I came to SF from Illinois back in 1983 and can t imagine leaving. That being said I m also a single woman with no children which is a good fit for San Francisco. Raising kids in SF is tough, there is no avoiding that fact.As others have said it is very expensive to live in The City. Housing for a family will start at $750,000 for a condo. There are good schools and not so good schools and the competition to get your kids into the good ones will be stiff.Unemployment is above the national average so if you don t have jobs lined up or job skills that are in high demand don t come here looking for work without a good amount of savings [$10K or more].One of the other answers suggested living outside the city, that is a wise suggestion but if you are considering Oakland be VERY careful and do lots of research before you choose a neighborhood. If you find an inexpensive house it may be in a high crime area, not a good choice for a family with children. There are lots of great communities in the East Bay but you must research to find one that will be a good match for your family.I don t think that it is the distance of the move that is the real issue, it is more a matter of a very different lifestyle. You should visit before making such a decision. I love it here, but it is not for everybody.
Well I live in San Francisco, and it is very beautiful here. But the cost of living here is just way 2 much..., houses ranges from 500 thousnad to 2 million $. The schools r GREAT as there r many variety of choices u could choose from. weather iz usually foogy as it iz near the coast, but in some days sunny. In my opinion u should move 2 oakland in once awhile vu could come 2 San Francisco visit as Oakland s houses r SO MUCH CHEAPER, probably ranging in cost from 100 thousand to 500 thousand $, it iz also located in the San FRANCISCO BAYAREA.too also close 2 SAN FRANCISCO. By the way San Francisco iz a gREAT place 2 raise children am i almost forgot, houses in san francisco r decreasin in value so they r probably much cheaper now i guess, u could research more if u r rael intterested!!! Hoped this helps! Sry 4 the smany spellin grammer errorz i had 2 type this quickly!!! =D By the way do u mind answerin my question (GO HERE)http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091115205924AAkzstG
CA is great, but the SF area is very expensive!!! Some schools are better than others just like anywhere. Private schools are everywhere, but I send my kids (10 and 11) to public school and they are both doing well. The weather in SF is usually grey but probably better than Indiana. I live in Southern CA near Disneyland. And the weather here is always great 70-80 most of the year with no humidity at all. I wear shorts almost all year long.