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: