Moving San Francisco from Chicago (San Jose, Oakland: apartments, rent, house) - San Francisco - Oakland - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

mrgrimm · 03-23-2013, 04:59 PM

I just got a new job and I'm moving to San Francisco from Chicago. (Ill be working in Foster city, but was considering reverse commuting as i like to live in the city.) Trying to figure out what neighborhood to live in. I'm male, early 30's. I'm not at all interested in the Marina, and although I like great food and craft beer, the mission seems like it might be a bit too hipster for my tastes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Tomlcsc · 03-23-2013, 08:28 PM

Welcome! I just moved here myself but I've been frequenting/commuting to SF for years now.

San Francisco is unique in that it has so many good neighborhoods it would be difficult to recommend just one.

With that said, some of my favorite neighborhoods are North Beach, Haight, Nob Hill, and Cole Valley. Every neighborhood in the city has a lot to offer and you pretty much can't go wrong wherever you end up.

Good luck!

dalparadise · 03-23-2013, 10:46 PM

South of Market would probably suit you well. It's close enough to The Mission to enjoy it without having to go all-in and get a fixie and a pork pie hat. Plus, its close to the CalTrain terminal for an easy commute down to Foster City. You would also be in great shape to see a real novelty for someone from Chicago--a winning baseball team.

One caveat would be that the area lacks the neighborhood charm that most other areas of SF have. It's hard to beat for a peninsula commuter, though. If you want the SF neighborhood thing, I'd recommend Russian Hill. It has a solid neighborhood vibe with many great streets for dining and nightlife. Plus, it has great access to The Marina ( I know, but there are a lot of great bars, shops and restaurants), North Beach, Nob Hill and The Tenderloin (again, i know but some of the best bars, stores and restaurants in the City are around there), Pac Heights, The Embarcadero and The Financial District. It's also really easy to hop in your car (or even on your bike) and be across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin in no time.

Welcome. You will love living in the City.

mayorhaggar · 03-24-2013, 05:06 AM

Glen Park, the western Mission (around Dolores Park), Hayes Valley, etc. SOMA (South of Market) is a pretty barren neighborhood honestly but definitely for commuting it's convenient to get to 280. The other neighborhoods are too but you'd probably have to get on 101 then take an exit to 280.

mrgrimm · 03-24-2013, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalparadise

South of Market would probably suit you well. It's close enough to The Mission to enjoy it without having to go all-in and get a fixie and a pork pie hat. Plus, its close to the CalTrain terminal for an easy commute down to Foster City. You would also be in great shape to see a real novelty for someone from Chicago--a winning baseball team.

This seems like it would fit me perfectly (or at least my personality type and the neighborhoods I'm used to frequenting in Chicago. And a winning sports team would be a great change of pace haha.

Thanks everyone else for their suggestions as well, I'll start doing more research into those areas.

Some people on this forum have suggested places like Adams Point and Lake Merritt. They are obviously not in the city proper, but I've been told that living outside the city is a bit different than it is in Chicago (i.e. living outside of the city in Chicago means strip malls and parking lots w/o any character.)

Any truth to that?

Also, if I chose to live in, say south of market or western mission, what price range am I looking at for a 2 bd?

dalparadise · 03-24-2013, 02:58 PM

I don't know Adams Point. Lake Merritt is in Oakland, and is a great area--very urban (but West Coast style), with mostly local retail and restaurants and no strip centers. It's great, but don't go expecting anything like San Francisco. It's a totally different vibe. That would be a good commute by car down to Foster City and rents for a 2BR would probably be about 2/3 comparable places in SF. Strangely, you would also find yourself in close proximity to another winning baseball team.

You won't find the big strip-center suburbs here until you get well down the peninsula or pretty far away from SF, Oakland and Berkeley.

A nice 2BR in SOMA is going to cost you big. Think $3000-$4000+these days. Western Mission is a little less expensive, though the properties will be much older and smaller, with fewer 2BR apartments to choose. Farther west puts you in The Castro, which is a very vibrant place to live, gay or liberal-minded straight, but it starts getting expensive again.

You really ought to get a house share for a couple of months and check things out at street level. I spent nearly six months choosing my place and covered every square mile of SF east of Divis. and north of China Basin. If you went this route, you could also take short BART rides over to Oakland and see if that would work for you.

We are talking about a really small area, but one that changes dramatically in just a few blocks in any direction, with regard to price, charm, energy, transit and makeup. That's the deal.

One last note-I will echo the sentiment about SOMA lacking much cohesion as a neighborhood. It's a place where people go to destination restaurants and clubs, baseball games and offices, but doesn't have all the neighborhood services and local hangouts that most neighborhoods do. People I know who live there typically venture out of there in the evenings for dining and entertainment.

mrgrimm · 03-24-2013, 03:15 PM

Great info, thanks dalparadise. I do have a friend living there who's offered me a room for a bit while I look. I'm certainly planning on taking advantage of that.

I may have to either open myself up to the idea of living in Oakland or downsize to a 1bd. I'm paying $1400 for a 2 bd in Chicago, and while I knew prices would be significantly higher in SF, $3K - $4K may be a bit higher than I'm willing to spend.

capoeira · 03-24-2013, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrgrimm

I may have to either open myself up to the idea of living in Oakland or downsize to a 1bd. I'm paying $1400 for a 2 bd in Chicago, and while I knew prices would be significantly higher in SF, $3K - $4K may be a bit higher than I'm willing to spend.

Living in Oakland is a bad idea if you are working in Foster City. Bart does not go to Foster City. Either you will have a ridiculously long bus/train combination commute or a traffic jam on a bridge everyday(plus ~$100 in bridge tolls per month). From Oakland to Foster City the San Mateo bridge would probably be the lesser of two evils. Check out San Mateo. It has the best downtown on the peninsula and would be a very short commute. It is also a 25 minute(non rush hour) drive to SF.

dalparadise · 03-24-2013, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrgrimm

Great info, thanks dalparadise. I do have a friend living there who's offered me a room for a bit while I look. I'm certainly planning on taking advantage of that.

I may have to either open myself up to the idea of living in Oakland or downsize to a 1bd. I'm paying $1400 for a 2 bd in Chicago, and while I knew prices would be significantly higher in SF, $3K - $4K may be a bit higher than I'm willing to spend.

Well, there will not even be a decent choice of studio apartments for $1400 in any of the SF neighborhoods we are talking about. People here rarely take more space than they need, too. Remember, this isn't Chicago. There isn't going to be a five-month period where you want to post up at home and hibernate. It's nice to be out in the City or its environs pretty much year-round and people take advantage of it. Thus, their space requirements are much lower.

A decent 1BR in a good neighborhood in SF is going for $2000-$2800+. Count on another $250-$350 per month for off-street parking. For that you get amazing access to a great, walkable city. It ain't cheap, but it is worth it to people who love this place. If you are one of them, you will find a way to make it work and enjoy every day you spend here.

Some people shed their cars. Your work may provide a shuttle that picks up right in your neighborhood or at least will pick you up at the CalTrain station. I see the Shuttle buses dropping off workers in Russian Hill every evening, from some of the places down The Peninsula. They step off with beers in hand and seem to enjoy the ride.

You can also get roommates, reduce your space requirements, or live closer to work. Areas around the Bay Area are really great and have character all their own. The Peninsula is especially nice if you like the outdoors. There are mountain hiking trails, easy day trips and even warm summer beaches are only a half-hour or so away in Santa Cruz. If you are set on the City, cool. Make that happen. You wont be sorry, as SF is amazing. Just know that, unlike in Chicago, SF isn't the only place worth a look. Hell, even San Jose might be worth a look. It's more laid-back than SF or Chicago, but still has a nice downtown and is about 20 minutes to work. Plus, it is connected to SF by a train, if you want to go up to the City.

Use your friend's offer of a room to look around with an open mind. It's hard to go wrong here if you are well informed.

dalparadise · 03-24-2013, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capoeira

Living in Oakland is a bad idea if you are working in Foster City. Bart does not go to Foster City. Either you will have a ridiculously long bus/train combination commute or a traffic jam on a bridge everyday(plus ~$100 in bridge tolls per month). From Oakland to Foster City the San Mateo bridge would probably be the lesser of two evils. Check out San Mateo. It has the best downtown on the peninsula and would be a very short commute. It is also a 25 minute(non rush hour) drive to SF.

I agree that the bridge toll sucks from Oakland, but it's 6 of 1 to someone predisposed to driving down from San Francisco, as the OP suggested he was. Plus, the savings in rent far outweigh the bridge fee.