Will work at SoMa, wanna find a 1B/1B Apt, downtown or close cities? (San Francisco: apartments, leasing)

[ChanceCola]

Hi there,

I'm going to start my first job at SoMa (close to ATT park) and looking for a 1B/1B apartment not too far away.

My considerations:
1, Safety always comes first
2, Commute time is better below 30mins
3, Away from the horrible fog (love the south bay, but apparently too far away)
4, Prefer a "spacious" feeling (I'm now staying in SoCal, perfect except the super hot summer)
5, Wanna keep my car (my company will pay the parking in the city)
6, budget around $1500, can be higher if in the city

I have done some initial research, and find the Peninsula seems a good choice.
-Won't consider Daly city, South San Francisco and San Bruno mainly because of the weather, though they are close to the city
-Focusing on Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo
-Foster City, Belmont, San Carlos are also good, especially warmer/less foggy weather, but seems a little bit far (how about the traffic on 101 at rush hour? I will first go 101 and then merge to 280)
-Haven't checked the city and the easy bay areas, any recommendations?


What do you guys think?
Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

[bmw335xi]

SOMA isn't that foggy. The fog comes from the Pacific Ocean, so the further away from the coast, the less fog. If you decide to commute from San Mateo etc, you could also take Caltrain which stops near AT&T Park. I'd recommend looking for a studio in SOMA though.

[mkl654321]

Caveat: if you don't want to be blighted by that icky horrid fog, none of your choices will distance you from it. You have to go as far east as Livermore (quoth the raven) before you don't get fogged.

That said, it makes a huge difference just where you are. Gaps in the coastal hills make one city fog over by 4 PM while another three miles away remains sunny for much longer. The same is true for the City itself.

I recommend that since you work in SoMa, that you live there and don't have to screw around with commuting, which is never pleasant, always tedious, and can be infuriating. It's also expensive. Get used to, even learn to enjoy the fog. It beats getting baked to a crisp IMHO. (And for what it's worth, you are on the east side of SF, which gets foggy later in the day and clears up earlier than, say, the Richmond or Sunset.)

[mayorhaggar]

Definitely stick to the eastern side of the Peninsula. I think from around Millbrae south there isn't really any fog (maybe a bit creeping over the hills) but the further south you go the warmer it gets, but it doesn't really get oppressively hot like somewhere like Pleasanton or Walnut Creek do.

Since your office is near the 4th and King Caltrain stop near the ballpark, Caltrain could be a good alternative to driving. If you get a Baby Bullet it's only 30 minutes from Redwood City I think. Check out the schedules, Caltrain pretty much always runs on time so its schedules are very reliable. Driving is ok but traffic on 101 can be really bad, 280 is usually way better.

Anyway I'd look in and around the Millbrae and San Mateo areas. If prices seem too expensive then maybe look into the East Bay which is cheaper. But driving would mean a $6 bridge toll every day from the East Bay (BART runs through Market Street and is not convenient at all for getting to the airport) and while driving from Oakland isn't too bad, driving to SF from somewhere like Walnut Creek or whatever can be a drag.

[ChanceCola]

Thanks for the suggestions to live at SoMa, bmw335xi and mkl654321
However, the apartments at SoMa are really limited and easily go up to $2K/month.
Also, if living in the city, my leasing car would have to stay in the garage for the most of time...

[mayorhaggar]

You're not going to find a 1br for around $1500 easily in SF, maybe a studio. If you want "spacious" you're not going to find it in SF. Pretty much anywhere else in the Bay Area is more spread out, SF is mostly apartment buildings and houses that are literally built cheek to jowl, out in the Sunset there's entire blocks of houses with no spaces between them, they just built them all together in a line. I like the denseness of SF but again if you personally want "spacious" and a "Socal" feel then I'm not sure SF is for you.

[ChanceCola]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Definitely stick to the eastern side of the Peninsula. I think from around Millbrae south there isn't really any fog (maybe a bit creeping over the hills) but the further south you go the warmer it gets, but it doesn't really get oppressively hot like somewhere like Pleasanton or Walnut Creek do.

Yes, that's exactly what I found! The weather in the areas from south Millbrae is much better (less foggy) than South San Francisco, Daly city, etc.
How about the neighborhood of Millbrae, Burlingame and San Mateo?

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Since your office is near the 4th and King Caltrain stop near the ballpark, Caltrain could be a good alternative to driving. If you get a Baby Bullet it's only 30 minutes from Redwood City I think. Check out the schedules, Caltrain pretty much always runs on time so its schedules are very reliable. Driving is ok but traffic on 101 can be really bad, 280 is usually way better.

Anyway I'd look in and around the Millbrae and San Mateo areas. If prices seem too expensive then maybe look into the East Bay which is cheaper. But driving would mean a $6 bridge toll every day from the East Bay (BART runs through Market Street and is not convenient at all for getting to the airport) and while driving from Oakland isn't too bad, driving to SF from somewhere like Walnut Creek or whatever can be a drag.

CalTrain stop is quite close to my office. I will try both CalTrain and driving by myself to see which one is better

Thanks!

[mkl654321]

Originally Posted by ChanceCola

Thanks for the suggestions to live at SoMa, bmw335xi and mkl654321
However, the apartments at SoMa are really limited and easily go up to $2K/month.
Also, if living in the city, my leasing car would have to stay in the garage for the most of time...

Maybe you don't understand that that isn't a bad thing. Driving in the City is ridiculous. Parking is horrifically expensive and hard to find if and when you finally DO get to where you're going.

One of the appeals of SF is that it's a compact city with many public transportation options. Most of those who have a car (and it's very easy to get along without one) still only use it for trips outside the City.

I also wouldn't commute into the City from ANY direction, by any means, if I could at all avoid it (i.e., by living in the City). It's slow, tedious, annoying, and expensive. The apartments may be cheaper in the East Bay or the Peninsula, but you'll give that back in commuting costs, plus the value of all those hours lost sitting in a bus, train, or BART seat. I'm talking two hours or more each day. Contrast that with a fifteen-minute walk to your studio in SoMa, arriving home in time to enjoy life.

SF is nice, but commuting sucks, sucks, sucks. It isn't worth living there if you have to sit on your ass on a bus for three hours a day.

[humboldtrat]

I would go with anywhere between Millbrae south to Redwood City. The further south you go, the warmer the weather is. Rent is usually cheaper than in San Francisco. Commuting with Caltrain caltrain.com is reliable. You can get a monthly pass for unlimited rides - cheaper than paying per ride. The train station is 2 blocks from AT&T Park. There is also a light rail at the Caltrain station that goes to AT&T Park and into downtown SF.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by mkl654321

Maybe you don't understand that that isn't a bad thing. Driving in the City is ridiculous. Parking is horrifically expensive and hard to find if and when you finally DO get to where you're going.

One of the appeals of SF is that it's a compact city with many public transportation options. Most of those who have a car (and it's very easy to get along without one) still only use it for trips outside the City.

I also wouldn't commute into the City from ANY direction, by any means, if I could at all avoid it (i.e., by living in the City). It's slow, tedious, annoying, and expensive. The apartments may be cheaper in the East Bay or the Peninsula, but you'll give that back in commuting costs, plus the value of all those hours lost sitting in a bus, train, or BART seat. I'm talking two hours or more each day. Contrast that with a fifteen-minute walk to your studio in SoMa, arriving home in time to enjoy life.

SF is nice, but commuting sucks, sucks, sucks. It isn't worth living there if you have to sit on your ass on a bus for three hours a day.

True, but there are nieghborhoods in the east bay that are shorter cmmutes than in SF. That's inaccurate. It took me 35 minutes each way to get from Oakland to my Jackson Square office. Including the time to walk 1mi to Jackson Square from BART or the bus. It took my coworker who lived in the Sunset longer if she took transit.

OP: I'd pick the Peninsula if you want something more akin to Socal living.