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Old 03-11-2009, 07:18 PM
 
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
23 posts, read 162,855 times
Reputation: 39

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Hi everyone. I'm currently looking for a 2 bedroom place around the bay area, with a few specifics in mind.

1. I will be working in Santa Rosa 2-3 days/week, working at home the rest of the time. Income about 75k.
2. We need a 2 bedroom place because my wife and I are expecting a baby in October. As such, we'd like a safe neighborhood with parks nearby. We also own a small dog (which seems to limit things quite a bit in the city, I hear).
3. My wife needs easy access to the city, and citylife in general (nearby restaurants, lots of people around, lots of things to do). My wife is Japanese and will still be a novice driver, and helping her to make friends is a priority. As such, living near Japantown in SF would be nice but not necessary. We're getting out of Santa Rosa because there is no Japanese community at all up here, and everything is car-oriented.
4. Preferably has washer/dryer units or hookups in unit (but I guess most places in SF don't have this)

I'm fine with an hour reverse commute from the city to Santa Rosa, but anything south of the city would probably result in an unpleasant commute. We were thinking of a budget of around 2000/month.

Can any of you recommend a good neighborhood fit for us? The Richmond and Sunset areas of SF seem nice (apart from the fog), safe, ethnically diverse, and good public transportation into the city. It seems that lower pacific heights (right by Japantown, which is a big plus for us) also has places bordering 2000/month... but I'm not sure how safe it is, due to the proximity to the Fillmore area.

If 2000/month isn't really enough to find a decent safe place in the city, we would be open to other areas near BART and still not a big commute to Santa Rosa, like the East Bay from Oakland northwards (Emoryville, Berkley, El Cerrito, etc), but SF would definitely be preferable.

Am I setting my expectations too high for 2000/month? Thanks for any input.
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Old 03-12-2009, 02:07 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
802 posts, read 2,259,306 times
Reputation: 257
I live in Lower Pac Heights, a couple of blocks away from Japantown. I haven't had any safety concerns at all. I think that you'll be fine north of Geary. However, you might be hard pressed to find a decent place with W/D hookups in this area for $2000/month. If you are able to raise your housing budget to $2500/month, you'll have a lot more options.
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Old 03-12-2009, 08:31 AM
 
516 posts, read 1,335,148 times
Reputation: 120
You will probably be able to find a place in the Outer Richmond in your price range. Yeah, its foggy (I admit to loving this) but its also very family friendly and close to many parks (Golden Gate, Sutro Heights, Ocean Beach, Lincoln, Land's End). The 38 Geary can take you (or your wife) directly to Japantown and on into Downtown. She won't need a car. You can take 25th Ave right to the Golden Gate Bridge for easy access in/out of the City.

Have you tried the commute to Santa Rosa? Its only a reverse commute until you get to Petaluma, so it might take a bit over an hour. I guess it depends on where in Santa Rosa you work. It will also take you much longer to get home because traffic on 101 south is much worse in the afternoons (I used to drive SF to Napa everyday). But at least you don't have to go in everyday!
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Old 03-12-2009, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
23 posts, read 162,855 times
Reputation: 39
Thanks for the advice. I figured lower pac heights might have been a little out of my price range, but being next to a large Japanese community was a big plus for us.

Outer Richmond seems nice and quiet, but is it also completely dull? Is it all just residential apartments, or are there streets with markets and restaurants and a kind of community where there's pedestrian activity? Something like the Chinese area on Clement in Inner Richmond is what I had in mind.

And no, I haven't actually tried the reverse commute... but I can see how there'd be some problems from Petaluma. Thankfully it's not as bad in Santa Rosa now that they've widened 101.

How bad is the commute from the East Bay across the Richmond Bridge into Marin? With BART over there and a bit more reasonable rates (like Berkeley, Emoryville, El Cerrito), is it something to consider?

Thanks!
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Old 03-12-2009, 02:12 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
1,554 posts, read 5,276,595 times
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Just to let you know there is not a large Japanese population in Jtown.
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Old 03-12-2009, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
23 posts, read 162,855 times
Reputation: 39
Well, I suppose they aren't exactly living there, but it's still a community gathering center for Japanese people, at least in San Francisco. There's a decent market, the bookstore, and restaurants that serve real cheap Japanese food (and I don't mean <insert meat here> teriyaki with rice, or meals that cost upwards of 20 bucks).

AFAIK, Japanese never really eat teriyaki, unless it's the chicken-on-a-stick kind.
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Old 03-12-2009, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
1,554 posts, read 5,276,595 times
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It's ok nothing like LA or Hawaii but Ok. I'm surprised there's no real good authentic Japanese spots in Jtown like in LA.
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Old 03-13-2009, 10:20 PM
 
14 posts, read 72,798 times
Reputation: 18
I live in Berkeley and did the commute over the richmond bridge to Novato for 2 years. Its fast. Eastbay is nice. East/north berkeley are more desireable. Albany is mellow and so are parts of El Cerrito. You definitely get a bigger place, and parking is easy. But if dullness is something youd worry about, Id say live in the city. JPtown = overrated. Theres more of a Japanese presence in San Mateo.
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Old 03-14-2009, 02:05 AM
 
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
23 posts, read 162,855 times
Reputation: 39
Well, San Francisco is the northernmost Japanese community I know of... I know there's a Japantown in San Jose and various Japanese grocery stores in the south bay, but that's too far for my commute.

It's good to hear the commute from East bay to North bay isn't bad... I would think that where 580 ends at 101 would be awful... that place always seems congested?

And San Mateo would have the same problems as Santa Rosa... not great public transportation and necessity to use a car. If we can't afford SF, I suppose Berkeley/El Cerrito is another option, if it's near BART. I'm thinking outer Richmond would be best though... affordable, relatively cheap, and the Geary bus takes you to both JPtown and downtown.
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Old 03-14-2009, 09:54 AM
 
516 posts, read 1,335,148 times
Reputation: 120
There is one street with pedestrian activity in the Outer Richmond...Balboa between 38-33rd ish. Its where the Balboa Theater is, and there are lots of restaurants two or three small markets, and a couple of coffee shops. Its nothing as comprehensive as Clement, but its a good place to have nearby.

My personal faves on Outer Balboa:

Simple Pleasures Coffee - They roast their own brews in the storefront nextdoor, so their coffee is great and so are their bagels. A good place to go on a Sunday morning to read the paper.

Shanghai Dumpling - Wonderful hole-in-the-wall cheap Chinese food. Cash only so plan accordingly.

Balboa Teriyaki - Great Japanese food. 'Nuff said.

Americana Grill and Fountain - Good place to go for breakfast, but also great for Pho. Its basically a Vietnamese/American diner...that also serves Italian food.

Plus as I said before you're in walking distance to some great parks and hikes. The hike around Land's End is really top knotch...if you have never done it I recommend it. You are close enough to the ocean that you can hear foghorns at night.
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