Considering a move from Los Angeles to San Francisco (Oakland: apartments, how much)

[ColinC02]

That makes sense. The idea of getting rid of my car sounds great regardless of the few problems you mention. I'm going to plan a trip with my girlfriend over memorial weekend to come visit and explore. Any recommendations on a hotel that's decent and affordable. It doesn't need to be in the middle of the city as long as there is public transportation close by. We're looking to spend more cash on enjoying the city than hotel for this short trip. Again, Thanks for all of the help everybody. <br>

[ElleC]

Hi Colin,

We used to live in LA, and have lived in SF, and outside SF in the "East Bay" where Mayor describes the first few stops (Oakland, Berkeley).

SF apt will be much more expensive, with no parking spot, colder, and older construction (aka loud street noise) than LA or the East Bay. In SF, 900 sqft 2 bedrooms, 1 bath (built in 1910 with single pane windows) are approx $3000+ with no parking spot whereas MDR, 2 br, 2bath (built in 2000) run about $2500) and come with 2 parking spots. A 750 1 br 1 ba built in 1910-1970 is about $2200 in SF. Rent in SF is increasing with the new Twitter employees and FB millionaires. Most SF apts don't come with a parking spot, so you may consider st parking or paying $200-$350/month to park your car.

Millbrae is nice, but you need to live right next door to the station and time the BART correctly to avoid a 1 hour+ commute each way (it comes every 20 min).

Another great, safe, family friendly area is Alameda Island with cheaper rents, where you can take the ferry (20 min) to downtown SF. If you live around 10 min drive from the Alameda ferry terminal, this will keep you under the 40 min. See time schedule here: When To Go (http://www.eastbayferry.com/when/aoam.html - broken link)
Also, there are 3 total methods of pub trans into SF downtown from Alameda: Ferry, AC transbay bus O, OX, and W, bus->bart. PM me if you want more insight.

I don't know about Berkeley, or Rockridge Bart safety, but other areas of East bay (emeryville and Oakland) has more crime than Inglewood.

Another consideration is that SF is colder than LA; it feels like 40 degrees yearround, and you may want to wear a wool coat yearround and give away your shorts. Summer month in SF is Sept and Oct.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by ColinC02

We currently pay $2k a month for a 1,200 sq. ft. 1 bedroom apartment in Marina Del Rey, CA. We would like to pay the same or less (this is not likely) for a one-two bedroom in the bay area.

You can easily find this almost anywhere in the towns along the Peninsula. For example, here in Sunnyvale we pay $1880 for a 1,000 sq ft two-bedroom apartment.

Additionally, is there some type of monthly or annual subway or lightrail pass? I had one of these when I lived in Chicago a few years ago.

Lightrail = Caltrain and you can buy monthly , daily and 8-ride passes at Walgreens stores.

[bentobox34]

I would recommend figuring out where you are going to work before deciding where to live. It will make a big difference - if you are in the tech industry there are many many jobs down the Peninsula and in the South Bay as well as SF itself.

[DocGoldstein]

Yeah, where are you going to work?

That makes a huge difference. I wouldn't live in the East Bay if I had to commute to Silicon Valley. Nor would I live in the city if I had to work in Walnut Creek.

I will say with your budget, $2,000 and 1,200 sqft is going to be hard to come by in nice areas of the Bay. Marina Del Rey is a beautiful area too, I don't think anywhere in the Bay actually mimics that city.

In general though, I see it like this:

Oakland, San Leandro area is equivalent to Compton, Inglewood, Watts.

San Mateo is equivalent to West LA

Cupertino, Los Gatos is equivalent to South Pasadena, San Marino

San Francisco and LA are totally different cities. You won't need a car in the Bay if you live and work in the right areas.

[skyway31]

If you are free of any car payment, I might consider keeping it until you find out where you're working and where you want to live. Getting around without a car in SF is much easier than most anywhere in the country. But, it's nothing like getting around without a car in a NYC or Boston. Most people I know living in the city have a car. I do not. But I also managed to ditch a $400 a month car payment by ditching my car. If I would have only been saving on gas and insurance, I might have kept it. It is easy to limit driving and gas expenses in the city.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

Oakland, San Leandro area is equivalent to Compton, Inglewood, Watts.

Not sure if the folks in Rockridge would agree that their neighborhood approximates Watts.

[DocGoldstein]

Funny thing is Oakland actually has a higher violent crime rate than Watts. So the comparison might be a bit off as you suggest.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

Funny thing is Oakland actually has a higher violent crime rate than Watts. So the comparison might be a bit off as you suggest.

Watts da problem?

[mayorhaggar]

Awful comparison, Rockridge doesn't have any epic landmarks like the Watts Tower, just stupid crap like Market Hall and Zachary's.