Moving from Minneapolis to San fran area (Fremont: mortgage, how much)

[vivithemage]

Originally Posted by TR95

Go to AC Transit | Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. I believe it is the transbay schedule Line O. Below is a link. Looks to be about a 35 minute bus ride with no stops once you get out of Alameda.

Maps and Schedules | AC Transit

Not a bad option, it looks like it has about 3 stops before hitting san fran bus station: San Francisco (Transbay Temporary Terminal)

If I am close enough though, it might be a lot faster to take a bus/bike up to fruitvale station and take the BART in.

The reviews are a bit alarming thoug, LOL
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fruitvale-bart-station-oakland

How's the CCW in california? haha

Originally Posted by rzzzz

if you are ballsy you can just ride your motorcycle.
Lane splitting is legal in CA and it's the fastest way to get from the east bay to SF...

From what i've read, it's not legal, but it's technically not illegal. Which is why it's "allowed" in the state. I have done a fair bit of reading on it haha.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by vivithemage

Our plan is to drive around and see what areas we like ... just trying to get some time off current jobs to line it up. Luckily new employer is being awesome and giving me until the end of Jan to start.

Good to know about the ferry, how direct/fast are the buses from Alameda? Or would I be better off motorcycle/bike/car to the BART system and take that in and walk the rest of my way to work?

Really direct depending on where you live. I took the "w" when i lived in alameda. There were 2 stops after mine and it went right to the freeway. Not all routes are equally direct. The "o" has all day service and a bit less direct. The commuter hours only ones tend to be faster.

p.s. Bart is ridiculously packed during the commute. The bus is not, and has wifi on most routes.

[bentobox34]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Fellow midwesterner here.

With kids, avoid any city that touches the 880 freeway, unless you want to pay for private schools/exclusive daycare.

Isn't Mission San Jose in Fremont supposed to be the best high school in North America or something like that?

[04kL4nD]

It's closer to 680 than 880, but yeah, something like that.

[bentobox34]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

It's closer to 680 than 880, but yeah, something like that.

Yeah but the comment was to avoid any city that touches 880, which seems incredibly overgeneralized.

I would agree that in any particular city, the neighborhoods near 880 are usually not as good as the neighborhoods up in the hills.

[04kL4nD]

Consider the source of that comment, and take it with a grain of salt.

[SForMNLee]

I moved from Minneapolis almost 2 years ago. I make about the same as you will be. No kids though and my future wife works, but doesn't have a huge income herself. I really like it, but we do see moving back to MN some day.

Have you looked out in the Sunset or Richmond at all? The weather can get chilly and foggy out there, but you can deal with it if you can deal with MN. It's really neat out by the ocean. Especially since you will really appreciate more than a lot of CA natives. The motorcycle will come in really hand from there too. It would turn an hour commute on the train into 25 mins. You'd have to pay for parking, but it will be cheap compared to a car.

The east bay can be nice, but you moved out here for the experience. And the experience of living in SF is pretty dang cool.

100K isn't going to feel like 75 did in Mpls though. You'll most likely end up in a small, old apartment that won't even compare to what you had back there. But don't worry. It's not forever. Either you'll find a new job after a year or two and get a nice bump up or you'll get sick of it and move to MN. Win win really.

Good luck.

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by bentobox34

Isn't Mission San Jose in Fremont supposed to be the best high school in North America or something like that?

No. I have no idea where you got that. They are not even the best in the bay or CA. So not anything like that.

You're probably thinking of Lowell in Sf, which is not the best, but fairly up there.

[04kL4nD]

Actually, you're incorrect. Mission San Jose is a fantastic high school.

Mission San Jose High School - Fremont, California - CA - School overview

An API score of 950 isn't high enough for you?

[NorCal Dude]

That does not make it the best school in the bay, let alone the country.

And at their income level, they likely would not be living in the wealthy part of Fremont.

The long commute to Fremont flats does not make sense, when there are much shorter commutes to better cities like Walnut Creek and Alameda.