San Francisco thoughts

[94BlkNSXinNC]

Well, it is still in the very, very rough stages but I am contemplating a move to San Francisco with my company.

My question to my fellow Prime members may be a bit on and off topic, but what general input/advice could you offer me? I, of course, am interested to know what the car scene is like. I currently live in Charlotte, NC, so not much goes on here! And yes, it would be quite a distant relocation, but the company will assist with that.

Also, what are some other "unforeseen" topics/issues that I may encounter? I know the housing market is INSANE, but is buying a possibility with a sub-6 figure income (for all I know, there is a COL supplement but I know no details currently)? It is just me and my wife so I am not looking for much square-footage.

Once again, sorry for both on and off topic questions, but I figured this would be the best method for attaining information from a familiar crowd. Any all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Chuck

 

[jimbonuttz]

Chuck,

I know the feeling, I recently relocated from Connecticut all the way to the bay area right below san francisco in a city called San Jose where the housing cost is insane, but in all honesty I would do it all over again if I could no complaints or regrets here. Of course you miss your friends/family ect but This area has so much more to offer in general then where I was originally, not sure if that's the case for you.

The car scene is probably alot better considering it's California and all weathers beautiful compared to back east as well, though you're up in SF it might be misty/rainy quite often but nothing to bad.

I assume with your wife works as well or will work when you move out here? If so, I don't think you'll have any problem.


and if that doesn't sell you...the bay area NSX guys get together quite often when we can and every Friday night the s2000 guys have their weekly meet which hosts 50+ cars at any given week and you can probably see 1-5+ NSX who would regularly go to this meet.

Jimmy

 

[jagtiger]

San Francisco is a beautiful city. Very romantic - so rich in culture. I'd move there in a heartbeat.

 

[NimbleSexyXquisite]

I live in SOcal, But very familiar with Frisco.

You will love it. Car scene is good,but not as good as Socal :tongue:

Weather is GREAT.

Only thing is the cost of living. So get all you can get from your employer.

I would relocate, its a better opportunity!

 

[94BlkNSXinNC]

Thanks to everyone for the great (and fast!) responses! Yes, with a meet virtually every week or so, it is a much better car scene.

My wife is a teacher, so with both of our incomes I feel quite confident we could enjoy ourselves. The last thing I want to do is sell the car though!

As mentioned in the previous thread, it is still very early in the stages of this possibly happening, so I'm not getting too excited yet (never count my chickens before they hatch...). I have heard nothing but great things, so hopefully this will work out for me. My company lists it as the "East Bay" area. Any insight on that area? Thanks again to all!

**I was just noticing, every to reply drives berlina black NSX's. Very nice!

 

[KooLaid]

I live about 2 hours away but I try to escape there as much as possible. It's such a beautiful city by the sea. I breath deep every time I go. I would say it's the biggest city with the freshest air.

Like the former nsw owner I met at the Milipitas meet about his new ferrari f360. "The price of admission is high but, it's been worth every penny." If you can afford to do, more power to you. I only dream of moving up there and being to actually live an "ok" life. Good Luck with your decision!

 

[DDankew]

IF your income is below $ 100,000 it would be hard to buy in SF. However you can rent as well. In the East Bay it is definitely a lot cheaper to buy but there are areas that you wouldn't want to live in either.

If you can afford to stay in San Francisco, do it, and try the newer areas like South Beach or South of Market lots of new housing. You can find cheap housing in Hayward, San Leandro, Newark and El Cerrito. I would avoid San Pablo and Richmond. Once you get past the East bay hills and into the valley, it gets pricy again..(Pleasanton, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Danville).

Good Luck. (No offense to people who live in Richmond or San Pablo).

 

[BATMANs]

650 area code > everything in the bay area with regards to job, weather and wealth.

 

[94BlkNSXinNC]

IF your income is below $ 100,000 it would be hard to buy in SF. However you can rent as well. In the East Bay it is definitely a lot cheaper to buy but there are areas that you wouldn't want to live in either.

If you can afford to stay in San Francisco, do it, and try the newer areas like South Beach or South of Market lots of new housing. You can find cheap housing in Hayward, San Leandro, Newark and El Cerrito. I would avoid San Pablo and Richmond. Once you get past the East bay hills and into the valley, it gets pricy again..(Pleasanton, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Danville).

Good Luck. (No offense to people who live in Richmond or San Pablo).

This is great information! I must ask, however, define "cheap".:biggrin: I know what cheap is over this way, but I'd love to know what that means in SF. Thanks for the great information!

 

[jimbonuttz]

This is great information! I must ask, however, define "cheap".:biggrin: I know what cheap is over this way, but I'd love to know what that means in SF. Thanks for the great information!

well in the silicon area that i'm in to purchase a 1bdrm condo would probably run you 4-500K. If your area back in NC was anything like where I came from that could possibly buy you a hugeeeeee house with lots of yard/land

but don't let that scare ya...i'm sure you'll find something to your liking and affordable. just keep in mind, you can not compare buying a house in this area with where you currently are, that's my biggest issue as well

 

[randomharmony]

Thanks to everyone for the great (and fast!) responses! Yes, with a meet virtually every week or so, it is a much better car scene.

My wife is a teacher, so with both of our incomes I feel quite confident we could enjoy ourselves. The last thing I want to do is sell the car though!

As mentioned in the previous thread, it is still very early in the stages of this possibly happening, so I'm not getting too excited yet (never count my chickens before they hatch...). I have heard nothing but great things, so hopefully this will work out for me. My company lists it as the "East Bay" area. Any insight on that area? Thanks again to all!

**I was just noticing, every to reply drives berlina black NSX's. Very nice!

Chuck,

Welcome to the bay area. You will like it out here. I recently moved out to the "East Bay" after living near the San Jose area for the past 7 years.

The housing is a lot more affordable out here compare to most other areas. FYI, I am currently renting out my 1st floor private suite, and Yawn is also renting out his place. Same community, it's a 3 story single family house with 2 car garage.

Good luck to ya!:smile:

 

[sojusoulja]

Moving to San Francisco is a tough Call. I've lived in San Francisco for 27 years. I have a business here (construction company). What type of comapny do you have?

Pros-
Beautiful scenery. Great night life. Great people (for the most part) Lots of places to eat. Good demographic.

Cons-
Ridiculously expensive housing. Expensive rent for office space or what not. Pretty much expense wise its not good at all.

I'm starting another business and i'm acutally moving out of the city towards the east bay, Hayward/Oakland/Fremont.


to give you an idea my warehouse in Fremont is going to be NNN >$.55 per sq. ft.
My warehouse in San francisco is $3.20 (or if I wanted to I could rent it out for that much)

 

[Ultraman]

This is great information! I must ask, however, define "cheap".:biggrin: I know what cheap is over this way, but I'd love to know what that means in SF. Thanks for the great information!

I would probably say nothing here (in terms of housing) is considered "cheap" per say ... From what I see, $600K will get you a nice townhome ... if you're looking for a single house with a decent size yard, we're talking $800K+ in a decent neighborhood ... I know this is hard to believe but I'm telling the truth ...

 

[jimbonuttz]

and then that's when they hit you up with PROPERTY TAX!!! *GASPS* lol sorry if we're scaring you off... just know there are tons of people that live here, no reason why you wouldn't be able to make it work either!

 

[slamstrom]

Thanks to everyone for the great (and fast!) responses! Yes, with a meet virtually every week or so, it is a much better car scene.

My wife is a teacher, so with both of our incomes I feel quite confident we could enjoy ourselves. The last thing I want to do is sell the car though!

As mentioned in the previous thread, it is still very early in the stages of this possibly happening, so I'm not getting too excited yet (never count my chickens before they hatch...). I have heard nothing but great things, so hopefully this will work out for me. My company lists it as the "East Bay" area. Any insight on that area? Thanks again to all!

**I was just noticing, every to reply drives berlina black NSX's. Very nice!

I grew up in San Francisco, and I am now living in the South Bay (about an hour away, possible 45 in the NSX). I visit S.F. at least once every other month. Love to visit S.F., but S.F. is not too NSX friendly. Can't park your NSX on the street unless you want your bumpers scratched from other cars. Parking garage spaces seems to be smaller than parking spaces that I am use to in the South Bay (potential door dings). No real place for your NSX to run in the city. However, to get out of the city, Interstate 280 and Highway 1 is great for your NSX to excercise. Just looked at some open houses in S.F. last month. A 1400 sq. ft. house in the Sunset district is running about $750,000 depending on condition and how close you are from the beach prices are lower as you move closer to the beach). Houses in the St. Francis Woods district starts from $1.5 million on up (same for Sutro Heights). Should be plenty of job opportunity for both you and your wife in the S.F. Bay Area. Which part of the East Bay will you be relocating to for your company? The west side of San Francisco Bay is greener than the east side. Sorry, don't have a berlina black NSX.

 

[94BlkNSXinNC]

Hahaha. Having a BB NSX is certainly not a necessity to post info. Yeah, the prices mentioned are basically what I was thinking.

As mentioned, details are nowhere near finalized, so I'm not sure what will come of the opportunity. It will upset my wife, but I really don't care how big of a place I live in. I am all about location, and must have atleast a 1 car garage for the X. My daily is my company vehicle. As for office space, that won't be necessary, as I will work from home. I'm not a tax expert, but if I rent would I be able to write off the office % of rent? I know if you own, it can come back to bite you when selling...

All and all, I really like what I hear. The encouraging comments will certainly push me to pursue this further. Thanks everyone, and as said before I welcome any and all information/opinions. Prime is truly a great site! Not only do we know cars, we know geographies. Good stuff. Thanks again everyone!

Chuck

 

[jimbonuttz]

if you're not sold yet just think about all the wonderful nsx prime members you've met just through this thread alone that you can meet up with :biggrin:

 

[sojusoulja]

Oppositely, I've known a few biotech people who've moved to NC

 

[94BlkNSXinNC]

if you're not sold yet just think about all the wonderful nsx prime members you've met just through this thread alone that you can meet up with :biggrin:

You got that right! You all have been extremely receptive. Maybe the stars will align and I can make the move! Thanks for the comments "Jimbo"!

Oppositely, I've known a few biotech people who've moved to NC

And I bet they are living like kings/queens! For 500k you can buy quite the beautiful home in a great neighborhood. Thanks.

 

[NMYMIRR]

Hahaha. Having a BB NSX is certainly not a necessity to post info. Yeah, the prices mentioned are basically what I was thinking.

As mentioned, details are nowhere near finalized, so I'm not sure what will come of the opportunity. It will upset my wife, but I really don't care how big of a place I live in. I am all about location, and must have atleast a 1 car garage for the X. My daily is my company vehicle. As for office space, that won't be necessary, as I will work from home. I'm not a tax expert, but if I rent would I be able to write off the office % of rent? I know if you own, it can come back to bite you when selling...

All and all, I really like what I hear. The encouraging comments will certainly push me to pursue this further. Thanks everyone, and as said before I welcome any and all information/opinions. Prime is truly a great site! Not only do we know cars, we know geographies. Good stuff. Thanks again everyone!

Chuck

I'm a native San Franciscian, basically live here forever, and wouldn't live anywhere else in the bay area. I own a house here with a 5 car garage, so parking for me is not an issue for me. To me the PROS outweigh the CONS. You'll like it here just as long as you deal with the CONS. You only live once so, MAKE THE MOVE! :biggrin:

PROS
San Francisco is a beautiful city with nice restaurants, spetacular city scape, comfortable weather (mostly on the cooler side), rich in culture, history, very diverse and excellent public transportation unlike other surrounding cities.

CONS
Some of the down side IMHO are high cost of living, finding parking in certain
parts of the city, gas price (continues to rise - almost/getting close to $4.00 a gallon for premium ).

 

[KooLaid]

You could always live a little further from the bay and just ride a motorcycle in. It's WAY WAY WAY faster than a car because traffic jams were designed for cars lol lane splitting is legal, so your speed even though won't be at the limit but well above standing still.

I say if you can afford it, live close. If not, live a little further away. The drive even though the miles might say 50 or 60, feels like 20 minutes after rush hour traffic is gone. On my past weekend there, I stayed at a nice hotel in Pacifica and was always in san jose area, about 50+ miles away. It felt like such a short drive.

 

[KooLaid]

Chuck,

Welcome to the bay area. You will like it out here. I recently moved out to the "East Bay" after living near the San Jose area for the past 7 years.

The housing is a lot more affordable out here compare to most other areas. FYI, I am currently renting out my 1st floor private suite, and Yawn is also renting out his place. Same community, it's a 3 story single family house with 2 car garage.

Good luck to ya!:smile:

I just looked at those links. I love that D.R. Horton Duet home! That's an awesome little place!

Also, if I was looking for a place in the Bay, I would be all over your private suite you're renting out. That's a killer price!

 

[lburns1969]

I'm confused; If you work from home, why would you need to be so close to the city?

 

[94BlkNSXinNC]

I wouldn't necessarily need to live near the city. Just an idea. I would like to be close to it though...

That master suite is a great deal! If I do, infact, make to SF I will definitely be looking to see if it is still available (my gut feeling is probably not though!). Thanks again.

 

[KooLaid]

Yeah but you gotta make sure if it's ok if your nsx shares in the glory of the garage with his nsx lol. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem, haha. That would be quite the sight!