Life and jobs in San Francisco

Grace Oz · Apr 9, 2007

Unable to give advice on living and working there but, we LOVED San Francisco! We visited last May 2006. Absolutely loved it! Hope to go again one day.

We were told that 70% of the population rent because they cannot afford to buy a home of their own.

Tasted our first ever clam chowder there! :)

Wishing you all the very best.

Cheers .....

cuppy · May 10, 2007

I have lived in San Francisco for 27 years and I love it. As a new grad I am meeting unexpected roadblocks that are frustrating. (that I have voiced on other forums, sorry!) As far as SF General paying anyone starting pay of 55.00 an hour. It is a county hospital, and it is union. Go to the Dept of public health, and look up the open positions. They will list the wage range. If she is working per diem, possibly, but right now new grads start at around 43-45. I am doing my preceptorship there, and they consider your application incomplete unless you have a license or an interm permit. Maybe she has special permission, but they are not desperate anymore. There is a waiting list in every program here right now. UCSF, Kaiser SF, CPMC and most of the major hospitals that will even talk to you before you have your license have filled their new grad programs. Hopefully, things will brighten up in a month or so. As far as the rents, with the housing market the way it is, rents have increased in the city of San Francisco. Even with rent controll, which does not apply to every structure, rents can run 1500.00 + for a one bedroom without parking. I think this is the best place to live and I encourage you to come here, just don't expect to come and find a rent controlled apt, and a job making 100,000.00 a year right away!! If you do then you will be so happy.. but just prepare yourself to take some time so you can live where you want, and work where you want. This is just my take..I just feel like I have had a rude awakening and I don't want others to feel left out on a limb.

RNandlovingit · May 23, 2007

I was browsing the CA boards and am very interested in this thread. I live in NM starting wages 21-23 one union hospital. one crappy hospital(management) pay there is excellent though if you work nights. I made almost 30 an hour. however like I said poor management forced me to leave.I am now making 21 and struggling was actually thinking of moving to CA because of the high wages.. Hmmm makes me want to rethink.. However Cuppy my question to you is this.. Are you looking specifically for a new Graduate Residency program? I dont know about California, but here they do have New Grad programs but you dont have to be in them just because you are a new grad you can apply for an RN 1 position which is basically a RN without experience.

olol765 · May 23, 2007

I want to move to San Francsico... let me know if anyone needs a roommate!! :)

cuppy · May 23, 2007

I was browsing the CA boards and am very interested in this thread. I live in NM starting wages 21-23 one union hospital. one crappy hospital(management) pay there is excellent though if you work nights. I made almost 30 an hour. however like I said poor management forced me to leave.I am now making 21 and struggling was actually thinking of moving to CA because of the high wages.. Hmmm makes me want to rethink.. However Cuppy my question to you is this.. Are you looking specifically for a new Graduate Residency program? I dont know about California, but here they do have New Grad programs but you dont have to be in them just because you are a new grad you can apply for an RN 1 position which is basically a RN without experience.

Hi Nursegirl,

No I am not looking for a graduate residency program. I am not planning on starting graduate school for a year. I just finished an ABSN program, and all I am saying is that there is a huge amount of new grads right now in the market. Many people I know are having trouble getting jobs. As an experienced nurse I doubt you will run into the same problem. And believe me, I am not trying to discourage anyone from living here, but please keep in mind, the cost of living. One of my professors presented a report to my class that when only looking at wages, SF bay area nurses came in first. Once living expenses were factored in they dropped to 48th. (thats out of 50 states) Just do your own research and I am sure you will be fine.

RNandlovingit · May 24, 2007

Hi Nursegirl,
No I am not looking for a graduate residency program. I am not planning on starting graduate school for a year. I just finished an ABSN program, and all I am saying is that there is a huge amount of new grads right now in the market. Many people I know are having trouble getting jobs. As an experienced nurse I doubt you will run into the same problem. And believe me, I am not trying to discourage anyone from living here, but please keep in mind, the cost of living. One of my professors presented a report to my class that when only looking at wages, SF bay area nurses came in first. Once living expenses were factored in they dropped to 48th. (thats out of 50 states) Just do your own research and I am sure you will be fine.

Hi cuppy.. Just to clairfy Graduate Nurse is what we call a new nurse regardless of type of program ASN ADN or BSN . Not that they are in graduate school. Some hospitals have specific programs for students that have graduated from Nursing school but have not taken their boards yet. Here they call them Graduate Nurse Residency programs or GN for short.. just wanted to clarify for ya..sorry for the confusion.

LisaGirl · Jan 9, 2008

"Affordable suburbs" is subjective....As a resident of the bay area, I agree with your assessment Bertolozzi. However, there is nothing affordable about any housing in the San Francisco bay area (North, South, East or in the city) when you are coming from other parts of the country. Most urban areas in the US (with the exception of New York, New Jersey (close to NY), Boston and parts of Chicago) have substantially lower housing costs. Now that the tech industry is back on track, housing prices in Silicon Valley (South Bay) has remained stable and even gone up despite down turn in the US real estate market over the past year.

I was born and raised in SF (North Beach Italian), but have lived in the outlying suburbs once I settled down.
Remember, SF is a short BART ride from the more affordable suburbs in the Pennisula (SSF, San Bruno, Millbrae) as well as the East Bay (Walnut Creek, Concord, Hayward, etc). Marin County and the lovely North Bay has dedicated shuttle busses into SF. However, nothing beats living in the city when you are young.
Prior to becoming a nursing student, I was a sales rep in the corporate world and traveled all across the US. While other places are great to visit, there's nothing like the diversity, food, activities, topography, culture even the flowers of the Bay Area. The view from my parents flat in the Marina District would take your breath away--Golden Gate Bridge, Sail Boats on the Bay, the dome of the Palance of Fine Arts and the Green hills of Sausilito--I've traveled the world and this is still my favorite view.
SF is rent controlled and very pro tenant, so once you get into the rental market, it's very unlikely your rent to get increased other than the most minor of adjustments. I have friends who have sat on their appartments since they were in their early 20's and are paying ridiculously low rents for SF now 10 years later. Enough so it is making it very hard for them to move or take on a mortgage in the suburbs, so they are cramed into a two bedroom flat in the Marina with two kids. They just can't imagine living anywhere else when I try to convince them to come out my way.
Also, the diveristy in work within the Bay Area is very compelling for nurses--UCSF, Stanford, Childrens Hospital, Kaiser. Pay is very good even for new grads, so a newbie should be able to afford rent on a decent flat in a nice area of SF or the surounding burbs.

Testa Rosa, RN · Jan 9, 2008

LOL, you are absolutely right....for those of us who have never known anything else, moving from SF to the East Bay suburbs is "affordable." But at the same time, growing up in SF gets one used to smaller spaces/shared walls so that your expectations are lower than the norm, and your perception of affordability is out of whack. Thanks for the reality check on an old post.

MarathonGirl · Jan 10, 2008

SF is AWESOME!

People walk places, we hike, we bike, we run, we eat organic and we have beautiful weather.

We are close to the beach and the snow, everything is beautiful. Just don't live in Fremont. :)

It is no wonder a house costs a million bucks...it is worth it!

And I know new grads that are hired at Alta Bates (Berkeley) make $46/hour.

Come live here - it is amazing!

thmpr · Jun 8, 2008

Not much to add here other than my sister is an RN and lived and worked in SF for close to 10 years. Her department (ER at SF General) is so desperate for nurses that they hire new grads. She's currently training a new grad that hasn't even taken the license test. I didn't know they could do that.

..... Don't they train the new grads first?

o0o0geekyHottie0o0o · Jun 8, 2008

SF is like having everything you need and want at your fingertips. Finding a job isn't so difficult since there are many vacancies and probably you'd even find one in your specific area of interest. Some people say the city is expensive, but as RNs, we get by. And it's fun since you meet people from all over. Plus, you don't need a treadmill for incline when jogging, the hills will take care of that. Good luck and hopefully San Francisco works out for ya!

dreamon · Jun 18, 2008

So the article in the Chronicle about SF General offering new grads almost 100K was an exaggeration? I figured something had to be behind that high pay but I can't figure out what.