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Old 09-26-2013, 01:27 AM
 
8 posts, read 11,756 times
Reputation: 11

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Recently accepted an offer for a job in San Francisco.

I'm moving with a family of 3 (2 adults and 1 kid).

My salary is $60,000.

From looking at Craigslist and padmapper are quite expensive.

I don't mind commuting, so I don't mind living in the greater San Francisco area. I would like to avoid the toll bridges.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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Old 09-26-2013, 01:43 AM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,505,733 times
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How old is your kid? For good schools look at Alameda.

If you can wait on schools, and you can afford to live close to where you work, that is the ideal in the SF Bay Area. Commuting sucks. Life is better when you don't have to commute.

The SF school system is on a lottery system which I've heard can be a nightmare. Depending on what part of the city you will work in you might want to look at San Mateo or other areas. I just personally like Alameda, but check out other options for ease of commute and good schools.
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Old 09-26-2013, 07:10 AM
 
8 posts, read 11,756 times
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Kid is 3 years old. Is there a toll from Alameda to San Francisco? My job is located in the heart of San Francisco. I'm moving from the East Coast to San Francisco. What's the best advice for someone looking for a place?
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Old 09-26-2013, 08:25 AM
 
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Alameda looks nice from what I've been reading and looking at. How is Daly City area? San Mateo? Any places to avoid? I also have a car.
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Old 09-26-2013, 11:01 AM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,505,733 times
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Yes, there is a toll if you drive back and forth across the Bay Bridge from the Alameda side to SF. Alameda also doesn't have a BART stop, so you'd have to drive to a BART station if you took BART to SF.

I've heard San Mateo is really nice, but don't personally know that area or Daly City.
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Old 09-26-2013, 11:03 AM
 
Location: oakland / berkeley
507 posts, read 917,597 times
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The view on the Oakland/Alameda ferry is incredible, but a little more expensive than BART.
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Old 09-26-2013, 11:14 AM
 
Location: San Francisco
8,982 posts, read 10,462,326 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 0bsolete View Post
Recently accepted an offer for a job in San Francisco.

I'm moving with a family of 3 (2 adults and 1 kid).

My salary is $60,000.
I hope the other adult will be working too; otherwise you won't enjoy life here very much.
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Old 09-26-2013, 11:48 AM
 
3,098 posts, read 3,785,557 times
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you will be struggling if you live in the city iof san francisco
your income is considerably below what qualifies as low income for a family in san francisco.
the good news is you most likely qualify for some form of government assistance.
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Old 09-26-2013, 12:18 PM
 
8 posts, read 11,756 times
Reputation: 11
That's why it would be better for me to live outside of San Francisco. I was looking at Daly City and San Mateo. Possibly Alameda. So far, I've liked what I've heard and read about Alameda.

The other adult will be working.

Thank you for all your responses.
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Old 09-26-2013, 02:08 PM
 
49 posts, read 234,858 times
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My best piece of advice is to try hard to find the RIGHT place in the city, not just A place. When I moved from the east coast, my roommate and grabbed an apartment by baker beach. First one we saw. Gorgeous, safe, but without a car, it's difficult to live there. Now I am looking for an apartment again and all the prices have gone up. Now I regret not looking for the right place for me. Expect renting to be more difficult and expensive when your lease is up. It might be tough right now, but it looks like it will only get worse.

However, if you do have a car, and the other adult is working, you might want to consider Baker Beach apartments in the presidio. Great neighborhood, and when I was looking november last year, the rent was a bit over 2k, with town homes a little over 3. Probably has gone up since then. It's very safe, the there is a shuttle that'll get you downtown in 45 minutes to an hour during normal commuting hours. Walk to the beach, actual nature for your kid to play in, and washer and dryer hookups in the unit. I also found the leasing process to be remarkably painless,one free parking spot. Central Richmond (which I really like) is right next door. If I had a kid, I'd put up with the commute.

My brother has a kid about your kids age. They live in Dublin, and he commutes via Bart. Takes him a little over an hour to get home, but he uses the Bart ride in for "me" time. Working on personal projects, playing video games blah blah. The weather out there is great, and is definitely a nice suburban area, if thats your thing. Very car friendly. can't say much more than that.

Last edited by rao4400; 09-26-2013 at 02:28 PM.. Reason: typo
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