I totally agree with you. I've been to SF at least once a month for the past year and a half since I met my girlfriend since we go to visit her family. Though I've chosen to commute by BART, I will probably be missing out on some of the night life going on over there. Nevertheless. I can always decide to skip BART on a Friday, get up and leave early, and pay my $25 to park my car all day downtown so I can enjoy the nightlife

 

Live in the city proper if you can. You'll be much happier without the time wasted commuting and waiting for commuting. Is this a permanent transfer or a temp assignment? I have friends/relatives who took renewable short-term assignments rather than a transfer, so that they could expense some of the housing and transit costs and do a little better on taxes too. One ex-gf lives there now and works for a brokerage. Her apartment is $4k/month in the waterfront area, including a parking garage space. She does public transit to work, and gets an extra allowance from the company for doing so. She has a nice place, no view of the water though. Company picks up the rent, cheaper for all since they would have to gross up her salary by twice that get things to balance out. She's been on temp assignment there for over five years, renewed every 90 days. She does come "home" to OC regularly. Point is, if you have that same option you should consider it. Everything is negotiable when you take an assignment, even a foreign assignment in a place like SF. Lots of companies like to use the IRS standard cost-of-living numbers, which are notoriiously tilted in favor of the government and employers. Take the assignmnet on a temp basis for a few months and track your actuals before you agree on a fixed step-up. Any step-up you negotiate needs to be considered with the total tax implications in mind. No big deal if you are already in a high bracket, right?

 

He's there until they try to lay him off again...

 

Just found out my company pays 30% of commuting expenses. Sweet!

 

It won't be the commuting miles (what they will pay part of...) but rather the time. Time is a non-renewable resource. You can always make more money, but time spent commuting is time lost forever with nothing to show for it. Stuck in traffic or riding the train or bus. Commuting in stopped traffic is even worse in a 928, since all you can think about is that 'extra' 170 miles an hour available under your right foot. If only that huge flock of lemmings would just get out of the way...

 

I lived in the city for ten years without a car. Having a car in the city is seemingly a PIA. No parking. Traffic is terrible. I have seen an hour to move ten blocks in some cases on Saturday night as I sat in my useless hot rod Porsche going nowhere wishing I was out of the city but couldn't move. When my boss finally had enough of my taking taxis and buses and BART, he demanded I get a car and even kicked in a little incentive to buy one, I bought......you guessed it.....a Porsche. What a pain. I had to park it several blocks away from my apartment in a parking garage 6 floors up. No where to work on it, or polish it or even enjoy it until you get over one of the bridges into clear air. People bump into it. Birds crap on it. Ugh! Too many rats living in too small a space. Now when I drive my 928 into the city, I push the lock button on the dash, put my knife on the console in easy reach, and try to get through as quickly as possible.

It is easier to get places walking or taking the MUNI or BART. In fact that is better for your health anyway. Lots of hills to climb and you can beat cars sometimes. I climbed lots of hills. Keep the car for out of town trips. And there is alot of eye candy on the street in the city which you'll miss driving a car in that mess. Maybe a Mini wouldn't be such a bad idea though.

 

I too lived carless for a couple years until I had a house with garage but that was near the beach so commuting was still needed... But Ron is correct a car is a huge liability in that city. I had a car towed on several occasions knew exactly where the impound yard was there was a great Thai Place near there with garlic fried crab...quite nice ! Had an Alfa spider for a while parked it in a parking garage retuened one day to learn that as the attendant was backing into a space the drivers door swung open and caught on a concrete post he did not stop until the door was folded into the front fender Most less expensive garages you CAN NOT park your own car.

 

The 928 is not going anywhere in the city on a work day. I'll be taking advantage of public transportation. I saw what my girlfriend's mom's car looks like - uhhh no way the 928 is going to look like that

 

Wach your tater hole.

 

I lived in The City for 5 years while going to school. It is regarded as one of the World's greatest cities for good reason. You're never at a loss for something to do. Makes almost all other cities seem rather boring. When I moved to the Midwest I had to work hard to plan my activities or the weekends just came and went.

If I had a chance to live there again, I would VERY closely scrutinize the economics. San Rafael and most of the surrounding communities are rather sleepy and uninteresting. If you're married and have family, look at the suburbs. But a single guy or young couple should be in The City if possible.

 

Yet again the question comes to mind as to where to put the shark in the city. Careless drivers would filet it

 

The next best step would be Portland.

Yea, I did the same thing in Boston in the late 70's

 

Me thinks that Keith is someone who has QUITE the history to tell when all statute of limitations are expired.

 

I hear that they were looking around near the Canadian border for him at the time of the Vietnam War

 

Andy:

Skip the 928 and move to the city for a while. It's an experience you will not want to miss! There is more to life than Porsche ownership, just as there is more to the world than Chula Vista.

You are still young and relatively independent. You should be out there traveling the world, rather than spending your life in and under a Porsche. Cars come and go - you can always have a nice car, but once you have a house and children (or a few Porsches) you won't be able to travel freely.

Right now, you don't have an idea how much is out there that you know nothing about. But you have a chance to reset, reboot, redirect, and invest in yourself as a person, rather than putting your money into doo-dads.