Checklist: how to move to the San Francisco Bay Area

HOW TO MOVE
to the
San Francisco Bay Area

Place Scout for Startup People | teleport.orgPlace Scout for Startup People | teleport.org
THE LURE OF SILICON VALLEY
PLACE SCOUT FOR STARTUP PEOPLE | teleport.org
SAN
FRANCISCO
BAY AREA

Place Scout for Startup People | teleport.org
TELEPORT HELPS YOU
MOVE TO THE BAY AREA
using a real-life-proven checklist

BEFORE YOU MOVE:
Budget your move
Choose the best local bank
Get pre-emptive tax advice
Sort out healthcare
Scan important documents
Decide what to do with your
current home
Decide what to bring along
Move your stuff
Pick the destination
Find a job
Set the relocation date
Get the right visa
Find who has done this before
to ask questions
Decide on where to live
Buy plane tickets
Stay connected
Figure out transportation

FIND A JOB
Looking to land your dream position? Good places to look online
include:
Tip: if there are any companies you admire specifically, have a look at
their Jobs pages - they probably are hiring. It is Silicon Valley, after all.
Also, if you know you’ll be moving, consider changing your location to SF
Bay Area in social networks to attract possible employers.

SET THE RELOCATION DATE
Why do you need to have a set date?
• To book your travel arrangements ahead of time and get a
good deal
• To know when to start or end your rent/other contracts
• Setting a certain date and planning for it gives you a definite
goal to work towards, rather than “sometime soon”

GET THE RIGHT VISA
Find out all your VISA requirements to
• get your documents sorted on time
• find out any special requirements that might apply to you
Start by finding the right visa type from this government website.
Once you know which one you need, Teleborder can make the paperwork
preparations an actually pleasant experience.

SEEK OUT WHO HAS DONE THIS BEFORE
(TO ASK QUESTIONS WHEN NEEDED)
Here are some Q&A forums with people who are a step ahead of
you:
• If you’re a Teleport for Startup Cities user, you can Ask a Local
• Moving to the Bay Area on Reddit
• Bay Area on Reddit
• Bay Area on Quora

DECIDE ON WHERE TO LIVE
Protip: Bay Area rental market is so hot it is pointless to try to find the
place remotely. Stage the move to two:
• Step 1: Get a place for temporary stay upon arrival
• Step 2: Start looking for a real home once settled
- define your requirements: house/apartment? how many rooms?
amenities?
- run a search for the best neighborhood on Bay Area Teleport
- find the right real estate/rent sites: Lovely, Zillow and Craigslist

BUY PLANE TICKETS
Time to go!
• Find the best travel deals on online booking sites - have a look at
SkyScanner, Hipmunk or HopOn
• If you don’t have a certain moving date set yet, consider following
San Francisco on Hitlist to get automatic alerts on super cheap
flight deals from where you are

STAY CONNECTED
• Get a local phone number if you don’t have one yet - there are
several cell phone carriers in the U.S. If you’re on the move a lot, we
suggest T-mobile because of the free international roaming option.
Not sure? Here’s a handy guide by Cnet on which provider to choose.
• Get online (at your new home /mobile data)

FIGURE OUT TRANSPORTATION
Think of the best transportation options for you:
• Do you need a new car? Try Craigslist, Beepi or Carlypso.
• Do you need to move your old car to your new location?
• Do you want to use public transport?
Pro tip: if you have a driver’s license, you should definitely make sure
what the terms are for renewing or changing it - the rules and
regulations vary in different states.

BUDGET YOUR MOVE BASED ON ABOVE
Taking everything above into consideration, calculate the
approximate cost of your move. This includes:
• Visa costs (if there are any)
• Temporary living arrangements in the beginning (if needed)
• Rent contract start costs (deposit, first month’s rent)
• Travel (plane tickets, buses, any other transport)
• Moving costs for your belongings (shipping your things/car/pets etc)
Pro tip: you can ask a Teleport Scout to do this for you!

CHOOSE THE BEST LOCAL BANK
Choose your bank, and then:
1) Open an account (some branches don't demand a social security
number)
2) Move your money in with Transferwise
3) Get any kind of credit card (likely needs a deposit) to start building
the foundation of your life in US: credit history (see Credit Karma)
4) Decide if you need to keep your old account with your previous
bank - if not, close your cards and end your contract.

SORT OUT HEALTHCARE
Healthcare is something you want to get figured out as soon as
possible.
1) Your employer's corporate plan is probably the easiest way to go, but if
you're on your own, GeoBlue has plans with an international twist
2) BetterDoctor is the transparent place to find a general practitioner,
dentist and any other speciality doctors you might need
Tip: If you have any pets, you might want to find the nearest vet to you as
well.

SCAN ALL IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS FOR
BACKUP
Make sure that everything that matters to you is backed up:
• on a workspace such as Evernote
• or uploaded to a cloud service such as DropBox or Google Drive

DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR
CURRENT HOME
• Decide what to do with your current place:
a. end your rent contract
b. sublet using Airbnb or Flatbook
c. sell it
• End all supplier contracts not needed in your new home (utilities,
communications, services)

DECIDE WHAT TO BRING ALONG
• Figure out if and which things you want to give away (to relatives,
friends, family, charity)
• Sell the things you don't need on:
a. Amazon
b. eBay
c. Craigslist
… but in many markets: whatever is your local, highest traffic second
hand sales site

MOVE YOUR STUFF
You can either:
a. hire the right movers (compare prices and choose one – try
MoveBuddha for example)
b. pack up or hire someone to do it for you
Tip: when packing your belongings, pack an “essentials” box with
everything you know you’ll need to use right away - this will make the first
few days in your new home a lot easier.

Place Scout for Startup People | teleport.orgPLACE SCOUT FOR STARTUP PEOPLE | teleport.org
WHEN YOU’VE ARRIVED
Unpack
Update to your new address
Buy what you have decided not to bring
Get to know the neighbourhood
Finalize services/contracts that needed physical presence
Meet like-minded people
Start your new job

UNPACK
Unpacking can take a lot more time than you’d think - creating a
system for everything in your new home can be challenging.
• Unpack your essentials box first so you have everything you might
need right away on hand.
• The bedroom and kitchen are the first rooms you want to focus on - a
good night’s sleep is important and the sooner you get your kitchen
ready, the less money you’ll spend on fast food and eating out.

UPDATE TO YOUR NEW ADDRESS
Remember and update everything that needs your address,
for example:
• e-commerce sites
• deliveries
• contracts
• newsletters and updates

BUY WHAT YOU HAVE DECIDED NOT TO
BRING
Make a list of things you don’t have but that you’re going to need:
• Kitchen appliances
• Cleaning and bathroom essentials
• Groceries for a few days
Pro tip: sign up for Amazon Prime, Instacart and DoorDash for speedy
and hassle-free shopping and delivery

GET TO KNOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Make a list of all the places/services that are important for
you and find out where they are. These might include:
• Grocery stores/shopping
• Entertainment
• Hospitals/emergency services
• Gyms, parks etc

FINALIZE SERVICES/CONTRACTS THAT
NEEDED PHYSICAL PRESENCE
Make sure that you’ve got all of your new important
contracts covered and signed, including:
• Rent contract
• New bank account
• Communications (phone, internet)
• Health insurance

MEET LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE
There are several sites to help you find your people:
• Meetup and Skout are good sites to meet new people
• Eventbrite helps you find free events in your area
• Down to Lunch with your new friends? Let them know.

START YOUR NEW JOB
There are a couple of things you can do before starting your new
job to make it easier:
• If you work in an office, find out the best ways for you to get there
yourself or by public transport.
• Find some good food and coffee places near where you work for
lunch breaks and meetings.
• Have a chat with your employer and/or coworkers to make sure
you’re on the same page about your tasks and assignments.

WHEN YOU’VE SETTLED
(don’t forget things happening 30-60-90-180
days later)
File the right taxes
Celebrate your first anniversary in the Bay Area!

FILE THE RIGHT TAXES
• Get pre-emptive tax advice way ahead of time
• Visit your state’s government site to find out about the taxes
you have to pay.
• Make sure you’re aware of all the dates and deadlines for
filing your CA and US federal taxes.
Pro tip: the Teleport mobile app will notify you about important
deadlines

CELEBRATE YOUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY IN
BAY AREA!
Congratulations! You’ve successfully moved to the Bay Area!
Now that you’ve settled in and made sure everything is a-okay, how
about you go have a drink with some new friends!

Your feedback is important
Please do let us know how your move went!
We appreciate any tips about what we should add to the checklist to
make it even more useful for people on the move. If you have any
feedback, please drop us an e-mail at contact@teleport.org
And remember, Teleport for Startup Cities is always there to discover,
budget and help with your next move.
Your friends at Teleport

STARTUPS ARE EVERYWHERE

STARTUP PEOPLE MOVE AROUND
Hire, or get hired Face time with team
Escape tax & regulatory burdenReduce commute
Raise funding
Spend time with clients Live a fulfilling life
Bootstrap or extend runway

FREE
PEOPLE
MOVE
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PRINTABLE APPENDIX

THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU MOVE:
Budget your move
Choose the best local bank
Get pre-emptive tax advice
Sort out healthcare
Scan all important documents
Decide what to do with your curren
home
Decide what to bring along
Move your stuff
Pick the destination
Find a job
Set the relocation date
Get the right visa
Find who has done this before
to ask questions
Decide on where to live
Buy plane tickets
Stay connected
Figure out transportation

Checklist: how to move to the San Francisco Bay Area

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Checklist: how to move to the San Francisco Bay Area