San Francisco is the greatest city in North America. San Francisco is also a Top-10 city in the world. Here are the top reasons to live and work in San Francisco. Post-pandemic, people will be flooding to San Francisco for its beauty and for the tremendous job opportunities.
San Francisco is one of the best cities in the world to buy real estate too.
Top Reasons To Live And Work In San Francisco
I came to San Francisco in 2001 from NYC due to a job opportunity. I decided to stay for the next 20 years. Here are the top reasons to live and work in San Francisco.
1) Being able to go snowboarding in two feet of powder at Sugar Bowl on a Saturday, and play tennis in a t-shirt and shorts on a Sunday in 68 degree sunny weather was incredible. Funny to say, but this was my #1 reason for planting roots and never considering anywhere else. The great outdoors in the SF Bay Area and the regions close by is amazing. Life is not work. Activities make life.
2) The air is fresh. I’ve lived in Beijing, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Kobe for 13 years and traveled all throughout Asia, and fresh air is at a premium in much of the world. You’re smoking two packs of cigarettes a day living in Beijing!
3) Endless job and entrepreneurial opportunities. After I left banking in 2012, it was incredibly simple to finding six figure part-time consulting jobs. At one point, I had three part-time consulting jobs paying over $30,000 a month. It's hard to find this opportunity anywhere given the large startup, VC, and tech scene here.
More Reasons To Live In San Francisco
4) Easy to build entrepreneurial relationships. I started Financial Samurai in 2009 as a hobby and I focused on it full-time starting in 2012 once traffic started picking up. It is so easy to meet all these fintech companies that are relevant to my writing for lunch, dinner, or drinks. Because I’m here, I’ve been able to develop deep relationships with my partners and get the best rates and the most access.
5) Real estate was a way to build wealth. Coming from Manhattan in 2001, I found SF real estate to be at least 20% cheaper for the same space and quality. Because the lifestyle was better than NYC, SF real estate felt like a goldmine. So I bought in 2003, 2005, and 2014 to build my passive income streams so I wouldn’t have to work forever.
6) Plenty of great technology companies that provide for flexible working arrangements in a post coronavirus pandemic world.
7) Amazing amount of diversify. San Francisco is a minority majority city.
Moving Out Of San Francisco Due To Cost
Although I've shared my top reasons to live in San Francisco, if you are struggling due to the cost, you may not want to come. With President Biden as President, people interesting in migrating to California for a better life has ticked up. However, if you don't come with a well-paying job, consider living elsewhere.
I finally sold the rental house I bought in 2005 in 2017. Now I’m thinking about moving within the next five years before my son goes to kindergarten. Somewhere in Hawaii sounds nice.
After selling my house for $2.74 million, I reinvested $550,000 of the proceeds into real estate crowdfunding. My favorite platform is Fundrise, founded in 2012 right after the 2012 JOBS Act.
I love earning money passively in real estate without having to manage tenants or fix leaky pipes.
There’s less reason to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world now due to technology. Technology allows you to be untethered. The country and the world is a big place.
Go explore and live it! That said, I'm still bullish on big city real estate like San Francisco. It's just that with the opportunity to work remotely, you might as well move to a lower-cost area of the country if you can.
The Reason To Stay In San Francisco
After the global pandemic, there is one thing that would make me stay in San Francisco. And that is if a decent amount of the population leave and the city becomes less congested and less expensive. Fortunes are made in San Francisco, so I have my doubts others won't simply fill the space.
There is a great near-term opportunity to buy property on the western side of San Francisco, which is cheaper and less dense.
Related:
The Cheapest International City In The World: San Francisco!
The Best Areas To Buy Property In San Francisco Today