's and great car clubs,too!

 

My home town.

"The City" as you will soon call it is great. If that's what you like.

YES it's expensive and YES it's crowed... that's why it's a city. If city life is your thing go for it. If you just like being close to it, live somewhere on the peninsula. I don't like crossing the bridges... but that's my own thing.

NOTE:
All the FAG stuff is really disapointing.
- They say that 1 in 10 people are gay. How many people on the HAMB?
- Drag queens like glitter and lace and crazy make up. Seen any cars at the last show with glitter.. lace patterned roofs... and crazy paint jobs?

 

Hey Steve: You will need a LOT of luck- finished work to show and trade references to get a job in 'the field'.
Id plan a bit more before you go- maybe HAVE some interviews lined up and a portfolio of your work.Maybe try to finish the 54 before you go.
Let us know if you plan to use any pics of our customers cars from when you worked for us at Chop-Shop Customs- we would be happyto tell your potential employers about your work.....

 

Hi
Sounds like you have gotton alot of good imput and advice, I have grown up in the Bay Area, and in the Hot Rod world. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else, We live in the East Bay, Concord and about a 45 min drive to The City, not including traffic.
If you decide to come out and check things out here is a couple of places to check out
Roy Brizio Street Rods, So San Francisco.(near the airport)
Moal Coachbuilders, Oakland
Vintage Color Studio, Concord (Darryl Hollenbeck's Shop)
Creative Concepts, Santa Rosa
Aiello Customs, Concord
Dominator's, Leonard Lopez, Brentwood
If you need help in finding contact info let me know,
Good Luck
Terri

 

Hey thanks alot. I have gotten a couple of contacts with shops and hopefully I can work something out. Going out there this summer for some interviews.