If you could afford $2,000 a month rent and single what would you do? (San Francisco: rentals)

[gg]

He will be commuting to the Financial District. Wouldn't want to deal with too much crime if possible. Willing to commute to an hour or more if he has too. Roommates okay, but doesn't have any lined up and living with strangers might be dicy? Don't know.

Heard Alameda is a good place, but the commute may be tough. Can he even live in San Fransisco with such a budget? I suspect not.

Any ideas welcome. He will have a car, but that might actually be a liability and I heard car break ins are often? Thanks for any help.

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by gg

He will be commuting to the Financial District. Wouldn't want to deal with too much crime if possible. Willing to commute to an hour or more if he has too. Roommates okay, but doesn't have any lined up and living with strangers might be dicy? Don't know.

Heard Alameda is a good place, but the commute may be tough. Can he even live in San Fransisco with such a budget? I suspect not.

Any ideas welcome. He will have a car, but that might actually be a liability and I heard car break ins are often? Thanks for any help.

Craigslist is his friend. Look for rentals there. $2,000 should be enough for a studio (and possibly bigger depending on neighborhood) somewhere in San Francisco or outside of it.

If he wants to live by himself. his options are:

1. Live in a studio close to the Financial District, but parking usually cost extra or not available at all. The upside is he can bike/walk to work. Neighborhoods: SOMA, Union Square, Nob Hill.

2. Live in a studio (or one bedroom) in a more parking friendly but hip SF residential neighborhood that is a bit further from the Financial District. Will have to take public transportation to work. Neighborhoods: Hayes Valley, Castro, Potrero Hill, Richmond District, Sunset District, and too many to list them all.

3. Live in the southern part of SF where rent is generally much cheaper and the area is working-class and not hip at all. Commute by bus only and they are slow. Neighborhoods: Excelsior, Portola, Crocker Amazon, Visitation Valley, (Avoid Bayview).

4. Live in a bigger space (or cheaper rent) just outside of SF with access to BART or ferry, he should have no problem with parking in these areas. I suggest the following places: Alameda (take ferry), Oakland (neighborhood: Temescal, Lake Merritt, North Oakland, etc), Berkeley, Emeryville, Daly City, Colma.

5. If he really likes the suburbs and doesn't mind 1 hour (or longer) commute, live here (the rent is surprisingly affordable compared to SF): East Bay: Walnut Creek, Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Castro Valley. Peninsula: San Bruno, San Mateo, Brisbane.



If he wants to live with roommates:

6. Just browse craigslist. Naturally, it's a hit or miss; but having roommates can be a great way to know people in a new city.


I'd say #2 and #6 are the most common for newcomers.

.

[gg]

Originally Posted by beb0p

Craigslist is his friend. Look for rentals there. $2,000 should be enough for a studio (and possibly bigger depending on neighborhood) somewhere in San Francisco or outside of it.

If he wants to live by himself. his options are:

1. Live in a studio close to the Financial District, but parking usually cost extra or not available at all. The upside is he can bike/walk to work. Neighborhoods: SOMA, Union Square, Nob Hill.

2. Live in a studio (or one bedroom) in a more parking friendly but hip SF residential neighborhood that is a bit further from the Financial District. Will have to take public transportation to work. Neighborhoods: Hayes Valley, Castro, Potrero Hill, Richmond District, Sunset District, and too many to list them all.

3. Live in the southern part of SF where rent is generally much cheaper and the area is working-class and not hip at all. Commute by bus only and they are slow. Neighborhoods: Excelsior, Portola, Crocker Amazon, Visitation Valley, (Avoid Bayview).

4. Live in a bigger space (or cheaper rent) just outside of SF with access to BART or ferry, he should have no problem with parking in these areas. I suggest the following places: Alameda (take ferry), Oakland (neighborhood: Temescal, Lake Merritt, North Oakland, etc), Berkeley, Emeryville, Daly City, Colma.

5. If he really likes the suburbs and doesn't mind 1 hour (or longer) commute, live here (the rent is surprisingly affordable compared to SF): East Bay: Walnut Creek, Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Castro Valley. Peninsula: San Bruno, San Mateo, Brisbane.



If he wants to live with roommates:

6. Just browse craigslist. Naturally, it's a hit or miss; but having roommates can be a great way to know people in a new city.


I'd say #2 and #6 are the most common for newcomers.

.

Wow, thank you so much for your response. I just did a search on CL and it looks very promising, but hope they ads are real and okay. I guess you meet a person at the place and go from there. There are rooms for rent right there. Seems sort of too good to be true. $1500 or even less for a room? Sounds good.

[likealady]

IDK who "he" is, but roommates to start out is a good idea until he can get a better idea of where he might want to live longer term.

Alameda is nice, more for young families with kids imo, but he will need to drive and park to get to the ferry as it's off in a secluded part of the island (it's also not cheap and doesn't offer a lot of departure times). He'd be better off taking a transbay bus.

[gg]

Originally Posted by likealady

IDK who "he" is, but roommates to start out is a good idea until he can get a better idea of where he might want to live longer term.

Alameda is nice, more for young families with kids imo, but he will need to drive and park to get to the ferry as it's off in a secluded part of the island (it's also not cheap and doesn't offer a lot of departure times). He'd be better off taking a transbay bus.

Thanks. Just trying to help a family member in his mid 20's. Maybe Alameda isn't a good idea.

I am hoping now to get a shared room near the Financial District if possible or at least in SF proper somewhere. Thanks for all the help. Just needs a nice sized room and a parking place if possible. Will be working a lot and a very quiet person. Sharing might be the best option.

[Dapper Zoom]

I'd say get rid of the car and look for a nice roommate situation north of market street near (or in) the financial district. He ca take Uber or Lyft, public transportation or walk where he needs to go, and then rent a car if he wants to take a road trip to Yosemite, Tahoe, or Wine Country.