Interesting, but expensive: Russian impressions of San Francisco
Daria Korableva and her two dogs: Chinese Crested Nick and Chihuahua Alice. Photos from the personal archive
California is known for Hollywood, Silicon Valley and two cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles. Here are located technology corporations, start-ups, film studios, world celebrities and millionaires live here. And we with the husband and two dogs, writes Daria Korableva in in his article for the website "T - Zh".
Prices and budget
Before moving to the USA, we lived in the Balkans for two years. It was then that the ruble fell, and we learned to save, plan the budget and got used to the fact that everything seems expensive. It seemed that the cost of living in the United States should not surprise us much.
California is believed to be the most expensive state in the United States. According to the site Gobankingrates.com, Californians spend on life on average 35% more than residents of other states. Housing costs 92,7% higher than the average in the US, transportation costs - by 30%, products - by 15,8%.
Prices surprised us while we compared them with prices in Russia and Europe. As soon as we stopped doing this and built a budget based on local income and expenses, everything was not so bad. We began to spend much more money on food and services, but large purchases, on the contrary, became cheaper. Buying clothes, a laptop or a car here is much more affordable than in Russia or Europe. In general, prices in California are comparable to average local income.
Visas and relocation
Millions of people are trying to move to America every year. It turns out that few. In my opinion, the US visa legislation can be described as follows: many possibilities and no specifics.
Usually, experts move to the United States on a H1B visa. There are few such visas - several tens of thousands a year, and those who wish - hundreds of thousands. Therefore, H1B is raffled. You can apply for H1B if you have a job offer in the USA. In this case, the employer must prove that he tried, but could not find among the Americans of the same great specialist as you. Participate in the lottery in any case have to. No matter how much the company wants to hire an employee, H1B is a lottery, everyone is equal in front of her face.
Even in the lottery they play a green card - a permanent residence permit in the United States. The chances of winning a green card are even less, for Russian citizens about 1 to 100.
There is a visa O1, in the people it is called "a visa of giftedness." They give it for talents and achievements: you need to prove that you are a recognized scientist, a respected artist in your homeland, a successful entrepreneur, and so on. You will need letters of recommendation, your published articles (or articles about you), proof that you have influenced the development of the industry in which you worked. O1 visa is issued without a lottery.
In addition, you can get a study visa with a work permit for part-time work, a bride's visa and so on.
The US visa legislation is very extensive, you cannot deal with it without a lawyer, therefore a lawyer is always involved in the design of any lengthy US visa. For the support of the visa process, the lawyer will take from 6000 $.
Many people come to the United States on a tourist visa and remain illegally, and then they legalize their status in the most unbelievable ways. Duration of stay in the country is determined individually on the passport control. Usually it is six months.
Among migrants, there is an opinion that the US visa laws are specifically so complicated that either talented or very enterprising people come to the country and manage to overcome all barriers, fit into society, find people who can vouch for them, and stay here by any means.
Climate and nature
California is a sunny state. However, unlike in Los Angeles, where it is warm and + 30 ° C year-round, San Francisco is always cool and windy. Dressing here must be multi-layered, otherwise it is hot in the sun, and cold in the shade. There is a strong wind in the city, sometimes there is a wet fog. Hot summers here are a rarity. I love the heat, but for work and study the same cool weather all year round is ideal.
The water in the ocean is cold, you can swim only in a diving suit. All year waves. Locals do not lie on the beach, but do surfing, kiting and kayaking.
There are many animals in San Francisco. You can find raccoons, hummingbirds, fur seals and lions, herons, pelicans. In city parks live turtles and coyotes. In 15 minutes from the city there are deer, cougars, wild turkeys. The trees here are huge: the famous redwoods, eucalyptus and redwoods are very beautiful and smell incredibly delicious.
The appearance of the city
San Francisco is divided into districts and communities - national or by interest. There is a business district, a jazz region, a crime district, Chinatown, Dzhapan Town, the region of Little Italy, Russian Hill, there are Mexican districts and so on.
The business district is similar to New York: the dense buildings of skyscrapers and the lack of greenery.
The city is very fond of Victorian houses. Most of the old residential areas are built up with two or three-storey houses with bay windows and towers.
There are many homeless people in San Francisco. Here is a whole subculture. On some streets - under overpasses or along railway tracks - entire tent camps are organized. Many people live without tents, just laying a sleeping bag somewhere under the roof for the night, and resting on the sidewalk during the day.
The homeless in the city are full members of society. Surrounding do not avoid them. A passer-by on the way to work may just sit down next to such a tent and chat for a few minutes with the homeless about life.
In San Francisco, there are crowds of professional migrants. There are more men than women, the average age of residents is 25-40. The elderly and children in the city are very few.
Here you constantly see how new technologies are created. For example, a cafe with a robot bartender, shoes from recycled plastic bottles, or unmanned taxis are all part of everyday life in San Francisco. It seems that the future here comes earlier than in other cities.
Accomodation
San Francisco has very expensive housing, twice as expensive as the average in the United States. A one-room studio apartment with an area of 50 m² in a regular area costs from 2600 $ per month. An apartment with one bedroom and another room will cost 3000 $ per month. Within this budget, finding an apartment is quite simple, because people in the city often change their housing after work, and new offers for rent appear constantly.
You can rent a house from a management company or a private person. The management company has higher prices, but it will help if the pipe breaks through, the refrigerator breaks or the ventilation is turned off. You can search for housing on any rental property website, but I recommend making a list of residential complexes in the required area, calling their offices and asking you to choose the options. The apartment is usually found in a couple of weeks. We found a suitable apartment in four days.
For renting a passport is enough with any visa (tourist is also suitable). You will also need an American bank account and a deposit. For Americans, the pledge is small, usually 200 — 400 $. For visitors without a credit history, the landlord may ask to pledge up to four monthly payments.
In America, long-term rental apartments are rented without furniture. Usually only bathroom and kitchen are equipped. In the living rooms, in addition to furniture, there is no light or even hooks for the chandelier on the ceilings. Many simply put floor lamps to save money. We were lucky: we had a fitted walk-in closet - with shelves and drawers. This saved us about 1000 $ during the arrangement.
As soon as we rented an apartment, we immediately went to the store. I had to buy a mattress, a blanket, pillows, bed linen, towels, lamps, chairs, dishes, a kettle, an iron, a hairdryer, basic household chemicals. It took us about 1500 $. Next was to buy furniture.
In San Francisco there are many companies that offer furniture for rent. Putting designer furniture (not Ikea) - a bed with a pair of nightstands, a dining table with chairs, a TV stand and a sofa - costs from 600 $ per month. You just need to inform the size of your apartment, the desired set of furniture and style.
The company itself will complete the headset, bring and arrange the furniture in the apartment. Buy a set of furniture for life in Ikea - from 1300 $. If you want not the most simple furniture, then from 2000 $.
In houses, everything is usually thought out for the leisure of residents: there is a barbecue, swimming pool, sports fields. In our residential complex there are two gymnasiums, there are indoor rooms with billiards, ping-pong, table curling, a climbing wall and a basketball hall. Conducted yoga and fitness classes. This is all free for residents and their guests.
A one-bedroom apartment of 70 m² in a dormitory area of San Francisco costs 650 000 $. And for a million dollars you can buy the same apartment in the center, in a new house with a concierge and a gym. About the same is a house on the outskirts of the city on the ocean.
Americans usually buy housing in the mortgage. Interest rates are constantly changing, but in general, you can count on 3 — 5% per annum. The minimum down payment starts from 5% of the total cost of housing.
Домашние животные
We moved to San Francisco with two small dogs. Finding here an apartment in which it is allowed to live with a dog is difficult. When we did choose an apartment and began to enter into a contract, we were asked to fill in a separate questionnaire for each dog. It was necessary to specify the names, breed, age, features of character, favorite food and familiar teams. This is necessary in case the management company needs to enter the apartment during our absence or so that in the event of an emergency evacuation, we also remember to evacuate our dogs.
Since we were settled with dogs, the amount of our pledge increased threefold: without dogs, we would have left 250 $, and with dogs - 750 $. The cost of rent has also increased: each pet's accommodation costs 75 $ per month. We have two dogs, so we pay an extra 150 $ per month.
You can go to a psychotherapist and issue a certificate stating that you have an emotional dependence on your animal. Then he will be assigned the status service dog or emotional support animal. With such a certificate from the doctor, it is allowed to move into any apartment without any restrictions; moreover, in most cases the tenant is exempt from the markup for rent per animal. This scheme was recommended to us by a realtor, but we didn’t use it, because we consider it fair to pay for lawn cleaning, plant transplantation and dog-packs in dispensers in the neighboring park.
Veterinary services in San Francisco are expensive. Examination of a doctor costs 60 $, and the treatment of virtually any disease or injury is measured in thousands of dollars. Therefore, many owners make out veterinary insurance for animals.
Our dogs are young and small, so insurance costs 40 $ per month for each dog. If dogs were more 8 years old, then insurance would cost twice as much. Even with insurance for treatment, in which case you will have to pay: the insurance plan covers 80% of the account, has a limit of payments of 10 000 $ per year and a one-time deductible 250 $.
In addition, our insurance does not cover vaccinations, brushing your teeth, routine tests of the animal. You can get unlimited insurance with full coverage, but it will cost from 120 $ per month for each dog.
Training, behavior correction, walkers, dog sitters and kindergartens for dogs (dog daycare) - these services are used by the majority of our neighbors. Here is the norm. The course of social adaptation is considered a basic need, therefore it is relatively inexpensive - 350 — 500 $. Behavior correction is also a popular service. An hour and a half of work by a correction specialist costs $100-150, as in Moscow.
Most dogs in San Francisco walk at least three times a day. Happy 70% of people walking with dogs - this is not the owners. In San Francisco the services of dog walkers or dog sitters are very popular. There are 20 competing companies with a huge staff of walkers. Many people with a shift schedule work as well.
Cost per hour walking - from 30 $. "Kindergarten" for dogs in San Francisco is more common than kindergarten for children. In walking distance each house has at least one. Working owners assign dogs there all day so that they do not stay at home alone. This service is worth from 50 $ per day.
We do not use the "kindergarten" because our angry Russian dogs do not like socializing very much.
In America, you can leave dogs at home alone, if they normally tolerate loneliness. But if the dog barks or howls in the apartment for several hours in a row, then the neighbors or the management company may call the animal welfare department. A member of the service will take the dog to the dog hotel, and the owner will be billed for the hotel from 100 $ per day, a fine from 300 $ and a warning for animal abuse.
Our average monthly budget for the maintenance of two dogs is 420 $. The average San Francisco resident with a dog uses a much larger number of services than we do, and pays about 400 $ for one animal.
Payments
For water, home maintenance, garbage collection, we pay about 90 $ per month. Electricity costs more in 50 — 80 $. If you live in your own home, then you will pay about 100 — 150 $ per month for a communal flat.
In the US, expensive Internet: for a wifi in the apartment they pay 70 $ per month. The mobile connection to the Internet takes about 50 $ per month for one.
About the Internet should be told in detail, because it is bad and expensive in San Francisco. We have held a rare California optics. The provider treats us as users of the new classroom service. It is surprising that in a city whose internet business rules the world, having permanent access to the network is generally not perceived as something vital.
One Saturday morning, we lost the Internet. The support service issued us a visit to the master on the following Saturday - that is, it was assumed that we would sit without a network for a week. As a result, it turned out that road workers damaged the Internet cable, and the network did not work for the entire area. Repaired after three days. All these three days, the ISP's support service has been torn from calls by angry neighborhood residents, most of whom work in IT.
Banks
Migrant integration in the United States begins with a visit to the bank. It is possible to open a debit account on a foreign passport and any visa confirming the legal stay in the country, including a tourist one. The bank makes a card to the account for several days, after which it sends the envelope with the card by regular mail - it will be put in the mailbox, left at the concierge or stuck in the door gap. For security, they will write on the envelope that personal data is inside. Open a foreign envelope - a crime.
Internet banks and mobile banking applications surprised me: they have an outdated interface, limited functions, and the transfer between their accounts can take several days, especially if you send it on Friday after two in the afternoon.
"Electronic payment" for rental housing may look like this: go to your personal account, press the button on the transfer of funds, the bank receives a request, prints a check, puts it in an envelope and sends it to the leasing company by mail.
American banks are trying to adapt to urban communities and neighborhoods. A typical American bank in Chinatown operates in an office similar to a pagoda temple, and in LGBT-The "Castro Bank" area is decorated in iridescent colors.
Credit history
Credit history in the USA is a chronicle of your responsibility. It is recorded not only on time made payments on the loan, but also paid bills for mobile communications and the Internet, for rental housing and utilities. Based on the credit history, decisions are made on signing a rental contract, on the conditions for granting a loan and enrollment.
Every organization that wants to ensure your trustworthiness has the right to access information about your credit history.
There is a vicious circle: if you do not have a credit history, you will not be given a credit card. And if you do not have a credit card on which you would regularly demonstrate the ability to spend and return money, you will not have a credit history.
Some banks in America have an unusual “lending” plan for newbies - Secured credit card. You get a credit card and put 500 $ on it. Forget that this is your 500 $, and imagine that this is your credit limit on the card. You can take this money "on credit", you have a payment schedule, in accordance with which you have to spend and return money to the card. So you demonstrate to the bank that you are a conscious person and remember about your mandatory payments. After six months or a year of such a performance, your credit limit may be extended to 1000 — 1500 $.
Medical service
Medicine in America is always a big waste. Treating virtually any injury or disease is measured in thousands of dollars. Therefore, it is imperative to have medical insurance.
Health insurance here is disaster insurance. Insurance compensates for most of the costs of medical care, but does not cover them entirely, you still have to pay out of your pocket.
Insurance costs from 350 $ to 800 $ per month per person. Choosing an insurance plan, you need to focus on three main numbers:
- the amount of the monthly payment for insurance;
- the amount of payments when you go to the doctor;
- maximum amount of potential costs per year.
For example, you can save on the insurance itself and pay less per month, but then your bills will increase at each visit to the doctor. And if you want to monitor your health as a whole and regularly visit a doctor, you will have to put money into this in the monthly budget.
For comparison, a visit to the doctor for a person without insurance will cost from 150 $, for the insured - from 20 $. X-ray without insurance will cost from 300 $ to several thousand. Some companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley cover their employees for insurance coverage and all additional treatment costs.
Products and Shopping
The first few months I went to grocery stores, like a museum. I can not say that our eating habits have changed a lot, but there are many new dishes that we cook at home. In any chain store you can find dozens of meats, hundreds of different sauces, excellent fruits and vegetables, and Californian cheeses and wine are so good and varied that we haven't tried everything yet.
Going to the store on less than 50 $ will not work. The average bill is 70 $. We spend 500 — 600 $ per month on food and household chemicals.
The water in San Francisco and Silicon Valley is clean, you can drink from the tap. Therefore, during lunch, most people do not order drinks for food, but simply ask for a glass of water - it's free.
To come with a bottle of water in a diner or cafe is also quite normal. If you order only food, then you can have dinner for 15 — 20 $. Coffee or tea - another 2 — 4 $.
Coupons and discount cards in the US - power. Here they really work. If you get discount cards from different stores and from time to time pay attention to bonuses and coupons, you can save up to 15 $ in a check.
Sales in stores are arranged on every possible occasion, holiday or event such as the victory of your favorite urban sports team. And also without a case: discounts are sent by mail, there are discounts on certain days of the week for certain credit cards, a discount can be found on the store website. If you really liked a thing, but there is no discount, then you can always find it in another store with a discount, or just wait a couple of weeks - and it will cost less.
During the move, we brought with us three suitcases of things. But these clothes for life were not enough, so we bought an essential part of the wardrobe and spent 800 $ each on account of sales on Black Friday.
Transport
San Francisco residents mostly do without their own car. The city is small, many places can be reached on foot, by bike or scooter, especially since the weather allows you to do it all year round. Another problem with parking: it is not enough and it is expensive. A parking space in our house costs 300 $ per month. Throw the car on the sidewalk does not work: guaranteed to evacuate and write out a fine. Many townspeople refuse cars in favor of bicycles, hoverboards and skateboards with motors.
If you go far, it is better to use public transport. The city has buses, trams, subways. The metro has five branches, they connect with the cities on the other side of the bay.
Back in San Francisco, convenient and affordable taxis. Every second car in the city is “Uber” or “Lift”. If you share the trip with other passengers in the Uber Pool, you will pay 5 — 10 $. A regular trip to Uber-X costs 7 — 20 $.
From San Francisco to any city in Silicon Valley, you can navigate on Caltrain - this is a kind of train. At rush hour, Caltrane looks like a subway, only all the passengers here write code on a laptop, check tasks in Trelo, or even sit in glasses with a monitor.
From San Francisco to Palo Alto, you can drive in 40 — 60 minutes and 8 $. To San Jose - 1 — 1,5 hours and 17 $. Many companies are located in Silicon Valley, so when choosing housing, it is better to focus on the location of the office, otherwise up to 20 $ per day will only go to the road.
We rent a car on weekends for trips out of town. There is no familiar carsharing, but there is a Zipkar service and analogues, the minus of which is that the car should be returned to the same place where it was taken; book a specific number of hours and drive no more than 180 miles per day. Renting a car costs 9 — 12 $ per hour or 100 — 150 $ for the whole day, this price includes gasoline. If you traveled more than 180 miles, you will have to pay extra 45 cents for every extra mile.
Entertainment and services
San Francisco has good museums. Often brought interesting and unusual exhibitions. Entry to the museum costs about 30 $. Each museum spends days with free admission, for example, the first Tuesday of the month. There is also a schedule of free days in the districts of the city or for cardholders of a particular bank. But there is a problem with these promotions: on free days, the queues at popular museums are longer than those at Picasso in Pushkinsky, so it's easier to pay 30 $.
There are a lot of jazz clubs in San Francisco. They are all worthy of attention. Virtually any concert in the auditorium will cost 50 — 100 $ per ticket. Classic events are more expensive, and the cost of tickets, for example, to ballet will be 100 — 300 $.
Surprisingly, the scope of beauty services in the US is always a problem. Finding a good manicure master is difficult, his work from 60 $ is worth, and finding a salon near the house that would satisfy sanitary expectations is almost impossible. I bought manicure equipment and do it myself at home. These costs paid off in two weeks.
Reduce budget
Living in San Francisco is interesting, but expensive. If you rent a studio, don’t get sick, don’t buy clothes at all and once a month entertain yourself with trips outside the city in a rented car, then for a family of two you need about 5000 $ per month.
With a budget in 8000 $ you can live more freely, but with children and traveling abroad will be hard. A comfortable budget for living in San Francisco is from 10 000 $ per month.
We in San Francisco really like it. There is good weather, a dynamic environment and many business and career opportunities. I want to have more time and more to achieve. At the same time, we do not feel a crazy rhythm, overload or irritation from the people around us. There is a time for everything here, and people do not forget to relax and devote time to themselves and their hobbies.
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