What Is It Really Like to Move from Seattle to San Francisco?
This past year, I had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to move part-time from Seattle to San Francisco. My husband Jacob and I are Seattleites through and through, and our primary residence is in Seattle. But when an incredible job opportunity came up for Jacob in San Francisco, we jumped on the chance to try out living in a different city, which we’ve always wanted to do.
Me, Jacob, and our dog Cooper in the lobby of our San Francisco apartment building
While our home base is in Seattle, we are renting an apartment in San Francisco. In addition to working as a real estate agent in Seattle, I am also licensed in California now, so I can serve clients in both places. My business partner Ian Gordon and I both have many clients who work in tech, and it’s common for people to move to and from Seattle or San Francisco, or even commute back and forth.
If you’re a Seattleite but contemplating a move to San Francisco, I’m here to share some real talk and my personal perspective on what it’s like to relocate!
What Is It Really Like to Move from Seattle to San Francisco?
In this video, I share my personal experience of moving from Seattle to San Francisco (part time!).
What Are the Cost Differences Between Living in San Francisco and Seattle?
Overall, housing and owning a car in San Francisco are more expensive than in Seattle. But I would say things like dining out and groceries are more affordable in San Francisco. This is just based on my personal experience.
What Are the Home Prices Like in San Francisco vs. Seattle?
This is nuanced and varies a lot by housing type, neighborhood, and time of year. And the numbers change from month to month.
That being said, here are some stats that comparing housing in SF to Seattle in January 2025:
- Seattle’s median home price for a single-family home = $832,700
- San Francisco’s median home price for a single-family home = $1.2 million
How much does it cost to rent a home in San Francisco vs. Seattle?
The differences are pretty significant:
- Seattle’s average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment = $2,060
- San Francisco’s average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment = $3,300
What Do I Need to Know About Taxes in Washington vs. California?
Washington does not have a state income tax, while California does. So this will impact your take home pay.
If I Have a Neighborhood I Love in Seattle, How Can I Find a Similar Neighborhood in San Francisco?
On the whole, San Francisco and Seattle have different vibes and neighborhoods that make them both unique to each other. However, there are some neighborhoods that are pretty comparable as far as amenities and vibe go, so if you’re looking for something similar to your Seattle neighborhood, you can probably get pretty close.
In my blog post Seattle vs. San Francisco Neighborhood Comparisons (coming soon!), I do a deep dive on neighborhoods in both cities based on my personal experiences. But here is a very quick look at similar neighborhoods:
- If you like living in Upper Queen Anne in Seattle, you might like Pacific Heights (or Pac Heights as the locals say) in San Francisco.
- If you like living in Magnolia in Seattle, you might like living in the Inner Sunset or Inner Richmond District in San Francisco.
- If you like living in Downtown Seattle, you might like living in the Financial District (or Fi-Di as the locals say) in San Francisco.
- If you like living in the core of Ballard in Seattle, then you might like living in the Marina in San Francisco.
- If you like living in South Lake Union or SODO in Seattle, then you might like living in China Basin or SoMa in San Francisco.
Keep in mind these are not a one-to-one comparison; this is just a place to get started. For more details on each comparison, check out my in-depth blog post about neighborhood comparisons (coming soon!).
Do I Need a Car in San Francisco?
Depends on your situation, but no, you don’t need a car in SF. In Seattle, both my husband and I each need our own cars to get around efficiently. But in San Francisco, we opted to be car-free. It’s extra expensive and honestly kind of inconvenient to have a car in SF; parking is expensive and it’s challenging to find parking, for starters. SF is also more walkable for us, and there are tons of public transit options everywhere. Rideshares like Uber, Lyft, and driverless Waymo cars are also aplenty in SF, and they are a lot cheaper in SF than they are in Seattle.
How Does Parking in San Francisco Compare to Parking in Seattle?
Parking is way harder in SF than it is in Seattle. Having a reserved parking spot is expensive, and searching for a parking spot when you’re out and about is also a much bigger challenge. Sure, parking in Seattle can be tricky at times, but it really doesn’t bother me compared to SF.
What Is Traffic Like in SF?
Traffic within the city in San Francisco is really not that bad, but the freeways and bridges getting in and out of the city can have absolutely horrendous traffic at times. There are also more tolls in SF, and Seattle only has a couple of tolls.
Is Public Transit Reliable in San Francisco? How Does It Compare to Public Transit in Seattle?
Yes! And if anything is running late, there’s so many different transit options that you can easily pivot. That being said, in my experience, the most reliable public transportation system between SF and Seattle is the Link Light Rail in Seattle. However, if the light rail in Seattle is down... You might be a little screwed depending where you need to go. But overall, Seattle seems to have a slightly more reliable public transit system than SF does.
Pretty much everything is on Google maps, so this will be your best place to reference your route and any changes that might happen. And with any public transit, you need to give yourself a buffer for unforeseen delays.
The BART train
What Public Transportation Options Are in San Francisco vs. Seattle?
San Francisco has the BART train, Muni trains, Cal Trains, buses, and cable cars (which are so cute). For a quick comparison, Seattle has buses (including the Rapid Ride), the Seattle Streetcar, and South Lake Union Streetcar, the Link Light Rail, the Sounder Train, and Amtrak.
Is San Francisco Walkable Compared to Seattle?
In my opinion, SF is way more walkable than Seattle is. Seattle has neighborhoods and pockets that are super walkable, so this is dependent on where you are. There are a lot of areas in Seattle that don’t have sidewalks, whereas SF is just set up better for walking and on the whole, it’s better suited for getting around on foot but be prepared for more hills and to wear appropriate footwear while in the city.
SF is also a lot denser, and neighborhoods flow into each other more. Part of the difference is that in Seattle, we have lakes and waterways that you have to navigate around. The weather lends itself to the walkability of SF too—it rains more frequently in Seattle, but you will see plenty of us walking around more in the summer!
Is San Francisco as Bikeable as Seattle?
I’d say the cities are actually pretty similar. Both Seattle and SF have a ton of bike lanes, and there are trail systems in both cities. SF has the Wiggle, which helps you avoid hills in SF. It’s a green pathway that was specifically designed for this purpose. Whereas in Seattle, you’re gonna have to face the hills (electric bikes have become super popular here), or you have to learn workarounds and pathways yourself (versus SF where the work is done for you!). But if you want to avoid hills in Seattle there are plenty of Reddit threads to help you navigate accordingly.
What Is the Job Market Like in San Francisco Compared to Seattle?
There are all kinds of stats out there, but I’m just going to share what I’ve heard from others. My husband is also a recruiter, so he and I chat about this topic quite a bit.
The job market is strong compared to other cities; companies are actively hiring in San Francisco, and there’s a lot of venture capital money. SF has a thriving start-up scene, but the start-up world comes with a different set of risks. There’s no guarantee your job will stay around for the long-term whether you’re in finance, biotech, tech, etc., but you might be ok with that!
A lot of companies get started in SF, and as they expand, they’ll open additional offices, frequently in Seattle. It’s more rare to see Seattle as the main hub/HQ for big companies outside of Amazon, Microsoft & Boeing. By comparison, there are way more companies headquartered in San Francisco.
Wages for the same job title between the two cities are similar in both places, but there is generally more opportunity for growth in SF. Employees are likely to get more promotion opportunities and higher up roles tend to sit in SF. Also, if your company allows remote and hybrid work and you don’t want to live within SF, a lot of people do move outside of the city. Or they move to Seattle, which is much more affordable compared to San Francisco!
What Is San Francisco’s Restaurant Scene Like Compared to Seattle?
Seattle has really developed a great foodie culture, but San Francisco is more diverse with its offerings. In my experience, SF is the better food scene (but don’t get me wrong, Seattle is still amazing!)
San Francisco has Michelin restaurants, whereas Michelin doesn’t review in Seattle. That’s not to say that Seattle doesn’t have restaurants that would qualify for a star, though. This also means that a lot of top chefs move to SF in part because they’ll have the opportunity to work at or start a Michelin-level restaurant. So in San Francisco, you end up with a ton of phenomenal restaurants and chefs.
My experience is also that SF is a more social city than Seattle. People seem to dine out a lot more. In Seattle, it’s more the norm to dine out a lot on the weekends, while weeknights are quieter. Whereas in SF, people dine out at a lot of the nice restaurants everyday. This means you also need to really book out your reservations in advance—you can’t necessarily count on a weekday being slow whereas in Seattle it’s easier to snag a last minute reservation.
What Is the Homelessness Situation in San Francisco vs. Seattle?
Both cities have struggled with processes to support the homeless populations. SF and Seattle have resources available to unhoused people, and they’re both working toward solutions. One of the big differences is that Seattle’s homelessness is more spread out, and “hot spots” tend to move around more. In SF, the homeless population tends to stay more or less in the same area.
Here are some resources if you’d like to learn more:
Seattle Is Known for the “Seattle Freeze.” How Is San Francisco Similar or Different?
People in SF seem to have a higher bandwidth for social interactions than people in Seattle. If you want to snuggle up on the couch with your dog and watch Love is Blind, Seattle is perfect. If you want to be out and about meeting new people all the time, SF is perfect! I personally happen to love both and have enjoyed the contrast of the two cities.
What Are Schools in San Francisco Like Compared to Seattle?
Schools are a hot button issue in both SF and Seattle. My homebuyer clients with kids (and those planning to start families) always want to know where the best schools are, and it’s not a straightforward answer.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re researching schools:
- The needs of each student and family are different. A “good” school for one family is not going to be so great for another. Every school is going to have different resources available.
- Take school rating websites with a grain of salt. There are certainly insights about schools available online, but that should only be one piece of the puzzle.
- San Francisco has a lottery system for their schools, which is different from Seattle. In SF, your location and proximity to a school does not guarantee your child will attend that school. It will be a factor, but it’s no guarantee. You could live down the street from a high school and end up getting sent across the city.
- With San Francisco’s school lottery system, there are a lot of factors that will determine which school your child will attend. Location, access to specific services or resources, having an older sibling that goes to a specific school, and focuses on coursework (some schools are focused on the arts, or STEM, or learning a different language, for example) are all taken into consideration.
- In Seattle, where you live will typically determine which school your child will go to. Although the boundary lines can change at any point, which parents have no control over. Sometimes there are situations where parents can apply for their child to be sent to a school outside of a boundary line but this is not as common as it would be in San Francisco.
When my clients ask about schools, I also recommend that they visit schools in person and talk to parents who actually have kids attending the schools they’re interested in. There is no “one size fits all” school!
If you’re thinking about relocating, I’m happy to talk through it with you and answer any questions. I’d love to help you sell your home in Seattle and San Francisco, and help you find your next home. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
