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Decentered’s Bay Area Survival Guide

A community sourced guide of rescources for thriving in the Bay Area.

By Liz CahillPublished on 9/26/2025
Photo of a woman climbing a tree in Oakland looking out on the San Francisco Skyline
@leo_visions_ via Upsplash•Photo by Leo Visions

Decentered’s Bay Area Survival Guide

By Liz Cahill with the input from the community. 

September 2025

The Bay Area can be an expensive and lonely place if you don't have the right connections. Maybe you just arrived with little in your pocket or have been here for years but hit a rough patch. Maybe you need community - which for some takes way too long to find. I arrived here almost ten years ago with no money or friends. Over the years, I’ve had some degree of success, built an incredible community and have enjoyed stability (for the first time in my life) - only to give that up to start a nonprofit. Gathering this information began with addressing my own needs and expanded to support the needs of countless community members that have reached out to me looking for help. 

This guide is not a perfect answer to everything but it’s a well intentioned attempt to put some information out there in the hopes that it helps folks. It is designed to evolve over time. Resources are mostly SF centric but I’ve tried to gather as many East, North and South Bay options as possible.

Important Note: Some of these resources shared are for people meeting certain levels of need and or require vetting, we’ve pointed these instances out, please don’t take advantage. Honor system. 

How to find Affordable Housing

In September 2025, a studio in San Francisco, according to Google's AI overview, is between $2,600 and $3,200 per month. I know very few people that pay that much in rent because most of my friends—myself included—live in what’s billed as shared, intentional, community, or cooperative housing. These are $1,200–$1,600 feels much more realistic for the average room. I just helped a friend land a $900-a-month room in a nice shared apartment. These are about the prices I’d see in Philadelphia - my home city. 

Don’t let the perception created by twenty-teens articles from SF’s last tech boom deter you (“SF Has the Most Expensive Housing in the World!” was the Doom Loop story of its time). Sure, in 2015, when I moved here for my internship, housing was scarce and insanely expensive, people were fighting over living rooms turned into bedrooms. But I managed, as a random chick from Philly, to land a $500-a-month (plus dog-sitting duties) room in a crumbling Victorian in Oakland (thanks, Lauren and Deirdre!).

SF’s population declined about 5% during the pandemic, and housing markets have loosened. In boom or bust times, for the savvy and brave, there are always options.

  • Co-ops aka shared, intentional, community, coliving, co or cooperative housing
  • Loosely defined as housing spaces that are shared by 6+ people and sit on a spectrum of intentionality and resource sharing. Typically these houses have cool names like The Embassy, Agape, RGB, The Muse, Basecamp etc… They often have group food plans, host events, and share other amenities like cars. They may be themed (LGBTQ+, Intergenerational, over 40, poly) or a totally random group of humans. Houses are always forming and disbanding but ballpark estimates from the hive mind suggest there are around 100 - 150 of these in SF at any given time and 400 - 1000 in the greater Bay Area. Co-ops are a great way to make friends, save money (though there are some quite bougie co-ops) and take pressure off the housing supply. 
  • Find out more: Supernuclear is a guide for people starting coliving communities for their chosen tribe. It’s a 100% free and earnest attempt to help people live their best life with their favorite people. Haight Street Commons: The hub of lots of Bay Area co-housing stuff. Accidental Megastructure: Slack universe with 3k+ cooperative living folks all over the world but heavily in the Bay Area email liz at decentered dot org for an invitation. 
  • Note: Co-op housing isn't for everyone, take the time to meet folks in the co-op community and know thy self. If things aren't working it could be the co-op or it could be you. A sublet or attending a house's community events can be a lower stakes way to test the waters. Do your dishes!
  • Facebook Groups:
  • Bay Area Housing $1000 & Under
  • Please note the group admins guidance: If you make enough that rooms 1K & under is LESS than 33% of your income, go look elsewhere for housing please & leave this resource for those struggling to stay in the Bay. Or think seriously about whether or not it’s ok for you to insert yourself into this space. Being saddled with expensive medical bills, exorbitant debt, having dependents, etc., are good reasons to be flexible on that limit within reason.
  • Bay Area Conscious Community Housing Board
  • Please note the group admins guidance: If you would like to be added, please ask one of the members with whom you are friends to invite you in, as that is how I have designed this group to work (so I don't have to be constantly moderating it.) In order to join you must have at least one or two friends in the group, as this is a community-based thing and not for the entire bay area. If you do not have any friends in the group I would suggest contacting someone in the group with mutual friends and introducing yourself and asking them. 
  • SF Queer House / Apartment / Room Share Listing
  • Friends Looking for SF Housing! - Anjou
  • Check if you qualify for Affordable Housing You never know what might come up. Also watch this space in general, SF’s policies and practices are always changing. Every politician wants to create more housing so while there is much strife there is constant movement in this space. 
  • Good Old Fashioned Deals: I came across this random building in North Beach with $700 studios. It’s real, my friend lives there.
  • Creative Solutions: If you’re sneaky, you can live in an art studio that does not officially allow living (shhh (but make sure it’s safe)), and shower at the gym. Live in a boat! Live in a van or car. Find a hiding spot in IKEA — kidding.
  • The Chalkboard: super super crunchy listserve (old skool) subscribe and check out their archive for prior posts archive goes back to 2006! Should take you at least 10 min of reading to initially navigate. I still don't know how to fully use it XD.
  • Shift Happens Volunteering: Want an affordable way to get out of town and go on an adventure? Volunteer at a festival! Look out for wooks!
  • Follow me on Instagram (@liz.cahll). I post every affordable housing opportunity I find and occasionally offer leads on some super-secret places.

How to Get Free Advice and Instant Community

For Bay Area-specific topics, I love Bay Area Realness . For more general crowdsourcing from the masses and human interaction, I love the Facebook group A Group Where We Pretend to Be a Family . It’s playful and, so far, seems wholesome. With over 360k members, it seems like a safe place to fish around for advice. You can post anonymously if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your business. 

I also love Bay Area 20s —don’t tell them I’m 31.

How to Get/Make Your Own Gig

Bay Area-Specific Gig Groups:

Other Options:

  • Post on your social media that you are looking for gigs - errands, organizing, clubbord cleaning, pet care, moving help, graphic design, haircuts, whatever skills you can offer the world let it be known. Share openly and honestly that it would be helpful for you to make some extra dough. Folks might come out of the woodwork. 
  • Flip thrifted items on Poshmark or sell on Facebook Marketplace. Best do things for types of items you have some knowledge of or interest in. 
  • Join gig work apps like Taskrabbit, Rover, Instacart, or UberEats.
  • Visit clubs and bars to find backup door or barback positions.
  • Call every workout studio to see if they are hiring a front desk person. 
  • Check Craigslist gigs (but watch for scams).

How to Get Free Stuff

I’m a big believer in the Buy Nothing Community so much that I admin three Buy Nothing groups with over 100K members combined. In these groups you can claim free stuff people are posting or post an ISO = In Search Of to seek an item. SF can be a lot to get around so try to spot things near your location for the larger groups or join a neighborhood specific one. 

Buy Nothing Groups:

  • Buy Nothing No Rules San Francisco
  • Free Clothing San Francisco
  • Fancy Free SF
  • Buy Nothing 24th St Mission
  • Burner Buy Nothing
  • https://buynothingproject.org/
  • Buy Nothing Bernal Heights Bootleg Addition
  • Buy Nothing Bay Area (Free Stuff)
  • Fancy Free East Bay

Clothing Swaps:

These magical events let you show up (no need to bring items) and walk out with a new wardrobe and new friends—for free! You can find these by searching through the Decentered Eventracker(more on that later) where we try to post every public swap we can find. 

Nonprofit Resources:

Don't be shy. Take advantage of services if you are in need. 

  • St. Anthony’s : Offers free meals and clothing. 
  • SF LGBTQ Center : A great connector for free clothing and other resources if you are a part of that community. 

Tips for Making a Good Online Impression:

I believe having fleshed-out social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn makes you look more legit, and people are more likely to respond to your Buy Nothing post, job, or housing application. Not everyone agrees with me because of privacy concerns, so ignore this piece if it doesn’t resonate with you. Or, suggest other ways to look verifiable (is this an actual use case for blockchain!?).

  1. Set Your Location:
  • Use San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, or whichever Bay Area city you live in.
  1. Have a Recent, Nice Profile Photo:
  • If you don’t have one, take a selfie (not in a car, for god's sake) or ask a stranger to take your picture at the Golden Gate Bridge or in a park.
  • Look happy and somewhat put together—even if you don’t feel that way.
  1. Check Your Recent Public Posts:
  • Be yourself, but pretend you’re putting your profiles together for a school project for your favorite teacher.

So much of offering someone help, housing, or a job comes down to vibe. This isn’t a guide on how to be a decent human (that’s another blog post), but try your best to be respectful and honest. Trust me, this goes a long, long way.

How to Get Mental Health Support

My friend, who has been through some tough times, shared this PDF for warmlines and crisis lines . Poor Magazine also shared this list of warmlines. 

What Are Warmlines?

Warmlines are for non-crisis situations where people just want someone to talk to. Some warmlines take calls from out of state.

Pro Tip:

Her advice is to call out-of-state lines for faster support.

Would love to expand this with more Bay Area specific resources - please comment or email liz@decentered.org with more. 

Low Income Support

Poor Magazine and PovertySkola are putting out resources and other empowering information “We r po,houseless,indigenous & resisting krapitalism by #unsellingmamaearth on stolen Land”. They are great to follow regardless of your circumstances to build empathy and awareness for what folks are going through and how you can support their resistance. 

Apply for EBT if you qualify. Here’s how! You can stretch your dollars by shopping at Farmer’s Markets.

SF Homeless Resource Guide - a continuously updated guide of SF specific resources. 

Food banks - and call 211

TooGoodToGo app - app fighting food waste by letting restaurants and stores sell low cost “surprise bags” for pickup at end of a day. There’s not a huge amount of selection, esp for those with dietary restrictions, but it can be cost effective. For groceries, you’re usually trading your money for time (produce may need to be used that day or next). Look for spots with good ratings.

Calling 311 in San Francisco is a way to get connected to different resources. 

Nonprofit Resources:

Don't be shy. Take advantage of services if you are in need. 

  • St. Anthony’s : Offers free meals and clothing. 
  • SF LGBTQ Center : A great connector for free clothing and other resources if you are a part of that community.  

Recovery Support

SF Recovery Theater - A grassroots volunteer run theater troupe for folks in recovery. 

SF and Marin County AA - The OG

The Castro Country Club - The Castro Country Club is a safe and sober community center for all people and a refuge for the LGBTQ recovery community.

How to Find Things to Do and Build Community

Check out the Decentered Arts Eventracker !

What We Track:

  • We skew towards promoting DIY events and events at small venues —basically, events that don’t have a formal promotional budget.
  • We support all genres of art, plus other community meetups and events. It doesn’t have to be an “arts” event! 

Note on Affordability:

I believe not all events should be free or cheap. It costs money to produce an event, and unless the event is corporate-sponsored, received a grant, is completely run off free labor, or sells high volumes of alcohol, organizers need to charge to cover costs.

It’s cool to pay artists and event workers. If you can’t afford an event, check to see if there is a NOTAFLOF (no one turned away for lack of funds) option.

Pro Tip:

If there isn’t a NOTAFLOF option, contact the organizers and ask to volunteer in exchange for a ticket. As an event organizer, I can always use an extra hand on deck and am happy to hook someone up with a ticket if they are interested in the event. Our friends’s the SF Neo-futurists do this. 

Trackers

Here’s a list of trackers to help you find events, meetups, and activities around the Bay Area:

Community Hubs

Places that are more than just venues:

San Francisco

East Bay

Happenings

Organizations We Love

About Decentered Arts

We are an artist-led San Francisco 501c3 building community using art of all mediums. We believe movements that shape the future will emerge from San Francisco, and it’s up to all of us here today to decide what they become. 

What We Do: 

  • Produce our own events: Decentered Open Mic, Writer’s Group, Poolside Poets, Fashion Shows, Arts Shows and more! 
  • Support artists with free documentation they can use for work samples - that lives on demand on our archive decentered.org. 
  • Lend our expertise and resources out to individual artists and organizations. 
  • Elevate other organizations and individual artists through digital products like our Eventracker and social media cross promotion. 
  • Publish videos, books and recorded albums. 

How you can support Decentered Arts:

🌴 Attend and or tell your friends about our upcoming Poolside Poets on 1/16 - see Eventracker

💗 Follow us on social media and like and share our content

🗓️ Visit our Eventracker, submit events to it and share it

💵 Drop us a donation on Butter and we are also on Benevity if you have corporate match.

💎 Introduce us to private foundations and fancy people that like to give big to the arts. Contact me via liz@decentered.org

📧 Send us grants to apply for

🫶 suggest collaborations you want to see us do

🌀 Keep making art in the community ❤

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About Liz Cahill

Liz Cahill is a poet, producer, artist and curator based in the Mission. Her writing explores the impacts of late stage capitalism, income inequality and waste, while trying to find beauty in the garbage age. She’s the co-founder of Decentered Arts, a non-profit building community through art of all mediums and the Piles Collective. Her first book Garbage Age lady is fourthcoming on Decentered Press.