You know, I'm tired of hearing this. I live very comfortably and my total expenses are <$1500/mo. This might get a small bump if I go out more than usual in a particular month. But really, I wonder what everyone else does so differently.
That said, living in SF on a total budget of 1500/month is going to take some compromises.
I haven't seen a rent like that in SOMA since 2008...at least, not anywhere that I'd consider safe. There are some bedbug-ridden firetraps in down near 6th, but there's a limit to what I'm willing to sacrifice for cheap rent. And I'm saying this as a guy who lives in a not-so-great part of SOMA....
Rents have gone up. Decent 1BR rents land at around $2,000, even in inconvenient/less-than-great locations. There seems to be this general delusion/denial trend regarding San Francisco rents, when they're easily verified by going to craigslist. It's an expensive place to live, and that's the greater point -- $70,000 isn't making anyone wealthy in San Francisco. It's enough to have a comfortable single-20-something lifestyle, and maybe put a bit of cash away for retirement if you live frugally.
... from my recent housing searches on CL
> "Her more than $70,000 salary, stock options and personal investment portfolio, though, go a long way to alleviate any parental concerns. " Which seems to be so much money that her parents forget their worries. What I am saying is, in term of SV salary that's not much to have 70k. Actually 75k in S.V. ~ 55k in Atlanta for example.
Personally I have a very good salary (> 70k) and I have way to much money per month. I don't buy gadgets or anything so yeah I am way below $1500 / mo.
Insurance, phone, and gas run about 200 dollars a month. The rest consists of food and drink, by far my worst habit and biggest expense, varies between 700 and 800 per month. This puts me anywhere between 1500 and 1800 in expenses per month. I suppose if I were to amortize unforeseen costs (the occasional 300 dollar repair on the car, occasional shopping for clothes) those figures would creep a bit higher.
It all depends on where you're coming from I guess, I grew up with frugal parents who placed value on family and good times around the dinner table as opposed to expensive clothes and cars.