Moving from Europe to Cali with HUGE DOG - advice needed (San Francisco: apartments, to rent)

[joasal]

Hi all,

my wife and I are thinking of a move to CALI via internal company transfer. Location would be SAN FRANCISCO financial district (we are both working for a financial services company). We have no clue on where to live So every advice is more than welcome...

We are both in our late 20ies, no kids, only thing woth mentioning is that we have one HUGE dog (think BIG ).

Consequently we would need to look for a house rather than apartment. Our first question is, are houses cheaper than apts to rent ? In our current country (Switzerland) this is the case, but don't know for Cali.

If we look for a house where should we realistically look. We are not into the PARTY scene, so no need to be close to clubs, night life,...etc We are prepared to travel a bit, though this has to be reasonable (max 1H). We would also appreciate a location which is reachable via train (BART, ...etc) as we will not directly have a car and we heard traffic is a night mare.

We currently live in Switzerland so we think prices are comparable to Cali (2200 USD for a small 2 bedroom apartment is common here).

Nevertheless I think we will earn less in CALI so again, we are not looking to live in most expensive part of SAN FRAN. We are just looking for a good price/quality area and as mentioned we can compromise on the actual location.

As we have a large dog there must be space for walks. We cannot see ourselves living in the city centre, just not our cup of tea. Area must me quiet and safe.

So where should we go and look, taking into account our current situation.

Greetz
Joey

[UB50]

What breed is the dog? This could be an issue in the large cities in California. Is the dog fixed?

You might want to post this on the San Francisco boards.

[Jonotastic]

I'd recommend Walnut Creek. Nice scenery, nice downtown, BART stop, cheaper than SF. It's my favorite "suburb" type of city in the Bay Area. Best of luck on your move!

[Lovehound]

I'm just curious, what are the challenges and difficulties in importing a large dog, or any pet (dog, cat) for that matter? I'm sure there are quarantine issues...

I've always figured, got a dog? Get a house with a back yard. That's my solution, and my dog loves me for giving him a nice, big back yard.

[kettlepot]

In just about every case a house will be more expensive than a comparable apartment in a comparable neighborhood. However, apartments in the center of San Francisco will be more expensive than houses in the far suburbs.

Do NOT live within the city of San Francisco. It's expensive and it will be very difficult to give your dog the room he needs. He'll have to be inside all day long until you come back from work.

I really like the city of Alameda. Reasonably upscale without be overly expensive. Safe, small town feel (population 80k), yet quite close to the city. It doesn't have a direct BART connection, but getting to the BART station should be fairly easy as so many people in Alameda are doing it. After that, it's a ride under the bay and you are in San Francisco.

There are of course many other nice cities in the Bay Area, and many not nice ones, but Alameda is one city that I am familiar with.

And as the others said, you will probably get more responses if you post in the San Francisco forum.

[joasal]

Thanks for the advice so far

My dog is a NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF, it is a nice and friendly breed, but it can get heavy lol

Wallnut Creek and Alameda...I will check it out as I am planning a trip shortly. Any other recommendations are always welcome...

Here in Switzerland we have a rather big backyeard. Contrary to what people belief, my mastiff does not need a hugeee garden. Just a place so he can be outside during the day.

City centre is out of question, so we are looking for some nice areas (not overpriced) more on the outside, with a good connection to Financial District of San Fran.

By the way as for Cali, what do you guys think about the pet-friendliness. Is there a difference within CALI (eg SF SD LA) when it comes to more PET FRIENDLY places. Which areas would be ideal...

If we would move to TEXAS it would not be a concern, but as we are heading for CALI...we need to think about it....

greetz
Joa

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by joasal

Thanks for the advice so far

My dog is a NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF, it is a nice and friendly breed, but it can get heavy lol

Wallnut Creek and Alameda...I will check it out as I am planning a trip shortly. Any other recommendations are always welcome...

Here in Switzerland we have a rather big backyeard. Contrary to what people belief, my mastiff does not need a hugeee garden. Just a place so he can be outside during the day.

City centre is out of question, so we are looking for some nice areas (not overpriced) more on the outside, with a good connection to Financial District of San Fran.

By the way as for Cali, what do you guys think about the pet-friendliness. Is there a difference within CALI (eg SF SD LA) when it comes to more PET FRIENDLY places. Which areas would be ideal...

If we would move to TEXAS it would not be a concern, but as we are heading for CALI...we need to think about it....

greetz
Joa

Most of California is very pet friendly. A lot of people dine with their dogs at some of the outdoor restaurants. University Drive is a nice area to have dinner in Palo Alto. A great place to bring your dog is Fort Funston and Ocean Beach (off leash between Fulton Street to the Cliff House). I'd say what's not dog friendly about California are the homes...very small yards if any at all.

[momojojo]

San Francisco is known for being a very dog friendly town. If I'm not mistaken, other counties in CA have taken their shelter dogs to SF to be adopted, because so many people want dogs. I agree with the above posts - there are great towns outside of SF - some with great BART connections, other with ferry access. You should also check out Fairax, San Rafael, Sausalito...they are across the Golden Gate. Might be pricey though. Good luck.

[PiaNielsen]

I to am curious (as lovedog) about the restrictions/ problems etc about importing a dog fro, Europe to CA. Please share your experiences on the matter :-)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by joasal

my wife and I are thinking of a move to CALI
We have no clue on where to live
We are both in our late 20ies,
no kids

we have one HUGE dog

Consequently we would need to look for a house

We are prepared to travel a bit, though this has to be reasonable (max 1H).
We would also appreciate a location which is reachable via train
we will not directly have a car
traffic is a night mare
We are just looking for a good price/quality area

we can compromise
we have a large dog

there must be space for walks.
We cannot see ourselves living in the city
must me quiet and safe.

I can't believe how many posts I read from people that so immensely constrain their housing options simply because they have dogs. (I think they are Number 3 on City Data behind 1) People wanting to move from England and 2) people wanting to become a movie star.)

Instead of a realistic

"Budget of $2200, single, my job is downtown, looking for a apartment near fun, vibrant neighborhood with shopping, social activities, museums, entertainment, libraries, etc"

the inquiry is essentially limited to

"Budget of $2200, single, my job is downtown,... and because I have a dog, looking for a SFR with a yard (fifty miles from my job...in dull suburbia, full of families and amenities I don't need and will not use for ten years....)"