East Bay Feasability? (San Francisco, Oakland, Concord: apartments, rentals, condo)

[cl93100]

Hi there,

I am in the process of accepting a role that will be based in the Financial District of San Fran. I've been pretty aggressively looking at apartments on CL and other sites within San Fran and am astounded at the prices, parking fees, pet fees (if they will even take a dog), etc. I've been focusing on Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Pac Heights, Cow Hollow areas and I am coming up with hardly anything that is within my budget, between 2-2800 a month with parking.

I am relocating from Atlanta where I have a modern condo in the middle of the "city" -- but our cost of living seems to be pretty significantly lower.

My priority is safety as I am a single female in her early 30s. But, I also have a small dog and want accessibility to grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, etc.

So, my question is am I missing other areas that would be convenient, safe and offer some of the things I've mentioned above? Is it worth considering moving to Berkley or Walnut Creek for 6 months while I figure out where I want to live in the city? (e.g., is the commute terrible? Would I be "missing out" by being out of SFO proper?)

Thanks, in advance, for any help!

[ccm123]

Both Walnut Creek and Berkeley are commutable to SF, via BART. Between WC and Berkeley, I would pick WC, which is safe and has an awesome downtown area.

SFO refers to the airport and not the city itself. Most live in the city for it's amenities and lifestyle and conveniences. The East Bay cities have a different "feel" than the city itself, but are very liveable.

Berkeley has a progressive feel to it, which WC is more conservative.

[ippi76]

San Francisco city proper's rental market is very hot right now and has been for at least the past year, no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future.

You can do the East Bay thing, many, many people do it. I'm assuming your work in the Financial District is near the BART train station/line (Montgomery St. Stop).

You can take BART from Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord. The further away from San Francisco in general the cheaper the rents. Driving would be terrible unless you work off-peak hours. Also there is a toll bridge going into San Franciso.

IF you have a dog, boy is SF going to be tough. The East Bay is great, especially Oakland/Berkeley if you want stuff to do. Dog could give you some additional issues though.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by cl93100

I've been focusing on Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Pac Heights, Cow Hollow areas and I am coming up with hardly anything that is within my budget, between 2-2800 a month with parking.

Those are the ultra super expensive neighborhoods. There are a lot of other neighborhoods in SF. Two examples:

Avalon Sunset Towers

Avalon Ocean Avenue

The Inner Sunset example is very walkable and close to many restaurants,Golden Gate Park and the N muni line & buses to downtown. The Ocean Ave. example has 3 advantages - new,close to Balboa Park Bart with a 14 minute ride to Embarcadero and it is next to a new Whole Foods.

[Hard8]

When I first moved here I lived in Berkeley for a bit while searching for an apartment in the city. It's a good idea. Honestly, you have almost zero chance of securing an apartment while in Atlanta. To find a place in SF you have to meet the landlord in person. And your chance of finding one on a quick trip out here prior to your actual move will be very slim.

As for your concern about "missing out." Many people will tell you the East Bay is great, and they shake their heads wondering why anyone would pay $2k+ for a one-bedroom in San Francisco. Perhaps they are right. But in my opinion, as an early 30's single person, you will feel like you are missing out on something if you end up permanently in Berkeley or Walnut Creek (or at least, I know I would have). San Francisco's just got so much to offer. Berkeley has some great food but doesn't have much nightlife outside of the bars that cater to Cal students. Oakland's got some good bars and late night action, but its less walkable, more spread-out and its definitely nothing like living somewhere like Russian Hill where you have quick and easy access to North Beach, Polk St, Union St, Chestnut St, Fillmore St, etc...all bustling commercial areas full of great restaurants, shopping, and bars.

People will also tell you that you can live in the East Bay and just BART in to the city on the weekends. Well, yes you can, but BART doesn't run much past midnight, so any dinner or drinks you'll have to cut short at 11:30 at the latest. And its just not as convenient, if you are out-and-about you can't easily stop home or change your plans.

Don't get me wrong, Berkeley & Oakland I'm sure are great places to live for a lot of people. It kinda depends on what your lifestyle is like. Are you more of a homebody or more of a socialite? Are you into the bar scene or not? etc...

[cl93100]

This has been excellent feedback ... thank you all so much!

I think that the best course is for me to stick to my plan on getting a temp east bay place until I find the right neighborhood/apartment/situation in SF. Being out of the city will probably put a little damper on enjoying SF - but I'll just keep remembering that it's temporary!

Thanks again all!

[ttocs99]

Originally Posted by cl93100

This has been excellent feedback ... thank you all so much!

I think that the best course is for me to stick to my plan on getting a temp east bay place until I find the right neighborhood/apartment/situation in SF. Being out of the city will probably put a little damper on enjoying SF - but I'll just keep remembering that it's temporary!

Thanks again all!

Best of luck to you, hopefully you'll love living in the Bay Area as much as most of us do/did. I wound up getting a great apartment in Walnut Creek after almost two months of searching for a place that allowed pets. I found a great 2 bedroom apartment with a decent sized fenced in patio, which was great for my dog during the day while I was at work. This was back in 1999, and the rent for the apartment was relatively cheap for those times (housing boom, high rents). I really loved living there, I lived 2 blocks from the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), and 2-3 blocks from downtown Walnut Creek (which has everything you could possibly need, a huge outdoor mall, great restaurants, etc). Lived in Walnut Creek from 1999-2006.

I enjoyed the commute to and from work, it was about 30 minutes on the BART, and coming from NYC, and 1 hour + commutes, the ride from Walnut Creek to San Francisco seemed like a short ride. Also, I'm a big reader, so I enjoyed the commutes, and didn't mind not living in the city. So all I'm basically saying is, you might actually find you prefer living in the East Bay once you find some of the great towns out there. And they certainly are more dog friendly than San Francisco, my dog was 70 pounds ! Best of luck to you.

[ccm123]

I think living out in the East Bay temporarily is a great idea. It will give you a chance to explore SF and the East Bay and carefully find an area that you want to rent in. Like previous posters mentioned, it will be tough to find a rental in the city unless you are actually out here.

[Cait88]

Walnut Creek has great restaurants, shopping, movie theater, lounges etc. and BART is right there. There are a fair amount of younger adults out and about, and I would suggest Walnut Creek for safety as well.

[mayorhaggar]

a) having a dog will automatically disqualify you from the vast majority of rentals in San Francisco. So that will make it hard to find a place in SF.
b) Your budget is ok I think but you are only looking at expensive neighborhoods, if you want to be in SF then look at other neighborhoods, like the Western Mission, Hayes Valley, the Inner Sunset, Glen Park, etc. I really don't know what a 1br is going for these days in SF though. (used to be about $1600 just 18 months ago, now it's probably more like $2800!)
c) Since you have a dog and your budget isn't sky-high, you might need to settle permanently in the East Bay. Fortunately it really is a cool place and

I'd mainly look at Berkeley if you want somewhere safe and walkable. Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley are probably the best bets for you. Lots of shops and restaurants you can walk to, and two BART stations. North Berkeley is a bit more suburban than the downtown area but it's still pretty dense.

Oakland has some cool areas too but it's up to you if you feel safe there. Rockridge is really really nice and has a BART station and would be a good fit for you too, and it's probably cheaper than Berkeley. However there aren't many apartments there so prices can be high.