Photo: @stuck in customs

The benefits of relocating to a place more aligned with your goals and values are huge.

See: moving to another city.

For me, moving to San Francisco (from Jacksonville, Florida) has been a whirlwind experience yet I feel at home.

This is a strange and beautiful city; vibrant, grotesque, posh, entrepreneurial and full of a je ne sais quoi that only the mingling of a classy lady's sweet perfume and the foulest smelling bum you've ever passed can produce.

Maybe for you, a place like Portland, Orlando or Philly will make you feel a diffuse din of excitement in your stomach every time you step out for a cup of coffee.

Wherever you choose to go (or wind up), one thing you definitely might not be counting on is how cheap living in the big city can be.

 

Rent
 

Beautiful photo by @quapan
 
I didn't really plan out my move to San Francisco very carefully and as it turns out, getting an apartment here is a serious pain in the ass.

Picture this:

You go to a viewing and then undergo a financial/rent history colonoscopy.

You're also competing with other people for the apartment and lease agreements tend to tie you down to location for at least 6 months (which, you might imagine, doesn't mesh well with the location independent philosophy).

Lots of folks go the roommate route because it's less committal and cheaper.

Large cities also boast residential hotels, so your options are many.

Coming off months of dormitory-style hostel life in Nicaragua, privacy was at a premium for me.

So I chose to stay in a residential hotel in the heart of downtown SF, paying $170/week with no agreements to speak of and WIFI included.

Granted, some of the people in this place are a total freakshow, but the location is amazing; sandwiched between the financial district, Chinatown and North Beach.

It's also a safe area.

Rent = $680.00/mo.
 

Transportation
 

Photo: @Thomas Hawk
 

In SF, you can walk most places (grocery store, café, gym, etc.) or take public transportation virtually anywhere in the Bay Area.

The state of California doesn't make having a car easy on you, either.

For starters, it's illegal to drive with a “check engine” light on here.

When I came here, I rolled into a smog check station, confident I'd be leaving there with a “good to go” certificate, only to be told 45 minutes later that not only did I fail the smog check but that for numerous different reasons all together my car is extremely unsafe to drive!

They then offered to diagnose my vee-hickle for $250.

Not fix . . .

Not take a bribe . . .

DIAGNOSE.

Then they called me Mr. “Durkman”.

Even the prolific schoolyards of my salad days failed to produce that permutation.

Bravo!

And so it came to pass that I decided to sell my crap car on Craigslist.

Public transportation costs per month: ~ $50.00
 

Income
 

Gettin dat paypuh. Photo: @AMagill
 
Here's the thing: pay is often commensurate with living expenses in the States.

So if you hack your living situation properly, keep it minimalist, and pick a central location with low rent, you won't be paying typical big city prices and can really leverage your higher income.

One job at a union hotel pays me ridiculous money (~$17.00/hr + Tips) for hella easy work.

You get a one-hour paid lunch break and qualify for fantastic insurance working just 6 days a month.

It's very cushy and easy to see why over 60% of my coworkers are obese.

I love my colleagues, don't get me wrong.

But I counted, and the numbers reflect a certain reality about getting trapped in a comfortable “job” job.

Namely, you get too comfortable.
 

The other gig is doing room service at a different hotel.

It's tranquilo, wei.

Pay comes out to about $18.00/hr

This is standard in a big city.

Still, I'll trade the “security” of these jobs for my own location independent business in a heartbeat.

I'd like to stay thin and slightly uncomfortable and burn one as I pledge:
 

Bye bye uniforms.

Bye bye time clock.

Bye bye waking up at 5am.
 

Nahimean?

Average monthly income: ~$1800

Other Expenses

Groceries: ~$400/mo.

Jiu-Jitsu: ~$180/mo.

Gym Membership: ~$15/mo.

Supplements: ~$100/mo. ($100 for supplements … wtf? I'm currently running several experiments with various nootropic, immunomodulatory and performance-enhancing chemicals – full disclosure on the way!)

Bacchanalia/Shit Happens: ~$100/mo.

Soo the grand total of expenses is about $1450/mo. which leaves me with about $350/mo. to save/invest/pay off debt, etc.

Assuming you wind up in a similar living situation but with a “real” 9-5 style job, you can at least double the income figure.

If it's your cup of tea, living in a big city is totally doable and much cheaper than you may've thought.

It's also a test of your resourcefulness and a great education in the skool of life.

 

Photo: @Leo Reynolds
 
One suggestion:

Make sure you have at least a month's worth of cash saved up before arriving (and preferably a place to stay too) or you might wind up sleeping in your car – an interesting experiment but with serious diminishing returns on “interesting” over time.

If you're ready to step outside your comfort zone, challenge yourself and grow in a new home, do it now before complacency can call you a casualty.

It's the timebomb principle
 
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