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-Single 30 year old male
-Job pays $110k a year in Sunnyvale. Maximum hours worked per week is 50. (Maybe 3 weeks a year) Average hours worked is 42
- Work schedule flexible (must be in by 9am, not allowed to stay past 6:30pm), am allowed to telecommute one day per week
- Enjoy nightlife and being around other middle class singles
- Looking for a more exciting and diverse scene than the majority male Sunnyvale
Tired of Sunnyvale/San Jose/Mountain View nightlife. Want something more exciting and closer to SF.
For my desired living conditions:
- Looking to pay no more than $1500-$1700/month. Will only pay $1700/month if it includes assigned parking. Preferably covered
- Would like to be close to CalTrain/101/280
- Would like to be no more than a 20 minute drive away from SF for ease of access to the city for nights and weekend.
What's the best location for someone in my situation and price range to live? I've narrowed down my selection to San Mateo, Millbrae, Burlingame, SF (only SF within 5 min drive from a CalTrain), and SF.
What's the advantage between San Mateo vs. Millbrae vs Burlingame?
When looking in the city, for a $1500-$1700/month budget, what are some safe neighborhoods to live in that provide easy access (about a 5-7 minute drive) to Caltrain & 280? (I'm not interested in the Mission, or anything within a stones throw of the Tenderloin).
Best to live near the city to save money and be closer to work and just drive the 15-20minutes in? Or best to live in the city and make the full commute every day?
(Keep in mind my tight budget constraints).
I know these threads exist in oen way or another on these forums, but it's all piece meal or for families. I'm looking for information for someone who is a single person only worried about them, who commutes to an area deep in the south bay.
in your price range on pennisula for anything decent you are looking at a one bedroom apartment. You could get maybe a 2 bedroom in that range but it would be an older complex with dated kitchen and bath and neighbors that probably have 2 families living in the same size place. The pennisula is very expensive and very competitive for decent apartments you might run into a bidding war to get an apartment..I have heard of people bidding up rent for 1800/month to 2300/month because there were multiple offers. That is insane but it is silicon valley where some people have more money then common sense. If I was in your situation as a single guy making 110k a year I would rent the cheapest place I could find..even if it meant renting a room and save as much money as I could every month. then in a couple of year have a nice downpayment and go out and buy a house. spending that kind of money to rent a nice apartment is a fool's paradise.
I wouldn't live in Millbrae, don't like the area and it seems a lot lower scale living compared to San Mateo/ Burlingame. Unless you have a nice house in the hills which doesn't seem to be what you are looking for. If you want to be close to Caltrain then look somewhere around El Camino in San Mateo, or around California dr. in Burlingame. It is not a 15-20 min drive, well it is on a weekend when there is no traffic, on an average weekday morning it would be 1-1.5 hours via 101. If you think you would drive more often than take the train then get a place closer to 280, 280 has a lot less traffic in the mornings. I prefer San Mateo over burlingame, burlingame seems to be a bit more snooty/ ritzy family oriented. I do enjoy Burlingame ave. every now and then for shopping but that's about it. San Mateo has a decent downtown area and plenty of singles in your age group, there is a nice 8 story apartment complex downtown san mateo that's practically across the street from the caltrain station, it's on Baldwin between San Mateo dr. and Ellsworth. My sister lived there and it was very nice, and if I remember correctly all utilities were included. It had a courtyard pool and garage parking too. Foster city has a new complex called "City South" (I think) that seems trendy and cute, but Foster City is quitter than San Mateo. Belmont is another place you might want to look. But I think San Mateo would suit you better. Good luck.
I wouldn't live in Millbrae, don't like the area and it seems a lot lower scale living compared to San Mateo/ Burlingame. Unless you have a nice house in the hills which doesn't seem to be what you are looking for. If you want to be close to Caltrain then look somewhere around El Camino in San Mateo, or around California dr. in Burlingame. It is not a 15-20 min drive, well it is on a weekend when there is no traffic, on an average weekday morning it would be 1-1.5 hours via 101. If you think you would drive more often than take the train then get a place closer to 280, 280 has a lot less traffic in the mornings. I prefer San Mateo over burlingame, burlingame seems to be a bit more snooty/ ritzy family oriented. I do enjoy Burlingame ave. every now and then for shopping but that's about it. San Mateo has a decent downtown area and plenty of singles in your age group, there is a nice 8 story apartment complex downtown san mateo that's practically across the street from the caltrain station, it's on Baldwin between San Mateo dr. and Ellsworth. My sister lived there and it was very nice, and if I remember correctly all utilities were included. It had a courtyard pool and garage parking too. Foster city has a new complex called "City South" (I think) that seems trendy and cute, but Foster City is quitter than San Mateo. Belmont is another place you might want to look. But I think San Mateo would suit you better. Good luck..
Ha...I know that complex in San Mateo well (as that's where I live). It's also 11 stories. Yes it's quite nice, and yes utilities are included. There are a few other highrise places to rent in downtown, if one is looking for that kind of living. There are many other apartments in the area, as well. I also prefer downtown San Mateo to Burlingame. I always found Burlingame prices to always be a few hundred a month over equivalent properties in San Mateo, and also Caltrain stops very infrequently in Burlingame compared to the San Mateo/Hillsdale stops. Your price range will get you a decent 1 BR in San Mateo, but prices (like everywhere in the Bay Area) have gone up significantly even in the last year. Your price only a year ago would have gotten you a VERY nice 1BR...now, it'll be more difficult. However, I haven't heard of bidding wars around San Mateo as the housing marking isn't THAT hot, but these bidding wars are definitely occurring in SF proper.
101 does suck for commuting pretty much in any direction, and I tend to avoid it like the plague. I would recommend 280 over 101 pretty much for anything. It may seem inconvenient and out of the way when looking at the two routes on the map, but 280 is always faster (unless it's after 7-8PM at night). Also, getting off of 280 vs. 101 is often much easier/convenient in getting to your final destination. For instance, when I'm commuting to Stanford, it can take sometimes up to 20 minutes to get off of 101 and to Stanford; whereas on 280, it's usually a breeze down Sand Hill since you don't have to contend with annoying lights/slow city streets. My commute on 280 to Palo Alto is always smooth (very rare to see any significant traffic that slows down the flow very much, even at peak hours), and I'd imagine getting further south would be equally smooth.
From how you describe your needs/wants, San Mateo seems to be a good compromise in being close to the city (~20 minute drive when there isn't traffic, such as after 7-8PM) and still being close to your work down in the south bay. If you look at living in the downtown, you'll have just enough urbanity on the nights you don't feel like going into the city. Also, the nightlife is pretty decent, by peninsula standards, especially friday nights (which are fueled mostly by companies in the area having happy hours). I chose to live there for similar reasons (being close to SF, close enough to work, and near the bridge for getting over to the East Bay (which I do frequently)), and I've been quite happy there.
You're not going to find what you're looking for in the city, at least not at that price. I can appreciate being responsible and saving your money, but remember that part of the reason why jobs pay so well here is that the cost of living is really high. I don't think you can rent a studio with reserved parking for $1700 unless you go to a crummy neighborhood or further out from the action. And if a transitional neighborhood like the Mission won't cut it for you, forget it.
Given the current housing market, you may want to entertain the idea of buying. Right now we're in a similar situation as we were in around 1997- by that I mean that buying is much more cost effective than renting. During the past 10+ years the rental and housing markets have gone through some changes, but this is the first time since early in the dot com days when buying a house was so much more affordable than renting.
While you'd have to pay more than $1700/month, it wouldn't be a whole lot more monthly to buy a place like this 555 4th St #425, San Francisco, CA 94107 | MLS# 398070 whereas you'd have to pay at least $2800 a month just to rent a place like it. It's in a great area for young, single, professional types; within walking district to the 4th and King CalTrain; close to hwy 101 and 280. You'd have to get an FHA loan (unless you've saved up $100k for the down payment) but you'd be gaining equity.
I'm not a realtor, and I don't know the seller. For all I know it will go over asking price anyway. But the only neighborhoods in SF that will meet your max rent + proximity to CalTrain and the highways would be the Bayview and Visitation Valley neighborhoods, and you wouldn't want to live in either. Also, you should bear in mind that the SF CalTrain stations do not have parking (the Paul St station might, but you don't want to be there).
Also before trying to get a place in SF you should take the train from there all the way to your work, a friend was taking cal train from belmont into the city and it took over an hour, I imagine from SF to the valley it will take close to 2 hours.
Also before trying to get a place in SF you should take the train from there all the way to your work, a friend was taking cal train from belmont into the city and it took over an hour, I imagine from SF to the valley it will take close to 2 hours.
It depends on the train Schedules , the OP should look into the it if they are considering Caltrain as part of their commute.
Caltrain only run the baby bullet during rush hour. The regular trains take substantially longer to get from SF to the South Bay.
Thank you for all the responses. They have been helpful so far.
I'm not at all looking into buying in the SF/Peninsula area. There are places for $400,000k in SF which is about $2,300/month in mortgage and insurance costs. But throw in the $400 - $600 HOA dues I'm seeing per month, and that is $2,800/month which is absurd to me. Would rather rent here and by property somewhere else and rent it out till I'm ready to live there.
Thanks for the advice on Millbrae, I'll be skipping it.
Now I'm focusing my search on San Mateo and Burlingame.
How is downtown Burlingame? I like Burlingame a little more because it's closer to the city, and I think I could get into SF in about 20 minutes on the weekends or on weeknights after 8pm. San Mateo looks like it's a bit further out.
Most important to me is the nightlife, weekend life, proximity to SF and number of singles around. Restaurants and shops aren't that big of a deal to me.
How do I know which areas of San Mateo to avoid? From what I've read on these forums, Burlingame is all nice , but there are pockets of San Mateo to stay away from.
I've already mapped out CalTrain schedules and there is a baby-bullet I can use to get in to the south bay from San Mateo in 20 minutes. Burlingame by bullet is 30 min. My work pays for CalTrain too, so that helps.
I can't wait to move out of Sunnyvale. I feel 30 going on 50 living here.
Burlingame feels older and more for families than San Mateo. I like San Mateo better. It feels younger.
ditto, Burlingame is more family oriented, it might have more shops and restaurants (which you said you don't care about) but as far as night life and other young singles I think San Mateo is the better option for that. Burlingame borders San Mateo so depending on where in San Mateo you live you are really not that much further away from SF. Honestly I don't like Burlingame, I only go there for frozen yogurt, Sur La Table, and a few other shops. But I wouldn't want to live there and I have a family lol, if I was still single I'd avoid it even more.
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