Would You Give Up Nice Housing for San Francisco?

For many people, especially tech workers, San Francisco is the place to be. Silicon Valley is definitely attractive, but can people actually afford it though? The housing prices in San Francisco have always been high compared to other cities such as San Diego and Irvine. However, reports show that the cost of living has just became even higher.

As shown in the two charts below, San Francisco housing prices have been increasing dramatically ever since 2005. From 2017 to 2018, the median sales price for houses increased 14%, from $1,293,750 to $1,475,000. During the same time period, the average dollar price per square foot for condos jumped 6% as well, from $1,003 to $1,065.

The expensive housing in San Francisco is driving people away from the city. Last month, 49% of Bay Area residents stated that they would consider leaving California due to the expensive housing there. Other people who do not want to leave the city have come up with different ways to stay.

Misa Gidding-Chatfield and Mike Kraft decided to live on a boat instead of spending half a million dollars on a house that requires hours-long commute into San Francisco.

Heather Steward and Luke Iseman ditched their apartment that costed $2,200 a month, and built a tiny house by themselves with a shipping container purchased online.

Peter Berkowitz now spends $400 a month to live in a homemade wooden crate in a friend's apartment in San Francisco. In an interview, he described it as "cozy."

"Van living" has also become a popular lifestyle. Jason Roesslein, an engineer at Tesla, chose to live in a van purchased from eBay for 5 months in order to pay off his student loan of $14,000. He also showered at Tesla's gym.

Brandon, a software engineer at Google, lives in a van at the company's parking lot and saves 90% of his income.