Potential new Bay area resident (San Jose, San Francisco: apartments, travel, rent)

[richzip]

I had a job interview this week with a company in the bay area, and am very excited about the possiblity of moving here. While I haven't received an offer yet, I want to do as much research as possible before then.

I will be working in Burlingame; very near SFO but not right by a BART/Caltrain stop. So unless I take a taxi from Bart/Caltrain, I would likely have to drive.

So, what would be the best areas to live ..considering both commute and cost. I would like to spend no more than $1300/month on rent.

In doing some research, I am considering areas in the south bay area. What is it like in places like Sunnyvale & Redwood City? What would an average rush hour commute be like from those areas to Burlingame? Does the east bay have a better commute?

[adriean]

The bayarea is looking forward to having you here. I was born and raised in San Francisco 59 years ago, and I have left and come back. No place like home. Rrents in San Francisco are quite hi but the weather is wonderful, now moving south next city is Daly City, not too bad, could be better weather wise, then there Westlake which has a blanket of fog over it 75% of the time. It truly is a foggy place to live one of the worst. Coming up next is Pacifica by the beach. Pacifica is a lovely place to live but you have to love water since it is located on the coast. There are plenty of places to go from there like into Half Moon Bay, lots of restaurants, golfing, surfing and fishing. Since it is by the coast it tends to be windy so put on your sweater, but when the weather is good it is really good. Coming up next is So. San Francisco and San Bruno. These 2 towns are sort of centralized. Plenty of commute buses to bart and back and to the train stations if you like trains. Weather is not too bad. Then comes Milbrae then Burlingame, both towns are warm places to live in, good food, and good transportation, but for some reason my daughter does not like living in either town. Then comes San Mateo, Belmont, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and further on down until you come to sunny San Jose, which includes Mountain View and Sunnyvale, not necessarily in that order. These places are very warm weather wise and nice places to live in. As far as rents are concerned you are looking at about $1200.00 for a 1 bedroom to maybe $1600.00 for a 2 bedroom. Bart runs from San Francisco making stops in Daly City, Colma, So. San Francisco and Milbrae and the SFO. If you are looking for hot weather you'll want to stick to the south Milbrae on down to San Jose. Hope this helps

[sonarrat]

I work in exactly the same kind of spot. Check to see if your site is served by one of the Caltrain shuttles - there are at least two that serve different parts of Burlingame using the Millbrae station as a hub. I lived in South San Francisco for six months, and it took me a half-hour to get to work and back using the SamTrans 390 and the shuttle - and there is an extensive bus network running through the northern peninsula to get you from pretty much anywhere to the nearest BART station.

Now I live in Redwood City, and the commute on 101 is pretty sluggish especially as you go through San Mateo towards/away from the bridge. But the big plus is Caltrain, which is more time-efficient than BART even if service isn't as frequent. West of El Camino is definitely better than east, and the further west the better. The area around Edgewood Road is best of all. There are only a few apartments in the Emerald Hills/Edgewood areas, but the ones that are there are more reasonably priced than you'd expect.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by richzip

So, what would be the best areas to live ..considering both commute and cost. I would like to spend no more than $1300/month on rent.

In doing some research, I am considering areas in the south bay area. What is it like in places like Sunnyvale & Redwood City? What would an average rush hour commute be like from those areas to Burlingame? Does the east bay have a better commute?

Sunnyvale is very nice, but super quiet and suburban... rent is reasonable compared to other towns, and there's not a whole lot to do. So it really depends on what you like, but if "excitement" or city-life appeals to you, this wouldn't be the place. Redwood City is also fairly suburban, but has a WIDE range of good & bad spots - from the "barrio" to multi-million dollar homes. Generally it gets worse the farther east you go, so try staying west of El Camino Real if you want a nicer neighborhood (or east if cheap is your priority).

You should look into San Mateo, using the same general rule as I said about Redwood City... the neighborhood known as San Mateo Hills / Hillsdale is really nice, and rent might be within your range. Also look into Belmont, San Carlos, Millbrae, and Burlingame itself, which is very nice but on the expensive side. If you want to head north, try western Daly City and San Bruno or Brisbane - foggy as heck, but pretty nice areas & easy commute.

As for the commute, expect at LEAST 30 minutes from Sunnyvale, 20-25 from Redwood City, and 10-15 from San Mateo. I used to commute from East Palo Alto to San Francisco, which took just under an hour at a slightly later time (usually left at 9am)... traffic on 101 was always heavy between Redwood City and San Mateo, would let up for a few miles, and get heavy again near the airport. My advice? If you can find a nice, affordable-ish apartment in Burlingame or San Mateo, definitely consider that - easy commute to work and the city!

[gizmo980]

P.S. No, the East Bay wouldn't be any easier... you'd have to cross a bridge, which can take FOREVER on a good day & costs $4. Maybe if you lived in Hayward/San Leandro it wouldn't be bad, since you could just hop on the SM bridge - but I would advise against that idea.

[richzip]

thanks for all the help everyone! what about Pacifica? I found a few places there that are in a good range ..is that a good area to live, and is the comute better being it's west-east, rather than north-south? Also , since work is in Burlingame, would the commute during rush hour be better if I lived to the north (since I"m not going TOWARDS San Francisco), or is the bay area one of those that it doesn't really matter which direction you go?

[kimmoore]

richzip:

I would suggest the East Bay. As a past resident of Redwood City, the housing costs are exspensive on the peninsula. Options of Hayward or Fremont may be more feasible in rent. Have you thought of a purchase? There are some great opportunities right now in the markets.
Kimberly Moore, Realtor Coldwell Banker
kimmoore@comcast.net

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by richzip

thanks for all the help everyone! what about Pacifica? I found a few places there that are in a good range ..is that a good area to live, and is the comute better being it's west-east, rather than north-south? Also , since work is in Burlingame, would the commute during rush hour be better if I lived to the north (since I"m not going TOWARDS San Francisco), or is the bay area one of those that it doesn't really matter which direction you go?

Pacifica would be OK, but you'd either have to go north on 1 to the 280 split before going south, or cut across Sharp Park until it turns into Westborough and hits 280. And once you're on 280, the 280S-380-101S thing is not fun. You have to jump through fast-moving traffic to get into the exit lane for 101. As the Bay Area goes, though, it's still one of the better commutes.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by richzip

thanks for all the help everyone! what about Pacifica? I found a few places there that are in a good range ..is that a good area to live, and is the comute better being it's west-east, rather than north-south? Also , since work is in Burlingame, would the commute during rush hour be better if I lived to the north (since I"m not going TOWARDS San Francisco), or is the bay area one of those that it doesn't really matter which direction you go?

I lived in Pacifica for a year, and thought it was a great town! My place was on Esplanade (off Manor Dr.), which is right on the edge of the ocean... this was actually my view from the living room:



Can't beat that, huh? I paid a bit too much for a crappy 1-bedroom ($1250), but it's a very charming town, and really safe for the most part. It gets incredibly foggy there, which I didn't mind, but some people hate - plus it makes for a treacherous drive up hwy. 1! The nice part is during the summer, when it's 85+ degrees on the Peninsula, and only 65 in Pacifica... ahhhhhhh.

As for the commute, I always found it very easy to get to Burlingame/SFO area. Sonarrat is correct about the fast traffic, and you REALLY have to turn on the offensive driving skills, or you'll miss your interchange (or get into an accident). But personally I'd rather deal with fast driving than crawling in bumper-to-bumper... and on most days, you can get from Pacifica to SFO in about 15 minutes. I highly recommend the town, depending on what you're looking for specifically.

[richzip]

85+ degrees is nothing! (I've lived in PHX for the better part of the last 25 years ..85 degrees is a typical overnight LOW in SEPTEMBER!)

My question is, how does it feel with humidity? I currently live in Dallas, and the humidity makes 95 degrees much worse than the typical 110 in Phoenix.