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Old 04-13-2012, 09:24 AM
 
203 posts, read 426,996 times
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Hi Everyone,

My wife and I (as well as our small dog) are looking to make San Francisco our new home very soon. I've been visiting this forum for years and have really enjoyed reading the helpful feedback that many of you routine visitors provide to new folks relocating to the area. I also have a basic understanding of what inputs you need in order to determine the best advice to provide. I hope that the below is helpful enough to gain some insight on where we can exactly call home for a few years.

About us: We're outdoors-y people and are very active. We're from NY (via Miami) and love most of the aspects of living in an urban dwelling. We love walking to restaurants/bars, museums, music venues, city parks, public transportation, sidewalk life, etc. We're both in our early 30's and don't plan on having children for another year or two. We're also open for East Bay options as well (Berkeley/Oakland) and Peninsula options (Burlingame).

Our income will be around $250,000 combined. She will be working most likely downtown and I will have a home office (with monthly travel to other West Coast cities). Having a home office would require either 1) a 1 bedroom apartment + den (office area) or 2) a 2 bedroom apartment. With the travelling, I would like to be somewhat close to the airport (so let's scratch out North Bay options).

Our budget will be $3000/month.

Thanks!
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Old 04-13-2012, 11:05 AM
 
Location: Lafayette, CA
2,518 posts, read 3,995,547 times
Reputation: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC809 View Post
Hi Everyone,

My wife and I (as well as our small dog) are looking to make San Francisco our new home very soon. I've been visiting this forum for years and have really enjoyed reading the helpful feedback that many of you routine visitors provide to new folks relocating to the area. I also have a basic understanding of what inputs you need in order to determine the best advice to provide. I hope that the below is helpful enough to gain some insight on where we can exactly call home for a few years.

About us: We're outdoors-y people and are very active. We're from NY (via Miami) and love most of the aspects of living in an urban dwelling. We love walking to restaurants/bars, museums, music venues, city parks, public transportation, sidewalk life, etc. We're both in our early 30's and don't plan on having children for another year or two. We're also open for East Bay options as well (Berkeley/Oakland) and Peninsula options (Burlingame).

Our income will be around $250,000 combined. She will be working most likely downtown and I will have a home office (with monthly travel to other West Coast cities). Having a home office would require either 1) a 1 bedroom apartment + den (office area) or 2) a 2 bedroom apartment. With the travelling, I would like to be somewhat close to the airport (so let's scratch out North Bay options).

Our budget will be $3000/month.

Thanks!
If you can swing Burlingame (and it seems like you can based on your budget), do it! There's actually a huge nature preserve in Burlingame, hiking, fishing, you name it (very close to the golf course).

I've always said, if I were to live on the Peninsula, I'd target Burlingame.

Also easy commute to the city, very close to the airport, and pricey, but it seems like you got that covered.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,719 posts, read 14,671,024 times
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Foster City:


Miramar Apartments in Foster City, California
Bridgepointe Apartments: Center Yourself in San Mateo

and several others on the water
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Old 04-13-2012, 03:31 PM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,028,685 times
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You'll pretty definitely get a bigger place for your money in the East Bay than in Burlingame. And just do some research on the logistics of getting around from Burlingame versus Oakland/Berkeley, they are different and have pros and cons in different ways. Oakland/Berkeley means you can take BART which gets you to downtown SF in 20 to 25 minutes. Burlingame means you mostly drive everywhere, and parking in downtown SF is extremely expensive, plus traffic is bad no matter what. You can take Caltrain but it dumps you off at the ballpark in SF whereas BART runs under Market Street where most office buildings in downtown SF are. But there are some employers closer to the Caltrain terminus station, and they might have parking, which would make BART the worse choice compared with driving or taking Caltrain if your wife works by the ballpark. Also Burlingame is way closer to SFO which means access to way more national flights. The Oakland airport is easier to get in and out of, and it has a lot of budget airline flights, but it has way less flights and destinations overall.
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Old 04-13-2012, 03:53 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
2,109 posts, read 3,283,232 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mayorhaggar View Post
You'll pretty definitely get a bigger place for your money in the East Bay than in Burlingame. And just do some research on the logistics of getting around from Burlingame versus Oakland/Berkeley, they are different and have pros and cons in different ways. Oakland/Berkeley means you can take BART which gets you to downtown SF in 20 to 25 minutes. Burlingame means you mostly drive everywhere, and parking in downtown SF is extremely expensive, plus traffic is bad no matter what. You can take Caltrain but it dumps you off at the ballpark in SF whereas BART runs under Market Street where most office buildings in downtown SF are. But there are some employers closer to the Caltrain terminus station, and they might have parking, which would make BART the worse choice compared with driving or taking Caltrain if your wife works by the ballpark. Also Burlingame is way closer to SFO which means access to way more national flights. The Oakland airport is easier to get in and out of, and it has a lot of budget airline flights, but it has way less flights and destinations overall.
From Burlingame, you can drive a few minutes to Millbrae's Bart Station. If you live in the northern portion of Burlingame and choose to take Caltrain, you would probably take the train from the Millbrae Station (where Bart is located). Burlingame isn't that big and the Millbrae Bart station is located a block from the start of Burlingame.
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Old 04-13-2012, 04:22 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, CA
2,518 posts, read 3,995,547 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twins4lynn View Post
From Burlingame, you can drive a few minutes to Millbrae's Bart Station. If you live in the northern portion of Burlingame and choose to take Caltrain, you would probably take the train from the Millbrae Station (where Bart is located). Burlingame isn't that big and the Millbrae Bart station is located a block from the start of Burlingame.
Exactly. You don't need "to drive everywhere" if you live in Burlingame, that's simply inaccurate, and false. BART is a great option to take from Burlingame to avoid traffic and parking issues in S.F.

Also to the OP, there is a huge difference between Burlingame and Oakland. If you do choose to live in "Oakland", really do some research about the city and its various neighborhoods before you take the plunge. Oakland and the Peninsula are just two totally different political climates as well. Burlingame is low key, caters a bit more to white collars, and is generally peaceful. Oakland on the other hand has had two major riots in the past two years (Oscar Grant BART Shooting Riots in 2010, and the Occupy Riots in 2011). Those two riots caused millions of dollars of damage, and disrupted and tied up city services for many days including fire, and police (Oakland is already short police since they laid off 80 cops in 2010 due to budget concerns). Keep that in mind the next time something "politically charged" happens, and the fact that 2012 is an election year.
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Old 04-13-2012, 06:27 PM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,028,685 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twins4lynn View Post
From Burlingame, you can drive a few minutes to Millbrae's Bart Station. If you live in the northern portion of Burlingame and choose to take Caltrain, you would probably take the train from the Millbrae Station (where Bart is located). Burlingame isn't that big and the Millbrae Bart station is located a block from the start of Burlingame.
Good point. The ride from Millbrae to downtown SF will take longer than the ride from Oakland--about 30 versus 20, but it's not a big difference.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DocGoldstein View Post

Also to the OP, there is a huge difference between Burlingame and Oakland. If you do choose to live in "Oakland", really do some research about the city and its various neighborhoods before you take the plunge. Oakland and the Peninsula are just two totally different political climates as well. Burlingame is low key, caters a bit more to white collars, and is generally peaceful. Oakland on the other hand has had two major riots in the past two years (Oscar Grant BART Shooting Riots in 2010, and the Occupy Riots in 2011). Those two riots caused millions of dollars of damage, and disrupted and tied up city services for many days including fire, and police (Oakland is already short police since they laid off 80 cops in 2010 due to budget concerns). Keep that in mind the next time something "politically charged" happens, and the fact that 2012 is an election year.
Oh for ****s sake.
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Old 04-14-2012, 08:14 AM
 
203 posts, read 426,996 times
Reputation: 214
Quote:
Originally Posted by DocGoldstein View Post
If you can swing Burlingame (and it seems like you can based on your budget), do it! There's actually a huge nature preserve in Burlingame, hiking, fishing, you name it (very close to the golf course).

I've always said, if I were to live on the Peninsula, I'd target Burlingame.

Also easy commute to the city, very close to the airport, and pricey, but it seems like you got that covered.
Thanks, Doc! Not too familiar with Burlingame although I did visit there for a lunch-interview back in 2011. Is there a specific street/area that I should be zoning in within Burlingame? Plan is to be in the most urban spot with lots of options around us but also put us close to public transport so my wife can make it into the city on her daily commutes for work. Thanks!
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Old 04-14-2012, 09:30 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
2,109 posts, read 3,283,232 times
Reputation: 2765
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC809 View Post
Thanks, Doc! Not too familiar with Burlingame although I did visit there for a lunch-interview back in 2011. Is there a specific street/area that I should be zoning in within Burlingame? Plan is to be in the most urban spot with lots of options around us but also put us close to public transport so my wife can make it into the city on her daily commutes for work. Thanks!
Burlingame is only 6 square miles, so pretty small overall. You would probably like being near a good dog park (Washington Park is great!), which is also just a couple of blocks away from Burlingame Avenue (lots of restaurants, shops, etc), and the Caltrain station is right there (between the park and Burlingame Avenue). There are lots of apartment buildings scattered throughout the area, within walking distance. It's probably best to look on craigslist. There are also apartment buildings on El Camino near Burlingame Avenue, so walking distance to everything also. Other areas in Burlingame are nice, too .
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Old 04-14-2012, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
28,225 posts, read 36,694,357 times
Reputation: 28550
Quote:
Originally Posted by DocGoldstein View Post
Exactly. You don't need "to drive everywhere" if you live in Burlingame, that's simply inaccurate, and false. BART is a great option to take from Burlingame to avoid traffic and parking issues in S.F.

Also to the OP, there is a huge difference between Burlingame and Oakland. If you do choose to live in "Oakland", really do some research about the city and its various neighborhoods before you take the plunge. Oakland and the Peninsula are just two totally different political climates as well. Burlingame is low key, caters a bit more to white collars, and is generally peaceful. Oakland on the other hand has had two major riots in the past two years (Oscar Grant BART Shooting Riots in 2010, and the Occupy Riots in 2011). Those two riots caused millions of dollars of damage, and disrupted and tied up city services for many days including fire, and police (Oakland is already short police since they laid off 80 cops in 2010 due to budget concerns). Keep that in mind the next time something "politically charged" happens, and the fact that 2012 is an election year.
"Major Riots" Encompassed 2-3 blocks. I live about 1.5 miles from the "major riots" and it was business as usual.

Oakland is a big city geographically. Generally speaking, it is a lot easier to get around Oakland via walking and transit than most places in the Bay Area. But it really depends on what sort of place you like. Parts of Oakland feel urban, parts feel posh, parts feel suburban, parts feel like a street car suburb, parts feel like the hood and parts feel like the a nature preserve. You can pretty much get whatever you want in Oakland. But if you are specifically looking for "really suburban" I wouldn't pick Oakland, because the super suburban parts don't have lots of chains and big box stores. And well most of Oakland doesn't either.
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