I need advice on how to settle down?

[chris56789]

I want to move to California(most likely San francisco), once I get there, then what do I do to get settled there?

*I mean how much money do you think i'll need to start a new life from scratch? 1000? 2000 dollars in hand?
*Like where would I sleep with no car? Do they have lot's of available motels you can rent for like 50 bucks a night? Or any other places like the YMCA? And just take the bus everywhere? Or save enough to get a car and sleep in it until I get a job?
*Is it easy to find a job? What's some decent jobs that you don't need much qualifications for that you think you could find quickly?

Even if it's not San Fran, maybe you can give me general advice about moving and how much money I'd need in hand and how to become settled in a new place without knowing anyone there.

I'd appreciate advice, thank you.

[Charles]

You don't need a car in SF, it has the best public transport system in the USA. But you will need a lot of money, rent is expensive. You'll probably not have too much trouble finding a relatively inexpensive flat to share, a lot of SF rental housing is on flats, whole floors of a 3 or 4 story building, each flat has 3 or 4 bedrooms and a shared kitchen/bathroom. Single apartments can be a bit harder to find if you are on a low budget. Try Craig's List or something online to assist your search.
I don't know where you'd stay on your first day in SF. It's been about 10 years since I left SF, things have surely changed a lot.

[electrocat]

im also trying to move to SF. I figured that i would pay somewhere from 700-800 a month for an apartment. i heard you need deposit, first month and last month (but not confirmed). It really depends on your lifestyle. my friend moved to NYC with 1k in hand. I am budgeting something like 4-5k for the move. ive always lived in the ghetto (cuz i'm not scared) but im pretty tired of it.. i want to move to a hood where people aren't getting shot, so im expecting higher priced apartments.

[fatslug]

settle down in USA ? hahahahahaha

go to Canada or Australia instead !!!

[bejiita]

Try the youth hostel for the first week or so. Then look for roomies. You can probably get away sharing a decent sized flat for about $500 month. Also look on local universities' and colleges' bulletin boards. They always have shitloads of ads for rooms from other students. You'll also make friends at the same time. And for a quick job, try being a waiter/waitress.

[Andocrates]

settle down in USA ? hahahahahaha

go to Canada or Australia instead !!!

If you could combine all of Canada into a city it would not be half as cool as SF.

[DJEB]

settle down in USA ? hahahahahaha

go to Canada or Australia instead !!!

If you could combine all of Canada into a city it would not be half as cool as SF.

Montreal? C'est un une ville plus elegant!

[ahochaude]

im also trying to move to SF. I figured that i would pay somewhere from 700-800 a month for an apartment. i heard you need deposit, first month and last month (but not confirmed).

I'm not sure about the last month's deposit. My friend lives in San Fran and according to him (while he was "apt hunting"), the places he looked at only had requirements for the first month deposit.


Also, if I were you, I'd take up more than $2K, just in case.
ALWAYS have a back up plan, and money. (IMO) Play it safe. Relocation isn't easy.
My wife wants us to move to Japan. (She's a Japanese national) I'm considering the idea, but before I get serious about it, I'd like to have at least $10K in my pocket that I could take up there.


Good luck.

[chris56789]

settle down in USA ? hahahahahaha

go to Canada or Australia instead !!!

Why Canada?

[maraboutslim]

It depends on what you consider a "job". You can get a minimum wage type job, which typically is about $8-9hr in SF fairly easily. If you have worked as a waiter or barback before you can get into that again (though bartender jobs are actually kind of hard to get - you can work up to one though).

Real jobs are quite hard to get. I've been vaguely looking for over six months now and haven't found the correct match. The tech/business economy still sucks... But I'm a family man and so the basic minimum for a job for me is at least $50k a year - since our housing costs are half that and I live outside the city. And so I soldier on, hoping my own company actually makes enough money this year or an interesting, well paid job comes along.

The best resource is http://www.craigslist.org

[Speed]

San Francisco has become one of the most expensive place to rent apartments/houses in California.

It'll run you about $1,000 to rent a studio in the city. If I were you, I'd take $2-3,000 for 1st month's rent and deposit. Finding a roomate is a much cheaper proposition (perhaps about $4-600).

Transpo in SF is pretty good (sorry Charles, New York's transpo is by far the best in the States). No car in SF is fine. If you do get a used car, ($1,500 - 4,000) I wouldn't recommend sleeping in it during the chilly SF winters.

You can get a job at a restaurant for a quick no-experience-necessary job.
If you've get a used car, pizza delivery is also good and easy. Until you find something better.

Good luck in SF, it's a great town.

[Charles]

It'll run you about $1,000 to rent a studio in the city. If I were you, I'd take $2-3,000 for 1st month's rent and deposit. Finding a roomate is a much cheaper proposition (perhaps about $4-600).

Transpo in SF is pretty good (sorry Charles, New York's transpo is by far the best in the States). No car in SF is fine. If you do get a used car, ($1,500 - 4,000) I wouldn't recommend sleeping in it during the chilly SF winters.

Jeez, when I left SF in '92, I was paying $420/mo for a studio apartment in the Upper Haight, and that included a $65 charge for a garage space. In retrospect, that was kind of stupid because I only paid $800 for my junky old car, I could have bought a better one with what I paid in garage fees over 2 years. I just commuted to work on the Metro because the cheapest parking near my job was $175/mo.

[chris56789]

since our housing costs are half that and I live outside the city.

What cities outside of san fran, but still close enough to drive to san fran, is a good place with cheaper living expenses??? And also not that danerous either?

[cstaylor]

since our housing costs are half that and I live outside the city.

What cities outside of san fran, but still close enough to drive to san fran, is a good place with cheaper living expenses??? And also not that danerous either?

Gilroy is a good town, so is Campbell in the South Bay.

[maraboutslim]

What cities outside of san fran, but still close enough to drive to san fran, is a good place with cheaper living expenses??? And also not that danerous either?

Gilroy is a good town, so is Campbell in the South Bay.

Yes, those cities are cheaper, but they are also over an hour away from San Francisco even when there is no traffic.

To stay closer you could live in Oakland or Berkeley and then you could take the subway(bart) into SF in like 15min. You could also live in Daly City or South San Francisco, which are the two cities adjacent to SF to the south, and drive into the city. I'm a surfer so I live out in Pacifica which is on the coast south of SF and I can get to the mission district or south of market SF in about 20min no problem.