
Ask HN: True Apartment Costs in SF? - blahneverdies
For those here working in San Francisco, what is the true cost of, for example, a 1 BR apartment there, with a minimal commute to tech hubs?<p>I see a lot of posts mentioning numbers up to $3,500-4000. I&#x27;m sure those exist (everywhere), but I also see many on CL in the $2,500-2,800 range, which is still high of course but not as high as those other numbers, and not that far from (if not equivalent to) NYC and other high COL cities, where salaries are lower in comparison.<p>Certain articles may also pick out the highest-priced units to make a point.<p>Some of the ads I see may be deceptive, but I&#x27;ve seen enough that it seems like there are semi-decent places in that range.<p>Is that true?<p>State taxes are highest there as well, but it still comes down to net earnings, at least for purposes of this question. :)
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lowdest
$3500-4000 for a 1 bedroom is common, (I rent one) but it's also probably in a
nice, modern, new-construction building. Mine is 15th floor with a view, so
it's more than the bare necessities. Buildings like this have the best
marketing budget, so you see them all over the internet. The less developed
and less expensive areas will have a longer commute. You could live in the
east bay and ride Bart in e.g. at $11 per round trip from Berkeley. Your
company may provide a transit benefit so you can spend pre-tax dollars on your
commute.

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blahneverdies
Thanks, that makes sense for that quality of apartment.

I'd rather be in SF (but understood).

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anxman
2ndAddress could be a good way to get a feel for neighborhoods without having
to make a big commitment.

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taurath
2ndAddress is about 30-40% more expensive than airbnb monthly, FWIW.

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atarian
I pay less than $2000 for a studio in the Tenderloin. Obviously, not everyone
is willing to make that adjustment but if you want something cheap you can
definitely find it.

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lubujackson
Because of San Francisco's unique laws, you can sometimes get a much better
deal coming in as a new roommate to an existing lease than you might expect.
So if rents are running $5000-6000 for a 3 bedroom, someone in an older
building with a lease started 5 years ago might be paying $3000 for a
comparable unit. As you can imagine, those deals are harder to find but they
are not uncommon.

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jeffnv
I pay $2800 for a lovely 1br in SF, but the bus ride in door to door is always
over 45 minutes. If you have the option to work from home a couple days a week
or love bicycling, it's fine.

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kdaker
I just moved to SF in December and was thinking the same thing.

I saw a ton of posts of CL in the 2500-2700 range which is what I was aiming
for and thought It was gonna be easy.

But after moving and actually viewing the apartments it was not what I was
expecting. If you have a car and want to have a W/D it’s gonna be 3k minimum.

If you can ditch the car and not need in unit W/D you can find something in
that range... this is excluding the tenderloin.

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blahneverdies
Thanks, that's the sort of front line perspective I'm seeking!

Car no, clean clothes yes. (The laundromat's much less convenient and
enjoyable.)

I do know a lot of the SF housing stock isn't that great, just from looking--
bad kitchens and old furnishings, because "they" know they can get away with
it. (And you can bet they'd never live like that themselves: it's upgrades all
the way.)

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acchow
Naturally, it varies by location. Here's a rough map

[https://www.zumper.com/blog/2019/03/san-francisco-
neighborho...](https://www.zumper.com/blog/2019/03/san-francisco-neighborhood-
rent-map-spring-2019/)

The median doesn't show the whole picture. Median price in SOMA is higher than
median in the Mission. But median _qualiy_ in SOMA is higher too - many more
newer units, whereas Mission has a ton of older victorians.

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thatfrenchguy
Quality is subjective though: if you live in the Mission / Noe / Cole Valley,
you'll see less crazy homeless people and you'll be walking distance to more
interesting things and you'll get rent control, in exchange of which you won't
get a newer unit.

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squegles
My last apartment was $3200 for about 800 sq ft 1br in a quaint well kept
Victorian apartment building that was a 15 minute walk to FiDi. Had nice big
bay windows and all. My only gripe (not big ones either) was no washer/dryer
in unit although the building had some for tenants and street parking only.

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legitimator
I pay $3300 for a 700 sq ft 1 bed/1bath in a decent part of SoMA. It's got a
builtin W/D, doorman, pool, gym with sauna, private dog park. Aside the
doorman (which is super clutch for receiving packages!), I don't actually care
about any of the other amenities.

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gesman
Renting $4,500/mo, 3 bedroom (upper part) of house in San Mateo + 1 car garage
+ backyard. Close to Hwy 101 and 92 (and 280). 30-40 minutes drive to SF
and/or SJ.

Will be moving out soon, so if anyone interested - ping me.

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deeteecee
depends on your personal needs but if you're reasonable and want a 1 bedroom,
a $2500-$3000 is fair game and live near downtown. You can go much cheaper
(roughly half that price) if you're willing to live outside of downtown

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ambivalents
2800 for a nice 1BR in a nice neighborhood.

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blahneverdies
Thanks, for me $3k's a barrier not worth crossing (excepting FAANG-level
remuneration?), and that seems workable considering the salary difference I
see there.

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ambivalents
For sure. I saw your above comment about laundry -- I don't have W/D so have
to go to a laundromat about half a block away. I thought it'd be a dealbreaker
for me but it's not so bad, I just make a thing of it every 2 weeks, listen to
podcasts, and get through it. I've also used a pick up laundry delivery
service on occasion, so if you went that route you could factor that into your
monthly rent budget.

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romanr
Is it per week or per month?

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fzzzy
Month. Rent prices in the US are always per month.

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genS3
NYC 2,500-2,800 might be the average, if you live in manhattan, brooklyn,
hoboken, or anything close to manhattan it will be more.

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jklein11
An average 1 bedroom in Hoboken is probably closer to 2500-2800

