Alex Melendrez used to have a hyper-specific idea of how his 20s would look: living in a trendy San Francisco neighborhood; catching concerts and shows on weeknights; grabbing meals with friends at a hip new restaurant down the street. 

But by the time Melendrez turned 31 last spring, he was unintentionally contributing to a steep decline in San Francisco’s population of young people. Despite being a UC Berkeley grad with a full-time job in community organizing and an elected position in county government, Melendrez hadn’t moved out of his childhood bedroom in San Bruno, much less built a life for himself in the big city. 

At a time when many millennials and Gen Zers can’t expect to earn more money than their parents did, the relatively small percentage of young adults who can afford to live in San Francisco is having a harder time justifying it. In interviews with the Chronicle, more than a dozen young people who either left San Francisco within the past decade or chose not to move there could distill their takes on the city to three words: Not worth it. 

Some of the same trendy neighborhoods Melendrez once daydreamed about are no longer immune from street crime and lackluster nightlife. Then there are the exorbitant rents and high taxes, which make saving for a house difficult — if not impossible.