East Bay vs. Silicon Valley - Working in Hayward (San Diego: rental market, Home Depot)
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Hello - sorry I'm sure this kind of question has been asked a thousand times, but I did try and peruse the forums before asking!
My wife and I are considering a move from San Diego to the Bay Area - we have a newborn baby and my wife will be staying home, and I would be working in Hayward. We love San Diego for the quality of life - sunny days, surf, camping, hiking, etc. I am trying to zero in on an area that gives us (relatively) close access to surfing, while still having mostly sunny days. So, the greater San Jose seems perfect - 30 minutes to Santa Cruz, 300+ sunny days a year, etc.
Of course, price, community and commute are my two issues.
Any South-East Bay communities that are nice? Milpitas is still considered SV correct? What is up in the Fremont area? What is in Snoboy? How is the weather in East Bay compared to San Jose? Is that still considered the Valley? How long does it take to get over the mountains to Santa Cruz?
My wife and I are considering a move from San Diego to the Bay Area - we have a newborn baby and my wife will be staying home, and I would be working in Hayward. We love San Diego for the quality of life - sunny days, surf, camping, hiking, etc. I am trying to zero in on an area that gives us (relatively) close access to surfing, while still having mostly sunny days. So, the greater San Jose seems perfect - 30 minutes to Santa Cruz, 300+ sunny days a year, etc.
If you live in the west part of San Jose it is very expensive and you will deal with lots of traffic to get to Hayward. I suggest looking in San Mateo for maximum quality of life,easier access to the beach and a light traffic reverse commute via the 92 bridge.
For beach access you can go down 92 to Half Moon Bay(lots of traffic on weekends but maybe not as bad as the 17 to Santa Cruz). You can also go to Linda Mar Beach and Rockaway Beach via Westborough Rd./Sharp Park Rd to Highway 1. This is a traffic free drive. There are 3 surf shops near Linda Mar beach and they will probably give you the best info on where to surf.
I had a good friend from Benicia recommend San Mateo as well - but I am pretty sure that anything west of the Bay is going to be overcast/cloudy most of the time? Whereas the San Jose area and east would tend to be sunny most of the time?
We are trying to stay in a sunny area - I would only be surfing on the weekends so I don't mind having to drive a bit to get to the ocean.
My wife is home all day and since we are in SD we have become used to the sunshine
San Mateo County is typical of California at its best. The days in summer are delightfully warm and balmy, being enhanced by clear skies, brilliant sunshine and clean, sweet air laden with the fragrance of blossom and cedar. The perfect ripening of fruit and the perennial bloom of flowers is convincing proof of this.
Those who first enter the county from the San Francisco boundary are impressed by the immediate change from the harsh weather of that place, with its high winds and fog banks, more or less prevalent throughout the entire year, to the agreeable warmth and brilliant sunshine which becomes more and more pronounced toward the south.
To the commuter and the motorist this is particularly noticeable. In the neighborhood of San Bruno, the fog banks disappear. Here the landscape will be found aglow with sunshine and not a cloud in sight except upon the hills to the right, where masses of fog-laden ocean clouds are piled high against the summits of the San Morena Mountains, which like giant hands hold them back in obedience to their perennial charge : "Thus far and no farther."
This unusual climate-like a bit of sunny France or Italy transported bodily to San Mateo County, is the result of purely local topographical conditions or "the lay of the land." It is caused by the protecting influence of the San Moreno range and the San Bruno hills, on the west and north respectively, and by the proximity of the warming waters of San Francisco Bay.
There are never any great extremes of heat or cold ; and even the hottest days of the year are tempered by cooling afternoon and evening bay breezes. The fogs and cold winds that are usually so prevalent in ocean counties are to a great extent lacking, so that outdoor sports are enjoyed the year around. On the ocean side of the peninsula the climate is more vigorous, winds from the Pacific cleansing the air frequently. But even these and the fogs that sometimes roll in, are not of a character that is disagreeable.
Can anyone confirm this description? A little idealistic perhaps?
I had a good friend from Benicia recommend San Mateo as well - but I am pretty sure that anything west of the Bay is going to be overcast/cloudy most of the time? Whereas the San Jose area and east would tend to be sunny most of the time?
We are trying to stay in a sunny area - I would only be surfing on the weekends so I don't mind having to drive a bit to get to the ocean.
My wife is home all day and since we are in SD we have become used to the sunshine
I think San Mateo is resonably sunny and probably not much different than Hayward in that regard. However, housing costs in San Mateo would typically be higher. The East Bay is generally cheaper for housing. Fremont would be similar weather as San Mateo with cheaper housing and closer to work but further from the beach. It gets a little less sun than San Jose, but still quite sunny.
Also, realistically, Santa Cruz is more like 45 minutes from San Jose, not 1/2 hour. Peninsula towns like San Mateo would be closer to other beach towns, but about the same distance to Santa Cruz (although I live in San Jose, so I've never timed a drive from San Mateo to Santa Cruz, so I could be wrong).
Temperatures are very similar in both places. Fremont proper would be a little bit warmer than Newark in summer (Newark is right on the Bay), while Hayward would be a little bit cooler. I don't recommend living in Hayward thought, it's kinda blaaah.
One of the warmer (and slightly cheaper) spots to consider on the Peninsula would be Redwood City.
Based on some basic perusing of the rental market, it does seem that Redwood City is about 15% cheaper than San Mateo, so thank you for that tip!
But yes, East Bay is consistently 25% less expensive than San Mateo and seemingly all of South Bay, and for seemingly more square footage.
When you say Hayward is blaaah...is that because it is largely industrial? Kind of ghetto? (sorry not a scientific or PC term, LOL)
Fremont seems promising, some good units, and from what you have said, a decent, safe area.
I'm sure I will figure all this out just by driving around the area, but what is the most significant factor in the price difference between the East Bay and, well, the whole rest of that region? Is it the proximity to the ocean? The bay itself probably looks the same from both sides, no? And you mentioned that the weather is comparable.
This will be a 2-3 year move for me, so schools will likely not come into play at this time. But I am looking for a safe, residential area, and I am all about the accoutrements of suburban living - give me a Target and a Home Depot and I am a happy man!
I think the San Mateo or Redwood City areas should work. They are shielded from the Pacific by the mountains down the Peninsula so they don't get foggy and windy like areas further north do. The beach in San Mateo County will be foggy and windy but if you're in a wetsuit you might not mind. Santa Cruz will probably tend to be sunnier right around Santa Cruz itself because of the way its situated on Monterey Bay, but I don't know how the surfing quality compares from SC to somewhere further up the coast near Hwy 92.
30 minutes from San Jose to Santa Cruz is definitely optimistic, with commute hour traffic it can be quite a bit longer than that, it's a steep hill you have to go over and it's a narrow road that gets a lot of drivers on it.
Fremont would be a good choice but would put you quite a bit further from the surfing.
Based on some basic perusing of the rental market, it does seem that Redwood City is about 15% cheaper than San Mateo, so thank you for that tip!.
Redwood City has warmer weather (if that's what you like) but it isn't as nice (but not really bad). RWC has it's nice and it's blah areas but leans toward blah.
Quote:
Originally Posted by burneja
But yes, East Bay is consistently 25% less expensive than San Mateo and seemingly all of South Bay, and for seemingly more square footage..
Yes, that's the way it has traditionally been, at least in the 14 years I've lived in the Bay Area (unless you're going to live way north up in Santa Rosa or Napa...those areas are typically still considered they Bay Area but are almost like another metro area...not really commuting distance, either, unless you want to be one of those insane marathon commuters).
Quote:
Originally Posted by burneja
When you say Hayward is blaaah...is that because it is largely industrial? Kind of ghetto? (sorry not a scientific or PC term, LOL).
Sorta both. It has its nice areas, especially in the hills, and I definitely don't know every square inch of it, so I'm sure it has its cute pockets....but the general consensus is that while it's not truly scary or unsafe, it's rough around the edges. I wouldn't consider it truly ghetto, but others might disagree with me. San Leandro, the town just to the north of Hayward is sorta similar in that regard, although it has its nice sections (nicest in the hills). But the further north you go, the cooler the weather gets, so probably wrong direction for you in any case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by burneja
Fremont seems promising, some good units, and from what you have said, a decent, safe area..
Yes, Fremont is cleaner, safer, and more solidly middle class, I think. it has its share of bland cookie cutter housing, but since you like the suburban life, that shouldn't be a problem. It's definitely got a suburban feel to it. It's pretty large, so it has it's nicer and dumpier areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by burneja
I'm sure I will figure all this out just by driving around the area, but what is the most significant factor in the price difference between the East Bay and, well, the whole rest of that region? Is it the proximity to the ocean? The bay itself probably looks the same from both sides, no? And you mentioned that the weather is comparable..
I would say the biggest factor is probably the proximity to higher paying jobs. Those would be in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The Peninsula also has pretty strict land use policies, which keep the housing supply tight...but the East Bay is built up, too...so I'm not sure. The Peninsula is just generally a higher income/more affluent area than the East Bay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by burneja
This will be a 2-3 year move for me, so schools will likely not come into play at this time. But I am looking for a safe, residential area, and I am all about the accoutrements of suburban living - give me a Target and a Home Depot and I am a happy man!
I think you are going to have to make some trade offs here. You're not going to get a close commute to work, cheap rent/mortgage, and close proximity to the beach all in one place.
This is just me...but I'd prioritize a short commute. You'll be working 5 days a week and surfing only for 2 at most. Fremont to Hayward wouldn't be a bad commute and it has reasonably warm and sunny weather and all the suburban big box chain stores you like. You'll be keeping your commute costs low and won't have to cross any bridges (and pay bridge tolls) either.
If you live in the west part of San Jose it is very expensive and you will deal with lots of traffic to get to Hayward. I suggest looking in San Mateo for maximum quality of life,easier access to the beach and a light traffic reverse commute via the 92 bridge.
Real good suggestion.
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