If all goes well (cross your fingers for me), I’ll be graduating with my master’s in June. I’m thinking of moving to the San Fransisco Bay Area after that.
So, what’s it like to live there? Are you happy living where you are? Are there any pieces of advice, words of warning, etc. that you would give to someone considering moving in?
Expensive. 
Other than that…
1.) Weather = mild and boring. Which can be good or bad, but mostly good. One wet season in the winter, virtually no rain the rest of the year ( which means green rolling hills for 3-4 months, dead brown for the rest ). Light dusting of snow once or twice a decade, showy lighning storms and hail are infrequent, funnel clouds an extreme rarity and we never get cold enough for ice storms.
The Bay Area is divided into a bizarre patchwork of microclimates - driving a couple of miles can = a twenty degree temperture shift. In general the extremes are cool, wet, foggy coastal SF and hottish and dry in far east ( East Bay , east of the coastal range from Orinda to Brentwood ). But really it can be all over the place. For example Tule fog is common in the valley.
2.) Politics - unabashedly and aggressively liberal. While there are bastions of fiscal conservatism, even some social conservatives, by and large even the wealthiest enclaves ( and there are many ) or rural ( few left ) tend towards a considerable streak of social libertarianism. Kerry got close to 85% of the vote in SF proper and you can find more than a few in that city who regard Gavin Newsom ( the mayor who started marrying gay couples and who recently threatened to picket alongside locked out hotel workers ) as a straight-laced moderate. There no major Republican office holders in the area that I can think of ( maybe the odd mayor or two ).
3.) Dining/Food - Dining is in the running for best in the country ( may or may not be tops, but certainly compeitive ), whether you like inexpensive mom & pop ethnic or fancy-shmancy expensive places of all types. Local produce, especially in the fairly common farmer’s markets, is generally superb. Supermarkets of all stripes ( from fancy Andronico’s to cut-rate places to all-organic quasi-collectives ) are common and easily accessible everywhere but the worst inner-city areas.
4.) Books/recordstores, museums, culture generally - Tons, very good and of all sorts.
5.) World-class scenery abounds and parklands are easily and relatively quickly accessible from almost anywhere.
A great place, all-in-all.
But did I mention that it is VERY expensive :D? Very - I believe it now beats out NYC for most expensive metropolitan area in the country in terms of non-commercial real estate. Don’t expect to buy even a starter home unless you come in with a pretty high-paying job ( and in the Bay Area that means well over 6 figures ) or tons of cash for a massive down payment. Median for all homesales topped $550k a couple of months ago, I believe. Rents are also rough.
Another negative is the traffic - it is the second-worst metropolitan area in the country after L.A. - buy a home in the boonies and your daily commute can be hours. You can get by without a vehicle if you live in certain well-positioned areas ( work and home near BART/bus lines ). But I wouldn’t recommend it. Being able to drive a short distance to some nice getaway is a tremendous stress-reliever.
Quite. I’ve lived in and been to many other parts of the country and the greater Bay Area is definitely my favorite. Despite the costs I have no intention of relocating at this point.
See above. As you get closer to a move and are looking for more specifics ( or if you want more now 
), I’m sure I or any of the numerous other Bay Area residents can offer more guided assistance.
Heaven!
As to the rest - incredibly expensive - see www.sfgate.com for the local (remaining large) newspaper. See housing prices - and, unless you are from Manhatten or Honolulu, be ready to be shocked/appalled.
Otherwise, damn near everything is here - we even had an Armenian/Turk fight a couple of years ago - how many other US cities can come close? Check out the church on Geary between about 26th or 27 Ave. You con’t see that architecture much in the US. There is a self-service gas station with instructions in about 7 languages, and signage in English, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Greek, Thai, Vietmanese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Slavic, and probaly a few more to be found here (Sorry, but I cannot differentiate among languages using the Cyrillic alphabet). The yellow pages for Churches was beyond belief to this midwest, USA boy.
It’s not seen much these days, but there is a prescribed ettiquette for those encountering couples actively engaged in sex - Remain about 15-20’ away, and quietly wait until the act is finished. Then reward the participants with whatever applause you feel the performance deserved.
We also are home to two feral flocks of parrots, and possible the last two operational fireboats (earthquakes destroy water mains, and, since we are surrounded on three sides by water, the boats are sometime the only pumpers which can be deployed).
Plan on spending about 2 weeks poking around GG park - it’s hard to remember that that area was sand dunes an rock out-croppings in the 1890’s, when contruction began. Note: the Women’s Building next to the fantastically restored carosel in the children’s playgound area, was built in circa 1895 - and it was build with approach ramps - not for wheel chairs, but baby ‘trams’ (carriages). It was built to provide the mothers/nurses a private, enclosed space to change diapers and breastfeed - in 1895!
Safety notes: Under NO circumstances go into the water off ocean beach to more than knee deep (less for small kids) - there is a vicious rip tide (which will pull you under, then out to sea - you’ll be dead before you can surface - we lose a couple of folks every few years.
The colored curbs DO mean something - you will learn them from either the handbook or by the experimental route - reading the book is MUCH cheaper.
If a bar serves ‘food’, itis a ‘restaurant’ - no age limits. Don’t freak if you see an 8 yr. old sitting at a bar - if the kid orders 3 fingers of bourbon, AND is served, feel free to freak.
You will live here for 10 years before you get clued on of the hidden garden-of-eden type locations - and some of them are revealed only after time and demonstration of “deserves to know” (yes, we can be quire exclusive about our town - there are still blacksmith shops, and 19th centuary hitching posts to be seen, and there is an on-again/off-again bar downtown which used to be for movie period pieces - if you replace the modern street lamp and replace it with a 19th century lamp, you are in 1890 - a bar, no stools, just a foot rail, and the upstairs rooms have been re-purposed for party rooms (guess what they were used fir originally). Rumor has it that the old Prohibition escape tunnel to a nearby hotel still exists. This was to allow to customers to avoid arrest in case the cops came.
And be sure to ask the REAL significance of Coit Tower (Lilly Coit was a serious fireman-groupie).
Don’t buy anything “asian” in China Town - those storefronts rent for astronomical rates - most rely on tourists who have no idea what they’re looking at.
You will, of course, need to visit the abomination that is Pier 39 - the only saving grace is that In-N-Out burgers have a shop there. At In-n-Out, ‘cheeseburger’ is pronounced ‘Double Double Animal’.
Enough for now.
The migration of the sea-lions from Seal Rock to the Pier several years ago has been a saving grace as well - endlessly amusing/fascinating ( if you’re me ) and a great way to make the most of another annoying stroll down that fucking strip with yet another curious and well-meaning out-of-town guest :).
To me, the SF Bay Area is the best place to live in the U.S., but I’m biased. I’ve lived here for a looong time (although I’ve lived elsewhere for a while and have traveled around the country quite a bit). The climate is great (but keep in mind that there are a lot of micro-climates around the Bay Area), you’re close to open waters, mountains (and skiing) within a half day’s drive, decent public transportation, cultural events (opera, symphonies, plays, etc.), and, best of all, a very diverse population. Politically, generally very liberal and very tolerant of alternative life styles and viewpoints. But there are also many communities of more middle-of-the-road politics.
You’re close to two of the greatest universities in the country - Berkeley and Stanford. There are also a lot of other good universities if you’re interested in continuing your education. Silicon Valley is down the peninsula and offers hi-tech job opportunities. Many major companies either have headquarters or major operations in the Bay Area.
Now the down side … property values (and rents) are very high, as are gas prices. So the cost of living vs. the Midwest can be staggering. However, to offset some of this, professional salaries are pretty competitive and should account for this higher cost of living. Like all large urban cities, SF and Oakland have their share of problems, such as homeless people, crime, and the usual grittiness on the streets. But you’ll learn what areas of the city to stay away from at night. If you’re into pro sports, every sport is represented, although all the teams suck right now. The baseball teams are always competitive.
My advice is to come visit, stay a spell, and check it out. I got a feeling you’ll stick around.
Oh yes…
Whale watching - a conservation group runs out of Fort Mason; private operators abound - seeing a California Gray’s fluke at 30 feet is something everyone shoud see.
If you want to work in San Francisco, you might want to considered living in another county, and commuting down to the city. Forget about Marin county, and Sonoma county’s getting pricey, too. (Plus side, lots of redwoods. Bad side; the redwoods may crush your spirit.)
The politics are, indeed, very liberal. If you’re a conservative (or even a centrist) it can get irritating. (Hippies probably wouldn’t come and burn a cross on your lawn, or anything, don’t get me wrong.)
Just forget about SFO. Try Oakland International.
The five mile stretch of land north of the Golden Gate Bridge is the most beautiful place on the planet, in my book. (But I’m weird that way.)
The Tenderloin and Hunter’s Point aren’t very nice sections of the city.
On the plus side, of all the cheesy movies I’ve seen, San Francisco isn’t outright destroyed by monsters too often. That’s got to be a good omen. (The Bridge bites it, often enough, though. And there are the occasional monster, psycho, and maniac infestations…eh, better than Godzilla or an H-Bomb, at least.)
I’ll be doing that in December–from Dec. 19 through Jan. 2, to be precise. Two weeks in the Bay Area, hanging out with MaxTheVool and another old friend of mine. Woo-hoo!! Anybody else want to get together for lunch or something while I’m in town?
I can’t really stick around after that unless I want to give up my degree, though. At this point, I’ve worked way too hard and put up with way too much crap to let that go. But I’ll be free to live wherever I want after June.
I love it here. I live in downtown Walnut Creek. I have a car, but the beautiful thing about living where I do is that I don’t need to use the car every time I want to go grocery shopping or go out to eat.
The Bay Area’s not for everybody. If your dream in life is a single-family house on a large lot without an hours-long commute to work, it’s not for you. If bad or aggressive drivers scare you to death, it’s not for you. Maybe there are some small towns where everybody knows everybody else somewhere in the outer Bay Area, but you probably won’t find much of that in the central Bay Area. We hardly know any of our neighbors in our apartment complex (of course, part of this is just that we’re not terribly social).
You should look at forrent.com, rent.net, apartmentguide.com, or something similar before you plan to move here, so you won’t have to deal with sticker shock when you see the rents out here. Condo and house prices are also very high relative to the rest of the country. Lots for single-family homes are usually quite small- there’s not likely to be a lot of yard space between you and your neighbors.
Car taxes are high, too, and you’ll have to renew your registration every year. The registration fee is based on the value of your car. If you have a new, not-particularly-expensive car, expect to pay at least a couple hundred dollars each year. I’ve heard that traffic fines, for speeding or for things like driving in the carpool lane without enough people in your car, are higher here than in other states.
Parking is tight in many areas. I strongly recommend looking for an apartment or condo with assigned parking spaces. Not having assigned parking would be a deal-breaker for me on an apartment. Oh, and if you don’t know how to parallel park, you will probably want to learn.
Weather works differently here than in the East or Midwest. There, cities a few miles apart usually don’t have high or low temperatures more than a few degrees apart. That’s not true here. The climate varies based on how many mountain ranges are between you and the coast. If you’re right on the coast, it’s usually cool and often foggy. Further inland, you get less rain and it’s warmer and sunnier.
I love it here. I pretty much agree with everything said so far.
The best part about the bay area is that people here are so accepting. I took it for granted until I moved to Vermont. Even in liberal Burlington, I felt some pretty uptight conservative vibes (relatively speaking.) Here you can truly be anything you want. For example, a grown man with a beard and a dress can walk down the street and although no one would go out of their way to talk to him, he won’t get hassled either. Gay pride/liberation/equality is totally accepted. The art and music scene is off the hook. The intellectual scene is off the hook. And you can’t beat the weather.
-Ghanima, back in the bay area after a five year absence and very happy about it!
There are a lot of things to love about the Bay Area. I absolutely loved living in Berkeley for several years, and still miss it–but I’m glad I don’t live in the Bay Area now. I was more than happy to get out of Silicon Valley, and I think anyone who wants to live in SF is crazy (my college bf thinks anyone who doesn’t want to live there is crazy–so it’s a good thing we didn’t get married).
It’s a great place, but you have to be willing to put up with a lot, and it’s not for everyone.
A month or so ago was the Folsom Street Fair, a leather/bondage street fair. To commemmorate, the City put up a twenty-foot bondage flag and the corner of Castro and Market, replacing the rainbow flag for the week.
While it may be no surprise for the Castro, Castro & Market is one of the largest, busiest intersections in town, and is a major thoroughfare between the downtown area, residential areas, and the Peninsula.
And it’s “San Francisco.” Don;t worry, it’s one of the most common city misspellings there is.
I should point out that Silicon Valley is a suburban wasteland. It doesn’t count. Stay north of Daly City and Hayward and you’ll be fine.
OK, maybe I’m missing something, here, but how could redwoods crush someone’s spirit? What do you mean?
A friend of mine who spent many years in Oakland calls one of the famous California universities “The People’s Republic of Berkeley.”
Dangermom–Why were you happy to get out of the Bay Area, and why wouldn’t you live there now?
This is true. The only advantage to living down here is that you’re within a reasonable drive of Berkeley, S.F. and Santa Cruz, so you really can do just about anything you want on the weekends, giving Silicon Valley a definite advantage over suburban wastelands in other parts of the country. But living in East Bay (near Berkeley) or on the Peninsula (near S.F.) is still much, much better. Do that if you can.
I love the Bay Area, and can think of few places I’d rather live. The weather is awesome, there’s tons to do both nearby (museums, plays, beaches, hiking, etc.) and a few hours drive away (skiing at Lake Tahoe, camping in Yosemite, Big Sur, etc.), an incredible variety of restaurants and cool places to explore.
The only downsides are the cost and the overcrowding – traffic can be pretty awful depending on where and when you’re driving, and popular shopping locations (Ikea, Costco, etc.) are pretty unbearable on the weekends.
Mainly because although I loved a lot of things about Berkeley and the Bay Area, there were other things I wanted more. I don’t like crowding and lots of people; I want to live in a small/medium-sized town. I hated driving for half an hour to get anywhere at all (that was later, in Silicon Valley, which as above doesn’t quite count, but it holds true for about anywhere, except in Berkeley and SF, where you can–or have to–walk a lot of places). Driving in the Bay Area is a lot like being in a video game, when the traffic isn’t stopped. I wanted to be closer to family. I wanted someplace with more trees, where I could have some land to garden in and for kids to run around on, for less than $700,000. Essentially, I’m not really a big-city person; I like to have fields nearby.
Things I liked: the diversity, the bookstores and libraries, the restaurants, some of the architecture, the history, the weird quirks. A lot of the people, and their homes. I’m sure you’ll love it; it just wasn’t for me permanently.
(But now I live in a town I love, with trees and a creek to play in, with a garden, history and weird quirks of its own, an almost-decent bookstore, a sad library (but it’s where I work), and I can get across town in 10 minutes. The lack of diversity was a shock, but it’s getting better. We have our own neat people. I probably get to more cultural events here, because it’s cheap and no hassle, and we get a lot of good stuff. So I don’t feel that I’m really missing all that much.)
It can get very dark in the winter when you’re constantly surrounded by very tall trees. That was my experience on campus at UC Santa Cruz, anyway. But not many places (that people actually live in, anyway) are as forested at the UCSC campus.
Another good thing about the Bay Area: the BADs!
A lot of people can’t believe I left California to come to the Midwest, because of the weather. But the weather isn’t that huge a deal to me, and I think having four really distinct seasons is interesting. If you go to the Bay Area, I guarantee you will find yourself missing things you’d never thought of, like watching all the leaves change, and that great feeling you get when the snow has finally melted. It never occurred to me before I left that I would miss hills or the smell of eucalyptus, but there you have it. I’ve been away from the Bay Area for a few years now and I wonder sometimes if I’ll ever move back. I’d like to someday, I think, if only to be close to my parents. If I could afford it, that is.
This is a complete myth. The leaves around where I work (north east bay) are currently yellow, red, green and brown. The ivy leaves on the sound walls on the freeway are all rainbow colored. We have colors here on the west coast, too.
I lived in Vermont where the fall colors are supposed to be soooo great. It’s a marketing tool, people. Actually, the colors are stunning but its mostly because they have so many deciduous trees and so the vista are really impressive, whereas we in Cali have a lot of evergreens so it doesn’t look as dramatic. Also, the colors in Vermont lasted about two weeks before everything fell on the ground and all the trees looked dead. Here, the colors last for months.
Also, I love the rainy season in the bay area. Sure it makes the traffic SUCK, but I love the storms we get. And if you miss snow, just drive about three hours east. We DO have all four seasons, its just that ours are nicer.
Ummm, lots of cities have fireboats.
I agree with most of what has been posted here. The biggest shock for me moving out here from the southeast was the vague lack of hospitality. Yes, people are a very accepting of “diversity” here, but that doesn’t directly translate into friendliness. People aren’t exactly hostile, but there’s a definite vibe of “you’re on your own.” Your mileage may vary.
Still a great place to live, though. The expense sucks, and the traffic really sucks, but on the whole it’s good. Definitely the most beautiful metropolitan area I’ve ever seen. Great food, everywhere, of every type and ethnicity. I’ve lived in the suburbs and in the city, and which one you choose depends on what you’re hoping to get – weather is better in the suburbs and it’s generally more convenient, but there’s tons of stuff going on in the city at all times, if you’re willing to put up with the fog and the slow public transportation.