NYC yuppies looking to relocate (San Jose, San Francisco: crime, house, neighborhoods)

[Lothario]

My gf and I are NYC yuppies, late 30's, no kids, above-average incomes, work primarily from home. We've had it with cold winters, snow, wet pant legs etc., and are looking to relocate. We like San Fran a lot (lots of similarities with NYC), but have noticed that San Fran proper has somewhat foggy/cloudy and chilly weather year-round.

However as I understand it there are plenty of cities just outside of San Fran where it's consistently warmer and sunny most of the time -- is this true? If so any suggestions on cities we should consider? We see a lot of cities on the map nearby -- Sausalito, San Mateo, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, San Jose, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay -- but we don't know the area at all so we can't tell one from the other.

Any suggestions/thoughts about living within an hour or so of San Fran, but with better weather?

Thanks!

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by Lothario

My gf and I are NYC yuppies, late 30's, no kids, above-average incomes, work primarily from home. We've had it with cold winters, snow, wet pant legs etc., and are looking to relocate. We like San Fran a lot (lots of similarities with NYC), but have noticed that San Fran proper has somewhat foggy/cloudy and chilly weather year-round.

However as I understand it there are plenty of cities just outside of San Fran where it's consistently warmer and sunny most of the time -- is this true? If so any suggestions on cities we should consider? We see a lot of cities on the map nearby -- Sausalito, San Mateo, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, San Jose, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay -- but we don't know the area at all so we can't tell one from the other.

Any suggestions/thoughts about living within an hour or so of San Fran, but with better weather?

Thanks!

East Bay for sure. Much less fog (actually none for most of the year), about 7-10 degrees warmer, and still within 20 minutes to S.F by public transportation if you need to be.

I'd say you might like Walnut Creek, some neighborhoods of Oakland (Rockridge), and Berkeley. There are some very rough neighborhoods in Oakland though. I'd do my due diligence by browsing crime reports.

[pch1013]

I don't believe I've ever heard a yuppie self-describe as such, but I digress...

Yes, there are many places within relatively easy reach of SF that have much sunnier weather. The general rule is: the further from the ocean, the sunnier the weather -- BUT not if you go past the Altamont Pass, east of which it gets very cold and foggy in the winter.

The cities on your list, in approximate descending order of sunniness, are: San Jose, the Peninsula cities (not much difference among them), Sausalito, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica. These last two actually have worse weather -- by your standards -- than San Francisco does. Sausalito is incredibly expensive, as is Palo Alto; San Jose is very far from SF and realistically, you won't be spending much time in San Francisco if you move to San Jose.

Other suggestions: "Lamorinda" (Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda), Walnut Creek, Concord. These are all more or less upscale suburbs that are easily BARTable to SF, and much sunnier than the Bay cities over the hill (Berkeley/Albany/Oakland) which in turn are generally sunnier than SF.

It's also worth noting that there are significant differences in sunniness within SF itself. The neighborhoods closer to the ocean (outer Richmond, outer Sunset) sometimes go for weeks in the summer without seeing the sun, whereas the Mission, Castro, and parts of downtown are much sunnier. Sometimes it can be 55F in one place and 70F in another spot just a couple of miles away.

[jsba]

I would recommend Oakland based on the fact that you are coming form a large city and i would assume have no interest in the very suburban environment of areas such as Walnut Creek or Orinda and so on. Oakland is not as dense as SF but it is a city and has significant density especially in it s central core. I would recommend areas like Adams point, Uptown, or the Jack London area. There are many people in your age range with above average incomes in those areas. Oakland is as close as you can get via BART than any other city and Oakland itself has many activities that you would be interested in as well. I would say to stear clear of some parts of the city because they can be quite rough, however you are unlikely to wander into these areas. West Oakland is up and coming and affordable but I wouldn't suggest living there. I would set your search in the central part of the city (Downtown up Broadway to north Oakland for the most part) East of the Lake can get hit or miss in the flats and the hills are more family oriented with less hustle and bustle. Good Luck in your search.

[Venom Point]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

There are some very rough neighborhoods in Oakland though. I'd do my due diligence by browsing crime reports.

True, I'd say 90% of Oakland is rough then you have the same tiny area's that everybody keeps recommending. mod cut

[ssmaster]

venom point thanks for reminding me there are some really great areas of oakland that are rarely are mentioned like shepherd canyon and piedmont pines

• Claremont(southern portion)
• Forestland
• Glen Highlands
• Hiller Highlands
• Joquain miller park
• Lake temescal
• Merriwood
• Montclair
• moutain view cemetaryoakmore
• " panaromic hills
• piedmont pines
• Shepherd Canyon
• Upper Rockridge

eastern hills

• • chabot park
  • Crestmont
  • seqoyah heights
  • Sheffield
  • Skyline-Hillcrest Estates
  • Caballo Hills
  • Leona Heights
  • Chabot Park
  • Woodminster
• these areas of oakland are all safe and nice but are not urban (no restaurants ,coffe shops,Bart etc) so they are not mentioned.some like forestland median income$150,000 (noe valley $92,000) are adjacent to federal reserves or state parks and ..well like living in a forest. canyons ,redwoods,racoons ,deer and skunks are not my thing but some wealthy people seem to love it and pay a lot to live there.
• http://nabewise.com/east-bay/forestland
• [Photo] Forestland Wood Shingle House by Erin G., October 25th, 2011 - Forestland, Oakland - NabeWise, neighborhoods revealed
• other areas like sequoyah heights very suburban .but i like to be able to walk to good restaurants and farmers markets so again not a place i would normally bring up

[humboldtrat]

Since you mentioned Palo Alto, I would go with that. Shallow Alto is a total yuppie ghetto where people don't just keep up with the Jones' - they call and raise the Jones'. Just ask hsw.

[dmode]

For a yuppie couple from NYC, I would say Sausalito and Palo Alto are probably better fits after SF.

[NYC809]

Hey there -

We have similarities. My wife and I moved here from NYC (with a short-stop in Miami). We're in our early 30's and currently no kids. We live in SoMa which boasts some of the city's best weather. Every day it's mostly sunny and gets to around 65, which is perfect for me.

We've been taking road trips every weekend (yes, you will need a car) and the surroundings are some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Beats anything that NY would be able to provide (Catskills, Lake G, Hamptons, Finger Lakes, etc.)

We are easing into our new life here and SF will certainly not ever be a NY but really SF doesn't want to be another NY. It really has its own thing going on which is very cool.

Last weekend was booze and picnicing on Muir Beach with a bonfire and friends.

This weekend is road trip to Santa Cruz along the Pacific 1 highway where we can pullover for extremely delicious and fresh produce and pause to take in the breathtaking views.

We will likely move back to SF but that's not a certainty. Every day we're liking it more and more here. Definitely has it's downs (homeless, fog - but only in some parts of the city, public transport) but for what you can tap into outside of this place is unbelievable. You won't regret it. Good luck!

[mayorhaggar]

If you want at least fairly urban surroundings then you are looking at SF, Berkeley and Oakland. Berkeley and Oakland are sunnier and a bit warmer in the middle of summer than SF but not by a lot, and are colder in winter. Anywhere further inland or more shielded from the chilly Pacific, like Mill Valley or San Jose or Orinda, are way more suburban. If you are ok with suburban then there are plenty of places that have sunny warm weather from around late spring to early fall, but these areas are also colder in winter because the Pacific cools in summer and warms in winter, and being shielded from it in winter means lower temps.