living-in-san-francisco

Things You Should Know About Living in San Francisco

People absolutely love living in San Francisco, which means you may be thinking about moving here yourself. If that’s the case, there are a handful of things you should prepare for before pulling up stakes.

It Gets Cold Here

The promise of Californian sunshine may have you mistaken in thinking that the temperature here never gets chilly. However, remember that San Francisco is situated right off the ocean, meaning it will get plenty cool throughout the day. In fact, beginning at around 4 p.m., you can expect that the temperature will have already dropped 10 degrees since noon and will continue to fall by about five degrees an hour. It’s not uncommon to leave work to a completely different climate you walked in from.

Living in San Francisco means wearing layers if you plan on being out all day. Light jackets are extremely helpful here.

Neighborhoods Are a Big Deal

San Francisco isn’t a big city, geographically, but it’s the second densest in the country. This means there are countless neighborhoods here and people take them pretty seriously. The way you might hear some people talk about their entire city or the east or west side of their city is the way people here talk about their neighborhoods. Where you live in San Francisco will define you, so take the time to research your options and find one that suits your personality.

Rent Is Extremely High

Living in San Francisco isn’t required to know that rent here is astronomical. The city has become famous for it. If you plan on moving here, then, be sure to save up, because just about everything else here is more expensive too.

Obviously, one of the reasons rent is so high here is because so many people need apartments. This means that finding one will feel like a fulltime job. You should check Craigslist once an hour (seriously) for listings and have application materials (e.g. pay stubs, photo, social security number, etc.) ready at all times for a potential landlord, so you stand the best chance of landing a place.

You’ll Never Be Bored

The tradeoff is that living in San Francisco means there’s never a dull moment. There is always something going on here from concerts to cultural exhibits to parades and more. This means that while the rent is high and the apartments are small, you probably won’t want to spend much time indoors anyway.

San Francisco Loves Dogs

You aren’t the only one who will enjoy living in San Francisco though. If you have a pooch, they’ll fit right in too. San Francisco has countless dog parks and most neighborhoods offer at least a couple to residents. Canines are so pervasive here that you might want to think about getting one just to help you meet people. Don’t be surprised if you notice one in local stores, including restaurants and bars!

People Here Are in Great Shape

When you consider the beautiful weather, the beaches and the fact that so much of the city is on an incline, perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that living in San Francisco seems to correspond with being in fantastic shape.

However, it might also have something to do with the fact that you’re never far from a farmers market here either. There are also a number of other places that sell amazing, healthy food too. Even a lot of nice restaurants in San Francisco skip traditionally rich dishes and guilty pleasure meals for organic options.

Hopefully, the information above gives you a better idea of what it’s like to live in San Francisco. Like the nearly 800,000 people who have made this city their home, you’ll most likely enjoy living here a lot.

Sources:

  • http://jasonevanish.com/2013/01/17/25-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-moving-to-san-francisco/
  • http://thoughtcatalog.com/tina-alexander/2014/02/30-things-that-only-people-who-live-in-san-francisco-know/