Moved to the Bay Area for a Job | What It's Like Living Here

it's been four years since I moved to the Bay area for a job question is was it worth it well San Francisco is one of the biggest places in the world where people come to for job opportunities and they make the move over to here hi I'm Tiffany and if you're new to my channel I am a product designer working in Tech in Silicon Valley and four years ago I decided to uproot my life in Southern California to make a move up to the Bay Area so that I could grow my career like a lot of other people here in Silicon Valley originally I told myself I'd only be here for two years but it's been four years and still here so if you're considering moving here for a job yourself or you're just curious about what it's like to live in the Bay Area I'm going to tell you my favorite and least favorite things about living in the Bay Area let's start off with some of the obvious lots of job opportunities here most of the time people come to the Bay Area because there are a lot of tech companies out here and a bunch of opportunities and that's great because there are literally startups popping up all over the place all over the time and that means the more companies there are then that means there's more options which means it'll be easier for you to find a job that you'll like I mean it's basic math the more options there are the more chances you've got second thing I really like about living here is the location I feel like it's kind of in the middle of a lot of places and it gives you a lot of variety to do lots of different activities for instance there's Lake Tahoe that you can go to in the summer time or winter time which is great for recreational activities like skiing or if you want to go there for the summer time to go kayaking or mountain biking it's only a four hour drive and that's really nice because you could just take a quick road trip during the weekend typically if you're living somewhere else you have to fly into Lake Tahoe and it's it's a whole ordeal but it's really nice to be able to take advantage of the weekends for quick trips here it is also close to one of the biggest Winery areas of the world which is Napa Valley so if you want to go on a winery trip then it's really just an hour or two away from the Bay Area depending on where you live I'm also pretty close to this City so San Francisco is a huge spot very popular among tourists and it's just a fun place to be and there's a lot of things to do in the city so if I really wanted to go there hang out with my friends it's an hour drive or I can take public transportation like the BART they actually have a station that they just made here in the Bay Area that can take you all the way there so you don't have to drive yourself another thing I really like about living in the Bay Area is the work culture here so usually back in Southern California I remember I used to have to go to work and clock in at 8am on the dot and I always felt so pressured or I felt really really late if I ever came in at 9am but here in San Francisco in the Bay Area I feel like it's the norm almost to start work at 9 30 or 10 a.m I even have friends who have started work at 11 A.M and it's not a big deal so if you want to do something in the morning and you want to exercise or something you have the time to do that so that's something that was kind of nice moving here just being adjusted to that flexible work schedule another really cool thing about living here is that there is just so many ambitious people around you just being around that kind of motivation makes you just want to do more and do better I feel like most of the time people here are so good at their jobs but they also have a lot going on in their personal lives and they're either doing side hustles or they have families and they're just so well-rounded so just being around that is just super motivating but it can also be something that's very very exhausting the ambitious people not only is like a pro but it can also be a con because it does give you this pressure to feel like you need to keep up with everybody because everyone is doing such a great job so if let's say you want to get promoted at your job then you want to try to stand out and work harder and try to be an overachiever but if everyone is an overachiever then how can you be an overachiever so that is something to consider as well now let's switch gears into some of the reasons I do not like living here I'd say a big one for me is weather weather weather um I don't know about you maybe it's because I'm from Southern California but it is always cold here I feel like especially in San Francisco in the city more so than in South Bay um it's always cold and gloomy and windy there so I usually can never wear a cute outfit it's almost impossible and even if you try to look at your iPhone and check the weather in advance it's still unpredictable because it's not always accurate and usually you'll be driving into the City and it's sunny and beautiful and then 10 minutes before you get in it's just you hit this cloud and it's Carl the fog and it is cold and everything there is gloomy so keep that in mind if you are someone who loves the sun in warm weather it is definitely really difficult to have that in San Francisco this next reason is pretty obvious and it has to do with how expensive it is to live here um typically most of the apartments here are usually around 4 000 a month for maybe like a one or two bedroom apartment it's not unheard of and the food is also expensive so even if I wanted to go out and get like a noodle soup obviously inflation has to do with it but I spent like 13 on a bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup and not only that they usually sometimes will tack on a service fee and then there's also taxes and there's also a gratuity that goes on top of it sometimes and so all of that just kind of adds up and so it is quite expensive it's definitely something that I'm not a fan of so that's something to also keep in mind I also want to talk about the crime now I think that it's actually pretty common to have theft and car break-ins and I feel like it's been a little bit increasing more over the years if you go to a lot of the places around volunteer in the parking lots you will notice that there are warning signs and reminders to let people know to not have valuables in your car because it is so common and I've gotten my car broken into before I have a friend who's gotten her car broken into three times before even though there is nothing in it her windows were just tinted I think I mean it doesn't happen every single day but it's definitely common and especially in the tourist areas if you are going to a tour spot you leave your car and you have a laptop or a bag out then don't be surprised if someone breaks in because it's just something you have to accept to living here and it sucks and there's just so many funny Tick Tock videos around that people have started to put signs on their window saying please don't break into my car there's nothing here it's that ridiculous but yeah that's something that I noticed that happens around here more than it has in other places now that I've kind of gone over the pros and the cons but what it's like to live in the Bay Area the question is was it worth it was it worth it for me to move for my job I'd say yes it was because I honestly feel like there's been so many things that helped shape me into the person I am today I feel like I've grown so much just as a person being here I've met a lot of really cool friends expanded my network but would I stay here forever probably not I think that my end goal is still to be closer to my family and my friends in the future and I definitely want to make that move back to Southern California someday but I thought that maybe this video was really helpful for it those of you who are considering moving to the Bay if you want to watch more videos about what it's like to live here then check out my Bay Area apartment tour or look at the video that I have linked next thanks for watching and I'll see you guys next time bye [Music] laughs

Channel: Tiffany

Views: 9,545

Keywords: ux design, ui design, ux ui, product design, ux designer, visual design, mock ups, user experience design, product designer, ux design vlog, day in the life, vlog

Id: RW1Ip9luGIQ

Length: 8min 7sec (487 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 31 2023