From Chicago to the Bay area (San Jose, San Francisco: apartment, rent, houses)

[makinthemagic]

I've accepted a position with a Federal agency in the Bay area. I'm moving from Chicago and need some advice. My office location is in Fremont but it's possible I will be traveling to other locations in the area (won't know exactly where until I actually start work).

I'm 34, single straight white male Big 10 grad. I've lived on the NW side of Chicago for the last 8 years or so - Wicker Park/Bucktown/Logan Square (mix of yuppies and blue collar whites/hispanic/eastern european immigrants). I'm looking for a similar area to where I'm at now. I don't want to live in the Bay area equivalent of Lincoln Park/Wrigleyville (aka douchebag central).

Can someone more knowledgeable than I about the Bay area provide some recommendations on Cities/Neighborhoods on which to focus my search that will minimize my rent and commute time while maximizing the available entertainment options for someone of my demographic?

[mayorhaggar]

I used to live in Chicago, first in northern Ravenswood and later in Uptown.

If you want somewhere urban I'd definitely look at Oakland. The Grand Lake area (area north of Lake Merritt) is really nice and should be decent for driving down to Fremont. The Temescal and Rockridge would also be up your alley but are more expensive and would be a longer drive since they're further north. I find Oakland to be a lot like Chicago--they're both more spread out than San Francisco in a similar way and have a similar mix of houses and apartment buildings. Also both cities have a lot of crappy areas and a lot of nice areas.

I imagine the drive to Fremont isn't that great during rush hour though, but there's not really anything similar to Chicago that is closer to Fremont. Maybe downtown San Jose but that's still a hike and it's surrounded by beige suburban sprawl. Taking BART to Fremont from Oakland would be an option but that depends on how close to the Fremont BART station your job is.