

What is the best way to live in the Bay Area[San Francisco] on 100k? - Zisko

I&#x27;m moving to the Bay Area [preferably San Francisco], and am going to be making about $100k. If I am 21 years old and at the start of my career, how much rent can I afford? What is my ideal budget after taxes? Where in San Francisco should I live (or not, since I will be commuting to one of the big tech companies)?
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anonfunction
You'll probably take home somewhere around $5k a month after taxes. Rent will
eat half of that, but living on $2.5k a month is easily manageable and you
should be able to put some savings away as well.

I prefer to live in the city proper, but many people who prefer a more quiet
lifestyle are perfectly content to stay in south SF or across the bay.

Commuting is easy, if a bit slow. Between BART, Muni and Caltrain getting to
and from anywhere in the Bay Area is possible. I sold my car before moving
here and haven't looked back. If I need to pick something up or leave the city
for the day I just use getaround.

Hope that helps :)

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Zisko
Thank you!

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panorama
You can afford any apartment in the city, but spending a ton on rent isn't the
requirement everyone makes it out to be. I live in a new building 2 blocks
from the Caltrain and pay $1200 a month. Just be diligent about it (as others
have mentioned: roommates, location-specific, etc.). Leverage your network if
possible. My friend in finance who makes close to 7 figures just got a room in
a rent-controlled apartment and pays 800/month in the heart of the Marina.

Have fun in the city, but be mindful about saving as well.

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rgovind
Can you tell a bit more about this friend and his skillset/role? $1M is a lot
of money to make.

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panorama
Options trader at one of the highest performing west coast firms (I think).
Bonuses make up most of that figure.

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anonfunction
If your friend really does make 7 figures a year he is not helping the current
housing crisis in SF by taking a rent-controlled apartment that someone with a
lower income might have depended on.

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steven2012
Live with a bunch of people and split the rent so that you're paying as little
as possible. Don't live outside your means, and SAVE SAVE SAVE.

Also, work hard, and LEARN LEARN LEARN. Your salary, if you are good and work
very hard, will rise faster than you can imagine and if you live a frugal
lifestyle, you will have a lot of money in 10 years.

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lastofus
Don't rule out living in Oakland, especially around the Lake Merritt area.
It's a nice downtown area (getting nicer), rent will be cheaper, and you can
often get to downtown SF faster than from other parts of SF (like from the
Richmond district).

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andkon
Agreed, with one caveat: Lake Merritt is sleeeeeepy. If you're around 30 or
have kids, it'd probably be your scene, but there are definitely better parts
of Oakland for younger folks.

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mateo411
If you want to live in the City, now is a great time in your life to do this.

You can get your own studio and it will cost you between 2K and 2.5K. A better
idea would be to find some roomates. You can get a bigger place, pay less
rent, and live with with interesting people.

Good luck!

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iamjdg
whatever you do keep your costs as low as possible (roommates, live in a motor
home, minimize commute, etc.). Strive to save 80% of your take home pay and
live off only 20%. If you do this and invest your savings in low cost index
funds, then working will be optional for you in less than 6 years. Meaning you
can work on what you want. Don't fall into the debt/slave trap. Most fun/happy
times happen because of experiences and the people you hang with, not because
you spend a lot of money. Being so young and just starting out, your life will
revolve around work anyways (time spent, friends).

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dennybritz
Sounds like good advice, but here's another take on it: I'm in my 20s and
didn't save any of the money I made. I immediately spent (on startups, travel
or invested in myself) all of it. I have a bit of debt but not too much. I
don't regret a single bit of it. I've lived in 5 different countries for
longer periods of time, met amazing people from all over the world, and had a
blast. I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. And because I invested
most of the money in myself I found that I obtained a lot of skills,
experiences and relationships that allow me to make a lot more money in the
future than I would have if I had followed a regular career path for a couple
of years.

Too many people undervalue time and health and overvalue money. You can always
make money. But you're only young once. IMO the best thing you can do is
invest time and money in yourself, not in any kind of fund. The lifetime ROI
is higher.

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iamjdg
i'm om with such a choice as long as you don't go into debt to do it.

"a bit of debt but not too much"...this is relative, thousands is probably ok,
tens of thousands or more not ok.

the whole reason to save most of your income is so you can have free time to
do with what you please (work more, travel, start up, nothing). the investment
part is only so you can earn a respectable interest (8% to 10% vs 1% to 2% in
a savings account) for you to live off of.

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dennybritz
I agree with the debt. Let's put it like this, I would be out of debt if I
worked for a 4-5 months and saved 50%.

What I'm advocating against is the notion of working hard for 5-10 years and
sacrificing your youth while saving a lot of money and postponing things you
want to do with your life. Whatever you want to do in the future at some point
it'll be too late. Once you hit your 30s priorities start to shift. You start
thinking about having a family. This means you'll need stable lifestyle not
just in terms of money, but also in terms of work hours (= no startups).
Excessive travel is no longer possible. Perhaps you need to take care of your
parents. Or you may simply become complacent with your current lifestyle (this
happens unconsciously more than consciously). Suddenly the startups, travel
and fun that the money was supposed seem a lot more risky and unrealistic than
they seemed when you were in the beginning of your 20s.

I'm all for saving. But don't sacrifice things you want to do in return for
money.

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neduma
[https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/sub/4929488362.html](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/sub/4929488362.html)

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mimog
Do 21 year old people at the start of their career really take home $100K in
SF? Thats crazy. How much would a 30 year old with a masters in CS get?

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dennybritz
Unfortunately salaries in the bay area seem to be inversely proportional to
age ;) That's only half kidding. Many companies are willing to pay premiums
for what I'd call "future potential" of new hires. With 30 and supposedly 5-10
years of work experience you'd be expected to already have "proven" your
potential. Your degree will matter a lot less than what you've actually done
in the past. If you don't have much to show for your experience it may well be
that you'd actually be offered less than a promising candidate right out of
college. However, $100k seems about average. There are people who are offered
150k (+ 100-300k stock grants) out of college at some of the "hottest"
startups.

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hottiesteaching
try to find a roomate and split the rent! its really expensive to live in san
francisco!

I was living there two months, and the prices are not lower than 4k!

