To chime in as someone who has very recently spent a lot of time in both London and SF, a 1.8:1 ratio (as in $1.8y is about the same as £y) is very roughly what I would have said for living costs between that pair, though living circumstances will vary significantly.
Pound to dollar exchange rates have moved a ton in the last few years, whereas I don’t think local salaries or costs of living have moved nearly as much, so I expect that 1.8:1 heuristic to be more stable/​useful than trying to do the same comparison including a currency conversion (depending what point in the last few years you picked/​moved, that ratio would imply anywhere between a 1.05x increase and a 1.55x increase).
To chime in as someone who has very recently spent a lot of time in both London and SF, a 1.8:1 ratio (as in $1.8y is about the same as £y) is very roughly what I would have said for living costs between that pair, though living circumstances will vary significantly.
Pound to dollar exchange rates have moved a ton in the last few years, whereas I don’t think local salaries or costs of living have moved nearly as much, so I expect that 1.8:1 heuristic to be more stable/​useful than trying to do the same comparison including a currency conversion (depending what point in the last few years you picked/​moved, that ratio would imply anywhere between a 1.05x increase and a 1.55x increase).