Where to live in Bay Area? (San Diego, San Jose: rentals, neighborhoods, buy)

[roopma]

Hi All,

We are moving from San Diego. I will be working in San Jose and my gf will be working in San Francisco. I need some advise about where to live considering being economical and commute. We have narrowed down these areas please advise -

- Pleasanton
- Mountain View
- Castro Valley
- Emmeryville

These were just based on internet search but I am not sure what kind of commute times will be involved after covid. For example, pleasanton to san jose, my understanding is that it will be 30-35 mins.

Any other input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Manny

[roadwarrior101]

I don't think 30-35 minutes from Pleasanton to SJ is realistic during rush hour (more like 2-3x that amount). It would be realistic during the middle of the night. It is a realistic time between Mountain View and San Jose during rush hour.

-Emeryville is close to SF but would be a long commute to SJ
-Mountain View is close to SJ but would be a long commute to SF
-Pleasanton and Castro Valley are fairly equidistant to SJ/SF but would have pretty long commutes to both (although you could take BART to SF from either)

I personally think that Pleasanton is the nicest of the 4 communities you've listed. Mountain View is also pretty nice. Good luck!

[ccm123]

Of the places you listed, Castro Valley and Mountain View would be the best locations for the commutes you both have, but rentals in Mountain View are very expensive.

Pleasanton to San Jose and San Francisco are both in heavy traffic, but you could take BART to San Francisco. Pleasanton to San Jose, during traffic hours, is a congested commute.

Commuting from Emeryville to San Jose in traffic hours would be a nightmare, I would not consider it.

I suggest looking at somewhere on the Peninsula (San Mateo, maybe?) or East Bay (Newark, maybe?) where you could have a decent commute to both locations. Either that, or have one person deal with a long commute, so the other one has a shorter commute.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

I don't think 30-35 minutes from Pleasanton to SJ is realistic during rush hour (more like 2-3x that amount). It would be realistic during the middle of the night. It is a realistic time between Mountain View and San Jose during rush hour.

-Emeryville is close to SF but would be a long commute to SJ
-Mountain View is close to SJ but would be a long commute to SF
-Pleasanton and Castro Valley are fairly equidistant to SJ/SF but would have pretty long commutes to both (although you could take BART to SF from either)

I personally think that Pleasanton is the nicest of the 4 communities you've listed. Mountain View is also pretty nice. Good luck!

It all depends. On the Peninsula, both can take the train. In the East Bay, BART now goes to north SJ with local transit connections, so both could take transit to work. That eliminates the freeway traffic issue, but depending on the timing of their commutes, there could be a BART crowding issue.

Fremont would be a good place to look, OP. It's close to SJ and has a BART station. There's also a Capitol Corridor train with a commute schedule that goes to SJ, from Sacramento passing through the East Bay, stopping in Fremont and Emeryville.

You can also look in the Rockridge area of north Oakland, where there's a BART station with only one stop between there and SF, and another line going south to SJ. Rockridge borders on Claremont and Elmwood, both south Berkeley neighborhoods served by the same BART station.

On the other side of the Bay, besides Mountain View, you could look in Menlo Park (again: train to work for both of you), which has a charming little downtown. All these recommendations are based on the assumption the two of you make enough to be able to afford the rents. Fremont would be the cheapest of all the options, if it matters. It's also the least charming of the recommended areas, having no defined downtown area and not being particularly walkable, but has parks, including one on the Bay with a bike/walking path leading to it.

Traffic around the Bay Area is nightmarish during commute hours (which extend from around 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. or so, pre-Covid, and again from around 3:30 pm to around 6:30 p.m.), so you'd do best to take transit. You can compare the fares on BART vs. the Capitol Corridor train, which would be less crowded than BART and has Wifi. Your only choice from the East Bay to SF would be BART, though.

[davdaven]

Where in SF and SJ will your offices be? SJ is almost as large as San Diego... If near a Caltrain or BART station, then I would focus on locations with good access to these transit services. Driving will be unpleasant. Also, what is your budget? The Bay Area is considerably more expensive than San Diego in every way (speaking as a native San Diegan). The Bay Area has many more communities than you mentioned that you may wish to consider. It would be helpful to know what kind of neighborhood vibe you want, if school quality matters to you, etc.

[Hemlock140]

We lived in Castro Valley for 15 years, and I only commuted to Oakland, but we have several friends still there that commute to Silicone Valley. Yes, it's long but then some people drive a lot farther, and you can take BART from CV to SF. Of the mentioned cities it is one of the more affordable, and central to both work cities. If you eventually have kids, and buy in Castro Valley make sure that it be above the freeway, below is in the (lousy) Hayward School District.

[BayAreaResiding]

I recommend Fremont. Fremont is a very safe city, safer than castro valley and emeryville and a lot nicer than both Emeryville and Castro Valley. Fremont is more open , where as castro valley and emeryville are very very crowded and compact. Fremont is probably your best bet. Fremont is safe and clean. Commuting to San Jose and San Francisco from Fremont is probably your best bet. Fremont has a bart station too.