I'm relocating to SF this fall
How expensive if cost of living in SF on an BB VP salary?
I'm moving with two kids and my wife,
Any recommendations on neighborhoods?
What should I expect for monthly rent?
Also, how dangerous is the city actually these days?
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SF native here. Depends on the neighborhood you live in for rent and I am an intern rn so I’m out of touch with what you’d need to pay for a family. Considering you have a family, safety is a real concern if you are in the tenderloin at night. I walk through the tenderloin alone at night but am a 20 year old male so take with a grain of salt. Good thing is if you are working in FiDi and living somewhere like the Marina, Pacific Heights (best neighborhood for balancing having a family + being close enough to FiDi), or Telegraph Hill, the Tenderloin is very out of the way and you have nothing to worry about. Other than the tenderloin, most of the stuff you see in the media is dramatized and it is overall a fantastic and very safe city congrats on the move. I know I’m just an intern but lmk if you would like to talk more about the city in general as I grew up here.
overall safe as long as you avoid Tenderloin and some parts of Mission / Soma (4th through 10th); generally people with kids don't live in the city, at least my seniors (all live in either Sausalito or down south in Redwood / Palo Alto etc.), if you do live in the city would recommend Russian Hill, Pac Heights, Richmond, North Beach (may be too rowdy for a family), Marina (a bit further away and also fairly rowdy). Rent has gone up a lot over the last year so expect to pay a lot for a nice location and / or amenities; know a few VPs / Directors who live in Rincon Hill as well (high rises here) but personally i think it's a terrible neighborhood with overpriced condos but you do get nice amenities
New mayor has been trying to clean up the city so crime is down and overall it's safer than most major cities, just don't leave your valuables inside your car if you decide to park in a not so great area
With a wife and kids, you’ll probably want to consider renting a house for the additional bedrooms and easy parking. Also there are some neighborhood preference for elementary schools and TK (despite SF public schools being on lottery, all of my friends with elementary school kids attend a nearby neighborhood school).
With that in mind, access to a Muni line (or BART) would be the next consideration.
For a budget for renting a house around $5-$6K, the Sunset District could be good. Stonestown Mall has become the biggest commercial epicenter, which is a more suburban area.
If you want something in Pacific Heights, renting a house might run you higher to around $10K.
Generally, between $5K - $10K depending on the house and neighborhood. Also, most public elementary schools on the Westside of the city are pretty good.
Other family friendly areas I like: Noe Valley, West Portal, Twin Peaks, Diamond Heights, Cole Valley, Laurel Village, Lake Street in the Richmond District.
Regarding safety issues, I think the safety scare was a politically motivated propaganda campaign. Sure we had a car break-in and shoplifting problem at one time (and some old people pushed off the Muni platform), and the Tenderloin has always had homeless and druggies since I first visited SF in the 1990’s (but I never felt physically unsafe). Even the most dangerous part of the City, the Hunters Point/Bayview (gang turf) has mellowed out over time.
If you want to be in the city, Pac Heights would be my recommendation for a family. Will probably run you $8-10K for something decent. Noe Valley is also nice and more removed from the city. The city is perfectly safe outside of the Tenderloin and parts of SOMA, which you'd generally have to go out of your way to get to. And "unsafe" really just means drug addicts staring at you, obviously something you would want to keep your kids away from, but I have never feared for my safety in these areas.
Definitely pac heights for long term, especially raising a family
Marin County, take the ferry over the bay. All the benefit of having city access, none of the zombies.
If you can stomach the commute and potentially send your kids to private school, consider the SF suburbs. Have relatives in a hilly community within Almaeda County, their home value shot up nearly ~3x in the past decade and they have an amazing view of the bay in their backyard. I would personally consider that depending on what your budget is vs. renting / buying in SF.
Get ready to be lower class
With a wife and kids, I’d suggest looking at more family friendly neighborhoods a little bit outside the city (San Mateo, Redwood City, Sausalito / Marin)
If you really want to be in the city, I’d look at the following neighborhood: Inner Richmond, Pac Heights, Laurel Heights, Noe Valley, Russian Hill
The rental market is going crazy in SF right now so hard to say what rent would look like, but for a single family home you might be able to find something around $8-10k a month.
Noe Valley
Walnut Creek, east bay is where it's at.
SF makes NYC looks cheap in all costs. Good luck ever renting or buying any desirable spots when your competition is those with OpenAI/Anthropic stock. With that being said, with a IB VP salary, you should be able to live a great life even if COL is insane.
Dont live in walnut creek or try to take the ferry to work like the other posters suggested, would focus on living in the city or a driveable distance in marin
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