2 bedroom apartment in nice complex in San Mateo / Redwood City (San Jose: apartment complexes, leasing)

[inrila]

Hello guys,

Narrowing my search to San Mateo / Redwood City.

How do you think, does $1500 for two bedroom apartment in a nice (mean: not stinking complex with **** roaches and stuff :-) complex sound reasonable and realistic?

I am considering San Mateo and Redwood City. Craigslist does not really show too many 2 bedrooms in this price range for San Mateo, but there are few in Redwood City. How "Deadwood City" is really dead?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

[sonarrat]

It doesn't really matter what the location is - the nicest complexes are going to cost a lot more than $1500 for a two-bedroom, even the ones right on El Camino Real in RWC. I lived in a cheapo apartment at Jefferson & Alameda de las Pulgas. I didn't enjoy the place because it was poorly insulated & maintained and had noisy alcoholics in both of the lower units, but there was something about the area that was totally "mom and apple pie." It always smelled faintly like a fireplace, American flags were displayed proudly, pride of ownership was evident even in humble homes on small lots. Oh, and there were lots and lots of lifted pickups and motorcycles around too.

[inrila]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

It doesn't really matter what the location is - the nicest complexes are going to cost a lot more than $1500 for a two-bedroom, even the ones right on El Camino Real in RWC. I lived in a cheapo apartment at Jefferson & Alameda de las Pulgas. I didn't enjoy the place because it was poorly insulated & maintained and had noisy alcoholics in both of the lower units, but there was something about the area that was totally "mom and apple pie." It always smelled faintly like a fireplace, American flags were displayed proudly, pride of ownership was evident even in humble homes on small lots. Oh, and there were lots and lots of lifted pickups and motorcycles around too.

Not too promising... :-) Is it unsafe? Should I reconsider something down south, may be Mountain View/Palo Alto? or even down to San Jose?

[sonarrat]

No, it's not unsafe. It's just a little annoying if you're expecting a liberal, green, ecologically sustainable kind of attitude. San Mateo has areas like that too, like Parkside and certain blocks of Hayward Park, but for the most part the town has a subtler charm and character to it.

[inrila]

I understand that $1500 cannot really buy you much of an apartment... Just want safe place with nice people, not selling @#%, that's it.

Where should I better point my search? At this moment I see that for me San Mateo and Redwood City work the best, as they are in the "middle", almost same distance to SF and SJ, which is nice for me. They are both pretty "big" for suburbs, with own downtowns, which is nice. Still in doubts if I'll be able to get 2bdr for $1500...

so may be it's better to look for San Bruno or South San Francisco? Are they okay? Safer? More chances to find something for my needs and in my price range? Close to SF is okay, and even better for me...

But at this moment the only place I am sure for $1500/2bdr is San Jose, there are few nice apartment complexes there leasing in this price range, which I checked out and they seemed perfectly fine.... But SJ is heck too far from SF...

[sonarrat]

I live in South San Francisco, and spend a lot of time in San Bruno as well. They're not bad, but they don't really sound like what you're looking for either, since you're looking for big-city amenities. Northern San Mateo County is a rather insular, self-sufficient kind of area which doesn't have much in common with any of the areas around it. I'd say your idea of San Mateo is on the right track.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by inrila

Not too promising... :-) Is it unsafe? Should I reconsider something down south, may be Mountain View/Palo Alto? or even down to San Jose?

Mountain View and Palo Alto would be more expensive than San Mateo or RWC. I doubt that you would be able to land a nice 2BR for $1500/month.

[humboldtrat]

I doubt that you will find a 2 bedroom apt for $1500 on the mid peninsula. However, take a look at Belmont and San Carlos (between San Mateo and Redwood City). Both are nice, safe towns. Check out Apartment for rent in San Carlos, CA 94070 — 2 Bed $1,565/month — ApartmentHunterZ.com for 2/bd apt in San Carlos. Chestnut St. is a nice neighborhood and is a 2 to 3 block walk to the Caltrain station and downtown San Carlos.