What It’s Really Like to Move From Seattle to San Francisco: My Real Life Experience
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.
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 Society Northwest business partner Ian 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 are the cost differences between living in San Francisco and Seattle?
San Francisco is more expensive overall, but not across the board. Housing and car ownership cost noticeably more, while dining out and groceries are often more affordable than people expect. This is all based on my personal experience, although I typically hear this from other people as well.
What are the home prices like in San Francisco vs. Seattle?
In May 2026, homes in San Francisco cost roughly twice as much as homes in Seattle. The average sale price in San Francisco was $2,216,773, compared with $1,065,000 in Seattle, based on SFAR MLS and NWMLS data. That gap holds across property types, with single-family homes and condos both running about two and a half times higher in San Francisco.
| Property Type | San Francisco | Seattle | King County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family home | $2,932,574 | $1,199,148 | $1,242,842 |
| Condo | $1,611,245 | $657,346 | $674,425 |
| All home types (average) | $2,216,773 | $1,065,000 | $1,105,873 |
| Market | Property Type | Average Sales Price |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | Tenancy-in-Common (TIC) | $1,350,556 |
| Seattle | Townhouse | $813,828 |
| King County | Townhouse | $827,642 |
However, do keep in mind that this is incredibly nuanced and varies a lot by housing type, neighborhood, and time of year. And the numbers change from month to month.
How much does it cost to rent a home in San Francisco vs. Seattle?
As of June 2026, a 2-bedroom condo rents for about $4,800 to $5,100 a month in San Francisco and $2,800 to $3,260 in Seattle, according to Apartments.com.
| City | Monthly Rent (Low) | Monthly Rent (High) |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $2,800 | $3,260 |
| San Francisco | $4,800 | $5,100 |
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.
The biggest difference is that Washington has no state income tax, while California does. This means your take-home pay will be lower in San Francisco for the same salary.
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, 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:
| Seattle | San Francisco | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Queen Anne | Pacific Heights | Upscale urban living with city views |
| Magnolia | Inner Sunset / Inner Richmond | Residential, outdoorsy, tucked-away feel |
| Downtown Seattle | Financial District (Fi-Di) | Corporate high-rise living |
| Core of Ballard | The Marina | Nightlife, restaurants, young professionals |
| Capitol Hill | Mission District / Castro | Culture, nightlife, LGBTQ+ community |
| SLU / SODO | China Basin / Mission Bay | New construction, tech workers, stadium proximity |
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 here.
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 when we first moved here. 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. That said, we do now have one car for our household and oftentimes we still find ourselves leaving the car at home to attend events and dinners.
How does parking in San Francisco compare to parking in Seattle?
Parking is in both cities is very neighborhood dependent. The closer you are to Downtown, the more expensive parking gets and the harder it is the find a spot in either city. That said, San Francisco is denser than Seattle so I would say about half of San Francisco feels similar to parking in Seattle’s commercial zones. As a whole, it is much easier to find parking in Seattle, especially in the varying neighborhoods than it is to park in San Francisco. San Francisco also has street sweeping days so you have to be sure and read the parking signs very carefully. There is also a lot more metered parking in San Francisco than there is in Seattle so you may just have to be prepared to park depending on the neighborhood you’re going to or how far away you’re willing to walk to and from your destination.
What is traffic like in San Francisco?
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?
Both Seattle and San Francisco have reliable transit, 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 San Francisco 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.
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, San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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.
San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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?
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. San Francisco 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 San Francisco, 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 San Francisco. Employees are likely to get more promotion opportunities and higher up roles tend to sit in San Francisco. Also, if your company allows remote and hybrid work and you don’t want to live within San Francisco, a lot of people do move outside of the city. Or they move to Seattle, which is much more affordable compared to San Francisco!
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.
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 although I find myself striking up conversations with strangers much more often in SF than I did in Seattle.
What are schools in San Francisco like compared to Seattle?
The biggest difference is that San Francisco uses a school lottery system, while Seattle assigns schools mostly by address. Schools are a hot button issue in both San Francisco 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!
