Living in SF, Commuting to South Bay - New College Grad (San Jose: apartment, rent)

[Tyler-Durden]

Hi,
I'm graduating from college in December and will be working at a tech company in South Bay starting February. The company has free shuttles to/from SF every day and I also have a car (for now). I'm planning to live in San Francisco, and was hoping to get some advice regarding which neighborhoods to consider, etc. I'm very social and outgoing on the weekends, but like my peace and quiet when I'm i'm not. So ideally, I'd want to live in an area that's close to a lot of bars and restaurants, but not one that's really loud at 2am on a Wednesday night. Also, I'd prefer if the neighborhood had a fair bit of people in their 20s (I'm a single male). I'm looking to spend between $1000-$1500/month on rent, including utils.

Now I have several friends working in finance who live in the Marina, but the shuttle commute from Marina to South Bay is brutal (~2 hours) vs. ~1 hour from the mission district due to multiple stops. I do have a car, but I'd rather get rid of it when I move to the city because of insurance and gas prices. My company also offers some sort of discount on Caltrain passes, so on days when I miss the shuttle, I will have an alternative option - bike+Caltrain.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Basically, I'm looking for the Murray Hill equivalent of San Francisco, but with some additional restrictions because of the commute.

Thanks!

Edit: Another option would be to live in South Bay, but everyone I've spoken to has told me it's where fun comes to die. No idea how true that is.

[ippi76]

I would maybe consider living in the South Bay just because that commute sounds like it would kind of sucks. Can you throw away 2-3 hours a day riding a shuttle? Some can and some can't. In addition, you could probably get a way nicer 1 br apt in South Bay than you would in SF.
However, having a car in South Bay is a necessity, so you'd have to factor in that cost as well.

As for being no fun in South Bay, well, it's true and it's not. There is downtown San Jose and Sunnyvale and Palo Alto, but beyond that there is mainly just shopping malls etc. Essentially anything outdoorsy you would again have to have a car. Basically you must go outside the area for fun, which some people mind and some don't.

I can't give you much advice on SF since I live in the South Bay myself.

[18Montclair]

A few weeks ago, I drove from SF to Palo Alto(from Stinson Beach) for 3 consecutive days, and in your route in the AM, it was atrocious basically from the SF city border all the way to San Mateo and then it cleared up a little until I got to Belmont and it was stop and go all the way to Palo Alto.

Of course that was 101, 280 is probably better.

[humboldtrat]

It's a hundred mile round trip between SF and San Jose. That's a lot of wasted time on the road. The shuttle can only go as fast as traffic allows. Check out downtown San Jose which has quite a few clubs, bars and restaurants. San Jose State is close to downtown so there are lots of young people in the area. There is also light rail for getting around town and maybe to work.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

It's a hundred mile round trip between SF and San Jose. That's a lot of wasted time on the road. The shuttle can only go as fast as traffic allows. Check out downtown San Jose which has quite a few clubs, bars and restaurants. San Jose State is close to downtown so there are lots of young people in the area. There is also light rail for getting around town and maybe to work.

I totally agree that San Jose is more than sufficient to satisfy the needs of young college grads.

But I was appauled at how bad the drive was from the City to Palo Alto.

It seems a lot of folks are still opting to live in the City and commute south. Cant blame em considering the pay.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

I totally agree that San Jose is more than sufficient to satisfy the needs of young college grads.

But I was appauled at how bad the drive was from the City to Palo Alto.

It seems a lot of folks are still opting to live in the City and commute south. Cant blame em considering the pay.

I-280 would probably be the best way to go. Traffic does get bad in/near SF and San Jose, but in between the traffic flows at the limit.

Caltrain has express "baby bullit" trains with about only 4 stops between SF and San Jose.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Tyler-Durden

Hi,
I'm graduating from college in December and will be working at a tech company in South Bay starting February. The company has free shuttles to/from SF every day and I also have a car (for now). I'm planning to live in San Francisco, and was hoping to get some advice regarding which neighborhoods to consider, etc. I'm very social and outgoing on the weekends, but like my peace and quiet when I'm i'm not. So ideally, I'd want to live in an area that's close to a lot of bars and restaurants, but not one that's really loud at 2am on a Wednesday night. Also, I'd prefer if the neighborhood had a fair bit of people in their 20s (I'm a single male). I'm looking to spend between $1000-$1500/month on rent, including utils.

Which sounds like a plan for a better life? Live in a dumpy overpriced SF apartment. Take a bus 2 to 3 hours everyday. Get up extra early every morning to catch your bus. On the weekends ride the jammed packed smelly SF buses to go anywhere since you gave up your car. Or live in a fairly decent South Bay apartment for the same money. Have a short commute to work. On the weekends drive anywhere you please in the Bay area and have fun.

Originally Posted by Tyler-Durden

Edit: Another option would be to live in South Bay, but everyone I've spoken to has told me it's where fun comes to die. No idea how true that is.

The people who told you that are clueless. Look in the free Silicon Valley Metro paper for South Bay entertainment options.

Metroactive | Metro Newspaper Silicon Valley | News, Events, Movies, Clubs

Also check out downtown Mountain View & downtown SJ.

Castro street bars Mountain View

Mountain View Downtown: Events

San Jose Live Music | Eventful

[mayorhaggar]

Personally I would live somewhere closer to work like Mountain View and focus on my job while also looking for jobs SF or closer to SF.

There's a lot of people who take those shuttles though so I guess it works, but you'll probably just be working on your laptop the whole drive. Tech companies tend to force their workers to work long hours, so having a long commute would suck I would think. But if you think you can do it, by all means look at the Mission, it's a really cool area. You'd be looking at $1200-1500 for a studio.

[Radical347]

"Where fun comes to die" is an exaggeration...but they do have a point. I'd try living in the Mission (but don't live east of Valencia) for awhile and see if you don't mind the commute...even though it's ~1 hr each way, you don't have to drive and could possibly get some work done.

[gone down south]

For a recent college grad, San Jose is going to get really tired really quickly - if you're looking for the urban experience you need to be in SF. I have plenty of friends who do the Silicon Valley shuttles, they would NEVER consider living out here in the burbs.

That said, that commute is also going to get tired quicky. Even on a shuttle, you're not getting home until 7 or 8pm, you're leaving the house at 6am - remember that you have to get to/from the stops, and they may or may not be convenient to your apartment.

Personally, I'd rent something short-term in San Jose at first, give the option to explore the area a bit, figure out where you want to be. You can easily drive / train up to the city on weekends while you get your bearings. When you've just started a new job, your free time is going to be very valuable, you don't want to waste it in traffic.