Alternatives to Mountain View with short commute to Shoreline (Sunnyvale: apartment, lease)

[Azmordean]

Hey folks -

I know I'm a (relative) long timer on this forum who should know the answer to this question, but alas I do not! I currently live in Mountain View, but am facing a 10% rent increase this year, to over 2700 for a 2br. Given my unit is entirely non-upgraded, with old stained formica, a glorified window A/C unit, and no washer and dryer, I'm not inclined to pay it. Arguably I could afford it, but there comes a point where I simply refuse to pay it given what is on offer. I realize this attitude will likely force me out of the Bay Area entirely sooner or later, but it is what it is .

My preferred unit is 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, around $2500 though I'd consider paying more if it is an outstanding unit.

The offerings in Mountain View seem slim (though I'll continue to watch as I get closer to my lease end date in August). I'm not too interested in the Rengstorff area - I don't mind it around Middlefield, but south of there it isn't very attractive to me, especially south of central. So I am left at least considering units elsewhere in the South Bay.

I prefer to avoid Sunnyvale given the recently passed gun ordinances which I find utterly intolerable (and frankly illegal, but that's an aside).

So that leaves Redwood City and Santa Clara. The problem is I hate commuting, and am hoping to keep the commute in the 20-30 minute range (my current commute is 10min, 15 on a bad day). So my questions:

1. How is the area of Santa Clara near Lawrence Expwy / Sunnyvale border? It seems like this would present a not too bad commute on either Central or 101.

2. What areas of Redwood City, if any, should I look at?

I'd love something somewhat walkable, or at least bikeable, but I think the reality is that's not in the cards in this budget. At this point I'd be happy with something in a reasonable area that doesn't look like a tenement from the 1950s.

EDIT: Just wanted to add, schools are not a concern for me. Thanks!

[skris4]

I don't know about Redwood city but I lived in Santa Clara for over 5 years. You will be able to find 2 bedroom 2 baths (with white appliances) for about $2500(near the Montague/Lick Mill intersection or Montague/River Oaks Parkway intersection). Commute should be close to half an hour.
For us it worked out pretty well because we rented a newer apartment with full upgrades for around $2750. They had a promotion where first month rent is free and that worked to about $2500 for a pretty nice apartment.

[HDL]

Have you ever considered buying into a mobile home park close by? If you do your due diligence, you will probably be able to sell in the future and either break even or gain a little plus save on your monthly expenditure for housing. I would think it would be $2000 or less total with mortgage and space rent. I've been following the market for awhile now and consider it a good avenue for some folks over the high costs of renting.

[Azmordean]

Thanks for the thoughts thus far!

I'm now considering possibly renewing my lease for 9 months. I've realized that because of some obligations I have in August, I'd have to move in July, which would result in 2-3 weeks of double rent. That, of course, combined with moving expenses, would eat up any and all savings I achieve in a place with lower rent.

I say 9 months because that would put my renewal in early May vs. early August, and have me apartment searching in late April. From my experience, spring is a far less hectic time to be apartment hunting than summer, when everyone else is also hunting. Sometimes it's even a little cheaper. I also seem to always be traveling in the summer, so it's never a good time to move.

I'll keep looking, and if I see something amazing, I may jump on it, but otherwise, I'll suck it up and pay up a few more months.

[sonarrat]

Short commute to Shoreline... well, there are those mobile homes on Space Park. The gridlock on Shoreline, as I'm sure you know, is pretty intense.. and as someone who had to do it for quite a while, I also really dreaded going through Palo Alto in either direction, but especially in the south/north pattern.

[Azmordean]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Short commute to Shoreline... well, there are those mobile homes on Space Park. The gridlock on Shoreline, as I'm sure you know, is pretty intense.. and as someone who had to do it for quite a while, I also really dreaded going through Palo Alto in either direction, but especially in the south/north pattern.

Yeah Shoreline Blvd is terrible. My saving grace is I usually take morning meetings from home (with Europe) so I usually don't head to the office until 930 or 10. Of course, it only adds about 5 minutes to head down to Rengstorff which is far less trafficked.

Off topic, but I don't understand why they don't build a bridge over Stevens Creek and create access to the Shoreline area from Moffett Gate. Then you'd have Moffett for the folks coming from the south on 101, Rengtorff/Amphitheatre for folks from the north on 101, and Shoreline for local traffic and 85.