| I've
heard sooo many wonderful things about San Francisco. It's always
been my dream to live there, and finally, I'm going! What do I
do, Alfredo? |
Think
twice before you come
I'm sorry, I hope it shows I didn't make this web site to discourage
people. However, the job market is horrible here, in many (not all)
sectors. This goes for all levels in the economy, from white collar
to blue.
There
are rumblings and rumors of things getting slightly better in the
first quarter of 2005. But we've heard such rumors before. It'll be
a while before we can tell.
I
know of highly skilled people, types from various departments, formerly
in great demand, who have not had a job in two years. I have seen
any number of people think they can come here and find work afterwards.
They may, they may not - and they may find themselves in a situation.
It's
not simply that the dot-com bubble burst. Other job sectors are down.
One McJob can often have many applicants. Why? Because all those graphics
designers formerly making six figures during the boom are now competing
to flip burgers or serve drinks.
California
is recovering last of all other states, the Bay Area is behind California,
and it's a jobless 'recovery' anyway. Yes,
many of those who rushed into California in dot-com days have gone
home now, but that has not freed up any jobs since the job itself
has disappeared or been offshored.
I
would strongly advise you to plan and investigate very carefully
before moving here.
You
should have both a) a job contract already (in
writing) signed by your new employer and b)
one year's expenses in the bank, free and clear of any debt upon that
money, in case your company disappears your job a month after you
get here.
If
you think I'm being overly pessimistic, please feel free to ask around
in the "Job market" discussion forum in the sfo craigslist.
And
I mean that - don't let one person's opinion derail your hopes and
dreams. Get a second & third opinion. Ask around, maybe the outlook
is better in your particular case.
I'll
update this page when things are on the mend . . .
If
you're still coming, then here is the original content of this page.
Online
rental services
There are only a few, and they have all worked for me at
one time or another. There are some differences, however.
craigslist
A wonderful, completely free and massive resource for any and
all your needs, from prosaic to kinky. And housing needs too. This
site is really all you need to know.
renttech
Probably just as good as metrorent, most landlords place listings
in both of them since it's free to do so.
metrorent
No big deal, but their web interface seems a bit easier. They
also allow landlords to have photo tours of their places, though the
percentage of landlords who actually upload a photo tour may be small,
I don't know
The
Good and the Bad
In general, I like the Richmond and the Sunset. They're
like the 'burb neighborhoods, SF style. It's where I have always lived.
This is just a quick once-over list of "good" and "bad" neighborhoods.
For a fuller description of each neighborhood, check out the Neighborhoods
page.
"Good"
Neighborhoods
- The
Richmond
- The
Sunset
- The
Haight
- The
Marina
- St.
Francis Woods
- Parts
of The Mission
- Parts
of the Fillmore
- The
Castro
- (Maybe)
The Potrero
- (Maybe)
Bayview District
- (Possibly)
Chinatown
"Bad"
Neighborhoods
- The
poorer neighborhoods, obviously.
- Parts
of the Mission (those closest to Mission Street itself),
- The
area west of Mission street,
- certain
parts of Hunter's Point,
- certain
parts of South of Market (don't stray too far south from Market
street)
- Parts
of the Potrero
- The
Ingleside. Don't be fooled by the gazillion-dollar homes, this neighborhood
is next to a high crime area and guess where the burglars go shopping?
- Downtown,
unless you are a type-A who would rather live in New York City.
Personal
experiences only
These are people I can recommend because they've gone the
extra mile for me in one way or another. For all they knew I was
a regular customer, they didn't know about this SF guide, they just
went the extra mile anyway. I thought this spoke well of them,
so I thought maybe other people would have good experiences with them
too.
Car
mechanic
Sang
at U & I Auto Safety Center - Ahhh, the holy grail of every
car owner, an honest and comptetent mechanic. His name is Sang,
and I think he actually owns U&I Auto Safety Center. He has
very kindly gone out of his way to do things like drive a relative
of mine home when it turned out the car had to stay for a few days.
I have 'caught' him disclosing that the condition was not as bad
as it seemed and required a less expensive repair. I've been seeing
him for, probably, ten years. The shop is in the Civic Center area,
near Market street. It's worth going there from any place in the
city, if you ask me. Tell him Alfredo sent you. 205 Franklin (415)
255-7337
Doctor
Dr.
David Segars - With a gentle demeanor and good examination-table-side
manner, Dr. David Segars came recommended by my own mother, so that's
pretty good right there. His ministrations never feel rushed. Please
note that he practices in the same office with his brother of the
same last name, who I'm sure is very nice but whom I haven't met.
I speak of Dr. David Segars. I like his medical office workers
too, who have been friendly and professional. The office is in a
medical building in the nice Merced Manor area near the Sunset and
SF State University. 2645 Ocean Ave. Suite 303 (415) 452-1200
Insurance
Natalie
Masarsky - In the outer Sunset, she's an agent for Allstate.
She's nice, she's very busy but still takes
the time to take care of your personal needs. If you're already
in San Fran, or almost here, then this is her
Allstate-hosted page with her contact information.
Financial
Investments
Dave
Pagano - Near San Francisco State, Dave took the time to explain
a lot of financial concepts to me even though he knew he didn't
stand to benefit because, as it turned out, I just wasn't in the
market for his services. If you do have financial investments
to discuss, then he's in the Cal Fed branch near the Stonestown
mall, on 20th Avenue.
Computer
stores
TopTek
- Mom n pop computer store in the Sunset. Very nice people, helpful,
down to earth, willing to go the extra mile. Lots of good deals,
especially on discontinued items. Mostly small peripherals, like
NIC cards, cables, motherboards, etc., but they can custom-build
you a complete PC with anything you want. Great if you're in the
area, far better than driving 45 minutes on the freeway to Fry's.
General
advice
What I would do if I were you is to call the agency and
get connected to an agent, so you have a name at the agency with whom
you have established at least a recognition relationship. Then, send
your resume with a cover letter to that person and once you get here,
update them with your local address and phone number.
Web
resources
The bay area is very wired, so the online thing is a great place
to start your search. It's especially good because you can start the
ball rolling even before you get here. Just make sure you indeed are
coming, so that the local recruiters don't spend time setting up interviews
that you won't be able to make. There are three major resources; monster,
dice, and craigslist. These are linked from the What's Shaking page.
Usenet
resources
If you know what usenet is, aka the newsgroups, then you are
hooked into a great area of the net that is usually invisible to most
people who (mistakenly) think the web = the internet. If you don't know,
you are missing out. Download the FreeAgent newsreader from ForteInc,
ask your ISP how to connect to their newsfeed, and you can discover
dozens of thousands of chats arranged by topic. In any case, the place
to look in usenet is the ba.jobs.* hierarchy
okcupid.com
I
stumbled upon this new site just a few days ago. I tried it, it really
rocks. It's a dating web site, like match.com except it's free, like
yahoo personals used to be in the old days.
You take
a test in the beginning and are assigned one of 16 romantic types, akin
to the Kiersey types. The elements are Random/Deliberate, Gentle/Brutal,
Love/Sex, and Dreamer/Master. From these they derive your type, like
"The Poolboy", "The Peach", "The False Messiah", "The battleaxe",
"The Intern", etc. The link is in my What's Shaking page, which
you should view on your way out after reading everything here.
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Powerful
All-In-One Resource
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craigslist
craigslist, affectionately known as CL is the indispensable
meeting place, flea market, singles bar, job fair, water cooler, and
rental classifieds for the savvy online bay arean. Do not miss it, or
thou shalt be sorry.
Use the
classifieds section to list your resume, seek jobs, find pets, etc.
Use the message boards as pretty much live chat
Like all
links, craigslist is in the What's Shaking page. Don't worry,
just make a mental note, and visit my Shaking page on your way out when
you're done with my guide. It will serve as a good index, is my hope.
Don't miss
the "What's shaking" page which has live links to all the
things I talk about in the entire site.
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