Home price = deal breaker for moving to Bay Area? (San Jose: crime rate, house)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

"Cookie cutter suburban vibe"? In ORINDA?? Orinda is the farthest thing from that. Unless there's been some new development the last 20 years that I don't know about. Oh well. Whatever. Berkeley's good, too.

That's what I was thinking. If money is no object, I'd still prefer Berkeley, especially if I worked there. While Orinda is suburban, it's really not cookie cutter.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Senno

Isn't the price the ultimate deal breaker wherever you want to live? /shrug

No, I can afford to live where I live. There are plenty of houses here (in Wilmette, Illinois) that I can't afford but I don't want anything that big.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

That's what I was thinking. If money is no object, I'd still prefer Berkeley, especially if I worked there. While Orinda is suburban, it's really not cookie cutter.

I know. I don't respond to every silly comment that I see. When I lived in Orinda, it was in a log cabin (seriously!) on El Toyonal surrounded by ranch houses, bungalows, and every other kind of non-cookie cutter housing that the freaks in Berkeley chose to build in the 1950s and 1960s when they got a little money and wandered over the hill.

[sliverbox]

Interesting about the comments regarding "Cookie-Cutter". I moved here 12-13 years ago and what's interesting is that a lot of suburbs in the Bay Area are a lot older- as in the "new" stuff was built in the 50's and 60's and thus it has a bit of charm compared to what you'll see in most other parts of the country where cookie cutter literally means row upon row of dull plastic-clad McMansions.

I lived in Berkeley for a few years. Honestly, I moved out of there for a few reasons. No.1 is that the traffic SUCKS. Its ridiculous that for a city as small as it is that it has some of the worst traffic in the Bay Area. Getting anywhere takes absolutely forever, parking is difficult, and in most areas they've even made it to where if you don't have a residential sticker you will have to move your car every 2 hours.

No.2 is that while I am pretty liberal, Berkeley takes it to a whole different level. That got really old after awhile. Every other car had some sort of angry bumper sticker.

No.3, the weather is sort of nasty. Especially in the summer when every day without fail an ominous cold fog came rolling down from the hills and a nice summer day suddenly turned into a cold foggy day.

No.4. Its EXPENSIVE. As in renting and buying is really high.

The Bay Area has some extreme price differentiation. For example the 1,600 square foot house we bought for around 520k would easily cost well over a million bucks some 30 miles down the road in say- Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Atherton, etc. It takes me maybe 35-40 minutes to get to work. Not that big of a deal if you ask me. Yet a LOT of people here seem to think that driving anywhere is the end of the world and so they seemingly think its wayyyy better to instead spend 50%+ more on a house to be maybe a total of 10-15 minutes in commute time closer to work ( because even if they live closer the traffic in some of those Silicon Valley towns is awful and that too takes time)

I dunno.... we bought and I am very glad we did. But real estate here is really screwy.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

Interesting about the comments regarding "Cookie-Cutter". I moved here 12-13 years ago and what's interesting is that a lot of suburbs in the Bay Area are a lot older- as in the "new" stuff was built in the 50's and 60's and thus it has a bit of charm....

Actually I'd guess that the person who called Orinda cookie-cutter has never been there. It's one of the most distinctive suburban environments in the world. I'd rank it above Mill Valley, Atherton, or Woodside (and it's cheaper).

[EdJS]

Sometimes I think people have forgotten how to have patience. I have been living in the Bay Area for almost 30 years. For the first 10 years, I rented apartments with roommates. That's how I could afford it. For five years, I rented an apartment on my own. Finally, then, I bought my first house. So it took 15 years of gaining skills and experience, moving up in my career, and increasing my my salary, until I could reach that level of stability and security.

[checkup]

Originally Posted by EdJS

Sometimes I think people have forgotten how to have patience. I have been living in the Bay Area for almost 30 years. For the first 10 years, I rented apartments with roommates. That's how I could afford it. For five years, I rented an apartment on my own. Finally, then, I bought my first house. So it took 15 years of gaining skills and experience, moving up in my career, and increasing my my salary, until I could reach that level of stability and security.

I think that's the exactly point/gripe. Ppl dont want to wait until they're 40-45 y/o before they can make the downpayment and get a 30 year mortgage on a 3 bedroom apartment. They'd rather do that when they're 25-30 y/o, along with a less burdensome mortgage and more real estate. In almost anywhere outside of SF and NYC, that's a totally reasonable desire

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by checkup

I think that's the exactly point/gripe. Ppl dont want to wait until they're 40-45 y/o before they can make the downpayment and get a 30 year mortgage on a 3 bedroom apartment. They'd rather do that when they're 25-30 y/o, along with a less burdensome mortgage and more real estate. In almost anywhere outside of SF and NYC, that's a totally reasonable desire

You can still purchase a home in the bay area when you are 25-30 and make ok money for the area. My wife and I have a combined household income of a little less than 160k. You just have to be willing to not live on the peninsula or the more desirable areas of santa clara county. The bay area is filled with many safe and acceptable areas, people just get all wrapped up in having their kids go to a "10" rated school. If they would accept a "6-7" rated school they could probably live in an area that is 60% less expensive.
I think parents fail to realize is you get out of school what you put into it and a good student will excel in a "3" or "5" school as much as a "10" school.

[Jerry Stansfield]

Originally Posted by shooting4life

You can still purchase a home in the bay area when you are 25-30 and make ok money for the area. My wife and I have a combined household income of a little less than 160k. You just have to be willing to not live on the peninsula or the more desirable areas of santa clara county. The bay area is filled with many safe and acceptable areas, people just get all wrapped up in having their kids go to a "10" rated school. If they would accept a "6-7" rated school they could probably live in an area that is 60% less expensive.
I think parents fail to realize is you get out of school what you put into it and a good student will excel in a "3" or "5" school as much as a "10" school.

Where can you do that? Concord? Antioch, Pittsburg? Who wants to live way out there.?

[ashlandbus]

@Jerry Stansfield, Oakland has plenty of good rated schools and the home prices would be what Shooting4Life can afford. In addition, places like Alameda, San Leandro, and even parts of Berkeley would allow that. I know because I am in a similar boat age and earning wise to the description and have done the research leading to a house purchase. It is more than just about patience, it is about making solid financial decisions.