Any thoughts on comparing the cost of living between NYC and SF? In other words, does a pretax dollar in SF gets you identical baller status as a comparable pretax dollar in NYC, or is there a multiplier/deflator? Please avoid comparing intangible assets and liabilities such as quality of weather, public transportation, food options and HCBs. I’m currently binge-watching side by side Silicon Valley and Billionaires in order to develop an informed opinion, so anything else you can offer would be great.
only thing that is comparable between NYC and SF is the cost of living…Other than that it is a totally different animal…Went to UC Berkeley for undergrad then lived in UWS for close to 10 years before settling little up north of the city…still commute to NYC for work…
The lifestyle is very very different…and consequently, your friends and the things your friends value will be different too.
NYC: go out to nice bars and nice restaurants in super dressed up scene. Not so much outdoors…It’s all about walking the city, going to different pubs or trying out different wine bars, restaurants and food…Also very diverse here…Asians, Europeans, other Americans, Russians, etc
SF: Very outdoorish…Weekends could be surfing with buddies or golfing or skiing…less about fancy suits and dresses but who has better outdoors gears and who has more hand eye coordination…Of course SF area has plenty of fancy places but the mentality is bit different from that of NYC.
NYC is who has more money and who lives where in which apartment overlooking central park and goes where for dinners…SF is more about who has the more relaxing tech job and has the best scores in golf or surf or skiing etc etc…Unrelated DC is all about who you know with connections or who you know at the government…LA is all about how many youtube and instagram followers do you have…
If you’re asking, neither are probably for you…you have to visit to know…
OP was specifically asking about COL, not any of that stuff.
Ohai is probably the best source here to directly compare COL between SF and NYC. I’ve never lived in SF but know many people who have, including several transplants from NYC, and my sense is that COL is slightly lower in SF than NYC, but not by a significant margin.
Note that this is comparing the nicer neighborhoods in SF proper with mid and lower Manhattan. You can probably (still?) find some good deals in the tenderloin just as you can find deals in the outerboroughs, but I don’t think that’s the basis of comparison you’re looking for.
Haha, you fools are now calling me the “best source” for something. Soon you will know the feeling of regret.
Anyway, my possibly outdated opinion is that San Francisco city was cheaper than NY City not too long ago, but is probably slightly more expensive now. NY City rents have decreased in the past 2 years, while San Francisco rents have increased. This probably offsets the higher price of other goods in NY, like groceries, restaurants, and entertainment.
San Francisco area suburbs are more expensive than NY suburbs. If you want to live in a town with good schools, you’ll have to pay seven figures for like a 1500 to 2000 square foot little house. The same money goes further in any NY suburb, where you’ll get basically a mansion. However, better commute and weather are hard to price.
However, I have a feeling that the same person with disposable income would spend more in NY City than in San Francisco. Every marginal activity in New York, like going out, art museum, shows, or leaving the city for any reason, costs a lot of money. In San Francisco, people just go drive to the forest or something.
I can see that, but on the flip side you don’t need a car in NYC right? There was a whole thread on this a while back where this was the conclusion I think. I have 2 cars in LA which is a necessity for me and the wife, probably the same in SF. It sounds like instead of lease and insurance you end up spending on random urban entertainment so it probably nets to zero…
Not sure I follow your logic here, brah. Anyway, I’ve visited both cities multiple times and have some understanding of the differences in lifestyles - less so of the differences in cost of living other than the fact that both cities have ridiculously overpriced housing with limited options. But it sounds like the consensus is that the cost of living is somewhat comparable between the two.
Good point. I’ve only driven to SF and then within the city, but took flights to NYC and had to use the subway or cabs or uber.
But I feel that even if you live in SF and work in SF (not suburbs) so you can commute with public transportation, you still need a car because there is so much stuff to explore outside the metro area as my boy benzo said. If you live in NYC you just hang in NYC most of the time - what’s the car for, road trip to Pennsylvania? Nah.
Somewhat correct; car ownership is more common in San Francisco than in NY, but it’s not mandatory like in LA. I sold my car when I moved to San Francisco, for example. It was just more convenient to use ZipCar or other services on the weekends.
It also depends on what population we are talking about within each city. Some people in NYC own cars as luxuries. For finance type people, probably 25% or so, based on my observation, and maybe even higher for people with kids. Generally speaking, most people would rather spend the money on better housing though.
Keep in mind that it’s also cheaper to own a car in San Francisco than NYC, since parking is more abundant.
In the end, people probably just spend money if they have it. If they make more money they will buy more things, even if they don’t need those things.
I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast and it is waayyy cheaper and more trendy and more nightlife over here. Way less family oriented with a lot more singles too!