Questions about S.F. Bay Area

[Deleted]

I'm not sure where else to ask this. Any wheelers or anyone that has knowledge of living in the Bay Area and long-term care stuff? I know housing is ridiculous and have read up on what I can but that's not as good as first hand experience. You can PM me if you'd rather talk that way. Thanks.

[calimatt]

Hey that’s my domain, I don’t have much to offer as I like with my parents still but one thing is for sure if you’re paying out of pocket for care giving it’s going to be expensive, minimum wage in San Jose and San Francisco is at $15 and literally everywhere is hiring, many fast food places start at $16.50.


If you aren’t living in the heart of either city cost of living is most likely manageable as long as you’re earning a somewhat competitive wage for the area ( 80k + )

[nofacue]

I live in the East Bay..in Oakland area and my area is $2000: or more renting an average 2 bedroom apartment. CaliMatt was correct about the caregiving being expensive if
you don’t have insurance . If you want to know more feel free to dm me . I’ve been a renter and a home owner in the Bay Area for years and I’m quite familiar with the
Area and I’ve been handicapped for 2 & 1/2 years and am becoming familiar with getting around as a wheeler.

[devogirl]

I'm not a wheeler and it's been like 12 years since I lived there, but as someone who has lived in the Midwest and the Bay Area, I can say the cultures are vastly different, to a degree that really surprised me. The mindset and daily life of the people is so different. Expect to go through culture shock. The CA climate was also so strange to me--long months with no rain, cold summers, and rain in winter means those are the greenest months.

The Bay Area is a huge place with tons of variation. Each city has a vastly different culture and climate. Also because of poor infrastructure it takes forever to go even a short distance. So it's really important to live in a place that suits you. I moved around a lot, and was often stuck living in suburbs that were cheaper but wanting to be in the city center. I would think, it's not that far, I can just drive to downtown SF or Oakland. But in reality it was a huge pain in the ass and I felt very cut off from my friends who all lived in those places. Select the city and neighborhood very carefully.

I'm not sure if the public transportation has been updated but when I lived there it was terrible. The buses are accessible but very slow. BART is theoretically fully accessible but in reality the elevators to the platform were broken all the time. There is only one elevator on each platform, so if it's broken, you're stuck. There were constantly announcements telling wheelchair users to get off one station further, then go back in the other direction. OMG what a pain in the ass. I was always angry whenever I heard that announcement, which was nearly every time I rode BART.

SF Muni Metro trains are even worse, some of the outdoor stops are just platforms and are not at all accessible. I never rode Muni with a wheeler. Also because SF is so hilly, some streets can be treacherous for a wheeler to navigate. Access varies tremendously depending on where you are, like anywhere else the older parts are not great, there are a lot of inaccessible old buildings and poorly designed curb cuts. The newer neighborhoods have better access.

[kwhi]

I have a good friend that lives in the Bay Area closer to San Jose rather than San Francisco. The cost of housing is still high, but nowhere near SanFrancisco. Her biggest difficulty is getting consistent quality care givers. Unrealiability is the primary issue she faces. She is a high quad and requires punctual reliable care and she is forever in a help wanted situation. I love the area I was there quite often for work. When my situation changes I will give strong consideration to relocating there.

[Deleted]

Apr 22, 2019 8:13:21 GMT -5 devogirl said:

I'm not a wheeler and it's been like 12 years since I lived there, but as someone who has lived in the Midwest and the Bay Area, I can say the cultures are vastly different, to a degree that really surprised me. The mindset and daily life of the people is so different. Expect to go through culture shock. The CA climate was also so strange to me--long months with no rain, cold summers, and rain in winter means those are the greenest months.

The Bay Area is a huge place with tons of variation. Each city has a vastly different culture and climate. Also because of poor infrastructure it takes forever to go even a short distance. So it's really important to live in a place that suits you. I moved around a lot, and was often stuck living in suburbs that were cheaper but wanting to be in the city center. I would think, it's not that far, I can just drive to downtown SF or Oakland. But in reality it was a huge pain in the ass and I felt very cut off from my friends who all lived in those places. Select the city and neighborhood very carefully.

I'm not sure if the public transportation has been updated but when I lived there it was terrible. The buses are accessible but very slow. BART is theoretically fully accessible but in reality the elevators to the platform were broken all the time. There is only one elevator on each platform, so if it's broken, you're stuck. There were constantly announcements telling wheelchair users to get off one station further, then go back in the other direction. OMG what a pain in the ass. I was always angry whenever I heard that announcement, which was nearly every time I rode BART.

SF Muni Metro trains are even worse, some of the outdoor stops are just platforms and are not at all accessible. I never rode Muni with a wheeler. Also because SF is so hilly, some streets can be treacherous for a wheeler to navigate. Access varies tremendously depending on where you are, like anywhere else the older parts are not great, there are a lot of inaccessible old buildings and poorly designed curb cuts. The newer neighborhoods have better access.

Funny you should mention BART's shittiness, I have an interview to be the Access Coordinator.

There are plenty of negatives and I still haven't made up my mind completely. I'm also having a helluva time trying to find information on working with a disability. I make a decent wage here and still am eligible to buy Medicaid but that doesn't seem to be possible there? This is all moot if I can't get long-term care. I pay out of pocket now for a part-time CNA but the main person is covered.

[Deleted]

Okay, I'll expand this to all of CA. I'm not asking so much about the culture, accessibility, etc. but benefits while working. I've been reading everything I can find and talked to someone at an Independent Living Center but I can't find a definitive answer. Or maybe the answer really is as horrible as I've gotten. Is there anyone that is making a good salary ($100k+) and still needs long term care? That's not even the equivalent to what I make now in S.F. yet CA rules are even lower. I'm still able to buy into Medicaid here with much higher asset limits but not out there? Paying out-of-pocket for the quad life is not an option on that salary even here where cost of living is lower and CA's share of cost program only leaves the individual with $600/month. WTF? How do disabled people work? Or maybe they just don't? What would be the incentive?

[Deleted]

Well, Ca isn't happening. It's no biggie. In fact, I was really only looking at climate and it was probably a foolish notion to give up what I have here for a more comfortable winter. I turned down a job because I just couldn't make it work money-wise. I contacted several Independent Living Centers, county social service agencies, a couple other entities, and even a few individuals I know that have long-term care needs and live in CA. My worst fears were confirmed in that someone with long-term care needs has only one really bad option - MediCal. Well, two options if you count private pay but there's a huge gap between earning just above MediCal (250% of Federal Poverty Level) wages and it being worth it to go private pay. In order to receive what I need, I'd have to live under very low and strict income and asset limits that would leave me in actual poverty and would be a huge step down from my current lifestyle. I'm not rich but I'm comfortable. I'd be able to earn even less out there where cost of living is 60-70% higher. Crazy. So, here I stay.

[SouthernCalGal]

This State is crazy expensive and you were looking into one of the most expensive areas. And weather-wise-definitely not sunny SoCal. S.F. is foggy, cold and rainy a lot! So, weather wise, might be better than what you have but other parts of Cali have much better weather 😊. 

[devogirl]

Too bad you couldn't help BART fix its terrible access problems, haha. But it sounds like you made the right decision. I always felt like the financial support system for PWDs is so backward, even in a progressive state like CA. It's like, we will help you but you have to suffer for it, and we will make sure you only can have enough to just barely survive. I hate how any social program in the US has to be served up with an extra helping of humiliation. Anyway the Bay Area is a very hard place to live, it has some advantages but the trade-offs are huge, and the quality of life there is not great unless you are enormously wealthy.

[Deleted]

Dec 9, 2019 21:31:51 GMT -5 sugarmag said:

I can't speak to disability related experience really except that the Bay Area was one of the birthplaces of the disability rights movement. However, I have lived in SF for 7 years, and it doesn't rain frequently at all. It only rains in the winter and definitely not everyday. Also, only the Western part of SF is cold and foggy. Where I live it's almost always sunny and warm. It has microclimates. Also, I know someone who lives in Berkeley, and the city of Berkeley pays for emergency caregivers that are always on call 24/7, so that's cool. I went to UC Berkeley and there were a lot of people with disabilities, way more than average in the general population, so maybe that says something good. Let me know if you have questions about the area.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking anymore, though. The problem is with the overall rules for the working disabled population. Where I am, I'm allowed to make a good salary and still buy Medicaid as an insurer but most states don't have a program like this. Unfortunately, a lot of states have pretty oppressive rules regarding what a person can earn and still qualify for.

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2019 19:25:08 GMT -5 sugarmag said:

Dec 10, 2019 10:10:49 GMT -5 @mrniceguy said:

Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking anymore, though. The problem is with the overall rules for the working disabled population. Where I am, I'm allowed to make a good salary and still buy Medicaid as an insurer but most states don't have a program like this. Unfortunately, a lot of states have pretty oppressive rules regarding what a person can earn and still qualify for.

I'm pretty sure anyone with a disability is eligible for MediCal, the California state free insurance, regardless of salary. www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/Pages/DoYouQualifyForMedi-Cal.aspx

Yes, if they stay under income and asset limits. In CA, any income over around $35k/year puts them in the category of "Share of Cost" which is a deductible of sorts that only starts paying after the recipient spends down their income to $600. That's every month. Then above around $65k/year is a cutoff point.

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2019 19:48:01 GMT -5 sugarmag said:

Dec 10, 2019 19:38:44 GMT -5 @mrniceguy said:

Yes, if they stay under income and asset limits. In CA, any income over around $35k/year puts them in the category of "Share of Cost" which is a deductible of sorts that only starts paying after the recipient spends down their income to $600. That's every month. Then above around $65k/year is a cutoff point.

I see. That's interesting. We should try to change that here in CA.

It's not just CA. Even though Medicaid is a federal program, it's administered by the states (CA calls theirs MediCal). There has been talk of making it more universal but you know how people are suspicious of the Govment. Moving across state lines is a fucking nightmare as it is right now for anyone that needs long-term care services. If I were to look at CA again, I'd just need to accept that I'll have to pay out of pocket for CNAs. Luckily, my needs aren't THAT great. Or I need to find a sugarmamma. lol