The first four of these are so beautiful it makes me want to move to SF...

From what I've learned of your rental series so far, I need far more shelving. Almost all of these homes are successful because of good shelving.

I live in SF and these folks must be making some serious cash because rent in SF is out of reach for most.
Renting a ROOM can run you $1000.00 a month..A ROOM FOLKS.
But SF is beautiful in the right areas. Some areas, as with most big cities can be down right frightful.

yup. i pay just under a grand for a room in SF, and the master roommate has been there for 7 years. sigh. i used to live on my own and pretty much went broke in under a year. i miss having my own space to decorate.

I'm looking for a place in SF (currently living in Mountain View) and my rental budget is $2500 for a 1 bedroom apartment, BUT average is closer to $3000-$3300 (again for a 1 bedroom!!!), it is a FIERCE market out there. These homes are so awesome looking, it is definitely something to aspire to!

Wow, guys, a grand to rent a room?
I am reading Chlamers's post and I am astonished. We were in SF on vacation last October and when in Japan town, we came across an open house for a lovely 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment (beautifully staged) that I think was listed for $900 K. It had a gorgeous Zen garden (that could be seen from the LR), shared to all apartments on the main floor, and a tiny little outdoor space off the kitchen (just enough for a BBQ and a table).
We thought it was terribly expensive although we have no idea what places in SF go for.
Reading the post about an average $3,000 rent for 1 bedroom puts the price of that high-end apartment into a completely different perspective.

Believe me, those apartments are not cheap. I lived in "cheap" apartments that had zero character, no parking, no laundry, in not so great hoods with roommates AND I paid around $800 for a room. That was a few years ago with rent control.

I still miss SF!

Whenever I see what others who live in big cities pay in rent, I feel good about living in South Dakota. I pay $855/month for a 2bed/1bath with full sized washer/dryer, 9ft ceilings, and underground parking. Indoor pool, theater, and gym are nice amenities. But the soft water is what sold me. I could get a similarly (sized) setup without the amenities/parking/laundry for about $600/month.

In Sioux Falls, $3k a month would get you a pretty nice house in a good neighborhood. The lofts downtown start at around $1k/month, but that's about the highest rental price that's not an executive estate.

I still giggle when I recall a time when I was visiting in Germany, and a native asked me where I live. When I said, "South Dakota", he asked what state that's in.

I'm with Alisonk on this one. I'm in Dallas, where I pay a little under a thousand for a 900 s.f. one bedroom with really nice finishes (wood floor, granite, not all my exact taste but this isn't a custom home, its temporary), full size washer/dryer, a walk in closet to die for, and a 9'x17' balcony.

If I had a roommate, I could have a 2 bedroom/2 bath in the same complex for about seven hundred a piece, max. I just love living on my own! I will probably relocate sometime in the next year, and im panicked about being thrown into the cold reality of real estate outside of Texas!

Yep, there's something to be said for "fly-over country" when it comes to costs. I'm leaving Dallas at the moment, but I was paying $750/month for a three-bedroom house in a safe (but not hip) neighborhood -- about 1,200 sf, w/d hookups, decent kitchen, original mid-century teal-tile bath (!!!), driveway (no garage but off-street parking) and spacious closets/storage. I'm moving to a small town in Oklahoma, where my rent is going up to $800, but I'm going to be in one of the nicest places in town -- an 1,800sf, three-bedroom duplex with high-end finishes, stained concrete floors that my cats won't be able to damage or destroy, top-notch kitchen with tons of storage and a two-car garage. If I'd ended up on either coast or even in Chicago, I'm not sure I could have afforded it!

I'm with the three posters above, I live in Lincoln Nebraska, and my rent is $665 for a two bedroom two bath with a full basement and half of a two car garage duplex. It also takes me less than 10 minutes to get to work.