Finding apartment in San Carlos, CA (San Mateo, Alameda: apartment complex, rentals, condos)

[tihana_12]

Hi,

I'm moving with my husband from Florida to San Carlos, CA in 10 days. He's got a job at airport and we don't have too much time, everything happend so fast so we have problems finding apartment.
We are looking for small 1 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment in San Carlos or something close there and if its possible to be in walking distance to public transportation.
We saw also some apartments in Belmont, Foster City, San Mateo -> could you give us advice which area is nicer/more safe and less expensive.
Or do you recommend some other area?

We are planning to go there and stay in hotel/motel for a week and look for apartment or we should start to call now from here.

Thank you infront for answers.
Tihana

[BayAreaHillbilly]

San Carlos has some apartments in the downtown area (Laurel St, San Carlos Ave, El Camino) that are all walking distance from Cal Train and bus routes, and an easy drive to US 101 and a tolerable drive to I 280. There really are no bad hoods there, although the SE corner (east of El Camino / the tracks, south of Holly) is what passes for a working class hood (meaning, there were enough contractors who moved in before the run up in prices that you see pick ups of work men in front of their homes). Belmont is quite similar to San Carlos, however, most of the apartments are found away from the minuscule downtown. There is a large concentration of them near Carlmont, but these are convenient only to the bus and are a hike from Caltrain (but very convenient to I 280 and reasonable drive from US 101). There are also apartments east of El Camino and north of Ralston which are quite convenient to Cal Train and US 101. Some are a bit worn, but the overall hood is decent. San Mateo is a mixed bag. Generally speaking, W of the tracks is good hoods and east of it more shady ones. Apartments are scattered all around, some more convenient than others to transpo. Foster City is a planned community with a water theme - the closest thing you'd find to the similar vibe found in certain coastal areas of FLA, but very far from Cal train, OK for busses and access to US 101. One thing though is they have many apartments (as well as condo and townhome rentals) - it's a fairly dense place. Overall, I'd pick San Carlos or Belmont, given price vs transpo vs good hood.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Also, Redwood Shores, parts of which are walkable to the airport. But like Foster City, a water themed, planned community far from Cal Train. More poorly served by bus than FC, and somewhat lesser number of apartment stock vs FC.

[cardinal2007]

In terms of cost I would say that some parts of San Mateo are cheaper than the other towns, but they don't look as nice, not that there is a crime problem or anything like that, they are just older and not updated. I would say near 19th St, or Delaware, and also east of 101.
If you're going to the airport you should check out the KX. http://www.samtrans.org/pdf/Schedule...X_04-12-09.pdf (It is a one seat ride, versus 2 transfers for Caltrain + BART)

Generally speaking Belmont is a bit less expensive than San Carlos, I live in Belmont, but I live in the Carlmont Village area, near Ralston and Alameda de Las Pulgas, that would be close to the 260 bus, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're going to be using public transportation, the neighborhood is nice, and partially in the hills. The 'downtown' Belmont area has apartments near Old Country road, which are somewhat close to the Caltrain tracks. The area is not as nice in that there is industrial property right next to the track, and the neighborhood is a bit more working class, but I would say it is still pretty safe, and there is nothing wrong with it. There is also one apartment complex (with a condo complex behind it) on Davey Glen Rd. on the other side of El Camino, which is walking distance to the station, and a few apartment complexes on Ralston a bit west of El Camino. You can sometimes rent condos from the owners, though you only see one available every few months. The apartments on Old Country Rd tend to be fairly affordable relative to the peninsula. Of course you might prefer San Carlos, since that does have a real downtown along Laurel St. versus Belmont which really doesn't.

Redwood Shores and Foster City tend to be even more expensive, Redwood Shores being the most expensive, both being on the other side of 101 they are not close to Caltrain, but the neighborhoods all look nice, with a lot of lagoons in both.

If I were you I would look to live close to the San Carlos Caltrain or Belmont Caltrain since the KX stops at both of those, and of course there is Caltrain there too. One nice thing you will find in the area is that there are no at-grade intersection between Caltrain and the streets, which is nice because that means they don't blow the train horns in Belmont or San Carlos.

Some places that advertise on craigslist don't have a manager on site from 9-5 everyday, I would email or call them to set up an appointment before hand. You probably have a bit of negotiating room nowadays with the vacancy rate going up, but you'll probably find this area to be more expensive in terms of rent than Florida, and expect most apartments to have been built in the 70s. There are some newer ones but they tend to be more expensive, and mostly concentrated in Redwood Shores and Foster City.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I believe the OP is referring to the San Carlos Airport (not SFO), the OPs SO got a job there if I read it right.