California & Finance jobs
Jan 18th 2009, 5:42 pm
#19
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,126
Re: California & Finance jobs
I can speak to San Francisco, as I lived there for 6 years and for 5 of those I worked in the finance industry.
San Francisco is the financial capital of the west coast. Most of the financial firms in SF are fund managers, hedge funds and private equity rather than investment banks. There are investment banking operations, but they tend to be M&A and dealer branches servicing west coast businesses.
The big players in SF are Barclays Global Investors, Wells Fargo (Wachovia), Charles Schwab and Union Bank of California. Bank of America have some operations, as do many other commercial banks. And there are dozens of smaller asset managers and hedge funds.
San Francisco is serviced by the BART rail system, ferries and commuter buses. Using these you can reach SF in less than an hour from much of the SF Bay Area. A 2 bedroom flat in a decent neighborhood within 30 mins of downtown SF would range from $1600 on the lower end in Oakland or Berkeley, to $2200 and up in SF itself. We lived in a 2 bedroom flat in Noe Valley, one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF, and paid $2150 a month for a 2 bedroom flat with a garage. Prices have risen slightly since then, but not drastically. Most flats are rented privately and are advertised on craigslist.org
Most companies will give you 10 days vacation, plus public holidays and some 'personal' days (usually about 3 days that you can use at short notice, but that cannot be combined with your vacation days.) Some companies offer 15 days, and many will increase your vacation with tenure.
House prices are still way overvalued. They are falling off a cliff right now, so it's hard to say where they will bottom out. Being within 30 minutes of downtown SF is going to limit your options drastically, if you upped that to 45 mins you'd have way more options. Currently the asking price for what you are looking for would be well over a million. Check out zillow.com or trulia.com if you want to see what's available.
State taxes in CA are higher than most other states in the US. Your tax burden would likely be lower in CA than in the UK once you take into account sales tax (VAT,) tax on petrol and energy, vehicle tax, TV license, council tax (there is none if you rent in CA,) and so on. Goods and services are generally cheaper. And the food is way better.
The job market is miserable right now. But if you have the right skills there are opportunities to be found.
Good luck!
San Francisco is the financial capital of the west coast. Most of the financial firms in SF are fund managers, hedge funds and private equity rather than investment banks. There are investment banking operations, but they tend to be M&A and dealer branches servicing west coast businesses.
The big players in SF are Barclays Global Investors, Wells Fargo (Wachovia), Charles Schwab and Union Bank of California. Bank of America have some operations, as do many other commercial banks. And there are dozens of smaller asset managers and hedge funds.
San Francisco is serviced by the BART rail system, ferries and commuter buses. Using these you can reach SF in less than an hour from much of the SF Bay Area. A 2 bedroom flat in a decent neighborhood within 30 mins of downtown SF would range from $1600 on the lower end in Oakland or Berkeley, to $2200 and up in SF itself. We lived in a 2 bedroom flat in Noe Valley, one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF, and paid $2150 a month for a 2 bedroom flat with a garage. Prices have risen slightly since then, but not drastically. Most flats are rented privately and are advertised on craigslist.org
Most companies will give you 10 days vacation, plus public holidays and some 'personal' days (usually about 3 days that you can use at short notice, but that cannot be combined with your vacation days.) Some companies offer 15 days, and many will increase your vacation with tenure.
House prices are still way overvalued. They are falling off a cliff right now, so it's hard to say where they will bottom out. Being within 30 minutes of downtown SF is going to limit your options drastically, if you upped that to 45 mins you'd have way more options. Currently the asking price for what you are looking for would be well over a million. Check out zillow.com or trulia.com if you want to see what's available.
State taxes in CA are higher than most other states in the US. Your tax burden would likely be lower in CA than in the UK once you take into account sales tax (VAT,) tax on petrol and energy, vehicle tax, TV license, council tax (there is none if you rent in CA,) and so on. Goods and services are generally cheaper. And the food is way better.
The job market is miserable right now. But if you have the right skills there are opportunities to be found.
Good luck!
You mentioned "San Francisco is serviced by the BART rail system, ferries and commuter buses". Don't forget Caltrain - Caltrain has improved over the years, and opens up the 'peninsula' option. More generally, when considering a job in the city of SF and living nearby, it's worth thinking of the Bay Area as four distinct areas - the City itself; the North Bay (across the Golden Gate bridge), the East Bay (across the Bay Bridge), the South Bay/Peninsula - land-connected to the city of SF. If you live in the city, you can get downtown by buses/light rail - but it's not fast and it's not real pleasant either. If you live in the North Bay (Marin, etc), your options are a bus that crosses the GG Bridge (commute nightmare) or ferries (very limited number/schedule). If you live in the East Bay (Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc) you can take BART - fast, frequent, decent service. If you live in the Peninsula/South Bay, you can drive (madness), you can take Caltrain, or drive to the new BART stations on the peninsula.
You said "Noe Valley, one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF...". I lived in Noe Valley; it's great; but - I'd categorize it as one of the more affordable 'up and coming' neighborhoods. If I could afford it, I'd have lived in Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, Marina, etc.
You will be looking at $600k+ to buy anything decent anywhere, I believe, in the bay area, and that would be pushing it. But prices are falling. A new house in my neighborhood (on the large side, 4,200 sq. ft.) went on the market last year at $1.8m; they are now asking $1.4m and there seems little interest.
As mentioned by another poster, Sacramento is a 4th option in terms of areas (after Bay Area, San Diego, LA). It would be 4th on my list, but - having finally spent a bit of time there, it DOES have a few decent spots and a bit of a thriving downtown (go on 'second saturday' to experience it at its best). It does get VERY hot in the summer, though - and cold(er) in the winter than everywhere else discussed.
No one has mentioned 'PTO' as an alternative to 'Vacation' and 'sick'. In the US, traditionally, a company would offer (eg) 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick. The 'sick' days were accrued just like vacation days, but never expire. They were only supposed to be used when sick, and when they ran out you would go without pay if you had to be off sick. More recently, many companies have moved to a 'PTO' (personal time off) system - time off, whether vacation or sick. If a company offered 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick, they would typically move to a 3 week PTO plan (the idea being, the 2 weeks 'sick' were ONLY for sick, while the extra 1 week PTO can be used for vacation). While the level of vacation (or PTO) varies, a typical 'professional' company in CA that is trying to be competitive will start with 2 weeks vacation (or 3 weeks PTO), or 3 (4) if you are lucky.
Finally - San Diego, SF, and LA all have great areas and many attractions. If you have 'liberal leanings', and find the US a tad 'right wing', then SF is a great place to hang out - it's the most left-leaning area in the country. If, however, you are coming to the US to indulge in an orgy of right wing values, you might be better off in San Diego, which is a bit more mainstream. But be aware - any coastal city in CA is well to the left of mainstream US ... a fact I like but you may not.
Jan 19th 2009, 6:58 am
#20
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8
Re: California & Finance jobs
This is a great summary, and I agree with almost all that is said here. Just a few comments/updates.
You mentioned "San Francisco is serviced by the BART rail system, ferries and commuter buses". Don't forget Caltrain - Caltrain has improved over the years, and opens up the 'peninsula' option. More generally, when considering a job in the city of SF and living nearby, it's worth thinking of the Bay Area as four distinct areas - the City itself; the North Bay (across the Golden Gate bridge), the East Bay (across the Bay Bridge), the South Bay/Peninsula - land-connected to the city of SF. If you live in the city, you can get downtown by buses/light rail - but it's not fast and it's not real pleasant either. If you live in the North Bay (Marin, etc), your options are a bus that crosses the GG Bridge (commute nightmare) or ferries (very limited number/schedule). If you live in the East Bay (Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc) you can take BART - fast, frequent, decent service. If you live in the Peninsula/South Bay, you can drive (madness), you can take Caltrain, or drive to the new BART stations on the peninsula.
You said "Noe Valley, one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF...". I lived in Noe Valley; it's great; but - I'd categorize it as one of the more affordable 'up and coming' neighborhoods. If I could afford it, I'd have lived in Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, Marina, etc.
You will be looking at $600k+ to buy anything decent anywhere, I believe, in the bay area, and that would be pushing it. But prices are falling. A new house in my neighborhood (on the large side, 4,200 sq. ft.) went on the market last year at $1.8m; they are now asking $1.4m and there seems little interest.
As mentioned by another poster, Sacramento is a 4th option in terms of areas (after Bay Area, San Diego, LA). It would be 4th on my list, but - having finally spent a bit of time there, it DOES have a few decent spots and a bit of a thriving downtown (go on 'second saturday' to experience it at its best). It does get VERY hot in the summer, though - and cold(er) in the winter than everywhere else discussed.
No one has mentioned 'PTO' as an alternative to 'Vacation' and 'sick'. In the US, traditionally, a company would offer (eg) 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick. The 'sick' days were accrued just like vacation days, but never expire. They were only supposed to be used when sick, and when they ran out you would go without pay if you had to be off sick. More recently, many companies have moved to a 'PTO' (personal time off) system - time off, whether vacation or sick. If a company offered 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick, they would typically move to a 3 week PTO plan (the idea being, the 2 weeks 'sick' were ONLY for sick, while the extra 1 week PTO can be used for vacation). While the level of vacation (or PTO) varies, a typical 'professional' company in CA that is trying to be competitive will start with 2 weeks vacation (or 3 weeks PTO), or 3 (4) if you are lucky.
Finally - San Diego, SF, and LA all have great areas and many attractions. If you have 'liberal leanings', and find the US a tad 'right wing', then SF is a great place to hang out - it's the most left-leaning area in the country. If, however, you are coming to the US to indulge in an orgy of right wing values, you might be better off in San Diego, which is a bit more mainstream. But be aware - any coastal city in CA is well to the left of mainstream US ... a fact I like but you may not.
You mentioned "San Francisco is serviced by the BART rail system, ferries and commuter buses". Don't forget Caltrain - Caltrain has improved over the years, and opens up the 'peninsula' option. More generally, when considering a job in the city of SF and living nearby, it's worth thinking of the Bay Area as four distinct areas - the City itself; the North Bay (across the Golden Gate bridge), the East Bay (across the Bay Bridge), the South Bay/Peninsula - land-connected to the city of SF. If you live in the city, you can get downtown by buses/light rail - but it's not fast and it's not real pleasant either. If you live in the North Bay (Marin, etc), your options are a bus that crosses the GG Bridge (commute nightmare) or ferries (very limited number/schedule). If you live in the East Bay (Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc) you can take BART - fast, frequent, decent service. If you live in the Peninsula/South Bay, you can drive (madness), you can take Caltrain, or drive to the new BART stations on the peninsula.
You said "Noe Valley, one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF...". I lived in Noe Valley; it's great; but - I'd categorize it as one of the more affordable 'up and coming' neighborhoods. If I could afford it, I'd have lived in Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, Marina, etc.
You will be looking at $600k+ to buy anything decent anywhere, I believe, in the bay area, and that would be pushing it. But prices are falling. A new house in my neighborhood (on the large side, 4,200 sq. ft.) went on the market last year at $1.8m; they are now asking $1.4m and there seems little interest.
As mentioned by another poster, Sacramento is a 4th option in terms of areas (after Bay Area, San Diego, LA). It would be 4th on my list, but - having finally spent a bit of time there, it DOES have a few decent spots and a bit of a thriving downtown (go on 'second saturday' to experience it at its best). It does get VERY hot in the summer, though - and cold(er) in the winter than everywhere else discussed.
No one has mentioned 'PTO' as an alternative to 'Vacation' and 'sick'. In the US, traditionally, a company would offer (eg) 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick. The 'sick' days were accrued just like vacation days, but never expire. They were only supposed to be used when sick, and when they ran out you would go without pay if you had to be off sick. More recently, many companies have moved to a 'PTO' (personal time off) system - time off, whether vacation or sick. If a company offered 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick, they would typically move to a 3 week PTO plan (the idea being, the 2 weeks 'sick' were ONLY for sick, while the extra 1 week PTO can be used for vacation). While the level of vacation (or PTO) varies, a typical 'professional' company in CA that is trying to be competitive will start with 2 weeks vacation (or 3 weeks PTO), or 3 (4) if you are lucky.
Finally - San Diego, SF, and LA all have great areas and many attractions. If you have 'liberal leanings', and find the US a tad 'right wing', then SF is a great place to hang out - it's the most left-leaning area in the country. If, however, you are coming to the US to indulge in an orgy of right wing values, you might be better off in San Diego, which is a bit more mainstream. But be aware - any coastal city in CA is well to the left of mainstream US ... a fact I like but you may not.
Well not to throw all of you off given SF and Cali are very expensive...we could only affort a house at most for 350K, an option we are thinking of is Dallas any thoughts?
mpala
Jan 19th 2009, 8:43 am
#21
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Oakland
Posts: 664
Re: California & Finance jobs
Thanks everyone for your messages and posts, some of you are kind to give detailed messages, THANKS
Well not to throw all of you off given SF and Cali are very expensive...we could only affort a house at most for 350K, an option we are thinking of is Dallas any thoughts?
mpala
Well not to throw all of you off given SF and Cali are very expensive...we could only affort a house at most for 350K, an option we are thinking of is Dallas any thoughts?
mpala
Jan 19th 2009, 11:58 am
#22
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Oakland
Posts: 664
Re: California & Finance jobs
Well, seems like this was all wasted on mpala (just kidding,) so I grabbed what I could, edited it and added it to the San Francisco city guide on the wiki.
Jan 19th 2009, 4:23 pm
#24
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,126
Re: California & Finance jobs
Thanks everyone for your messages and posts, some of you are kind to give detailed messages, THANKS
Well not to throw all of you off given SF and Cali are very expensive...we could only affort a house at most for 350K, an option we are thinking of is Dallas any thoughts?
mpala
Well not to throw all of you off given SF and Cali are very expensive...we could only affort a house at most for 350K, an option we are thinking of is Dallas any thoughts?
mpala
Be ready for a lot of rain if you go to Dallas -
http://www.weather.com/outlook/trave...ocid2=USTX0327
(if that doesn't work, here's a snapshot image of the comparison - Dallas v Sacramento rainfall ... Dallas gets over 2" every month of the year, while Sacramento just has a few months of rain in the winter then a long, dry summer. Both places have the same high temps during the day, but Sacramento cools off (relatively speaking!) at night compared to Dallas.
Jan 19th 2009, 5:48 pm
#25
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: California & Finance jobs
For the month of February at least. As already pointed out, this is just one more reason not to give the government an interest-free loan by over-withholding. And why this action is almost certainly going to be counterproductive in terms of revenue received by the state: people will merely adjust their current withholdings down once they see they might not get an overpayment back as they expect.
Jan 19th 2009, 5:55 pm
#26
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: California & Finance jobs
California is pretty ungovernable in terms of its budget, imo, regardless of who is in power.
