There are important things to know when moving to San Francisco – essential facts that will keep you from getting unpleasantly surprised or even genuinely shocked when you reach the City by the Bay. You shouldn’t move to SF blindly without doing your homework simply because the City is drastically different from any other US city and you may not be financially and mentally ready for the big change.
All in all, there are several common mistakes people make when moving to San Francisco and you don’t want to be one of those people who will be forced by the circumstances to learn from their mistakes the hard way – that is, after the move is already a fact.
Have you already packed your bathing suit?
Here are the top 3 biggest mistakes people make when moving to San Francisco, California.
Expecting to find warm weather
One of the most common mistakes when moving to San Francisco is to assume that the weather in the City will be notably warm. After all, it’s California, right?
San Francisco is nothing like the stereotype of Californian weather – warm sunshine and sandy beaches all year round. Much to newcomers’ surprise, the weather in SF is generally cool, it’s often very windy (similar to Chicago), and more often than not – foggy (depending on the exact location within the city). And it can be too rainy in the wintertime too.
San Francisco is famous for its microclimates (yes, they are real). The climate in the city is rather inconsistent – if it’s calm and sunny during the day, you shouldn’t assume that it will stay that way all day. Don’t make the mistake of not carrying a wind breaker or light sweater with you all the time – morning are usually cool and it can get really chilly really quickly, especially when the sun goes down.
Also, you shouldn’t expect uniform weather across the entire city – it can be foggy in the west with perfectly clear skies on the east side of town.
The oddities of the SF climate is definitely one of the things to know before moving to San Francisco. Otherwise, the expectations vs. reality thing may prove too disappointing for you.
Instead of packing your bathing suit, you’d better pack an extra jacket even though you’re moving to California. If you love the idea of spending your free time on the beach, you may find it heartbreaking to find just a bunch of rocks and pebbles instead of sandy beaches. And the water in the ocean is pretty cold, with big waves and strong currents most of the time too.
See also: How to make friends after moving to a new city
Expecting normal big city living costs
One of the biggest mistakes when moving to San Francisco is to underestimate how expensive that city really is. When it comes to the cost of living, SF comes second only to New York City with 52% over the national average. But even that critical statistic doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story.
You’re about to move to San Francisco expecting it to be an expecting city to live in, but it’s not until you make to the Golden Gate City that you start to really understand what everyone’s been warning you about.
You have to know that EVERYTHING in San Francisco is astronomically expensive.
- The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is roughly $3,700. That’s about $45K per year just for renting a place to live in. Those stratospheric rent prices are partly the result of the housing shortage that has led to fierce competition among renters.
- The median asking price of a San Francisco home is $1.38 million.
- A loaf of bread is around $6, a fast-food sandwich is roughly $10 or about $25 for a good burger, French fries, and a milkshake. A date night can easily pass the $300 mark.
- A cup of coffee could cost you more than you’re willing to pay for. Blue Bottle Coffee offers rare coffee varietals and one cup of its new brew – Port of Mokha coffee – will cost you a whopping $16. It’ll be poured by a barista, of course.
- Owning a car in SF is absurdly expensive. Parking is about $400 a month, meters are $6 an hour, parking tickets are $79. Also, car insurance is $200, and gas is $4 a gallon. Read on to learn more about the real hassle of driving a car in San Francisco.
To avoid making any big mistakes when moving to San Francisco, you just have to do your homework before seriously considering relocating to live and work in SF. The sticker shock of San Francisco is a real thing and it could take you by surprise.
Good to know: How to save money after moving to a new city
Expecting to drive a car in the City
Speaking of common mistakes people make when moving to San Francisco, one such judgment error you may also repeat is to decide to use your car when living in the City. Owning a vehicle in SF is a genuine daily struggle and the faster you realize that, the less stressful your post-move life will be.
It’s simple, really: San Francisco is just not a car-friendly city.
Parking
Owning a car in SF but not having a dedicated parking space can be a huge problem. Finding legal parking spots in some San Francisco neighborhoods, especially in popular neighborhoods such as Hayes Valley and the Castro, can be a nightmare. And even if you’re lucky enough to do so, you have to pay special attention to the signs or else you’ll regret it.
Bear in mind that parking enforcement in San Francisco is a serious matter and parking tickets can be pricey. Different areas of the city have street cleaning at different times, and getting a Street Cleaning ticket is not something you want. In fact, 43% of all parking tickets issued in SF are Street Cleaning tickets. Meter Violations tickets come next with 17%. The price of meter violation tickets is between $68 and $78 depending on the exact area.
The bottom line is that no matter how careful you are, if you own a car in San Francisco, you should expect to pay a certain number of tickets per year.
Hassle
As you just read, the costs of owning a vehicle in San Francisco can be simply too high to be worth the hassle. In addition to the various parking costs, labor rates for car repair are one of the most expensive in the country, meaning that if your car breaks down, you’re likely to pay through the nose for its repair.
Also, the streets of San Francisco are usually saturated with cars, meaning that if you’re trying to drive anywhere during the rush hours – anytime between 6 am and 8 pm depending on which roads you’re using and which direction you’re following – will be anything but a pleasant experience.
When moving to San Francisco, one of the big surprises for you may be the frequency of the smash-and-grab crimes – just don’t leave anything of value in your car, or anything at all visible.
Thus said, you can get around San Francisco just fine without a car as there are a good number of public transit options available to you. Public transportation in SF is well-developed: MUNI (San Francisco Municipal Railway), BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), San Francisco Bay Ferry. You can even use the iconic San Francisco cable cars to get around the city. Also, private transport seems to be thriving in the City as well: e-scooters, UBER, Lyft, and so on.
Here is a good guide on how to live in San Francisco without a car.
Hopefully, the above advice to moving to San Francisco will be useful to you as you’re doing your thorough research on San Francisco and the Bay Area in general. It’s important to be well informed and to know exactly what to expect after moving to Northern California so that you’re not unpleasantly surprised or deeply disappointed, or both.
Oh, and don’t make the mistake of trusting a random moving company that’s quick to shower you with false promises. Instead, make sure you hire the best long-distance movers in the country to get your valuable items to the City by the Bay safely.
Learn more: Moving to the Bay Area: Complete Guide
