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In England I think I could probably start on £30k, which is like $50k, but I don't know if I could actually make $50k in San Francisco. I don't really know the deal with inflation or the value of technical artist sort of jobs over there.

 

Something I'm rather curious about all you San Franchinigans, where's the furthest you've all travelled? I hear that it's common to not really travel outside of America due to costs and the fact that America is bloomin' huge.

 

Salaries tend to be higher around here because of the cost of living, but because demand for jobs in games in so high, they tend to be immune to that. I know the difference in salary when I left Telltale was... dramatic.

 

...and as for part B, I think that's something of a stereotype. Lots of people may not travel far, but lots of others do. Granted, you have to travel a lot further to hit a different country (especially if you want a different country that's not Canada or Mexico). Greece is the furthest for me.

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Something I'm rather curious about all you San Franchinigans, where's the furthest you've all travelled? I hear that it's common to not really travel outside of America due to costs and the fact that America is bloomin' huge.

 

 

It wouldn't be fair my answering that question; I'm an expat Brit.

 

SF and other conurbations on the ocean-adjacent edges of the country buck the USAian stereotype quite handily, replacing it with an amalgamated population of liberals, hipsters and immigrants (where "immigrant" might mean from Asia, Europe, or Portland).  Compare NY/SF with somewhere more central, e.g. Peoria, and NY and SF will have more in common with each other.

 

In conclusion, America is a land of contrasts.

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SF and other conurbations on the ocean-adjacent edges of the country buck the USAian stereotype quite handily, replacing it with an amalgamated population of liberals, hipsters and immigrants (where "immigrant" might mean from Asia, Europe, or Portland). Compare NY/SF with somewhere more central, e.g. Peoria, and NY and SF will have more in common with each other.

 

In conclusion, America is a land of contrasts.

 

Speaking as someone who's spent his whole life in what the East and West Coasts charmingly call "flyover country", I can add that the rest of the country also often bucks whatever parochial stereotype you're inclined to apply to it. It's much cheaper to fly from DFW or O'Hare to either Portland or Boston than it is to fly between the latter two, so many Midwesterners I know are quite well-traveled when compared to their more "cosmopolitan" countrymen.

 

Also, not to hijack, but you've been to Greece, Doug? I spent the better part of a year there in college and am always eager to hear other people's reactions, since my own were so mixed. What were you there for and did you like it?

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I think there is a thread about getting a place to live in SF already isn't there? Anyhow, reading the above is like a horror story. I got my own ~1000 sq. feet house for €400 a month here (That is lower than market rates for sure, as it belongs to my in-laws-in-law).

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In England I think I could probably start on £30k, which is like $50k, but I don't know if I could actually make $50k in San Francisco. I don't really know the deal with inflation or the value of technical artist sort of jobs over there.

 

Something I'm rather curious about all you San Franchinigans, where's the furthest you've all travelled? I hear that it's common to not really travel outside of America due to costs and the fact that America is bloomin' huge.

I've been to Europe numerous times. Switzerland, the UK, lots of places in Italy. (I've also been to Canada plenty of times.) I used to spend a couple weeks in London roughly every year, although it's been about two years since I've been and I don't have a current trip planned because my life has just been really busy.

Also for what it's worth in terms of traveling the "furthest", the distance between coasts on the US is equivalent to crossing several European countries—and as far as I'm concerned, based on my own experience, the cultural difference between rural America and coastal metropolitan America is considerably greater than the cultural difference between San Francisco or New York and London.

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Also for what it's worth in terms of traveling the "furthest", the distance between coasts on the US is equivalent to crossing several European countries—and as far as I'm concerned, based on my own experience, the cultural difference between rural America and coastal metropolitan America is considerably greater than the cultural difference between San Francisco or New York and London.

 

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Always good to keep in mind. When we have visiting scholars from Europe in my department, they usually have just a vague sense of America's scale. One was adamant about renting a car to visit Chicago, Seattle, and the Grand Canyon. He was very skeptical when told that his plans would take a week at least, with most of it spent driving.

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The roads in Ireland make every journey twice as long though!

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Haha, looking at that scale I guess my routine drives from Austin to Houston and back would probably be obnoxiously long to a lot of Europeans. I wish I had the funds to travel more, I hope to one day get a great job and put all of my money towards that instead of books, games, and movies. ;(

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I made it. I'm here. In our airbnb flat, pretty sure the nice lady who owns this place is on coke, she was sniffing a lot :)

We saw both Dynamo the street magician and (you know nothing) Jon Snow in the airport. They were filming the spooks movie with Jon snow (not dynamo), we were standing only like 8ft away from him in handcuffs with some fake actor policemen, he looked right at me as I said "is that Jon snow, nah, that ain't him". The dudes tiny, could bearly recognise him without a broadsword and a white wolf

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oh man, I haven't even been to the SF zoo at all. I forgot there was one.

It's in a pretty forgettable location unless you ride the L a lot.

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It's in a pretty forgettable location unless you ride the L a lot.

 

It's 4 blocks from my grandmothers house you insensitive clod!  :o

 

But I've not gone in... maaaaybe a decade or more. Even back then it was really in need of a complete overhaul, something I'd guess it doesn't have the money for. I remember watching "Dawn of the Planet of Apes" and laughing at all the zoo scenes that supposedly take place in SF. Because they used Vancouver's zoo, and it is waaaaaayyyy too nice a place to be mistaken for SF's zoo. I suppose the best thing you could say about it, from what I remember, is that it's retro. The lion house looks like something conceived and built during the late 1800's by a bunch of British imperialists, who I could imagine standing around and saying "oh yes, bagged that one in Kenya old boy."

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I rarely make it farther west than castro, since I live in the mission. Not that I don't like out that way, theres a lot of cool stuff in the Haight (I want to go back to Free Gold Watch, for instance) and there's the park, ofc. I just don't get out there much. May end up moving out west at some point though.

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Free Gold Watch is super cool, I went there when I was down for GDC. 

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Long time Thumbs listener and forum lurker but first time posting.

I'm graduating from school in Los Angeles and moving to San Francisco this summer for a job in the Financial District. I want to be walking distance from work which leaves only Nob Hill/Russian Hill/North Beach as my choices. I'm from Northern California originally and know the area pretty well, but had no idea it was this difficult to find housing in the city. Anyone local have any advice besides just craigslist? 

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Long time Thumbs listener and forum lurker but first time posting.

I'm graduating from school in Los Angeles and moving to San Francisco this summer for a job in the Financial District. I want to be walking distance from work which leaves only Nob Hill/Russian Hill/North Beach as my choices. I'm from Northern California originally and know the area pretty well, but had no idea it was this difficult to find housing in the city. Anyone local have any advice besides just craigslist? 

 

Run and hide. Curl up in a ball and pretend everything is good, because you're going to spend a long fucking time looking for a place.

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i went in a seaplane, it was rad

 

 

I forgot that i had filled my iPhone almost entirely with music so there wasn't mush room for video. And the phone kept crashing so didn't film much of the actual city

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Long time Thumbs listener and forum lurker but first time posting.

I'm graduating from school in Los Angeles and moving to San Francisco this summer for a job in the Financial District. I want to be walking distance from work which leaves only Nob Hill/Russian Hill/North Beach as my choices. I'm from Northern California originally and know the area pretty well, but had no idea it was this difficult to find housing in the city. Anyone local have any advice besides just craigslist? 

 

I'd say start getting comfortable with the idea of not being walking distance from work now. Muni's not great, but it's miles better than transit options in LA. Don't discount other areas of the city.

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Run and hide. Curl up in a ball and pretend everything is good, because you're going to spend a long fucking time looking for a place.

Haha, seriously, I think I may have to.

 

I'd say start getting comfortable with the idea of not being walking distance from work now. Muni's not great, but it's miles better than transit options in LA. Don't discount other areas of the city.

Yeah, I'm starting to realize that may be unrealistic. What neighborhoods are at least more MUNI-accessible than others? Richmond and SOMA would probably be better bets with more listings? 

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Haha, seriously, I think I may have to.

 

Yeah, I'm starting to realize that may be unrealistic. What neighborhoods are at least more MUNI-accessible than others? Richmond and SOMA would probably be better bets with more listings? 

 

Richmond and SOMA are basically polar opposite neighborhoods in most respects. SOMA is centrally located adjacent to downtown, the Richmond is farther out north of Golden Gate Park and goes all the way to the ocean. SOMA's residential stock is mainly new condos; the Richmond's is old Victorians and mid-20th century houses split up into apartments, with a couple two- and three-story apartment buildings. SOMA's culture is techie and modern and sort of sterile; the Richmond's is more neighborhoody, old-school, family-friendly. Bars and restaurants in SOMA are fairly thin, you mainly end up going to adjoining neighborhoods like downtown or the Mission; the Richmond has its own main drags (Clement and Geary) with tons of restaurants and bars. SOMA is very transit friendly because of its close proximity to BART, MUNI, and buses; the Richmond is mainly serviced by a few major bus arteries but is not in close proximity to subway or streetcar lines. As far as I'm aware, SOMA is much more expensive than the Richmond at this point, because of its central location and because so much of the tech world is centered there.

 

Anyway they're very different! The Sunset is similar to the Richmond in a lot of ways; it's directly south of the park rather than north. It's also probably a bit trendier these days (especially around the 9th Ave. area), and it's close to a major MUNI line (the N Judah), so I imagine it's also a bit more expensive than the Richmond--at least the parts of the Sunset that are farther north and thus closer to the park and transit.

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Richmond and SOMA are basically polar opposite neighborhoods in most respects. SOMA is centrally located adjacent to downtown, the Richmond is farther out north of Golden Gate Park and goes all the way to the ocean. SOMA's residential stock is mainly new condos; the Richmond's is old Victorians and mid-20th century houses split up into apartments, with a couple two- and three-story apartment buildings. SOMA's culture is techie and modern and sort of sterile; the Richmond's is more neighborhoody, old-school, family-friendly. Bars and restaurants in SOMA are fairly thin, you mainly end up going to adjoining neighborhoods like downtown or the Mission; the Richmond has its own main drags (Clement and Geary) with tons of restaurants and bars. SOMA is very transit friendly because of its close proximity to BART, MUNI, and buses; the Richmond is mainly serviced by a few major bus arteries but is not in close proximity to subway or streetcar lines. As far as I'm aware, SOMA is much more expensive than the Richmond at this point, because of its central location and because so much of the tech world is centered there.

 

Anyway they're very different! The Sunset is similar to the Richmond in a lot of ways; it's directly south of the park rather than north. It's also probably a bit trendier these days (especially around the 9th Ave. area), and it's close to a major MUNI line (the N Judah), so I imagine it's also a bit more expensive than the Richmond--at least the parts of the Sunset that are farther north and thus closer to the park and transit.

 

Oh shit, hey Chris, thanks for the response, man!

Sounds like SOMA is the better bet but a little harsher in terms of pricing? My hours will probably be fairly long which makes me hesitant towards the Richmond if public transportation is unavailable or a pain at times. The Richmond honestly sounds more interesting but proximity is super key for me. 

I'll definitely check out The Sunset too, I know the area decently well. But again I'm hesitant to a really long commute every morning.  

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Transit to the Richmond is consistent, if not fast. The 38-Geary and 1-California, for example, run all night and pretty frequently. They're just not quick. If you are commuting during 'normal' hours, there are expresses (I take the 1AX) that only make a few stops in the Richmond, then none at all 'til the financial district. Those are super fast.

 

Source: I live in the Richmond and commute to SOMA.

 

Also: Almost no building in SOMA will be rent-controlled, so you can pretty much expect crazy market-based swings in rent between leases.

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Transit to the Richmond is consistent, if not fast. The 38-Geary and 1-California, for example, run all night and pretty frequently. They're just not quick. If you are commuting during 'normal' hours, there are expresses (I take the 1AX) that only make a few stops in the Richmond, then none at all 'til the financial district. Those are super fast.

 

Source: I live in the Richmond and commute to SOMA.

 

Also: Almost no building in SOMA will be rent-controlled, so you can pretty much expect crazy market-based swings in rent between leases.

Thanks for all the help! If that's the case, I'll definitely start looking for places in both neighborhoods. There's a decent amount of craigslist postings for this summer already but I assume they get snatched up fairly quickly. 

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Oh shit, hey Chris, thanks for the response, man!

Sounds like SOMA is the better bet but a little harsher in terms of pricing? My hours will probably be fairly long which makes me hesitant towards the Richmond if public transportation is unavailable or a pain at times. The Richmond honestly sounds more interesting but proximity is super key for me. 

I'll definitely check out The Sunset too, I know the area decently well. But again I'm hesitant to a really long commute every morning.  

 

soma will be very hard to find a place in, especially right now. There are plenty of interesting neighborhoods though. If you want to be closer to soma, the mission (where I live) is good, though also not necessarily cheap, but there are more rent controlled buildings here than in soma. Castro and lower haight are also cool and not too far. Good muni access to soma via the train too, if you are closer to market (the lines run along market, at least up to Castro station at Castro and Market). 

 

in other news, Turgid posted a thread https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/9418-idle-meetups-san-francisco/ about an SF meetup while he is in town, if anyone else is interested.

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