Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Julia Stevens, a 25-year-old who recently moved to San Francisco. In August 2022, a few of my college friends who'd moved to San Francisco invited me to visit them. I'd traveled in Europe during college; even still, San Francisco was the most beautiful and striking place I'd ever seen. San Francisco was perfect for the career path I wanted to takeI majored in English and minored in environmental science. The cost of living is the biggest downsideI wasn't fully prepared for the high cost of living in SF .

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Persons: —, Julia Stevens, who'd, San Francisco, I'd, didn't, I've, I'm, outdoorsy, El Salvadorian, it'll Organizations: Service, Business, San, Facebook, Craigslist, Raleigh Locations: San Francisco, Raleigh, America, Europe, San, North Carolina, Santa Cruz, East