Cheapest place to live in Bay Area within public transport system?

[Oakformonday]

Originally Posted by nbv4

I'm moving from Santa Barbara, a fe hours south of the bay area. I have to move because my current roomates are remodeling their house and want to turn my room into a home office, so I have to vacate. Here in Santa Barbara, I live completely car free for the past 3.5 years. I use my bicycle to get around the entire town.

I'm 34 and have been programming since I was in middle school.

I'm actually thinking of getting a place in Gilroy or Scotts Valley or some place like that until I land a job permanently in the bay area. My goal is to find the absolute cheapest living arrangements I can find. I have a retirement fund I'm living off of that is worth about 60K right now. I'm not worried about running out of money, but I want to eat through that money as slow as possible.

I know all about the cliquey nature of Silicon Valley. I actually did manage to get hired by a bay area software company back in like 2013. They fired me after 2 weeks because I kept disagreeing with the 21 year old founder who insisted in micromanaging 100% of the work I was doing. So it's not completely unheard of for me to land a job here.

Sounds like you are unemployed down in SB? I would advise to find another room there unless your heart is really set on the Bay Area. If you move north and land an interview - I advise to keep a good attitude. The lack of one is seeping through your post and it will keep you from landing a job.

Also, keep in mind that the retirement money is taxed and there is a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Good luck!

[PixelatedTherapy]

The cheapest areas in the Bay with BART are Richmond in West Contra Costa County, and Pittsburg in East Contra Costa County. Pittsburg is a working class area, not horrible, just very blue collar. Richmond is one of the worst ghettos in the state of California , if not the worst. Richmond does have some nice areas, but the nice areas aren't cheap. I have a friend who lives in Marina Bay (a desirable Richmond neighborhood) and they pay north of 2k for a one bedroom. BART is going to be extended to Antioch in the near future, as of right now, Antioch is the most affordable city within the geographical limits of the Bay Area. Downtown Vallejo doesn't have BART, but it does have decent bus service and a ferry to San Francisco, so that may be a consideration. All of the places I've mentioned are very expensive from a national perspective, they're only considered cheap relative to the rest of the Bay Area. You really shouldn't move here unless you have something lined up. This is the most expensive place in the country to live. Even people with "good" jobs find it difficult at times. I would also like to point out that our city services dealing with homelessness are very strained, even in the up market suburbs, homelessness is a visible and severe problem Bay Area cities have to grapple with. Please reconsider coming here if you don't have something set up for yourself.

[rnc2mbfl]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWwOJlOI1nU