Living and working downtown on 84K (San Francisco, Oakland: apartments, rentals, health insurance)

[itinérant]

Hello. Could I live in that area alone and work downtown making 84K without a car? My guess is that I would be priced out of any studio in San Francisco. Is there a way to live across the Bay and commute via subway w/o having a really long commute? My budget for rent is about 2K monthly.


Thanks for the tips.

[jade408]

Your best bet for finding a place around your budget in a walkable place is looking in Oakland around Broadway between about 27th and 51st. Stay close to Broadway because that puts you on the busiest bus route: the 51A/51B. Around 40th is the best vantage point because that gets you a 10 minute walk to BART and easy access to Piedmont Ave. A little further is Temescal. But this location gives you good access to groceries and frequent transit and entertainment.

A little less ideal is near the Rose Garden. This has less access to transit but is workable without a car if you are willing to walk a bit further. I live here, have a car but drive infrequently. Useful stuff is a 10-15 minute walk. In the area above along Broadway it is more like 5-10 minutes.

Lapham Company is a property manager that should have properties in both areas.

Don't bother living near Ashby BART and the surrounding North Oakland/South Berkeley areas. Transit options are pretty crappy (long walk, bad connections to useful stuff) and groceries are far.

You are priced out of everything else. Anything that says Rockridge in your budget is sketchy or far from transit. You are priced out of most stuff around the best part of the lake and the other side is inconvenient to work in SF.

Also, don't get hung up on being next to BART - the Transbay bus is a great option and far less crowded. I take the P bus - it takes 25 minutes most of the time to get to SF and stops near Embarcadero BART. If you work close to there it is the best choice. There are other routes like the C and the CB that serve the areas I mentioned.

If you are so inclined, biking will open up more neighborhoods for you.

[itinérant]

Thanks a lot for the detailed response. I would be working at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the address:


95 7th St, San Francisco, CA 94103


I really couldn't go much over 2K, if at all. I would prefer a short commute. Anything over 30 minutes is undesirable. I'm not opposed to biking, but I would rather not. I would rather either live close to the BART station or being able to walk to it w/n 10 minutes, preferably faster.


I hope this helps you narrow down the options even further.


Thanks again.

[AZJD]

Keep in mind if you are moving from another state, California's state income taxes are higher than other states.

Your "net" paycheck won't be much. $84k is a salary you'd need to live in a place like Concord or Pittsburg. And that is a 60 min BART ride. And you'd need a car for errands in town.

I'd never in my wildest dreams consider living near SF on $84k. Just so risky bc your disposable income is so minimal after taxes, health insurance, 401k.

Just another world in the Bay Area. Makes no sense sometimes.

[itinérant]

Originally Posted by AZJD

Keep in mind if you are moving from another state, California's state income taxes are higher than other states.

Your "net" paycheck won't be much. $84k is a salary you'd need to live in a place like Concord or Pittsburg. And that is a 60 min BART ride. And you'd need a car for errands in town.

I'd never in my wildest dreams consider living near SF on $84k. Just so risky bc your disposable income is so minimal after taxes, health insurance, 401k.

Just another world in the Bay Area. Makes no sense sometimes.

I'm going to wait to hear what others say, but I may be priced out.


Again, my biggest issue, outside of money, is transportation. I absolutely do not want a long commute to work. Anything over 30 minutes is presumptively unreasonable. So, if I can't find a studio/1bd for 2K that's near a BART station that can get me to the Ninth Circuit, I won't be living my California dream.

[livinfairfax]

Originally Posted by itinérant

Hello. Could I live in that area alone and work downtown making 84K without a car? My guess is that I would be priced out of any studio in San Francisco. Is there a way to live across the Bay and commute via subway w/o having a really long commute? My budget for rent is about 2K monthly.


Thanks for the tips.

oh man, you'll starve to death.

[TheCityTheBridge]

Originally Posted by itinérant

I'm going to wait to hear what others say, but I may be priced out.


Again, my biggest issue, outside of money, is transportation. I absolutely do not want a long commute to work. Anything over 30 minutes is presumptively unreasonable. So, if I can't find a studio/1bd for 2K that's near a BART station that can get me to the Ninth Circuit, I won't be living my California dream.

Don't live alone.

Not sure what the position is--if you are looking at clerking on the 9th Circuit, then the experience is worth the inconvenience of a couple of years sharing housing and budgeting tighter than you might like. If this is a permanent staff position, then you are probably better off elsewhere.

[tikkasf]

If you have not already done so, I suggest taking some time to calculate a ball park figure for what your net income might be. If you are from outside of CA, you can go to the Franchise Tax Board website to calculate state taxes. Once you have a net salary number, you can then calculate the rest of what your monthly budget may look like for food, clothes, utilities, savings, entertainment and so forth......at that point, you should have some idea what your rental budget could be. In the craigslist link below are current rentals in SF with a maximum of $2,200 a month. in looking outside of SF, keep in mind transportation cost. Personally if I was you, I would not look any further east then Oakland or Berkeley.


SF bay area apartments / housing rentals - craigslist

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/online/Tax_Ca...es&WT.svl=IRa1

[jade408]

Originally Posted by itinérant

Thanks a lot for the detailed response. I would be working at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the address:


95 7th St, San Francisco, CA 94103


I really couldn't go much over 2K, if at all. I would prefer a short commute. Anything over 30 minutes is undesirable. I'm not opposed to biking, but I would rather not. I would rather either live close to the BART station or being able to walk to it w/n 10 minutes, preferably faster.


I hope this helps you narrow down the options even further.


Thanks again.

Where I mentioned is the best bet for you. But to be 100% honest you aren't going to find much at your budget. Around 41st/Broadway is about $1850 for a one bedroom. Few studios. That is as cheap as you can get being fairly close to BART and other walkable amenities. It much be a bit cheaper at 34th/Broadway but not a lot of inventory in Pill Hill.

There are not many places near Bart for under $2000. There are also few walkable areas. You can afford a 60s-80s apartment that may or may not be super rennovated. You'll have a no frills building.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by itinérant

I'm going to wait to hear what others say, but I may be priced out.


Again, my biggest issue, outside of money, is transportation. I absolutely do not want a long commute to work. Anything over 30 minutes is presumptively unreasonable. So, if I can't find a studio/1bd for 2K that's near a BART station that can get me to the Ninth Circuit, I won't be living my California dream.

Don't come to CA. Being frank. You won't be living the dream. 30 minute commute is barely in your budget. The areas I recommended are 30-35 minutes. If you don't find anything in this area there is nothing that'll work for you. Walkable areas are few. And walkable areas under $2500 are even fewer.

The areas I recommended are a bit under the radar but I know plenty of car free people that live there.