Why You Should Move to the Bay Area

San Francisco. It is the city by the bay, and one of the biggest cities in the United States. 

There are a lot of good reasons to move to San Francisco but the pandemic has admittedly caused a bit of an exodus from the city. In 2020, there was a 30% increase in people moving out of the city compared to 2019. 

However, that should not all be held on to the city itself. San Francisco can still be a great place to live, and some of you still want to move to the Bay area. 

So, why should you move to San Francisco? These are some of the reasons. 

Cost Is Going Down 

San Francisco has a reputation of being an expensive city to live in, especially because it is in California. But, what if you were to find out that the city is actually getting more affordable to live in? 

Well, you can thank the pandemic for that. As stated above, there was a significant increase in people moving out last year compared to the year prior. That has created less demand for apartments, and perhaps fewer people wanting to live in the middle of a crowded city. 

From March 2020 to August 2021, the average rent in San Francisco has gone down by $565. Granted, it still may be expensive to some but it went down from an average of $3,667 per month to $3,102 per month. 

That means there is a lower cost barrier right now to be able to afford to live in San Francisco, and those desiring to live in a bigger city have the opportunity to take advantage of it, perhaps before the market may correct itself. 

On top of that, it is no secret that the cost of houses all across the country has gone up dramatically in that time span since the pandemic. So, for those wanting to live in an apartment in a bigger city, this still may be the lesser of two evils in terms of cost of living. 

If you are from a rural area or a suburb and have a decent job, or want to try to find a better job in San Francisco, this may be the time to make a big move. 

Job Opportunities 

San Francisco may have the reputation of an expensive city but it pays like one. 

Those of you that are curious, where do you think this city ranks in wages? The answer is, San Francisco has the second-highest wages in the country. 

If that was not enough, the #1 city for highest wages is nearby neighbor San Jose. So, northern California, in general, can be a very good area to establish yourself for higher-salary jobs. 

Granted, that is the average, so people are certainly going to be making less than that in the city, and may struggle to keep up with all of the bills that San Francisco demands because of it. 

However, the city does offer a high reward if you can stick out the questionable times financially. This is because the job opportunities to move up the latter are there, and you may one day find yourself making well above the average salary in the city if you have the talent, the drive, and can stick out the questionable times long enough. 

Also, San Francisco is a hub for some major industries, which are connections and jobs you may need to advance in your field. We are going to get to that below. 

Technology Hub 

Some may question if this is more reputation now but make no mistake, San Francisco is still currently a major player in the tech industry. If you do not believe our word, think about all of the major companies that started and have headquarters in the Bay area. 

These companies include legendary names such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Intel, and many more. The fact is, San Francisco is an area where some of the greatest technological innovation is happening, and plenty of people who have an interest in that field want to be a part of what is happening. 

Admittedly, as years go by, other cities like Austin and Miami are trying to give San Francisco a run for their money as the tech hub of America but San Francisco still holds its own and then some in that race. 

As for more recent innovation, even companies like Airbnb and Uber, who have both changed the game in the apps industry in their own right, not to mention how we live our daily lives, have headquarters in the city of San Francisco. 

So, for anyone that is interested in getting involved in one of the companies above or something like it, you will probably need to relocate to the Bay area to be able to get major footing faster in your field. 

International Hub 

Now, we can get to the fun part of traveling. Before the pandemic at least, San Francisco was a major player internationally, and it is a very popular airport in the United States for people to travel to and through. 

Statistically, San Francisco is the seventh busiest airport in the United States, and it ranks third on the list of any airport on the west coast. The only cities it trails in its region are Los Angeles and Denver for airport traffic. 

Nevertheless, you can argue that the city is a gateway to the United States if you are coming from a certain part of the world. That argument mainly applies to Asia, because California is among the closest continental states to that continent. 

Sure, there are major cities like Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., and even Orlando for tourism in the eastern half of the country that can match or even jump the city. However, sometimes it is simply about location, and San Francisco benefits from being up to six hours shorter of a plane ride than some east coast cities from Asia. 

San Francisco gives Americans looking to go to Asia for business or pleasure the ability to get there a little sooner than traveling from say New York or the middle of the country. In reverse, San Francisco is one of the cities that most easily allows travelers from Asia access to the United States, without having to spend more time on a plane than necessary. 

Diversity 

When it comes to this city, a lot of people argue it is a diverse one full of different ideas. Well, the general race demographic plays out like this:

• White: 46.41%
• Asian: 34.40%
• Other race: 7.68%
• Two or more races: 5.57%
• Black or African American: 5.21%
• Native American: 0.37%
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.36%

There may be no surprise that white makes up the highest percentage of the population in a U.S. city. But, something a little more surprising here is the fact that people of Asian descent make up over 1/3 of the population in the city. 

This ties into the international influence, as San Francisco is known to be a friendly and easy international hub to the United States from Asian countries, and has been for a long time. 

Also, there is the fact that San Francisco is known as a very accepting city and a welcoming one for the LGBTQ community. The city tops the list as the most gay-friendly city in America, beating out the nearest competitor (Key West) by nearly 20%. 

So, one can make the argument that San Francisco has something for everybody and that several different types of people can feel comfortable in an environment like this. 

Sports

Now, let’s get to the action. A lot of the United States loves sports, and San Francisco is no exception here. There are even east coast roots for older citizens, with the beloved New York Giants (in baseball) moving to San Francisco in the 1950s and developed roots in the Bay area. 

Now, even with the departure of the Raiders, the Bay area still has plenty of sports teams its residents can hang their heads high on. These include: 

• San Francisco Giants
• Oakland Athletics
• San Francisco 49ers
• Golden State Warriors
• San Jose Sharks 

Two of these teams have gotten new stadiums/arenas in the last decade. After the Warriors’ dynasty run, they received a new arena called the Chase Center in 2019. Before that, the 49ers were finally able to escape Candlestick Park and get Levi Stadium that opened up in 2014. 

Along with that, a lot of these teams have found recent success. The 49ers have appeared in two Super Bowls over the last decade, The Giants have won three World Series titles since 2010, the Warriors have won three NBA Championships and appeared in five straight Finals from 2015-19, and even the Sharks managed to sneak in a Stanley Cup Final appearance. 

Sports fans in the Bay area are living in good times, with the Giants having the best record in the MLB, the 49ers expected to make a postseason appearance, and the Athletics continuing to be scrappy. If sports are a reason you may want to stay put, you should not count out the Bay area. 

Nature

Yes, this city and the area around it do have its nature escapes. One of the most famous landmarks in the city, the Golden Gate Bridge, even leads to a national recreation area. 

This is called the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and it is a space that is 82,000 acres in size that allows for a nature escape in what can be quite frankly congested city at times. 

Also, just three hours east of the city is one of the most popular national parks in the country. This is Yosemite National Park, which can be a great day trip for those looking for more wide-open nature. 

There is also obviously, the Pacific Ocean. Since the city is on the Bay and the coast of the Pacific Ocean, living here grants people access to an ocean, and maybe even some good waves to surf, that you cannot get in many other areas in the United States. 

This may be the area that you can get the benefits of living while living within reach of nature escapes where you only have to travel a minimum distance to be able to reach. 

Weather

Finally, one of the absolute biggest benefits of living in San Francisco is the weather. 

Why is this? Because the weather is consistent throughout the year, and never gets too extreme. 

In San Francisco, the lowest average temperature in a month is 45 degrees. This is in January when the highest average in a month tends to be a very manageable 56 degrees. 

However, it does not stop there, because the average high temperature for the year does not increase too high either. September is the warmest month of the year in the city, and the high temperature average then is 72 degrees. 

So, admittedly, you may never have a time in the year where you feel hot enough to go swimming in a pool easily. However, you should feel comfortable enough throughout the year to take a jog in the city, and never feel the need to have a heavy coat with you unless you really cannot tolerate any type of cold weather. 

The only negative to mother nature here is the possibility of earthquakes, which is a bigger probability in the state of California in general. Admittedly, there have been some bad years for those in this city, such as 1906 and 1989. 

But, if you are willing to live with an earthquake every now and then, not many other cities in the country will beat this one for weather. 

Move to the Bay Area 

These are just some of the highlights of what San Francisco and the general area have to offer. Whether it is the weather, lower cost, diversity, job opportunities, or international influence, most of you should find a good reason to move to the Bay area.