Where to live in SF?

[LunaticVillage]

Originally Posted by pch1013

The Bayview is an "up-and-coming" neighborhood in realtor-speak. In other words, a ghetto. There is some small amount of gentrification taking place, so you could give it a try as long as you don't mind not being able to walk anywhere.

This.

Bayview is historically the worst neighborhood in all of San Francisco, but it is better than it was a few years ago. Knocking down some of the projects has greatly reduced crime in the district in the past few years.

Living in the hood in SF is not that bad if you live in a house. Almost all houses in SF are equipped with garages, even in the hood. Drive everywhere and keep your car in the garage at all times if you choose to live there. It's better to be safe than sorry. Having a car is a key in a neighborhood like Bayview because the district is notoriously disconnected from the rest of The City in every way possible, public transit included. Staying in the hood to sleep at night isn't so bad seeing as most of the truly bad crime in SF ghetto neighborhoods occurs in the projects and the immediate surrounding vicinity. So as long as you don't stay within a stone's throw of the projects you should be okay.

But I wouldn't wander around the hood at any length day or night, especially not late at night. The projects in Bayview are no joke. They are among the worst in the Bay Area, California and even the whole country. The faded projects are blighted with boarded up windows and poor paint jobs and are easy as day to spot. It is not out of the ordinary for outsiders to be killed for simply wandering into the projects there.

[Luke44412]

Thanks for the great posts. I will check it out, but as it sounds Bayview is not the greatest option!

San Mateo sounds pretty ok. I am just a bit reluctant to live there, because most friends and work colleagues are living in SF or Oakland.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by Luke44412

Thanks for the great posts. I will check it out, but as it sounds Bayview is not the greatest option!

San Mateo sounds pretty ok. I am just a bit reluctant to live there, because most friends and work colleagues are living in SF or Oakland.

I get the last part. I live in downtown San Mateo and recently starting living in SF for part of the week. I spend a lot of time in both, but during the week it's mostly in San Mateo, and maybe a night or two in the city. The weekends are almost exclusively spent in SF (if I'm in town).

But, before I lived in SF, too, I just lived in San Mateo and I was still able to spend as much time up in the city as I do now. From downtown SM, I can be in SF (SOMA/Mission Districts) in 20 minutes by 101, or around 25 minutes by 280-19th Ave to the Sunset/Richmond (the latter being where I live in SF, too). By train isn't that bad, either (BART or Caltrain), usually aorund 25-30 minutes.

Living outside of SF isn't the end of the world, especially if it means you won't have a terrible commute. Remember, you'll spend most of your life working and commuting, so it always makes the most sense to prioritize for that first. Free time in the city is easily had after work, even if you live outside of SF/Oakland. And, you'll save a lot of money by living outside the city (both on housing and on commute costs).

And one point that is often lost on a lot of people: even if you live in the city, it can often take the same amount of time to get to other places of the city than it does from places outside of the city. Example: it takes quite a while to get from the outer Sunset/Richmond to downtown (both by car or bus/streetcar). It's almost comparable to the amount of time it takes for me to get downtown from San Mateo. Obviously, there are things to do in the outer/inner Sunset/Richmond that can make living there nice (some great places to explore/eat, for instance), but you should see the point I'm trying to make.

If you're working in Santa Clara and San Leandro, really think about the type of life you'll have as a commuter if you live in the city...and think about doing it daily (it can get old really fast). A long commute, for me, is the single biggest factor in swaying me to live somewhere/not live somewhere.

[Luke44412]

Thank you. I really will consider that and have a look at San Mateo at the weekend. The costs for commuting is not an issue for me since the company is paying car and gas, but spending so much time in the car is a big issue.

Oakland would be great option for the moment because I commute mostly to San Leandro. That is only a 15 minutes drive. But when I need to start going to Santa Clara 2-3 days a week it will even be a worse drive than from San Francisco. I heared that traffic from Union City to San Jose/Santa Clara is horrible (both ways).

Thanks to all. I will check out all the options and hope to find a good solution .

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by Luke44412

Thank you. I really will consider that and have a look at San Mateo at the weekend. The costs for commuting is not an issue for me since the company is paying car and gas, but spending so much time in the car is a big issue.

While I personally love living in San Mateo, I would advise to cast your net wide and look up and down the peninsula at other places, too. And I don't mean to say "don't live in SF"; just, realize what it means for your commute if you do.

Originally Posted by Luke44412

Oakland would be great option for the moment because I commute mostly to San Leandro. That is only a 15 minutes drive. But when I need to start going to Santa Clara 2-3 days a week it will even be a worse drive than from San Francisco. I heared that traffic from Union City to San Jose/Santa Clara is horrible (both ways).

Thanks to all. I will check out all the options and hope to find a good solution .

Yea, the East Bay commute down 880 is really rough between Hayward and Fremont, and points south. There isn't an easy way to get to Santal Clara from most areas of the East Bay, unfortunately, and this does limit your search a bit (i.e. Yes, many parts of Oakland are a great place to live, but the commute would really be hard to Santa Clara).

[loloroj]

Why not live where you work? Has it occurred to you that what you're doing is an amazing waste of time/money? None of the conditions you initially established can be achieved. I advise you to rearrange your priorities and expectations, live where you work, or as close as possible....

[jade408]

Santa Clara to Oakland commute would be torture unless you work 10-7.


I am on my phone, please forgive the typos.