Moving to SF

[StokedTaco]

I've seen a lot of visiting SF threads, but none have been too helpful with moving. Anyways, I'm highly considering moving to SF withing a year. Is there anyone that can throw any advice my way? It looks like I won't find an apartment less than $1000 a month. My girlfriend and I will be moving with at least 8 months of rent saved up in advanced, but i'd like to find a job ASAP. But what do you guys do for a living to support living in such an expensive city? I will be a certified welder prior to moving there, and i'm open for any job that would help me pay the bills. I've considered living in Oakland for cost savings, but i don't think it will be the same as living in the city. Can anyone help out with any pointers or advice? Any decent neighborhoods (obviously avoid the TL and Hunters Point).
Thanks in advance

[McBrandt]

Well, I just moved to Oakland a few months ago, so I guess I might have some pertinent advice. My girlfriend got a job here first, which paid for our relocation. I moved up for good about two months after she did. It took me about 3 months to land a job. The market is finicky, but there are a lot of jobs up here. Plenty of temping/staffing agencies to help you out, as well. All of my interviews came from applying through craigslist, though. You can scour it and apply before you move, but if the position you're looking at isn't one they normally relocate for, then you probably won't hear anything until you've actually moved and have a local address to put on your resume/CV.
 
We were contemplating living in the city, it's really what I wanted the most. But, her job was located in the east bay, so we got a place over here in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. My job is actually in the city, north of the financial district a bit, so I BART to work. Even though we live in the east bay, we're in the city pretty much every weekend. Sometimes, it's nice to just head over on the ferry or the Bart with a bike and cruise around for the day, then get out of dodge back over here at the end of it, where it's a little quieter. But there are also events that I miss because it's a bit of a hassle to get over to the city for just an hour or two at night. As far as rent costs, I don't even know if you can get studios for $1000 in the city anymore. At least not in decent neighborhoods. You could get a one bedroom apartment in Berkeley/Oakland for about $1050 or so, but the neighborhood might be so-so. We pay a few hundred more than that, but we're pretty much in the nicest neighborhood in Oakland. If you want hip and a little grit, you could look around Temescal. Berkeley is rent controlled, and you're always fighting for places with tons of students.

I don't know much about the welding field, but I'd be inclined to think that there would be more welding jobs in the east bay than there would be in the city/peninsula. But if you lived in the city and commuted eastward, you'd be going against the normal traffic and it might not be as bad. Hope this info helps some.

[StokedTaco]

Damn, thanks a lot for the tip. A bunch of good info. in there. I'll have to look into the Oakland option, (I've only been there once). I don't plan on finding a welding position upon moving right away. I should have almost a year of rent saved up to get settled in and seek a job, that should be pretty helpful.
What is minimum wage out there? Also, what about living more south bay such as Daly City? Or is that pretty expensive also? Or more hood? It seems like the commute may be easier than across the bay from Oakland.
Thanks for the info. i'm open to all advice.

[StokedTaco]

Also McBrandt, you obviously don't need a car living in the city, but what about Oakland? Will it be necessary do you think?
What are some of the decent neighborhoods in Oakland you'd recommend looking into? Anything to stay away from?
Thanks!

[McBrandt]

My girlfriend and I both have cars, but I rarely use mine. Maybe once a week. My girl commutes with hers. The only time I use my car to go into the city is if I'm going way out to the Sunset district or something, since it's quicker and cheaper than public transit, and there's actually parking out there. I woudn't say it's necessary to have one in Oakland. It's convenient sometimes, like if you need to haul some shit around, but otherwise you've got the Bart and the buses. It depends on your work commute most, I guess. I'd never been to the east bay (apart from driving through on the highway) until the weekend before we had to move our stuff. Oakland has a cool feel all its own. I'm not super familiar with the whole of it yet, but I don't think it's as bad as its rep makes it out to be. It's a city though, so you just gotta use city sense. I'd say most North Oakland neighborhoods are nice, like Rockridge, Temescal, Piedmont. I hear the Lake Merritt area is nice, though I haven't been down there yet. Maybe someone can chime in with neighborhoods to stay out of, since all I kind of hear is East and West Oakland can be rough, but don't quote me on it.

I don't know what minimum wage is, but you can find warehouse type jobs for at least $12/hr fairly easily on both sides of the Bay, from what I saw.

I'm not super familiar with the South Bay. I know that Daly City is cheaper than the city, but I also hear it's foggier and there are a lot of filipino residents (not saying that in a positive or negative way, just a random comment I heard). I think as you go south, it gets cheap, then it starts getting expensive again. Burlingame is a super quiet, fancy little neighborhood that's on the pricey side. I'm not really familiar with anything between Burlingame and the city, though. My guess would be the costs are similar to the east bay.

[Nosferatu]

Most of your jobs and housing questions will be answered here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/

Looks like you can find a few one bedroom and studios in the low $1000 range in SF. Your dollar can go alot further with rent in Oakland though. I'd get a 6 month lease somewhere in north oakland and look for jobs on both sides of the bay. BART makes it pretty easy to commute. At least to places around downtown SF or the mission.

[StokedTaco]

Hell yeah, thanks a bunch for the input pals, gnars all around. I more than likely will be selling my car prior to moving. I'm looking into jobs and housing situations for North Oakland on craigslist right now. Keep the advice coming, open to anything and everything.

[McBrandt]

I can't imagine there being decent places in SF for around $1000, but I could be wrong. The rental market is craze due to this whole new tech boom going on with all these businesses in the SoMa district. All you ever see is articles on how rent is gnarly and finding a place is hard. Regardless, finding a place when you live out of town will be difficult. The good ones pop up and are gone quick. If you're not here to look at them or hand a check, it's definitely difficult. Somehow, we were lucky and found a place within one weekend. Your best bet is to get a decent place first for as short of a lease as possible, and once you're here it'll be easier to find something more along the lines of what you're looking for. The North Oakland idea stated above would be a smart move, since you'd have both sides of the bay at your disposal initially. Once you actually have jobs, then you can get a new place in an area that suits both of your commutes. You can definitely find a decent one bedroom in the Piedmont area of North Oakland for around $1050, though it depends on your pet situation. The only bummer about the Piedmont area is that the Bart stations are all a bit of a trek. You either have to go downtown to 19th Street, or go up to the Rockridge station. I'd guess that Piedmont is a little safer than Temescal, but I don't have much personal experience to back that up. Rockridge is ideal, if you can snag a place. Though, I suppose I'm partial since it's my hood.

[StokedTaco]

Rad! Thanks a lot for the info!

[RightCoastBiased]

Living in the east bay is where it's at. Shit ton of places to skate over here. Despite Oakland's reputation, there are a lot of nice places to live. Also Berkeley, Emeryville, Albany and other places in the area are affordable and close to the city. I live in Berkeley and it's great here. I am bit too close to Cal, annoying 19 year old college kids all over the place. But Berkeley is really nice and mellow and when the girl and I move next year, we'll move somewhere with less kids around.

Move to Oakland, be happy.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

If you are a welder check the docks for work. I had a friend who was a welder and he was doing boat repairs  on the big ships that come in and out.

[StokedTaco]

hell yeah, i will look into that. thanks gipper.

[McBrandt]

Yeah, check a company called Bay Ship. Pretty big. Right on the water in Alameda. I think they're usually hiring for that type of stuff.