>>1110851
>And what can you tell me about either place? Which neighborhoods are nice, how much and what kind of work is around if you know, etc.
Hello from San Francisco. I hope you know already that we are now the single most expensive rental market in the United States--a one bedroom in my pretty nice neighborhood goes for more than $3000/mo now, which seems completely mentally ill to me, and it's getting worse by the hour. And the market is quite competitive--you will be applying to any apartment you look at at the same time as 400 tech bros with six-figure salaries, and they're probably going to be ahead of you in line.

If you're interested in artsy/bohemian life, there are still pockets of interest in the Lower Haight (one of this town's few remaining economically and otherwise diverse neighborhoods, where some freaks with rent control can still afford to live), the Mission (but this is probably the most vicious frontline of local gentrification--prices are going through the roof and dull wealthy people are increasing their dominance of the neighborhood by the hour), Potrero Hill, and Dogpatch. The Western Addition has some pockets that remain relatively affordable but parts are dangerous ghettoes. The Tenderloin is San Francisco's most famous bad neighborhood, but it's very central, not as expensive as the rest of the city, and very interesting. It's also less dangerous than its reputation--it's mostly just depressing. You will meet a lot of junkies, dealers, and some of SF's lowest-budget hookers, and you will step over homeless people on every block, but you probably won't get shot. There are also a bunch of good low-end restaurants and a rising number of cool bars. More below...

The areas waaaay out West, by the ocean (Ocean Beach, Outer Sunset, Outer Richmond) tend to be a bit less expensive than more central hoods, and are generally not at all dangerous, but they're cold and foggy, and it will take you 45+ minutes on the bus to get downtown.

>>1110879
Continued...
>>1110879
(continued)
Frankly, if your interests are mostly creative, you will probably wind up doing what most of our creative/artsy/freaky types have done over the past decade and end up in Oakland. Oakland has a lot to recommend it--better weather than SF, great restaurants, slightly lower prices (but this is changing fast). Culturally, it's on the upswing, rather than SF, which is getting more and more sterile. And the good neighborhoods are really nice--at least as nice as any in San Francisco.

But the neighborhoods that are NOT good can (but are not guaranteed to) be very dangerous. Walk around any apartment you're thinking of taking both by day and by night. If you don't feel safe, you're not. Temescal is sort of Oakland's Mission district--was once working class Latino, got invaded in the 90s by hipsters who are now gradually getting priced out by yuppies and tech douchebags.

White folks are now moving into historically black Oakland neighborhoods including Longfellow (just across the highway/BART tracks from Temescal) and even West Oakland, but I don't know that they should. These are not neighborhoods where most people want to walk around at night, and won't be for another 20 years or more. And Oakland is in general less of a transit-accessible place than SF, where a car is not necessary for most people. The East Bay bus system is bad, the city's too spread out to be very walkable between neighborhoods (although many are walkable within themselves), and BART's expensive and more designed for commuting rather than local transport.

Jobwise, the local market is OK if you're educated and have specific skills, especially but not only related to technology---SF unemployment rates are lower than the national or California averages. If you're looking for service industry jobs (restaurants and bars), it can be very lucrative but it's extremely competitive. If you're looking for unskilled or casual work it's quite hard to survive.

Damn thank you for taking all that time to respond so eloquently. It's funny cause since I posted this morning I was asking a few people that have some relative know how about it and everyone's been saying sublets in Oakland or Berkeley, at least to test the waters. People could live somewhere their whole life but I highly doubt most people could describe the evolving social constructs and economic direction that well. What do you do out there and what's your living situation? Just curious because of that maelstrom of bullshit you just delved into hahaha.
To be honest the whole experience would be less about establishing myself into a life long career and more so what you assumed - mostly personal and social betterment and rounding out some edges. Idk I just want to find somewhere that resonates as home and take things a couple steps at a time (although foresight is something I want to keep in mind as well).
I'm digesting everything you said though and took screen caps too haha I know this response lacks in comparison but I'm on mobile right now and damn it all if this screen fucks calibration up every ten seconds.

Side note to anyone reading, what are some stable jobs that coincide perfectly with travel for you guys?

>>1111026
>What do you do out there and what's your living situation?
My situation probably isn't all that relevant for you; I'm twice your age and have been here for more than fifteen years (my wife is from here). But I work part time as the director of a school, part time as a stay-at-home dad to two little kids, and do some fundraising consulting for local schools and charities on the side. Before I quit working full-time about three years ago, I was a nonprofit executive. My wife makes the real money in senior management with a medical-sector company. We bought a condo about eight years ago, prior to which we rented in the Upper Haight (AKA Haight-Ashbury) and the Mission for a long time.

>>1111437
Oh, and I meant to say that early in my career I was a policy analyst for a charity, so paying attention to sociopolitical issues is sort of my habit.