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Hello, I am an east-coaster looking to move to the Bay Area after I graduate college at the end of this year. I realize the entire area is expensive, but does anyone have recommendations about areas that are:
1. Good for young people
2. Not outrageously expensive (not downtown SF)
3. Communting distance from SF, like under an hour commute.
1. horribly immoral, 'anything goes' attitude, not good for anyoneQuote:
Originally Posted by TheMagnanimous
2. outrageously expensive, even many, many miles away from city
3. commute ? ... takes an hour to cross the street sometimes
yeah, I know, I have a negative attitude about the Bay Area (gives California a bad name) :wtf:
1. I like the "anything goes" attitude.
2. It may be expensive, but it has a high quality of life and I doubt I would get bored.
3. Your exaggeration is not particularly helpful.
1) Horribly immoral? idk I've met nicer people here in SF than in NY, LA, or SD people mind their own business idk what other immoralities you speak of besides the high crime rate and homeless populationQuote:
Originally Posted by the image reaper
2) true, if you live in Daly City (south of SF) its about 1700-2300 for a 3 bedroom so its a little more expensive than LA or SD
3) commuting sucks if you are driving, if you don't mind public transportation, you can live by the BART or MUNI and get downtown pretty fast
I personally have a car and don't mind it at all, the only thing that REALLY peeves me in SF, is that there is ABSOLUTELY NO PARKING ANYWHERE! >__<
Hi, TheMagnanimous. I have lived in the Bay Area for most of my life.
SF is expensive of course.
If you go South (the "Peninsula") towards San Jose it stays expensive much of the time because you are headed into Silicon Valley. There are some cheapish places available - the less desirable areas of San Mateo, Redwood City. And Pacifica which is quite close to the city is still not too bad $$$ which I never understood. I like Pacifica though it gets quite foggy. I also know a guy who bought a condo in Millbrae for a very reasonable price.
In the East Bay the situation is similar. If you were willing to move to Concord or Pittsburg you could find cheap lodgings. In those towns, you will find many people who resemble the second poster in this thread. Very conservative, Republican areas. Not my cup of tea (but may be yours, I don't know). I'd rather live in West Oakland (no I'm not suggesting that either).
There are some interesting towns north of Oakland. I used to live in El Cerrito which was okay. And towns like Pinole, Hercules, El Sobrante are not too bad.
North of the city (North Bay) is your best bet in my opinion. You can still find reasonable prices in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Napa - anywhere in Sonoma or Napa counties (forget Marin county!). These are within your hour limit. And if you want really cheap, go up to Lake County, etc. However, you will be pushing your one hour limit.
I do believe that the North Bay is the most desirable area for the $. Wine country and all that, and often close to the ocean of course.
But the traffic situation in the NBay is bad. If you are going to commute to SF from there, the times during rush hour will be considerably extended. But the East Bay is no better. Distances from the Peninsula are shorter so the commute is shorter. Actually the commutes here are awful everywhere.
There are less populous places to the West that can be cheaper too. Actually these would be areas that are South of Pacifica on Hwy 1.
This is all relative. When I say that the NBay is reasonable, I am probably seeing it from a Bay Area perspective. You may find it all outrageous. Also this is based somewhat on my house hunting experience five years ago. But things haven't changed that much.
I'm sure this is all very confusing. There are three major cities in the Bay Area (four if you count Santa Rosa) and many places to live. You know my recommendation (NBay).
If you have any specific questions, ask. I'll try to watch this thread. Someone else please chime in for TheMagnanimous (my opinion is not enough), and also correct any misconceptions I might have because the Bay Area is large and complex.
Good luck, TheMagnanimous. And, welcome - if you actually do move out here. :):smokin:
Never heard of Pittsburg being Republican, but your assessment of the Bay is pretty spot on. I'm currently working in Concord and living in Martinez, though I want to move back out to Daly City area sometime.
I really should have left out the socio-political comment. It was just a reaction to the second post but trying to keep it non-personal.Quote:
Originally Posted by west coast style
I'm sure you're right. I once had a grilfriend in Pittsburg, developed an impression, and generalized from there. :(
:)
I do not have a car and would not plan on getting one so I would want to be somewhere on BART because I am likely to work in San Fran or Oakland I would think so somewhere not too far out.
Thanks for the help so far I have only been to the bay area once, spent 2 days in Berkeley and one day driving around SF so I do not know much about the area.
Okay, that limits your options considerably - which may not be a bad thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMagnanimous
Although there are people who take buses and ferries and trains, it is my opinion that BART is the only tolerable form of transit for a long commute.
THe North Bay is out - you do not want to be using the GG bus service and then transferring to another bus when you reach the city, etc.
The Peninsula is still an option but only as far south as Millbrae. There is a train service that goes further south though it is not as fast or convenient as BART and it only takes you to one point in the city (SF).
But BART is extensive in the East Bay around Oakland. And it goes to many points in SF. So you may want to do something like west coast style (see his post above) and live in Walnut Creek, Concord, that area. Or El Cerrito. San Leandro, Hayward is an option, but not one that I would choose personally.
Here is a map of the BART system. Notice how extensive it is in the East Bay.
San Francisco Airport BART Map
Yeah, BART is pretty easy to access. I take it out to Oakland and SF all the time, and it's pretty quick, too. I can get from Walnut Creek station to Civic Center station in SF in like around 40 minutes or less.
Check up on craigslist.com and try to look for spots.