Erica Said:

id san francisco is nice and calm place to live? how much would it cost? how are school? is it easy to settle.?

We Answered:

Hi David,

Okay so where to begin about being in San Francisco...

L.A. driving time to SF is about 5-6 hours and by plane, 45 minutes if that. San Francisco is a fantastic place if you're gay since the city is extremely friendly with the LGBT community. The Castro is the heart of the city's gay community. There's all kinds of social organizations, be it gay or straight in which you can meet a lot of people from different walks of life. I find that virtually anybody has a niche in San Francisco that rivals New York. It's just that great. There's lots of really great things.

So now here's where the tough part begins....

San Francisco is expensive as hell. I mean seriously expensive. It's practically as expensive as Manhattan although it's not as big as Manhattan. Rents on average, go for $1500 a month and even that doesn't mean you'll get a one bedroom apartment (more like a studio). The city itself is a primary example of how gentrification affects big cities. The more positive changes that happen, the more it costs to live here. Property values go for $1 million if you're looking to buy a house.

If it helps, my brother moved to San Francisco when he was 21 (sans college degree because he dropped out). He had moved to the area in 1996 when the city was at the height of the dot com boom (SF became a hotbed of activity when that happened). His rent at the time for a studio had been little more than $700 and since he had rent control, he paid $700 when he moved out seven years later with his now wife. Inevitably, the rent had to have shot up to maybe twice the monthly rent (and he lived on Jones street in the Tender Nob area) when he moved out. My brother worked for a neighboring hotel before he started working in a white collar job which fortunately, he's been able to repeat that success and he still has an office job (even though no degree). Basically what I'm saying, is my brother was pretty fortunate to live in San Francisco at the time that he lived there, because rent was still affordable, even on a hotel employee's salary that he didn't need roommates. If he were to move there now, it would be much harder for him to be able to pay the rent, given the unnaturally high cost of rent if he was still working in hotel customer service.

Ultimately with San Francisco, you're going to need a lot more than just 2,000 bucks unless you have roommates because you factor in security deposit, first and last month's rent and misc. fees, it's going to really add up. The good things about SF is you don't need a car (it's got relatively solid public transportation with the Muni bus system) and if you do, remember that the parking in SF stinks and in a city that's so expensive, do you really need a car and all the required fees like insurance and repairs?

SF does have some good colleges. The Academy of Art College has several dorms and buildings concentrated in the downtown area and it seems relatively friendly to the students. It's about $670.00 per credit units for undergrad students. It's just over $18K per year for tuition and housing fees (which I think are separate) range between $3600 and $7100. You also have San Francisco State University which is one of the more cheaper alternatives. There is a viable program for the arts and it's far cheaper than the Academy of Art. You can also try San Francisco City College, which is fairly good for what it does offer for anyone who wants to work in art, journalism or writing.

As far as San Francisco is concerned, I love the summers. It's cold during the summer mornings before it tapers off to where you don't need a jacket you wore during that morning. It rains a lot during the winter season. However, San Francisco has got some fairly good weather that I must say, I enjoy overall.

To answer your question, yes San Francisco is very nice and relatively calm, depending on which area you can afford to live. Here's a brief description on some notable neighborhoods:

Castro
Gay-friendly LGBT community off of Market street near Downtown. Accessible by train.

Downtown
Occupies part of Market street. Busy commercial section of town is primarily financial and any white collar profession. Busy during the day, completely dead at night.

Union Square
The one and only place to go shopping in any major commercial store like Macy's, Apple, Borders, Neiman Marcus, Gap, etc.

Haight-Ashbury
Hipster-centric, 60's throwback is more anachronism than anything else. Offers a variety of neat mom and pop stores that offer products you really can't get anywhere else. Anchored by Amoeba Music, one of the greatest music and DVD stores the world has to offer.

Tenderloin
Has several nice ethnic restaurants in the area. Avoid at night however, since this place experiences high crime rates. Not a relatively good area. A staple of the SF Police Log in the newspaper.

Chinatown
One and only place to get any SF-laced souvenir. Streets are lined up with all kinds of

Debra Said:

University of San Francisco admission essay?

We Answered:

Use the site below and include more of the "Jesuit Catholic tradition" in your essay.

Laura Said:

Mike Rowe - Discovery's Dirty Jobs host?

We Answered:

Singing opera and living in San Francisco does not make you gay.

According to imdb.com, he lives in San Fran with his longtime girlfriend.

Maxine Said:

Vector company in San Francisco?

We Answered:

It appears to be an upfront and honest company. That is pretty good pay for a kid.

I think you should apply.

Carl Said:

What magazines (print or online) are produced in San Francisco?

We Answered:

Do a Yahoo! search for it.

7x7 is one.

Byron Said:

Police Service Aid San Francisco?

We Answered:

Did you know San Fran cops make $150K a year?