Need to move to San Francisco by 11th. Any advice?

[mayorhaggar]

Well San Mateo shouldn't be as stressful for finding an apartment as SF is. I know hotels near the airport can be cheap compared with SF (like $60-80 compared with 150-200 a night), if you can afford it maybe stay at one for a couple days until you find an apartment, it just depends on your budget. Good luck, you have a job lined up which is much farther along than many people who want to move to the Bay Area have, I think you'll be fine.

[turbored]

San Mateo is a great place to live, especially by the downtown. Probably the best restaurants on the Peninsula.

[NorCalLover]

yeah, the market is still really THAT rough for sublets. I emailed tons of people, saw five places in SF and two places in Berkeley over one weekend, and ended up just taking the room that one couple in SF offered me on the spot. Which was a smart move, since none of the other SF places ever got back to me.

I think it's smart that you're going to start out living in San Mateo by your job. I looked at a couple of places in Berkeley by BART as backups (I work right by a BART station in SF) if I couldn't find a sublet in the city itself. From temp housing in San Mateo you'll be near your job and be able to look in the city while having a roof over your head. Or if you like San Mateo you can stay! It'll definitely be easier to find a place there.

FWIW, I found getting my new studio a lot easier than the sublet. I saw a place that looked good on craigslist, went to the showing, schmoozed with the leasing agent appropriately, and (according to the agent) beat out lots of other applicants. I definitely got lucky, but I'm not complaining!

[YoungAccountant]

Originally Posted by NorCalLover

yeah, the market is still really THAT rough for sublets. I emailed tons of people, saw five places in SF and two places in Berkeley over one weekend, and ended up just taking the room that one couple in SF offered me on the spot. Which was a smart move, since none of the other SF places ever got back to me.

I think it's smart that you're going to start out living in San Mateo by your job. I looked at a couple of places in Berkeley by BART as backups (I work right by a BART station in SF) if I couldn't find a sublet in the city itself. From temp housing in San Mateo you'll be near your job and be able to look in the city while having a roof over your head. Or if you like San Mateo you can stay! It'll definitely be easier to find a place there.

FWIW, I found getting my new studio a lot easier than the sublet. I saw a place that looked good on craigslist, went to the showing, schmoozed with the leasing agent appropriately, and (according to the agent) beat out lots of other applicants. I definitely got lucky, but I'm not complaining!

That's awesome. Congrs. Which city did you coming from?

[YoungAccountant]

So, today I finally accept their offering and I am starting on the 20th. I will be taking my car to San Mateo from the East Coast. 2200 Miles!@#$%^ I am planning to break down the driving into 4 days.

[Jasmine658]

When I moved back from NYC, I used a car shipping service - was $1000 cross-country and my car arrived somehow before I did, and I flew instead. Probably would have cost about the same - gas, hotels, car wear & tear. Something to consider, but may be fun to see some sights along the way and do the drive instead. My problem was, every time did cross-country drive, would get speeding tickets every state, so stopped doing that.

[80skeys]

I've been living and working in the Bay Area since last September (having come from Western Colorado) and what I've observed is that San Francisco is not particularly "fast paced" but people in the office setting are very focused on their work. People have a really good work ethic - putting in longer hours, not goofing off. At least in the startup environment I'm in. You can probably expect the same where you'll be working. To make a favorable impression, plan on working 9 or 10 hours a day (most other people are doing it), and keeping the "chat time" at work to a minimum.

Other than that, SF culture seems fairly balanced and laid back.

As for housing, craigslist is definitely the way to go. San Mateo is a reasonable choice. It's about 25 minutes on the Caltrain and has some really nice neighborhoods.

The farther south you go on the Peninsula, the cheaper (and nicer) it gets. You pay less for much nicer apartments.

[YoungAccountant]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

I've been living and working in the Bay Area since last September (having come from Western Colorado) and what I've observed is that San Francisco is not particularly "fast paced" but people in the office setting are very focused on their work. People have a really good work ethic - putting in longer hours, not goofing off. At least in the startup environment I'm in. You can probably expect the same where you'll be working. To make a favorable impression, plan on working 9 or 10 hours a day (most other people are doing it), and keeping the "chat time" at work to a minimum.

Other than that, SF culture seems fairly balanced and laid back.

As for housing, craigslist is definitely the way to go. San Mateo is a reasonable choice. It's about 25 minutes on the Caltrain and has some really nice neighborhoods.

The farther south you go on the Peninsula, the cheaper (and nicer) it gets. You pay less for much nicer apartments.

Nice. What type of industry do you work in if you don't mind me asking.

[NorCalLover]

Originally Posted by YoungAccountant

That's awesome. Congrs. Which city did you coming from?

I moved from the Sacramento area - a lot less intimidating than what you're doing, but I know what you're going through. Five years ago I moved drove Chicago to San Jose with no clue where I'd be living once I got there. Obviously it all worked out, and I'm alive to tell the tale. good luck!