I’m starting in a few months and still really torn. I hear the city is amazing but I’m worried about the commute. Not sure if I could get away with working 10-4 in the office because I get work done on the shuttle. On the other hand, I love big cities and don’t want to spend my early 20s in a suburb. Is living in SF worth the hassle?
Benefits of the city, don’t need a car, decent amount of things to do if you’re in your twenties. Cons: rent prices, too many people, if you bike, your survival rate lowers, huge homeless population, you’re stuck if you want to leave the city unless you have a car.
Do the commute for 1.5 - 2 years, then move to an SF office.
SF, no question. You can alway move later if needed but no one ever does.
I'm a shitty commuter. Consider downtown Redwood City or downtown Mountain View which will be a lot nearer and a lot better than Menlo Park. Won't hold a candle to the right neighborhoods in SF but there are a lot of boring neighborhoods in SF and a 90+ minute commute is a huge chunk of your life.
Work in SF if you love SF so much. Make the world a better place.
Fremont
Just make friends in SF and go there on the weekends. You won't enjoy SF if you are commuting to Mountain View daily. You'll be quite broke as well.
This seems like the most logical answer. What’s the point of being in SF on weekdays if you have no time to enjoy it?
I live in SF and make the commute. It’s pretty great going to Opera on weeknights after work (I joined the Bravo club so tickets aren’t super expensive). Outside the Opera season, there’s plenty of other stuff going on. Thursday and Saturday evenings are great in terms of nightlife. I also do some local advocacy, which is far easier to get into here than it is in the south bay.
Live in SF, you'll hate the commute, but you won't be alone.
If you love big cities, try to transfer NYC. SF is amazing only if if you lived your whole live in suburb (or “fake” big cities that are just big suburbs) and it’s first real city you get to experience.
You can't have everything. Seems you already know you'd like to live in SF. Accept the downsides of living in SF and do it. You have the rest of your adult life to live in a suburb