Moved from SF to Manhattan 6 months ago, this characterization is no longer entirely accurate. Manhattan now is barely more expensive than SF, and most of SF is more expensive than most of Brooklyn.
People aren't really aware of just how fast cost of living is going up in SF. Manhattan averaged, what, 5-6% year over year, and we think that's high. Some neighborhoods in SF have experienced >100% YoY rent growth, but more typically in the 30-50% range (seriously!).
It's really insane out there, to an extent most people outside of SF don't know.
Right now in any of the "cool" neighborhoods of SF a studio would be cost comparable to one in the Upper East Side or Chelsea, though you'd probably get a bit more space for your money (not by that much though). It'll be a lot more expensive than any of the gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods, but probably slightly cheaper than the real gentrified bastions like Park Slope or Dumbo.
It'll be interesting to see the numbers after this boom, SF certainly is getting a lot more expensive. Latest figures though did put the order: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Honolulu, and then SF:
People aren't really aware of just how fast cost of living is going up in SF. Manhattan averaged, what, 5-6% year over year, and we think that's high. Some neighborhoods in SF have experienced >100% YoY rent growth, but more typically in the 30-50% range (seriously!).
It's really insane out there, to an extent most people outside of SF don't know.
Right now in any of the "cool" neighborhoods of SF a studio would be cost comparable to one in the Upper East Side or Chelsea, though you'd probably get a bit more space for your money (not by that much though). It'll be a lot more expensive than any of the gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods, but probably slightly cheaper than the real gentrified bastions like Park Slope or Dumbo.
SF is fucking nuts, that's all I can say.