Where or Where to live around Menlo Park? Moving from the east coast. (San Mateo: apartment)

[OutlineAV]

Hello,

Me: I'm a 30 year old man from Washington, DC considering accepting a job in Menlo Park, CA at Facebook. Curious to know which areas I should be looking at living in and which to avoid.

Ive read the forums here but most of the posts are a year plus old and things change daily. Wondering if you guys could recommend some reasonable areas for me to start my apartment search based on location, safety, traffic/commute, and fun things to do.

Location: I dont mind venturing off from Menlo Park but I am tired of the traffic but I am almost use to it. Commute time would have to be less than 30 (+/-) minutes.

Looking for: Ideally looking for a 1-br apartment. Pet friendly. close to public transportation would be ideal.

Budget: Most would be 2ish a month but would like to stay below that for sure. Totally aware that Menlo Park is one of the most expensive towns in one of the most expensive parts of one of the most expensive regions in one of the most expensive states in the US.

Apartment names would benefit much.

Was considering redwood city or fremont but again, I have no idea since I am basing things off of pictures i see online and reviews.

Greatly appreciate it.

[bmw335xi]

I would stick with Menlo Park, Palo Alto, San Carlos, Belmont, San Mateo, and Foster City. There is no need for you to move across the bay and deal with all that traffic and tolls when your expectations is only a 1 bedroom. You should look on craigslist because renting from an individual gets you more bang for the buck. Good luck! It's one of the nicest parts of the country!

[TVC15]

You also might consider Redwood City, Stanford or Atherton.