San Francisco Bay Area, CA

[Ecce]

Updates SF budget. 

	UCSF
	Yearly	Monthly
Sipend	37000	3083.333333
Housing	16800	1400
Food	6000	500
Taxes	4800	400
Transportation	1680	140
Car	0
Misc	4200	350
	3520	293.3333333

 

In addition, there's $4k for moving. 

Also, I really don't know how accurate that tax figure is.

Thoughts? Corrections?

[Infinito]

2 hours ago, Ecce said:

 

Updates SF budget. 

	UCSF
	Yearly	Monthly
Sipend	37000	3083.333333
Housing	16800	1400
Food	6000	500
Taxes	4800	400
Transportation	1680	140
Car	0
Misc	4200	350
	3520	293.3333333

 

In addition, there's $4k for moving. 

Also, I really don't know how accurate that tax figure is.

Thoughts? Corrections?

Housing is about on point if you don't try harder to get into a larger house. It's probably ~$1200 if you land in campus housing. Food is probably lower than you think. First years get plenty of free food, so much so that I usually don't cook for weeks on end. Taxes would be a better estimate at ~$3000 for the year for Federal, and ~$300 for CA. Note that obviously your first year at UCSF you'll only have gotten the stipend for a quarter, and you don't pay CA taxes until you've lived there for a year. Transportation is also too high, unless you're going to be living really far and doing the $70/month MUNI pass. I don't travel that much, so I just use my MUNI card by filing it with money, not a monthly pass. The UCSF shuttle gets me everywhere I want to go (and, remember, a majority of my classmates are in campus housing, though mostly in Mission Bay). Also, usually when I go somewhere in an Uber, I split it with friends so it averages close to $3 a trip (compared to $2.25 on MUNI).

[Ecce]

22 hours ago, Infinito said:

Housing is about on point if you don't try harder to get into a larger house. It's probably ~$1200 if you land in campus housing.

Taxes would be a better estimate at ~$3000 for the year for Federal, and ~$300 for CA. Note that obviously your first year at UCSF you'll only have gotten the stipend for a quarter, and you don't pay CA taxes until you've lived there for a year. 

 

I'm fine with any housing that is decent. The cheaper the better. Not gonna share a room, but totally fine with a room in a 2 or bed apartment. Not in grad school to live in a great house, I really don't care,

And are taxes really that low? I've been told it's anywhere between 5 and 8k and that ita's easily 25 to 33% of my stipend. But you give me hope

[Infinito]

7 hours ago, Ecce said:

 

I'm fine with any housing that is decent. The cheaper the better. Not gonna share a room, but totally fine with a room in a 2 or bed apartment. Not in grad school to live in a great house, I really don't care,

And are taxes really that low? I've been told it's anywhere between 5 and 8k and that ita's easily 25 to 33% of my stipend. But you give me hope

Obviously I don't know your financial situation, and I know I'll probably personally have a higher tax payment this year as I worked before graduate school, but we're pretty much in the lowest tax bracket, which is pretty much ~10%.

[Cervello]

I know UCSF doesn't guarantee housing but for a first-year, what's the likelihood of getting housing at Mission Bay? It's convenient to classes, so makes sense to try. Also, do most ppl who get mission bay housing opt to stay in it their second year, or move off campus? 

And final question, if you don't get on campus housing, what neighborhoods are best to look at for housing if your classes and labs are at Mission Bay? My criteria are closeness to mission campus, safety and cost. I won't have a car, so I'd like proximity to services like grocery store, too.

Thanks for your response!

Edited March 8, 2017 by Cervello

[Cervello]

Hoping a UCSF student responds to questions posted above! Thanks in advance.

[virionoftomorrow]

On 3/8/2017 at 2:37 PM, Cervello said:

I know UCSF doesn't guarantee housing but for a first-year, what's the likelihood of getting housing at Mission Bay? It's convenient to classes, so makes sense to try. Also, do most ppl who get mission bay housing opt to stay in it their second year, or move off campus? 

And final question, if you don't get on campus housing, what neighborhoods are best to look at for housing if your classes and labs are at Mission Bay? My criteria are closeness to mission campus, safety and cost. I won't have a car, so I'd like proximity to services like grocery store, too.

Thanks for your response!

Not a grad student but I work at UCSF right now, and most of the graduate students I know live in the sunset near the parnassus campus and take the shuttle to mission bay. The neighborhoods closest to the Mission Bay campus are either ridiculously expensive or not super pleasant/safe to live in. Especially above 19th theres a lot of shops and restaurants and such so its pretty easy to get by. 

[aberrant]

Hey folks,

Just wondering if anybody knows around what time of the year should I expect to see more rental listing? I know it is almost impossible to find a ~$2.5k/2 bed that allows dog, but that's what I'm currently looking for -- from downtown SF to Mission Bay, all the way down to San Mateo plus Daly City, as well as Emeryville -- wherever that can be close (walking distance) to Caltrian / Bart train (personally avoid buses).

Thank you in advance!

[lilchow]

On 6/18/2017 at 10:04 PM, aberrant said:

Hey folks,

Just wondering if anybody knows around what time of the year should I expect to see more rental listing? I know it is almost impossible to find a ~$2.5k/2 bed that allows dog, but that's what I'm currently looking for -- from downtown SF to Mission Bay, all the way down to San Mateo plus Daly City, as well as Emeryville -- wherever that can be close (walking distance) to Caltrian / Bart train (personally avoid buses).

Thank you in advance!

 

I've been living in San Francisco for 3, almost 4 years now and I have a dog. I would say the best area to find pet friendly housing in San Francisco is the Sunset (very dog friendly, basically everyone has a dog) and the apartments here are more likely to be within that price range - also look into in-law apartments, they tend to rent a bit cheaper. The best time for housing listings I would say is in November and in May. That seems to be the time when people are trying to fill their leases. 

[waltzforzizi]

There are hardly any posts about Berkeley. I am well aware of it's close proximity to Oakland, but where are the current or former Cal Berkeley students at? 

 

Where did you live? What would you suggest for newcomers? What is the culture like? I have visited Berkeley one. It was INCREDIBLY cramped and made me anxious. However, this was way before I traveled to metropolitan and cities around the world that are way more compact and overcrowded. I loved it's diversity though.

Edited January 6, 2018 by waltzforzizi

[madamoiselle]

Coming in here also asking if anybody has any helpful hints about Berkeley. I just got into their PhD program and its one of my absolute favorites, so I'm trying to do as best I can to plan for the price of living in the bay. I actually love bigger cities (have lived my adult life in Austin/Paris), and I would absolutely prefer not to bring my car. Additionally, anybody have any input on graduate housing? Manville, Ida Jackson, etc.? Any input would be greatly appreciated

[@speechie]

Wondering if any CSU East Bay students can give an idea of what being a grad student there is like? I'm curious where students live outside of Hayward (Berkeley, Oakland, SF, etc?), if many people commute, what the campus is like, culture, going to school in the Bay Area, etc. Thanks in advance for any insight!