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Old 10-19-2013, 11:01 PM
 
2 posts, read 1,585 times
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Hi guys,


I got a tech job in Silicon Valley earlier this year, and I have been living in an apartment in Santa Clara by myself. I like the place I live in, in that it is close to work (15 minutes), I have everything I would need close by, and on the weekends, I can go to SF if I want.


However, since I am a lemming, and I have not raised myself above the plane of superficial human needs, the idea of living in SF next year, is spinning in my head, at least to try it out. I am looking for some suggestions on where I can get a 1BR apartment that is close to

1) Caltrain Station.
2) 101 or 280.

I make 105 k per year, and I really don't want to spend more than 2K on an apartment. Do you guys have any suggestions on which areas I should look for? Any traffic bottlenecks I should be aware of? That would be a huge help in determining if living in SF is for me.

Also why is it so hard to meet people after school?
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Old 10-20-2013, 11:45 PM
 
Location: surrounded by reality
538 posts, read 1,191,670 times
Reputation: 670
Unless your employer provides a shuttle between the city and your office, I would recommend against living in SF. If you think you can handle the traffic, try a weekly rental through airbnb and see how you manage the commute before you have to commit to a place.
As far as the neighborhoods, commute, etc., there is plenty of information in this forum's previous posts. I think there is a better chance you will get answers if you ask more specific questions.
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Old 10-21-2013, 04:21 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,070,027 times
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Craiglist has 6 listings for under 2000 a month that have the word "caltrain" in the listing.

Here is the list.

If you don't mind a roommate or two -- note that you would have to interview with them because they have to decide if they want to live with you -- you can get something as low as $550 in that area.

List of rooms in SF with the word caltrain in the listing, lowest price first.

If you remove the word caltrain from the apartment listing, there are 366 listings in San Francisco for your own apartment under 2000 a month, the cheapest is $650 a month. You can click on "map view" to see a map of where the listings are. If you do that, it looks like there are lots of apartments available for under 2000 on the other side of Market from the Caltrain station. (Caltrain is at 4th and King, by the Bay Bridge)
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Old 10-21-2013, 04:24 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,070,027 times
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I wouldn't worry about traffic, if the job is in SF and you're working in SF, you can get to work either with public transit or walking. SF is only like 10 square miles.

I don't know why people would drive to work in the Bay Area, especially SF or Silicon Valley.
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Old 10-21-2013, 04:35 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,070,027 times
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(I would definitely want a car...I can't afford it right now but I want one...I just don't think I would necessarily drive it to work.)
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Old 10-21-2013, 08:53 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
13,561 posts, read 10,356,919 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
I wouldn't worry about traffic, if the job is in SF and you're working in SF, you can get to work either with public transit or walking. SF is only like 10 square miles.

I don't know why people would drive to work in the Bay Area, especially SF or Silicon Valley.
The OP works in Silicon Valley, not SF, so this is not applicable.
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Old 10-21-2013, 10:32 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,070,027 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverkris View Post
The OP works in Silicon Valley, not SF, so this is not applicable.
Yeah, but OP is saying, they currently live in SV and are considering living in SF and commuting from there so yes, still no car needed.

Just live near Caltrain at 4th and King, get on Caltrain, get off at the Caltrain nearest the place you work (there are several Caltrain stations in Silicon Valley) and then take a bus/walk/bike from there as desired.

The express/"baby bullet" trains take about an hour from SF to San Jose, and IIRC there are 2 or 3 stations before the San Jose Diridon station so it would be less than an hour into Silicon Valley. The whole trip might be 1.5 hours to 2 hours, but you're not driving in stop and go traffic so there's no road rage.

The biggest drawback I can think of is that Caltrain monthly tickets can be a little expensive for someone like myself on minimum wage, but OP says they make six figures so that shouldn't be a problem. Clipper makes it a lot easier, just tag on in SF, tag off in SV, then tag when you board a bus. If your Caltrain pass covers travel in Santa Clara County it will be counted as a monthly pass for Santa Clara County VTA.

Having said that, yes, I would stay in SV myself, however it is possible and pratical to go from SF to SV every day on transit.
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Old 10-21-2013, 11:55 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
13,561 posts, read 10,356,919 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
Yeah, but OP is saying, they currently live in SV and are considering living in SF and commuting from there so yes, still no car needed.

Just live near Caltrain at 4th and King, get on Caltrain, get off at the Caltrain nearest the place you work (there are several Caltrain stations in Silicon Valley) and then take a bus/walk/bike from there as desired.

The express/"baby bullet" trains take about an hour from SF to San Jose, and IIRC there are 2 or 3 stations before the San Jose Diridon station so it would be less than an hour into Silicon Valley. The whole trip might be 1.5 hours to 2 hours, but you're not driving in stop and go traffic so there's no road rage.

The biggest drawback I can think of is that Caltrain monthly tickets can be a little expensive for someone like myself on minimum wage, but OP says they make six figures so that shouldn't be a problem. Clipper makes it a lot easier, just tag on in SF, tag off in SV, then tag when you board a bus. If your Caltrain pass covers travel in Santa Clara County it will be counted as a monthly pass for Santa Clara County VTA.

Having said that, yes, I would stay in SV myself, however it is possible and pratical to go from SF to SV every day on transit.
Uh, you said if the job is in SF, and you're living in SF, then you don't need a car. I was addressing that. Now, or someone who lives in SF and wants to commute to SV via Caltrain, it is only practical if their office in the Valley is convenient to a CalTrain station, either walking distance, biking, or a convenient bus/shuttle (such as the Marguerite shuttle bus to Stanford U from the PA Caltrain station).

A lot of major employers, such as Cisco, Intel, aren't conveniently sited to the CalTrain station.

It's not just the money spent for the commute, it's also the time factor. Figure a minimum of 1.5 hrs each way. I know there's the cachet about living in SF, but during the week, one is likely to be too exhausted to enjoy the city if they have to do a long commute.

I concur with the idea that it's better to live close to where you work, and go into the city on the weekends.
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Old 10-22-2013, 03:01 PM
 
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,070,027 times
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Disregard what I wrote 5 minutes ago, silverkris is right, about 1.5 hours each way. So, up to OP whether it is worth it.

(just to be clear, 1.5 hours total, from sf caltrain to cisco campus. You get on light rail in mountain view, it is a combined caltrain and light rail station, then 30 minutes to Cisco. )

Last edited by neutrino78x; 10-22-2013 at 03:13 PM..
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Old 10-22-2013, 03:22 PM
 
1,614 posts, read 2,072,214 times
Reputation: 804
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutrino78x View Post
I wouldn't worry about traffic, if the job is in SF and you're working in SF, you can get to work either with public transit or walking. SF is only like 10 square miles.

I don't know why people would drive to work in the Bay Area, especially SF or Silicon Valley.
Because public transit can often take much longer than driving in a car, even during rush hour.
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