Are there safe cheap places to live near San Francisco??? (Oakland: apartment, renting)

[crm2k1]

Hello,

I have just recently finished going to college and I need to get a place. I would love to live in San Francisco and be able to explore it, but it is too expensive to live there. I decided I should live nearby so I can still go there so I was wondering is there a safe but a cheap place to live nearby SF. If so please let me know about the pros and cons on certain places. Thank you for replying.

[savoytruffle]

You should repost this in the San Francisco section of the California forum.

Do you have a job? You need one to live in the Bay Area.

[Osito]

I heard even Oakland is among the most expensive cities in the U.S. It might be hard to find a place to live but if you look, you might find it. Or you might be able to do a roommate situation and meet some cool people to room up with. Get info on the newspapers in SF and surrounding cities and go through their classifieds. Craigslist is another one that's good to use but I've never looked out there.

[Kibbiekat]

There are no cheap places near SF. This is in the wrong forum.

[cheryjohns]

Do you have a job yet?

[apexgds]

Wrong forum.

[HeSaySheSay]

NO. There is not.
A studio in a semi-safe area near SF will run you approx. $950/mo.
That is in San Leandro which is approx. 28min away from SF.

Berkeley is closer and safer but a studio will run you roughly $1250/mo at the cheapest.
Alameda is safe. A studio there will run you approx. $1200/mo.

On top of that you have to factor in BART prices that will cost nearly $9 roundtrip. I believe bus fare is $2 on the east bay I'm really not sure about SF's muni cost.
The toll is $5 and $6 at commute times.
Restaurants are expensive.
The hubby and I and our daughters went to a sandwich shop today-paid $40. #ohwell
Fines are expensive. The hubbby got a car pool lane ticket.. (on accident some exits/entries are car pool lane only) it cost $420.

Make sure you are prepared to come to the bay.
Also, the crime here is really bad. If you lived in a safe city you can avoid it. The above cities still has crime.
Safe is expensive in the Bay. Unless you have $1500/mo to spend on a studio, prepare for sirens and unwarranted crime.

[crm2k1]

Thank you for all the replies it was very helpful. I do have a job. Sorry about it being on the wrong Forum, i am new so i guess i did not see that. :T

[cheryjohns]

See if you can et the moderator to move it - you will get better results.

Congrats on the new job, BTW.

[Ruth4Truth]

I don't know what you consider "cheap", OP. But you should look on the Craigslist listings for the East Bay. There are studios from around $750 and up in Fremont (south of Oakland), in El Cerrito (north of Berkeley) for around $850, and in Berkeley and Oakland starting at around $950-$1000/mo. in good neighborhoods. Don't let people tell you the Bay Area is too expensive without checking the listings yourself. People tend to be wrong about how much a studio or 1-br. costs in which areas.

You also have the option of renting a room in a shared household or apartment for a few hundred $$. That might be a good way to get started; live cheaply for a year so you can save a good chunk of money, then move up to a studio or 1-br.