Moving near San Francisco - need advice, fast (San Jose, Oakland: for sale, apartment complexes)

[souryab]

Hi,

I have got a job offer for a company operating out of downtown San Francisco. I currently live in Chicago with my wife. Need some help regarding housing options in nearby towns:

Mandatory Requirements:

1. Cheap and safe locality (looking for something within $2000)
2. 1 bed room apartment
3. Has public transport connectivity to San Francisco

Nice to have:

1. Indian community
2. No or minimum parking charges (I plan to bring my car over and use it for groceries. I don't plan to drive to San Francisco)

Not necessary:

1. Good schools - we don't have children, yet

Would appreciate some quick and useful advice. Planned move is in 2 weeks. Can stay in hotel for 2 weeks before finalizing apartment.

[HappyinCali]

Fremont.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not ok

Large indian community and has a BART station which will drop you right in downtown.

It will take you about 1:15 mins by train so you can read and stuff.

Good luck!

[Chuck5000]

You haven't said much, but it is very, very very likely that whatever you are being paid in the new job, it won't come even close to allowing you to maintain your current standard of living re: home size, home location, home quality, and access to public schools

I.e. pay in San Francisco and Silicon Valley is indeed higher, but not nearly enough higher to make up for the extreme housing costs. My advice is to not move here unless a) you are getting a kick to your career that you will not get anywhere else - emphasize *anywhere* else, and b) you are down for living in a region that is much like Manhattan in one key way - you will become obsessed with cost of living; cost pressures will be constant.

The pressure is intense. Be sure that you're up for it. Roughly, I'd guess that if you can earn twice as much as you're earning in Chicago, you can stay at parity re: quality of life.

[PBob]

I would "second" Fremont and surrounding areas (e.g., Newark)

[souryab]

Thank you for the advice, people.

Yes, Fremont seems to be a suitable choice. I've been reading up on it, and with BART connectivity, can definitely work for me.

And speaking of choice, I don't have a lot of options at the moment. I've been downsized from my job in Chicago , and being on a work visa, I have to get back on the workforce immediately to retain my legal status. To put things in perspective, I was making $126k in Chicago and have been offered $145k for the job in San Francisco.

As a married man with a non-earning wife, what kind of take-home can I expect with this figure? There will be no 401k deductions.

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

You haven't said much, but it is very, very very likely that whatever you are being paid in the new job, it won't come even close to allowing you to maintain your current standard of living re: home size, home location, home quality, and access to public schools

He just wants a one bedroom apartment, dude, not a SFH.

[neutrino78x]

OP, 140k is a fine salary. That's middle class, here. After taxes you're going to make around 100k, I would guess. Never mind the silly naysayers. They think that if, in a given area, you can't afford to buy your own single family home, it means you're living in poverty. You could buy a small two bedroom condo in the Bay Area on that salary. I agree with the other poster who said Fremont might be good. Oakland would be good also, or living down here in Silicon Valley. If you get something in downtown San Jose, you could walk to CalTrain and that will take you to jobs in San Francisco.

But yeah, close to BART in Fremont sounds good.

[Ruth4Truth]

Fremont is a no-brainer. It's become a huge south-Asian community, OP, and has a commuter rail link to downtown SF. It's also slightly more affordable (a very relative term in the inner Bay Area) than many other options. Take a look at Craigslist rental listings for Fremont to get an idea.

[souryab]

Thanks guys. I will be focusing on Fremont, then.
So, 100k after taxes? 8k a month will actually be slightly more than my take-home in Chicago @126k per year.

BTW, I'm not too hung up on the Indian community thing. I don't want to live in an exclusively Indian atmosphere like, say Edison NJ. I'm not trying to act snobbish, but too many Indians in one place can get pretty raucous, and I do prefer some peace and quiet.

As for quality of life, I realize there may be a slight decrease as far as housing arrangements go. I own a 2 BR condo here on Chicago that I'm now listing for sale, and the mortgage + HOA is around the same to rent a 2 BR in Fremont. But I've realized the two of us don't really need that much space and am comfortable renting a 1 BR, at least until we understand our monthly expenses.

Speaking of monthly expenses, any ideas of what a non-extravagant couple without children may expect to incur? Also, when I see monthly rent numbers on rent.com, apartment.com, etc., are those numbers inclusive of parking? Is Internet typically included or is that a separate charge? Finally, any apartment complexes or gated communities you guys recommend in Fremont?

[neutrino78x]

Well, there are two bedroom condos in Silicon Valley you could own on that salary, in the 300-600k range. People on here will say condos aren't livable, if you don't own the building and the land underneath you're living in poverty, etc. But you have a perfectly fine middle class salary for the area, OP. I would think that you would do well here. Middle class here is owning a two bedroom condo or renting a two bedroom apartment (or one bedroom if you don't have kids).

My favorite place is downtown San Jose, in Silicon Valley. I lived there for a year and can't wait to move back. It will be a little while, though. But if your job is in San Francisco, you could live in downtown San Jose and take CalTrain to San Francisco. It doesn't have wifi and they STILL have not made it electric (it's a diesel train, unlike BART, which is electric) but I enjoy riding it.

Be sure to check craigslist for rentals. That's where everybody goes. Especially if you don't mind sharing an apartment with other people (as long as you have your own room). But even if you want to concentrate on having the whole apartment to yourself, craigslist is still the dominant source. You want the "apartments and housing" area of craigslist if you want a whole apartment to yourself, and "rooms and shares" if you don't mind roommates.

As far as internet included with apartments, it all depends, man. You have to check with the owner of the place you're considering.