Titchski

Same as in the UK. ****ing Wankers

Only kidding, but we had a bad, bad experience with one that got Mrs Titchski a job when we moved to Florida, I was ever so proud of her, I'd never heard her say "you ******" on the phone to someone before

Good luck with the moe though, hope it all works out!

twiggy1984

Hi Giorgio,

I'm in a similar situation, as I'll be moving out to SF without a job in Sept.

I'm moving to join my partner and he informs me that there are a multitude of jobs for people with my experience and education (i.e.not much and a little too much). If you're not particularly fussy about your salary, SF is getting back into the whole start-up thing. lots of tech jobs etc....

As for roommates, like many people have said, Craigslist is an excellent place to start. What you really need to think about it where you want to live, what kind of place you want to live in and what your budget will be.

As for friends, I'll be out in SF too and will definitely need drinks to get me through the whole job hunting process!!

Best of luck and let me know if you need any more information about SF, I'm sure I can seek some answers out for you!

surly

If you have a flat in London, you probably wont be too shocked by housing prices in San Francisco. Where you decide to live may depend on where you work, as commuting is a nightmare, SF is surrounded on three side by water so you have to cross one of the bridges to get to the east or north.
If you can land a job in the city that would be good, Google is in Mountain View south of SF. Renting an apartment shouldn't be a problem although it's been a while since I was in the rental or the job market.


Suggest you check out the local papers online. sfgate.com and San Jose Mercury. Also google map the area to get a sense of the area.

Email me if you have any specific questions.


http://marketplace.sfgate.com/

georgio

Wow - thanks for all your help everyone. Now I have more questions.

Do I really need to buy a car immediately? I was fine as a tourist without one.. Then will I need to get a US driving license? I drive every day in London so you can't put me off with traffic/parking stories, but I was sort of hoping to avoid it. If you say I do need a car, how do I get one with no credit history and not much money?

I am going to have to get a US bank account, I won't have a credit history although I do have a SSN.

I won't be able to rent a place on my own anyway so I am not adverse to sharing with a few people, far from it, I am going to have to. And I've done my homework on craigslist, it all looks pretty cheap compared to London. Just hoping I can get somewhere at short notice after I arrive.

Current arrival plan looks like this.
Book cheap hotel for 5 nights+ via Priceline or something.
Get myself a laptop with wifi, and a pay as you go cellphone on day 1.
Try and line up viewings for short term (1-2 months sublets) before I leave London or as soon as I get there.
Move in somewhere, get used to various areas and figure out exactly where I want to be. Then get another apartment later on, definitely still a sharing one, but more permanent in whichever area I decide on.
Meanwhile I'd use my new address & phone number on my resume/cv and apply for lots of jobs.
Does this seem reasonable or is there a better strategy?

Jerseygirl

Watch your cell phone bill...you have to pay for incoming and outgoing calls in the US.

It's a good idea to try to make as many appointments as you can from that end...that way you're not wasting time when you arrive.

tonyghiggins

craigslist.org
bayareahelpwanted.com
monsterjob.com

You will have a blast, SF is a great city, $$ wise in the tech realm you should easily get over 80k, but renting is going to cost you, you may consider trying further south in the bay area.

surly

Sounds fine, you may want to consider somewhere out of town, for convenience, but if you've set your heart on SF go for it.


You will probably have difficulty getting credit if you don't have a job.

There is a very good subway system (for the want of a better word) BART, but it's fairly limited as far as coverage.


You can get around SF without a car but, anywhere else it's essential. Especially if you are going on job interviews. If you land a job close to a BART station you could manage without a car for a while..


I recently got a a pay as you go cellphone, I found T-mobile had the best plan, $100/1000 mins/ year, others might advise different.

Jerseygirl

My friend's son and his wife live in Oakland...I think rentals are considerably less than SF city. They don't have a car but cycle a fair bit. They love the mild climate and laid back lifestyle...saying that they may be moving to Toronto!!

surly

Alternative Transportation.

scrubbedexpat099

Oakland, nice bits and other areas where you would not want to walk.

The difference is pretty obvious.

Berkeley has a lot going for it as well.

Jerseygirl

I don't know where they live but I can't think it would be in a 'no go' area. He is finishing a Phd at Berkeley.

penguinsix

Get a Skype In number with a San Francisco area code (415). It will ring (and voice mail) on your PC. You can get it before you leave. If you can secure a place to stay before you go, you can have resumes out the door before you even arrive. You can also buy a London number so your friends can call as if you were still in town. It's like £15 a year or so.

Rentals are generally month to month, so if you plan on arriving on the 10th, you are not going to have as much luck as arriving on say the 25th. It's really a toss up. Aug/Sept is the worst month to arrive, sorry to say, as that is when all college students return to schools. It's the most popular moving month of the year (and thus available stock in apts is usually diminished, not saying you are going to be living in a college level flat but whatever...)

You won't 'need' a car on day 1-5 while looking for places. In fact it is kind of better as you'll really see how close you are to public transit. But if you are looking in Silicon Valley for a job, I'm afraid a car will likely be one of your first purchases. While there is public transportation, it can be a hassle to use for job interviews across a 60 x 10 mile swath of the valley.

We've said it a lot and you have noticed, but craigslist craigslist craigslist. I'm saying more for people who read this thread in a few months from now looking to do the same thing. It is so popular it is sucking away millions of $ from newspaper's classified revenues.

Bedazzled

Hi there,

You will do just fine. Craiglist is definitely your best bet for accomodation. As for jobs in the IT sector, things seem to be picking up a lot right now. Again check out craiglist for jobs since most local jobs will be advertised there as well as Monster etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting a car right off the bat. As someone mentioned earlier though, it might be nice to have one for travelling to interviews, but the daily rates for rentals are pretty decent - a lot cheaper than the UK. Then you also have this option - http://www.zipcar.com/sf/check-rates.

If you are looking for a job in Silicon Valley and plan to get a car in the near future, you should look at areas like Potrero Hill for accomodation. There is a tonne of street parking and it's right beside the freeway. The Mission is also a great spot, but parking is limited.

As for making friends...you'll have no problem. I moved over here 3 years ago from the UK I didn't know a sole. Granted I had a job lined up, but it's a really cool and friendly city. I actually joined a few groups I discovered on craigslist - a few Brits included.

Also, check this out....http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFNewcomers/

Hope that helps and best of luck!!!

Wildandcrazy0525

Along with Monster.com, don't forget dice.com as well. Great for IT jobs.

penguinsix

dice.com is very good. There is a smaller one called crunchboard.com that is dealing most with web 2.0.

theladders.com is more of an executive search site--only jobs > $100k are listed there.