Places to Live in Northern California (Oakland, Berkeley: apartments, rental, school)

[chicago81]

Hey all,
so im looking for some great cities to move to that are within a 20 mile radius of Berkeley, which is where my boyfriend plans on going to school. We would love to move to a fun, artsy, liberal town up north thats in our price range. We both make around 23K a year and are looking for apartments for around $1,000 a month. If you guys have any suggestions or advice, please let me know. Thanks!

[Snort]

You don't get much more liberal than Berkeley. That's your place.

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by chicago81

Hey all,
so im looking for some great cities to move to that are within a 20 mile radius of Berkeley, which is where my boyfriend plans on going to school. We would love to move to a fun, artsy, liberal town up north thats in our price range. We both make around 23K a year and are looking for apartments for around $1,000 a month. If you guys have any suggestions or advice, please let me know. Thanks!

That is going to be a challenge.
So when you say north, do you mean Marin County?
Do you not want to live in Berkley?
The money and time you will save in not having to commute (which can be very intense) might make living in Berkley a better option.
1K a month for a rental is very low for the bay area ... for much of coastal CA.
Check it out to get a sense of rental prices.
If anything looks do-able, you could then inquire about that community.
craigslist: san francisco bay area

[Hadley831]

East Bay traffic can be atrocious. I would try to live in Berkeley, you might get lucky and find a studio or one bedroom there for 1,000/month. Alameda is worth looking at, for a second choice.

[NorCalLover]

You can probably find a one-bedroom for $1000 a month in Berkeley, particularly if you look in the South Berkeley area near Ashby or maybe West Berkeley. (Make sure you visit the place, as some parts of South Berkeley are safe and some or not, it varies by block.) I'd also look in the Rockridge and Lake Merritt areas of Oakland. North Oakland (Temescal) would also have options for you, but like the Ashby area you'd want to look at the safety on a street-by-street basis.

The cheapest option of all would probably be El Cerrito or maybe Albany. Neither of these cities are as interesting but would be a quick ride via public transportation into Berkeley / Oakland and be less expsneive.

[lrmsd]

Petaluma,[take the richmond bridge to san rafael and then up the 101,probably slightly more than 20 miles....]again,traffic at certain/most times. But it's a cute,artsy downtown and has some nice things happening. Otherwise,yea,mill valley or fairfax,and your BF would take public transit,but that would an awfully long commute!!! and pricey.

Stick w/east bay,as mentioned. Alameda or piedmont,but they are urban(though less 'street by streeet' in certain areas than ashby or oakland areas mentioned). sigh. it's all kind of hit or miss. lol.

Those are really the best choices in the east bay.

[grimstuff]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

Petaluma,[take the richmond bridge to san rafael and then up the 101,probably slightly more than 20 miles....]again,traffic at certain/most times. But it's a cute,artsy downtown and has some nice things happening. Otherwise,yea,mill valley or fairfax,and your BF would take public transit,but that would an awfully long commute!!! and pricey.

Stick w/east bay,as mentioned. Alameda or piedmont,but they are urban(though less 'street by streeet' in certain areas than ashby or oakland areas mentioned). sigh. it's all kind of hit or miss. lol.

Those are really the best choices in the east bay.

Commuting from Petaluma to Berkeley everyday? You've got to be kidding. Not only is it much farther than 20 miles, but traffic around San Rafael on the 101 is often just about the worst it can get. In my opinion, that would be a nightmare commute.