Moving to San Jose-Oakland (Hayward, Berkeley: lease, car insurance, crime rates)

[DenverCO]

I am a single female in her early 30's moving from Denver CO to San Jose for work. My job would require a fair bit of travelling between two offices (Oakland and San Jose downtown) with frequent visits to clients in Novato and Martinez.

Looking for any suggestions for places to live. I have been doing some digging and it seems I should definitely cut Oakland from the list. Any thoughts about Alameda, San Leandro, Hayward or Castro Valley? Would the commute kill me??? They seem to be ideally located for travelling to San Jose or Oakland.

The absolute upper limit of my budget is $1200 ( a studio or a 1BD will do) and I cannot sacrifice on the safety aspect of the locality.

Any suggestions would be helpful as I have less than a month to find and lease a place !!

Thanks !

[gone down south]

Can you break down how much time you'll be at each location? Once/week? Several times? Daily?
Do you know if you can make those trips off-peak, or are you going to get stuck in rush hour traffic?

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by DenverCO

I am a single female in her early 30's moving from Denver CO to San Jose for work. My job would require a fair bit of travelling between two offices (Oakland and San Jose downtown) with frequent visits to clients in Novato and Martinez.

Looking for any suggestions for places to live. I have been doing some digging and it seems I should definitely cut Oakland from the list. Any thoughts about Alameda, San Leandro, Hayward or Castro Valley? Would the commute kill me??? They seem to be ideally located for travelling to San Jose or Oakland.

The absolute upper limit of my budget is $1200 ( a studio or a 1BD will do) and I cannot sacrifice on the safety aspect of the locality.

Any suggestions would be helpful as I have less than a month to find and lease a place !!

Thanks !

Well, of the locations you've mentioned, the only one I'd consider would be Alameda. It is a nice family oriented town, with a nice downtown. You are a short ferry ride to SF and very close to Oakland (but not in the middle of the bad area). Of the other cities you've mentioned, I wouldn't consider any of them. They tend to be lower income areas with higher crime rates.

[Ultrarunner]

I wouldn't rush into anything because your commute will be the determining factor...

I lived in San Jose, Hayward and now Oakland and I work in San Leandro.

For me, living close to work means I have more free time and my car insurance is much less... some of my colleagues live as far away as Santa Cruz, Tracy, Antioch and all I hear is how much they hate driving and how much it costs to commute. Takes me 7 minutes to work and some of my friends 90 minutes or more each way...

All the areas you mention have good and not so good neighborhoods... do you have a preference for suburban, urban or rural?

Walnut Creek and San Ramon/Dublin/Pleasanton are not on your list... they are considered very safe and the freeway would give you a straight shot to all your destinations except Navoto...

680 and 580 are much easier to drive than 880... especially at drive time.

[DenverCO]

Thank you all for the replies !

I want to keep my commute under an hour and preferably stay in a suburban or urban area (definitely not rural). I would be spending at the most 2 to 3 days a week at the San Jose office and most of my time would be spent in the Oakland office.

Based on all my research Alameda seems like a great option ! Though I have concerns about getting of the Island during rush hour ( Yes, I will have to be at work at 8:00 AM and brave the rush hour traffic). Any thoughts about traffic getting on and off the Alameda Island ?

I am still not ruling out Hayward/Castro Valley (also considering Union City) and would be open to suggestions about the good areas ! Since I will be spending a considerable amount of time in Navato in the first few months I don't want to consider Walnut Creek/Pleasanton just yet (Maybe 6 months into my new job I would re-evaluate !!)

I had been hoping for a shorter commute to work with the new job, but it seems like whichever place I pick I have at least a 60 minute commute ( Still better than my current 90 minute commute ! Ha !)

[ashlandbus]

I wouldn't rule Oakland out. There are plenty of safe options. I moved from Denver to Oakland in May and love it. I lived in NW Denver and feel much safer where I am at in Oakland than where I was in Denver. There are plenty of neighborhoods that suit your budget. If you want to remain with other singles, I would say to look in Oakland or Berkeley. Otherwise, it turns to family mayberry. I think Alameda should have a good scene too, but it just seems sleepy to me... but, if that is what you are into, then go for it! Also, something to consider... Alameda is a little cooler sometimes because it is flat and the wind blows in from the bay.