Relocation to the Bay Area (San Francisco, Sacramento: apartment, renters, houses)

[jribe]

Hi Everyone,
after almost 4 years in the midwest I am looking at opportunities to move back to Northern California (born and raised there). I have a good chance at being able to stay with my current company and taking a promotion in San Francisco area- I would prefer somewhere like Sacramento due to COL but I work in Financial Services and there just isn't much there for me.

Wanted to get some advice on what areas to look at- 2 adults, 2 small dogs (under 15lbs) and looking for a rental under $2,500 with commutable distance to SF and most important is safety. I would take a longer commute - or even up the price range for a very safe area.

Thoughts?

thanks for your help in advance

[Ruth4Truth]

Concord or Pleasant Hill. It's on the BART commuter line. As of now, there are still houses available at your price. But rents in the East Bay have exploded recently, so it's anyone's guess what the market will be like when you're ready to make your move. You may have to go further out to get a house vs. an apt. You might try discussing that with your superiors, to negotiate a slightly higher salary, for the inevitable rent increases. Seriously, it's kind of scary, OP, what's going on with rents. They've jumped up by several hundred $$/mo. just in the last year.

Fremont/Union City, which are on the Bay and a much closer commute (on the BART line) is very safe, and still has houses available more or less in your range (more options if you can go up to $2700-$2800). Being on the Bay, it's cooler in the summers, and has a Bayside regional park with bike trails. If you can find something there, you might be pretty happy. Watch the Craigslist listings closely, and call immediately when something comes up.

Good luck. And welcome back to NorCal!

[justinbro2002]

if you find a place on Craigslist proceed with caution a lot of scammers offering rentals usually a prices too good to be true. I like to email them sometimes to waste their time when it is an obvious scam.

[Ruth4Truth]

A 2-br place at $2700 isn't likely to be a scam. Anyone can get a feel for the rental mkt pretty quickly, and can weed out the scams.

[dalparadise]

I just checked a listing in my building in the City. It's a 1BR three doors down the hall, and has no view (unlike mine). It is also smaller than mine (also a 1BR). However, it's listed at over $900/mo more than I rented mine for 2.5 years ago.

Like mine, it is rent-controlled, though. So, there's that...

[sue.sudwell]

Would you consider Walnut Creek? I lived there two years ago. Affluent community with growing young professionals to the downtown area. 25 miles away from SF.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

I just checked a listing in my building in the City. It's a 1BR three doors down the hall, and has no view (unlike mine). It is also smaller than mine (also a 1BR). However, it's listed at over $900/mo more than I rented mine for 2.5 years ago.

Like mine, it is rent-controlled, though. So, there's that...

Similar situation in my apt building in San Mateo. Current move-in rent for units that are similar to mine are about $900 dollars more than what I'm paying. My 1BR apartment is cheaper than current studios in my apartment building, and by quite a bit ($300-$500 cheaper). I moved into my unit in 2011, and my rent hasn't gone up too much since then. From the price I moved into to the move-in price now, a 1BR unit is renting for $1200 more a month than it was in 2011...just crazy.

My G/F's apartment in the City that she has had since 2007 is $1400 less a month than comparable units in the neighborhood (if one were to move in to an apt today). Her rent has only gone up about ~$150 a month since 2007 (rent control and good landlord). Her move-in rent to current market rate move-in has been about a ~120% increase in ~7 years...Kind of crazy when one remembers that even in 2007, rents weren't "cheap", either.

Rents around the Bay Area have seen similar increases, even in the East Bay (which is still considerably cheaper than SF, the peninsula, and the South Bay).

Originally Posted by jribe

Hi Everyone,
after almost 4 years in the midwest I am looking at opportunities to move back to Northern California (born and raised there). I have a good chance at being able to stay with my current company and taking a promotion in San Francisco area- I would prefer somewhere like Sacramento due to COL but I work in Financial Services and there just isn't much there for me.

Wanted to get some advice on what areas to look at- 2 adults, 2 small dogs (under 15lbs) and looking for a rental under $2,500 with commutable distance to SF and most important is safety. I would take a longer commute - or even up the price range for a very safe area.

Thoughts?

thanks for your help in advance

Definitely East Bay, try to look along BART lines, possibly around Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, and Concord. 2-BR might be a challenge for your budget, especially with pets...landlords are very against renting to pet owners (mainly because they can rent to renters without pets since there is so much demand); but I think it is possible/doable. Something like this seems to fit what you're looking for? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/4886391554.html