Should I make the move from Detroit to San Francisco?

[Levitt]

Hey WoW community - I need your advice.

I am about 90 credits through my undergrad, but taking a semester off right now for financial reasons. I'll spare you all the story, but I will be returning to school in May or June to take summer classes.

In the meantime, right now, I live in Detroit, Michigan and work in the suburbs making $12 per hour, 24 hours per week as a Marketing Assistant. My older brother lives out in San Francisco and does software development, and I've always talked about how I'd love to move out there but school was keeping me in Michigan. Since I'm not doing school right now, I figured there's no better time to see if I can make it work.

I started applying for entry-level jobs / internships (I've got a pretty good resume for someone who hasn't finished college) in the San Francisco area on a whim, but one of them materialized into a phone interview which led to me getting an offer about twenty minutes ago over the phone.

The deal is that it is an internship in downtown San Francisco (I'll be doing marketing / business development stuff) and I will get $8,000 for a 10-week internship paid up front which will lead into a position so long as I do well. I'm not super familiar with San Francisco, but I do know that it is VERY expensive to do anything out there.

My brother has said he's fine splitting a 1 bedroom apartment with me to save us both a bit of money, but there's still a couple key questions I'm struggling with:

1.) Plain and simple: Should I do it? I think it's a really exciting opportunity to move somewhere I've never been and start a job that sounds very fun. There's always one more loose end you could tie up or one more paycheck you can take at your current job, so at some point you've just got to take the leap. Do you think I should?

2.) Another straight-forward one: Is $800 per week (before taxes) enough to live sharing a 1-bedroom apartment in San Francisco?

I wasn't expecting all of this to be moving so quickly, but they want me to start on the 24th of this month (about 2 and a half weeks) and I need to understand the logistics about 3 weeks ago, lol

Any advice is welcome. I'll be checking this thread periodically - browsing Craigslist for apartments.

[Spectral]

Detroit's a steaming pile and SF is positively amazing, so should be a big factor!

Money's going to be tight. You'll be making what is fundamentally equivalent to ~$40K/year, which isn't enough to exactly go whole hog. At the same time, if you're careful with money and sharing an apartment, you're not going to be living in misery.

One enormous thing is the big cliche - you'll always regret things you didn't do more than things you did. It's a horrible cliche, but it's completely true. Pass on the job and maybe you come out better monetarily. Maybe. Take it, and you get a chance for new experiences, new friends, new opportunities, and a situation that might not come again anytime soon.

I'd do it.

[Reeve]

SF is one of the greatest places to live in the world, but you won't be living in a luxurious apartment or buying the most awesome new stuff on that salary. You may not need it living in SF, though, where cheap and free public events are plentiful, there's beaches and forests and wine country and such all around you, etc.

[klogaroth]

I'm going to start off by saying I don't know anything about living in San Francisco......

With that out the way.

I don't know how permanent you are looking to make the move, but if there's the option to move back to Detroit at the end of the 10 weeks you really don't have a lot to lose.

It'll also continue to improve your CV and when you finish with education you'll be able to say to potential employers "hey, look what I did in my semester off". That you are willing and able to do that kind of thing will impress them.

[steale]

I would not waste time doing anything but packing, in your shoes. It's sunny in California, but it's so cold in the D...

[Speaknoevil]

If you have the money, do it now.

[Tziva]

As others have said, it will be a huge cost of living change.

SF is the most expensive place in the country to live. I imagine Detroit is pretty cheap, even if you're in a nicer surviving suburb. It's probably one of the biggest cost of living jumps you can make intra-national.

SF will certainly have a lot more opportunities, though. Detroit ain't doin' so hot and future seems even bleaker than the present. If you can afford it, then go for it. If you aren't sure you can, I wouldn't risk it. You don't want to be another one of the zillion homeless guys in the city.

[Damerflinn]

I 100% agree that you should go.

However, keep looking for work, the minimum wage in SF is around $11 an hour. Meaning that if you find a full time job at a gas station it is going to pay you more then that internship, SF is a beautiful, amazing place to live, I would say the biggest risk is that you will not want to go back to school.

[oxymoronic]

yes you should go ASAP and you'll be in vegas or phoenix 10-20years after that... welcome

[Issalice]

I 100% agree that you should go.

However, keep looking for work, the minimum wage in SF is around $11 an hour. Meaning that if you find a full time job at a gas station it is going to pay you more then that internship, SF is a beautiful, amazing place to live, I would say the biggest risk is that you will not want to go back to school.

But you have to factor in cost of living. $11 an hour there isn't the same as $11 an hour in Detroit. Although I do agree with you, go to SF...go now! lol

[lockedout]

You should make the move from Detroit to anywhere and fast, good luck.

- - - Updated - - -

As others have said, it will be a huge cost of living change.

SF is the most expensive place in the country to live.

It is in the top 5 but not the most expensive.
NY currently holds that title.

[icausewipes]

Get ready for lots of hills.

[Deleted]

The real question is are you going to get the top or bottom bunk?

[Kujako]

Don't do it! It's too crowded here already.

[Callous1970]

but taking a semester off right now for financial reasons.

First, and foremost, you should move anywhere that is not Detroit. I've been there, and its a shit-hole. Get out.

Second, regarding the phrase that I quoted, if you have financial issues the last place you should go is San Francisco. That place is stupidly expensive.

[Tziva]

It is in the top 5 but not the most expensive.
NY currently holds that title.

Although Manhattan (at least) is higher, supposedly SF beats NYC if you average all five boroughs.

But in any case, you can't live off of $11 an hour in SF unless you have a lot of roommates in a very small (or rent controlled) space.