Relocating to the Bay area and need help (Los Angeles, San Francisco: 2013, apartments)

[swapper29]

Hello, my girl friend (28) and I (24) are planning on moving to the Bay Area around January 2013. We are unfamiliar with the neighbor hoods inside and outside of Sanfrancisco, so if you could please suggest areas either in San Francisco or even in the East Bay that would be greatly appreciated! I lived in San Pablo for six months five years ago, but did not venture out much due to school.

I am completely blind and depend on public transportation. I hope to live in a decently safe area where my girlfriend or I can walk safely to and from BART stations, restaurants, and so on in the evening. I currently work in South LA, so I am use to traveling through unsafe areas. With that said, I would still like to try and find a decent place to live around transportation and night life. I also travel with my guide dog, so sometimes that helps me out in LA when sketchy people may be around.

We do enjoy eating out, walking and interacting with people around our age, so an area like that would be best. Grocery stores, coffee shops and diner/small restaurants would be nice to have close by since we won't have a car and would be depending on BART/MUNI/cable cars/busses. We go to the beach and walk on the board walk pretty regularly, so if there is a nice area to walk along the water close by or within public transportation range, that is a nice bonus. We are rarely out after 8 or 9 at night, so we would consider being in a place that is fine until that time, but may be more sketchy during the late hours of the night. I know that San Francisco has a lot to offer and I know that it will be a lot easier to get around oppose to Los Angeles. Our budget for an apartment will be up to $1500. We currently live in a 500 square foot studio, so we prefer to not down size. We would consider lofts as well...we are very open, just want to enjoy what the city has to offer. We are going up to SF on labor day weekend, so we can investigate areas. We are planning on staying in the Russian Hill neighbor hood unless somebody tells us to stay somewhere else. We also may consider staying somewhere else if we are checking out one of your suggestions...thank you very much and if you need any additional information please let me know!
Darren

[mdwstrnkid]

One problem you are going to have is finding a place in Russian Hill on that budget. I took a quick look at Craigslist and did not see any units under $1500. The cheapest studio I saw was going for $1700/month.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by mdwstrnkid

One problem you are going to have is finding a place in Russian Hill on that budget. I took a quick look at Craigslist and did not see any units under $1500. The cheapest studio I saw was going for $1700/month.

he didn't say he wanted to live in russian hill. he is asking about san francisco or the east bay.

on that budget east bay is probably far more likely. or maybe even san jose.

sorry, but i had a chuckle on "not wanting to downsize from 500 square feet". that would be hard to do.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by 5thgenSF

he didn't say he wanted to live in russian hill. he is asking about san francisco or the east bay.

Ah, yeah, you're right. I guess he's staying there on this upcoming trip.

Still, it's going to be a challenge to find a decent place for $1500 in a safe area of SF given the rental market today.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by mdwstrnkid

Ah, yeah, you're right. I guess he's staying there on this upcoming trip.

Still, it's going to be a challenge to find a decent place for $1500 in a safe area of SF given the rental market today.

i agree. might not even find that in an unsafe place! so sad. i've been perusing east bay apartments and i'm not used to seeing so many old houses converted. street parking, so many stairs, some really old places and tiny to boot. i lived in a studio in mountain view for six and a half years and it was big enough. with a balcony, that helped. i paid $615 and now that same place is $1,700. with probably no updates to the building at all.

[mayorhaggar]

Really depends on where you need to commute to. If you can get jobs in downtown SF, then somewhere in Oakland or Berkeley near a BART station would work. I think Downtown Berkeley would be good, it's cheaper than San Francisco (but still pretty pricey) and is very dense and walkable with a lot of shops and restaurants, and you can ride BART from there to SF. Getting around the East Bay isn't great because the local bus system doesn't run often enough but you'd have everything you need in downtown Berkeley. Rockridge in Oakland is quieter but still has a lot of good neighborhood places to eat and several good grocery stores, and has a very conveniently located BART station. Should be able to get a studio or 1 bedroom in Rockridge or downtown Berkeley for $1500 or less, though there aren't many apartments in Rockridge.

San Francisco has an extensive local public transit system but it can be a pain to get around, the buses and light rail are usually super crowded and unpredictable in terms of running. It's gotten really expensive in the last year too and I don't think you'll even find many studios for under $1500 now. You could live with roommates but that's always hit or miss.

[uptown_urbanist]

I remember being on a bus in SF when a blind guy got on the (packed) bus and NO ONE stood up to give him a seat. MUNI riders are some of the rudest I've ever encountered in this country (in contrast, I though the LA transit riders were among the most polite). We live in the East Bay now and while my bus experience here has been more limited (most of my trips are either on the same bus line or, more often, by foot) it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad. And with an upper budget of $1500, East Bay is going to be a better bet, anyway.

Alameda is sleepier than Berkeley, but if access to a beach is a priority it may be worth considering. There's a very nice beach with a long walking path running adjacent. No BART access, but the 51A runs frequently. (or else it's a straight shot via the 51A bus from its origin at the Rockridge BART station, so you could always take the bus over when you get the urge.)