Why in the world
would you want to live in San Francisco? San Francisco's a dense,
busy, bustling city with the challenges
and problems of many major cities. Much like New York City, Los Angeles,
Portland, Seattle, San Francisco has all of the difficulties
faced by urban areas today. High cost of living, crime, parking, traffic problems, and of course homelessness. There's also a lot to love
about living here. When deciding whether or not to move to San Francisco, here
are 10 things that you should consider. let's get right to it. Everyone has heard that San Francisco
is full of crime and homelessness. Lately, when I'm traveling
people ask where I'm from and when I say San Francisco,
they say, "Oh my God, Is it as bad as they say?" Okay, so let's start with crime. You can't open up a newspaper
without hearing that San Francisco is a super dangerous place
and you'd think that you're going to get stabbed
walking down the street. There is definitely crime
in San Francisco. Smash and grab
crime is actually at an all time high. And one of the things that you learn
very quickly living here is that you don't leave anything
visible sitting in your car. In fact, sometimes whenever we're traveling out of town
and we have stuff in the car, we wait to leave town before we stop
and try to get something to eat if there's stuff in the car, Believe it or not,
San Francisco actually has lower rates of violent crime than Houston,
Seattle, Dallas and New Orleans. So let's talk about homelessness. Homelessness in San
Francisco is a real thing as it is in a lot of cities and a lot of it is actually tied to the drug crisis. Fentanyl is a real problem. There's actually been 845 deaths, which is the highest ever
in San Francisco to date. But what I will say is that the city is
working hard to try to solve this crisis. And all of the residents are definitely rooting for the city
to get this under control. So though homelessness is definitely a problem,
it is concentrated to some specific parts of San Francisco. So why does it cost so much to live here? So one thing is
just the simple rule of supply and demand. So San Francisco's only seven by seven.
And that's seven miles. by seven miles. It's a pretty small city that actually is really,
really densely populated. We also have politicians
who want to have more housing, but at the same time, everybody wants the city
to look a certain way. So there's a lot of historically protected
buildings all over the place. Everybody loves the Victorians
and the Edwardians and they don't want to mix
a bunch of skyscrapers in between them. So a lot of the city is actually capped
in terms of how high you can build. So certain sections of San Francisco,
you can build high rises, but in most of San Francisco you cannot. The other thing is that, you know,
the housing stock is very different. So if you go to a place
where there's suburbs, I don't know, let's pick on Dallas for a minute. You know,
a lot of the homes are probably the same. So maybe you could show up
to a place like that and see six or seven homes
that are relatively the same and pick one. Here if you were to see six or seven homes
in a certain price point, they would all be dramatically different
and dramatically different neighborhoods. Additionally, there really is just a lot of cash
running around in San Francisco. So San Francisco,
including Silicon Valley, actually rate number three for
for most wealthiest cities in the world. I think according to a report
I read, there was about 62 billionaires, that's with a B,
that live in San Francisco. And there's about 600,000 people that are worth close
to $100 million or above. So when you're competing
with a lot of cash offers and a lot of money and people
that really have the means to drive up and get whatever they want,
that's also going to raise the prices. Before we continue, if you're interested
in learning more about San Francisco and what it's like to live here,
make sure you subscribe to our channel. We talk to people just like you every day
who are looking to make a move here. So give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to chat with you. So you're probably hearing that
everyone is leaving San Francisco. And definitely it's true. San Francisco has lost about
7% of its population since the pandemic. There's a lot of people that moved out due to just being able
to work from anywhere. There are some people who moved out
based on taxes, especially very, very high income earners. But 7% isn't nearly as high as
the headlines would make you believe is happening. Also, you know, downtown is quieter
than it's ever been before. It's emptier than it's ever been before. We're starting to see
some people come back to the office. Finance has been back for a long time. Tech is slower to come back
than we'd like to see, but it is happening and I do think it's going to happen
more and more. There's a lot of tech companies
who are demanding that their people be in the office 3 to 4 days a week. The other thing that is happening downtown
is that with all of the vacancies
come a lot of opportunity. Like a lot of the companies
that were in these buildings, they built them out beautifully
and they have great views in these big, tall buildings of the bridge
and the water and other buildings. And it's gorgeous down there
and everything's on sale. So it's a great time
to get a commercial space. And we're starting to see some air
companies specifically moving in downtown. And I think that it's going to it's going
to create space for some other businesses that couldn't afford
to be down there prior. So how's traffic? Be prepared to sit in traffic. It's a normal part of city living. Parking in San Francisco can also be
a nightmare in certain neighborhoods. And if you're lucky enough
to have a driveway or a designated park
parking spot, it's a total game changer. There is definitely a reason that Lyft
and Uber are readily available here. Not to mention the increasingly
popular self-driving taxis. We also have
many options for public transportation, and that allows people to move
throughout the city with relative ease. We have bike lanes and car free streets
where many people enjoy using their bikes to get around town. Let's talk about weather. So San Francisco is not hot.
If you're looking for heat. Hot beaches, all of that stuff. Then you're in the wrong spot. You need to go to Southern California. The average temperature in San Francisco
year round is right around 67 degrees. And there's definitely some fog. There's a quote by well,
people say it's Mark Twain, but nobody really knows if it was Mark
Twain that says the coldest winter that I ever spent
was my summer in San Francisco. It was probably a resident. Our best months
are actually September and October. I don't know why, but those are always
the sunniest, best, months. Winter times here they can be sometimes
wet, but really, this is California. We have droughts all the time, so. But if we're going to get a lot of rain,
it's usually going to be in January But if you do want to have a hot
summer day, you can jump in the car and drive 30 minutes
to pretty much any direction and it'll be really pretty nice and warm
and you can jump in the pool. All right,
So let's talk about earthquakes. Clearly, we have a reputation for having
a lot of earthquakes around here. We've had two major earthquakes,
obviously, the 1906 earthquake. Obviously, there was a 1906 quake and then in 1989,
there was the Loma Prieta quake. We've learned a lot about earthquakes
and a lot of our housing stock was actually built prior to 1906
and is still standing. I'll be honest. I don't think a lot of residents
spend a whole lot of time thinking about earthquakes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there's a 63% chance
that we will experience a quake 6.7 or higher over the next 30 years. And certainly we do have buyers who really want to talk
about the structural integrity of homes. And there's varying degrees
of structural integrity in homes. And we can walk you through that. Also, the land underneath the homes in San
Francisco is different. Some of the land is in liquefaction,
which tends to move a little bit more. We have a whole video on that.
And some of it is on bedrock. And so depending on what kind of land that the home is sitting on,
you may or may not want to buy that house or you may want to look a little bit
more into how structurally sound it is. So the next thing I'll talk about
is something called the grind. Sometimes living in San Francisco
can feel a little bit more about work than it does about play
or just unscheduled do nothing time. Many people here work really long hours,
and that can be ingrained in the culture of some of the companies
based in the Bay Area. I think most people I know have jobs that they really love
and they do their best to integrate their work
rather than balance that. This intensity is part of what actually
initially attracted me to moving here and has certainly propelled me ahead
in a very rewarding career. But I have to admit sometimes it's nice
to get away from it all and decompress. And of course, you can decompress right here in the city. The Bay Area is more active
than many places in the world. According to an article
published in USA Today, San Francisco actually ranks 13 for the lowest obesity
rate in the country. This is a super active place to live. Growing up in the mid-west, I thought if someone ran a marathon,
they were like superhuman or something. Here in the Bay Area,
the kinds of physical activities that your everyday Joe does is honestly,
like super mind blowing. Lauren on my team, she actually ran seven marathons
on seven continents in seven days. I just let that sink in for a minute. Crazy, crazy, crazy. I know so many ultra marathoners. I didn't even know what that was prior
to living here. I think it's like running 150 miles
or something. So next up, hills. So San Francisco's really hilly. Whether you're driving or walking, you're going to find yourself on
some really steep hills. Can take a while to get used to this,
Which means that practicing, if you have a stick driving your car or
building up those calf muscles is a must. I love hills. I walk up a mountain
every single morning, but it's not for everyone. With steep hills
come extraordinary views. There's no shortage of breathtaking views in the city,
and they're usually on top of a hill. So you probably heard something
about schools in San Francisco. Many people find our private
and public schools difficult to navigate. Our public school
admissions are determined by a lottery. Some people think that's awesome
because they have a lot of choices, and other people find it a little crazy. Private schools require you
to go through an application process. Both of these lottery applications,
they're really time consuming and there's no guarantees that you'll end up in the right place
or in your favorite place. However, there are a ton
of different kinds of schools here, and there's a lot of options. And some of those people really appreciate
being able to find a school that's very tailored to
their child and their needs. So, to wrap all of this up, I came to San Francisco
right out of college, and I was looking for a city
with diversity. And people who are open minded, active,
had a lot of entrepreneurial spirit. And I have to say, I found all of that. I made it my home. I started my family
and I'm raising my two boys here. It can be challenging to live in a city
like San Francisco, but if you're looking for a rich cultural
experience, plenty of parks and the opportunity
to live in a world class technology hub, it may just be the right place for you. Watch our neighborhood vlogs
and see what area might be a fit for you. If you have questions,
we want to be here for you. You can comment, email or call us. Details are in the comments below. Whether you're considering a move
to San Francisco or already live here we'd love to be your go to real estate resource. It's actually pretty small,
and it's dense, densely populated. It's actually pretty small,
and it's dense, densely populated. Can you scroll it down? Just a. Can you slow it down? Just a touch. Yeah. Okay, Scroll back on. Okay. So, San Francisco is a city that's only seven by seven, seven
by seven miles. It's quite small
and it's densely populated. San Francisco
politicians say that they want more housing for everyone
and they also want to keep San Francisco. All right. Sorry. Scroll back down. I'll start that whole part over again. Okay. So, yeah, so San Francisco is a city
that's only seven miles by seven miles. It's actually pretty small
and it's really densely populated. San Francisco politicians
say they want housing for everyone, but they also want to keep San Francisco
looking a certain way. Part of what makes up the charm of San
Francisco is the beautiful Victorian and Edwardian architecture,
much of which is historically protected. There's also height restrictions
that keep the inventory low because big housing complex, this can't be
built up over single family homes. Let's go back down. Okay. Yeah. The housing stock in San Francisco
is also very different, as opposed to someplace like Dallas where it has
all kind of the same cookie cutter homes. So if you want to have a particular kind
of house in a particular neighborhood, competition for that house is often
really high, which can drive prices up. To top it all off, there really are just a lot of cash buyers
floating around the Bay Area. According to CNBC, the San Francisco
Bay Area, which includes Silicon Valley, rounds out the top
three wealthiest cities in the world with about 300,000 rich individuals. Sorry, scroll back down. So are you following? Yes. If you start to see it,
go to the top. Can you just pause it? Because it'll give me a chance to catch up so I can kind of stay
like a certain pace with me. Like if you start to see that where I'm at
is at the top, if you pause it, then I it'll give me a chance to catch up
so I don't have to look, I keep telling you to stop. Does that work? Are.
You can't tell it. Are. You can't tell. Okay. You can't see.
Okay, No problem. That's fine. All right. Sorry. Yeah, that's fine. Yep. To top it all off, there really just is a lot of cash
floating around the Bay Area. According to CNBC, the San Francisco
Bay Area, which includes Silicon Valley, rounds out the top three wealthiest cities with about 300,000 rich individuals, 13,000 of whom
I think is in the wrong numbers. Go back down. 300,000 or. Yeah, okay. I did say the right number. Let's go back now. I'll just start over. Okay. Yeah. To top it all off, there really just is a lot of cash
floating around the Bay Area. According to CNBC, the San Francisco
Bay area, which includes Silicon Valley, rounds out the top three wealthiest cities
with about 300,000 rich individuals, about 13,000
of who are multimillionaire owners. The report said that we have 623 have assets at at least $100 million. And there's 62 billionaires
that live in the city. Scroll back on. Okay. So in addition to being competitive for homes
in San Francisco, it's not unusual to compete with other buyers
who are paying all cash. Okay. So let's see how that goes. Scroll back. Yeah. Okay. Father. Okay, so. All right, me. So just pause, All right? Okay. We'd love to chat with you. Okay, so scroll back down for a second. Yeah. All right. Let's talk about everybody
fleeing out of San Francisco. I'm sure that you've heard everyone's
leaving. And the downtown
San Francisco is a mess and it's empty. San Francisco did experience some big changes during the pandemic,
especially downtown. The city has a record
high, 31% office vacancy rate. And sorry, scroll back down. Okay. Yeah. The city has a record high. Actually, 31% office vacancy rate and some prominent retail departures
have actually drawn a lot of attention. Downtown is definitely sleepier
than it has been in years past. I really do think this is temporary. The good news is that office
space is on sale and many of these spaces
are actually built out. Super nice. Optimists say that they hope
that these trends will open up space for artists, nonprofit groups,
maybe even some houses. So recently, the city has to go back down a little more. Yep. Yep. Recently, the city has seen a bit of a revival. Workers have actually been returning,
though not as quickly as we would like to. The areas and sorry to go back down. Yeah. Recently
the city has seen a bit of a revival as workers have been returning to work. Not as quickly as we would like. San Francisco's
population is down by about 7%. You'd think it was like 150%. Sorry. Scroll back down. Yeah, it's still a little fast, I think, cause I'm trying to like improv a little bit while I'm reading,
so that's part of it. Yeah. So San Francisco's
population is down by about 7%, but the river is growing down. Okay, so San Francisco's population
is down about 7% since the pandemic. You'd think that it was down
like a crazy amount if you read the news. We do talk to buyers every single day
who've left and want to come back or who are moving here from other areas
to take a job in tech or biotech. So if San Francisco remains a leader
and sustainability and innovation and providing that allow are so boring,
I don't like this part. Uh, I'm going to improvise this and become part of something
bigger than themselves. Okay. San Francisco. San Francisco definitely remains a leader
in innovation and technology. And this is a place where people come to build Businesses
and entrepreneurs are starting businesses all of the time to become something
bigger than themselves. So another thing
that's really exciting for San Francisco is I and I fully believe that AI is going to change
really everything for all of us, but it's actually going to start
it is starting in San Francisco, right? So a lot of the technology companies here
that are developing AI are going to make a lot of money, which means that that money
is going to filter into San Francisco. And I think that big things are in store
for San Francisco and we could start to see a lot of businesses
downtown as a result of AI. Okay. You guys okay? It's out there. All right. I would love to see some of
those buildings turned into housing. I'm trying to get buildings
changed in their classification, and their structure is definitely
something that's not easy to do. But there's some talks about revitalizing
some of those buildings for artists
or college students or low income housing. So we'll see if that happens. There definitely has been some
retail shops that have left, which is sad. It's sad to see like fancy shops
leave and IKEA move in. I'm just not super excited
about IKEA personally. But I do think that there is opportunity for some real businesses
to be down there and make things happen. Can. So how's traffic? Well, I grew up in the Midwest
and we didn't drive anywhere. That was more than like 20 or 30 minutes
away. In San Francisco. Can you just posit. So how is traffic? Well, I mean, so how is traffic? Well, I grew up in the Midwest and a very small town
and there was no traffic there. There's definitely this is a city. So there is traffic. And I think in San Francisco,
in the Bay Area in general, people are really used to driving
sometimes long distances. It's not unusual for my husband
and I to jump in the car and drive 45 minutes to Palo Alto to have dinner
with a friend and drive back. And I think in a lot of parts
of the country, at least where I grew up, that was just not a thing
in terms of getting to and from work. I think a lot of people can time traffic. There's certain
a lot of jobs do not require you to be in. Right on the dot at certain time. So kind of waiting for traffic to wane off and driving
and non commute times can be an option. Also, there is also there
there is some public transportation. It could be better. We have a BART rail system
and we have busses and they're pretty comprehensive. There's room for improvement on them. A lot of people take Ubers a lot. Ubers are very,
very popular in San Francisco. And then a lot of people
try to find a home that's really close to where they need to be. And neighborhoods in general,
like in San Francisco, we have something like 50 neighborhoods,
and every neighborhood has its own little downtown
and own little grocery store. And it's quite possible
for you to just stay in your little area within a ten or 15 minute drive
from where you live versus driving all the way across the city
to get somewhere. And even though San
Francisco is only seven by seven. If you drove from one side of the city
to the other, it could sometimes take 45 minutes,
especially if there's traffic. So parking
may be important to you as well. If you drive a car. Parking in San
Francisco is not super easy to do. So for a lot of people who have cars, garages are really important things to have. So for a lot of people who have cars,
having a garage is a really important priority
for them in a home. Okay. All right. I'll read this just so we have it. I kind of improvised it early. Scroll back down. Okay. Or our gallery to how it's run. Though the public transportation system
here is comprehensive. The system could definitely be improved
compared to places like Tokyo, London, Paris and New York,
and they have much more comprehensive network
of more frequent services and it would make it easier
to get around the city without a car, even though it could be improved
between the BART train, muni rail,
Caltrain busses and ferries. You can get where you want to go
without a car, though. You have to have a plan
whether there's Fisherman's Wharf or the San Francisco Zoo
or San Francisco Bay and a public transit sorry, go by down. Whether you're going to Fisherman's Wharf,
the San Francisco Zoo, the South Bay Public Transit, also public transit for kids is actually free. Okay. All right. So I think I kind of already there. So let's get through that. Go ahead. What about whether it can be really cold
for some who are expecting it
to be hot in California? They don't call it a fog city for nothing. This is northern California,
not southern California. And if you're looking for a year around
sunny, warm beaches,
this might not be the place for you. You may have heard this famous quote,
The coldest winter I ever spent
was my summer in San Francisco. It's often attributed to Mark Twain, but there's no evidence
that he actually said it. But someone said it
and it was most likely a resident. So the weather vastly differs across town. San Francisco has
what's called microclimates. You may have heard of this as well. Always, always, always dress in layers. However, because
the city's location is on the peninsula and it's surrounded by water,
this helps to moderate the temperature with weather reminiscent
of the Mediterranean. Average temperatures are in the low to mid
sixties and seventies in the summer. These tempered temperature hours
mean that residents and visitors can actually really enjoy the outdoors
without breaking out. Sorry. Scroll back down. Yep. These temp, these tempered temperatures
mean that residents and visitors can really enjoy outdoor activities
without breaking the bank on sunscreen. And while winters
can sometimes be where you can always. And well, winters can sometimes be wet. You can put away the snow shovel because the average temperature in January
is 46 degrees. Also, when it's raining in San Francisco,
many residents know that it's snowing up in the mountains and they like
to get away for some time on the slopes. So that helps us
get through those rainy times. If you find yourself
craving some pool time, then you can just jump in the car
and drive 30 minutes in almost any direction and you'll find more
typical summertime temperatures. Okay, scroll up a little bit more. Okay. Yeah, that's fine. That's good. All right. We're supposed to be doing some cool time, huh? It's supposed to be traveling
from some cool time pool. Yeah, that's great. You can. You can stop it there. Okay. Oh, wait. I was going to, like, try to improvise it
so you can just hold, hold, hold that section. Okay. Yeah. Okay, So So what about earthquakes? Oh, my gosh. Since the 7.9 magnitude
earthquake in 1906, San Francisco has experienced a number of earthquakes,
including the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The United States
Geological Survey estimates that there's a 63% chance of a magnitude
6.7 or greater earthquake striking San Francisco
Bay Area in the next 30 years, which is something that we all try
not to think about. We have learned a thing or two about
earthquakes, safety and preparedness. Most of the housing
most of the housing is built Some of the buildings and homes
