Rent will be your biggest expense – it is much more expensive here than in Dallas. Rent for a moderate one bedroom in a neighborhood close to good public transit – $1800–2200 (if you are willing to rent a room with roommates you can find something much cheaper – around $700–1000). Unlimited monthly transit pass – $60 total for all muni trains and buses, $70 total if you also want to include unlimited BART within the city. If you have friends in the east bay budget extra since BART to Oakland/Berkeley is not included in this pass and costs about $7 round trip each way. The good news is that you can eat delicious cheap food out in SF. A great burrito will cost you $4. Entertainment can be cheap here too – a band at a bar in the Mission could charge just a $5 or $10 cover. And there is lots of free entertainment with nearby hiking, Golden Gate park, etc. In other words, if you are comfortable living with 4 roommates, you can have a great quality of life for $35k, as long as you are pretty frugal and don’t have many expenses beyond rent, bills, and occasional eating out. If you want your own place, I’d say you would need to make at least $45k to be comfortable, and probably more if you want to rent a nice apartment. Also, this is not factoring in any student loans, etc.