East Bay

I must be impossible to live with or have some severe personality defect because I almost never get along with my roommates. San Francisco is a very expensive city, and one of the biggest draws of looking elsewhere was the lower cost of living. For awhile I was ready to pick up and move to Denver just because I could get a large one bedroom for the price of a closet in a house with 4 roomies in San Fran (hell, I'm still considering it).

Living in San Francisco is a bit more expensive than living in D.C. (except the metro isn't such a rip off). A decent one bedroom is about $2,000/month. In Denver, a one bedroom that makes me go "what in the world would one person need all that space for?!" is about $800/month.

So the point is, unless I was moving to Denver, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I would have a roommate (or 4) that I would undoubtedly hate. Which was, without me realizing it, totally stressing me out. Recently, my friend Bobby (who did exactly what I'm doing last year) told me to check out the East Bay where he's living now. I rummage through some old emails from my cousin who lives out there and she gives me some specific neighborhoods. Oh my gosh, am I glad I did.

I could totally afford a one bedroom/studio in the East Bay.

I reconcile the idea that I wouldn't be living in the city by running two sentences through my head: "You'd live in Arlington wouldn't you?" (In a heartbeat) and something Bobby said, "The people in East Bay are more down to earth than the people in the city" (I don't doubt this for a second. Seriously, you should see some of the apartment listings: 'New roommate must be a vegetarian working for a non-profit willing to ride their bike everywhere and be a productive member of our start-up commune'... yikes!).

So, I feel a little lighter, and a little more determined to head to SF in August. Thanks for the good advice Bobby!