UK family about to move to San Francisco... HELP! :-) (Richmond: best neighborhoods, real estate)

[kem4l]

Hi there, and thanks for taking the time to read my post. All replies will be carefully read and digested, and I hope I may ask further questions off the back of varied responses! Sincerely - thanks for your valued advice one and all...

Also, apologies if this has been covered in a previous thread, I did look, but may have missed it - Sorry.

Put simply... We need help!

We are a solid UK family, me 38, wife 38, boy 5 and girl 3, who have been offered the fantastic opportunity of experiencing a move to the west coast of the US through my company. The move could very realistically be a permanent one. Timescales are we would be installed and enjoying San Francisco(ish)by Oct 08, working in California St and living...????!?!?!?!...

This is where I fall over. While we have lived significant years outside the UK, we have no Stateside experience. I need to get a feel for similar moving experiences by UK expats who have taken the plunge and have moved lock stock and 2 smokin' barrels to the US (specifically SF) or anyone who can offer their experiences on moving a young family to new ground in this area.

We are very receptive and excited to the whole idea, and our kids are young enough to adapt and accept it as one big adventure, but mum and dad obviously want to get it right as much as possible straight out of the gate...

FACTS:
I would need to get to California Street daily, and also the Airport at least 2/3 times a month, and am wondering with no prior knowledge where would be an opinion on a peaceful place to move my family to for good schools and a friendly neighbourhood, and an easy commute...

We currently live on the beach, so similar would completely rock, but considering our position we would compromise to fulfil the above...

I don't mind a commute of an hour each way max. (currently doing 4hrs/day)... but not much more though. This is part of the reason for the move.

My wife would be at home / exploring / looking after the kids / meeting people and beating her gums to death, and so rightfully so we need to understand if there is such an infrastructure anywhere that welcomes expat wives and has varied meets and the like to integrate our kids... (I call these sort of things chat olympics, but she would disagree! :-) )

House please... definitely not an apartment, I don't want to unleash my animals on general population yet! *need* a garden to let the ASBOs run wild. If you are from UK you know what that means! :-)

Recommendations on relocation agents, real estate companies, great neighbourhoods, where is good to commute from, great schools, what to avoid/embrace, and all experiences good AND bad are *SO* welcomed, believe me. We are currently flying blind and are reaching out for some initial guidance.

Please let me know also if I have missed anything glaring in the first instance as well. Like I said, we haven't considered the US before now, but we have travelled a lot... Plus the UK sucks at the mo, which gives us added enthusiasm for the move...!

(Any UK expats reading this considering a move home, PM me - I will put you off inside a minute - really! NO.... REALLY! Get rid of those thoughts! )

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. We really do need some guidance here, even if it is just 'hey, these guys helped me, speak with them...' - like I said we need advice on this... it is really appreciated!

Also... almost forgot! Any links to DECENT rental sites would so help... Many thanks!

Now my begging is over with, thanks lots, and be safe.....

K

[tonrob]

Well I made the move some 3 years ago, but to the opposite side of the country.

My circumstances fairly different from your own other than also being an L1. So my advice? Consume as much curry, chips and real ale as you can before you leave because you don't know where you next fix is coming from!!!

I'll bow out now and make room for the serious answers....

(P.S. Tried out Britishexpats.com too?)

[kem4l]

will check it out now... Cheers mate.

[Palmer Eldritch]

I don't know if I can be helpful but those who can be are probably going ask you what your price range is. You can get almost everything you've mentioned if you have the budget. I assume you are talking about the part of California Street that is in the Financial District. SF is not particularly family freindly as there are a lot of single people here and a lot of DINK's here (double income no kids). There are however, some neighborhoods in SF where there are a lot of families and a lot of kids, playgrounds and organizations for parents. My wife for example, is part of a moms group in our neighborhood. The best neighborhoods for families in SF (that I am aware of anyway) are Noe Valley, Bernal Heights and the Inner Sunset. Possibly also parts of the Richmond District. Nearby cities near the ocean or bay that I think would be good for families and that are less than an hour from California St. are Pacifica (on the Pacific Ocean) and Alameda (On the bay)