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This is a big move to the West Coast for us, so my plan for 2020 is to do heavy research into Bay Area neighborhoods.
"For an ok area you are looking at $1.5-2.5M in South Bay." So what is an OK area in South Bay? Whats the cheapest? From my preliminary research, it appears Campbell is the cheapest, nicest area? Is this wrong? Any other suggestions?
I'm on the SF forum, and they are suggesting Burlingame/San Mateo. I presume in terms of cost of liviing, South Bay/San Jose >>> Burlingame/San Mateo?
But I presume weather in South Bay >>> Mid Peninsula?
And in terms of diversity, SF-Oak forum is suggesting Alameda/Albany/Piedmont. Any South Bay areas rival these areas for "diversity"?
This is a big move to the West Coast for us, so my plan for 2020 is to do heavy research into Bay Area neighborhoods.
"For an ok area you are looking at $1.5-2.5M in South Bay." So what is an OK area in South Bay? Whats the cheapest? From my preliminary research, it appears Campbell is the cheapest, nicest area? Is this wrong? Any other suggestions? [jdhpa] I would say Campbell is the cheapest 'nice' city in the Bay Area. I know several families that live there and like it.
I'm on the SF forum, and they are suggesting Burlingame/San Mateo. I presume in terms of cost of liviing, South Bay/San Jose >>> Burlingame/San Mateo? [jdhpa] In general, peninsula is more expensive than south bay. There are expensive areas in south bay, of course. Burlingame and San Mateo are $$nice towns to live in, as are Belmont, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Los Altos.
But I presume weather in South Bay >>> Mid Peninsula? [jdhpa] Really depends on what you prefer. South bay will be colder in winter and hotter in summer. The mountains between south bay cities and the ocean mean there is less moderating effect from the ocean on the weather in south bay than on the peninsula. Usually not too extreme in either direction, though there are typically a couple of 100+ days in summer (caution: it's very common for houses to not have air conditioning). Personally I prefer mid peninsula weather, but that's just me.
And in terms of diversity, SF-Oak forum is suggesting Alameda/Albany/Piedmont. Any South Bay areas rival these areas for "diversity"? [jdhpa] Depends on what you mean by "diversity". If you mean specifically African-American, no, not in south bay. Oakland and the surrounding towns are your best bet for that AFAIK. If you mean from other countries, yes, plenty, especially from China, India, and Central or South America.
Don't move to SJ or California... California is the most socialist state, which is great if you're uber rich or very poor. The majority just pay taxes and try to survive the expensive cost of living without getting much in return.
San Jose is now trying to encourage people to build ADUs (an additional unit on your property) because "people need cheap places to live". In my neighborhood many people are doing that, and the impact on my quiet neighborhood is already obvious - lots of cars, much more consense building, less privacy, some schools are at capacity.
Oh, and good luck finding a 3BR 3 Bathroom home that is 2500 sq.ft. in a good neighborhood. Here it is considered to be a very large home, unless you buy a house that is $2 million minimum, and that's in San Jose. In Palo Alto, Los Altos etc. it would be MUCH more expensive. In my area most homes are 3 bd 2 bathroom that are around 1400 sq.ft., and this is a good neighborhood.
Your taxes will mostly go to the poor, the mayor comes up with new stupid plans and programs on how to give your hard earned money away to the poor, homeless, how to aide the illegals etc. Look up "tiny homes in San Jose Licardo" and you'll realize just how stupid his plans are. If you're middle class, you're out of luck, you get nothing.
In San Jose/California crime is abundant. Lookup the $950 theft law. If you still less than that, police doesn't even try to investigate or arrest you in San Jose. They're too busy and they know the punks would just be set free. At stores you see punks stealing goods, the employees are told not to do anything about it as they could get hurt, and the police wouldn't do anything anyway.
The weather is nice (too hot for me in the summer months), but earthquake insurance is SO high.
Do yourself a favor, don't move here, especially not to SJ. I am hoping to be able to move away from California in a few years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitz2014
Hey all,
I also posted this in SF-Oakland forum, since I'm interested in Bay Area. Sorry mods if this is duplication and you can delete it if needed.
So I'm hoping to move to Bay Area (or LA) in a couple years (2022).
My wife is from DC (Bethesda/Potomac area), and I need to convince her that Bay Area >> East Coast. Anyways, she is open to move to west coast.
Combined income is around 500-600k.
Both of us are professionals.
We are hoping to have 2-3 kids (no kids yet) in the next few years.
Any suggestions for a couple in mid-30s, wanting to start a family?
Here is what we are looking for:
1. Multicultural/Cosmopolitan Area - wife loves diversity
2. Relatively good access to BART/Public Transport/freeways
3. Close to International Airport (<30 min drive)
4. Good Schools
5. Warm Weather (main reason we are moving to Cali)
6. "Cool restaurants"
7. Being relatively close to downtown SF (<60 min ideally)
8. 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home. I guess around 2500 sq?
We lived in NYC x 5 years, and we like areas like Park Slope, Bay Ridge (Brooklyn) for comparison.
What do you suggest is a good budget for what we want? We are first time home owner buyers.
I was initially thinking around 1.2 million, but my wife thinks I'm crazy to spend that much first time. So maybe around 800k? I'm not sure. Should we rent initially instead? I just hate dumping money into rent, been doing it all my life. How's the housing market forecast in Bay Area next 5 years?
Your income isn't sufficient to maintain a 'middle class' lifestyle in the Bay Area as a childless couple, let alone a family. Oakland, Alameda used to be OK but now it is gentrified. Maybe Vallejo but it still has a 'rough' reputation. Consider Sacramento.
Is this a joke?
Of course their income is MORE than adequate. They could live anywhere they want, and in style.
This was my childhood home (link), built in 1939, parents bought it new for $16K. You can see what you get for $1.1M, 1400 sq ft on a postage stamp size lot...hardwood floors, lath and plaster. Granted, it is in Willow Glen. That was the average size home at the time.....very small by today's standards.
Good Luck
Gemstone1
I was born and raised in Willow Glen (until age nine, then moved to LG).
This is a big move to the West Coast for us, so my plan for 2020 is to do heavy research into Bay Area neighborhoods.
"For an ok area you are looking at $1.5-2.5M in South Bay." So what is an OK area in South Bay? Whats the cheapest? From my preliminary research, it appears Campbell is the cheapest, nicest area? Is this wrong? Any other suggestions?
I'm on the SF forum, and they are suggesting Burlingame/San Mateo. I presume in terms of cost of liviing, South Bay/San Jose >>> Burlingame/San Mateo?
But I presume weather in South Bay >>> Mid Peninsula?
And in terms of diversity, SF-Oak forum is suggesting Alameda/Albany/Piedmont. Any South Bay areas rival these areas for "diversity"?
You have to decide on priorities. If diversity is Number One, then Oakland, SF, Alameda, maybe San Mateo . . .
If that is Number One, then focus on the areas with most diversity (and obviously, check demographics online).
You are rolling in $$$$, so everything else can be bought.
So I'm hoping to move to Bay Area (or LA) in a couple years (2022).
My wife is from DC (Bethesda/Potomac area), and I need to convince her that Bay Area >> East Coast. Anyways, she is open to move to west coast.
Combined income is around 500-600k.
Both of us are professionals.
We are hoping to have 2-3 kids (no kids yet) in the next few years.
Any suggestions for a couple in mid-30s, wanting to start a family?
Here is what we are looking for:
1. Multicultural/Cosmopolitan Area - wife loves diversity
2. Relatively good access to BART/Public Transport/freeways
3. Close to International Airport (<30 min drive)
4. Good Schools
5. Warm Weather (main reason we are moving to Cali)
6. "Cool restaurants"
7. Being relatively close to downtown SF (<60 min ideally)
8. 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home. I guess around 2500 sq?
We lived in NYC x 5 years, and we like areas like Park Slope, Bay Ridge (Brooklyn) for comparison.
What do you suggest is a good budget for what we want? We are first time home owner buyers.
I was initially thinking around 1.2 million, but my wife thinks I'm crazy to spend that much first time. So maybe around 800k? I'm not sure. Should we rent initially instead? I just hate dumping money into rent, been doing it all my life. How's the housing market forecast in Bay Area next 5 years?
Thanks!
Need Advice ...
My advice is that you first spend a few minutes reading through the forum, as this (these) questions is/are asked very regularly around here. After you've put in a little investment of time, you can ask more focused questions (ones that haven't been asked umpteen million times before).
This site has a pretty good search function. Hint: looking for "moving" in the subject will find a LOT of the topics about people moving here from elsewhere.
I think somewhere like Cupertino, West San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell would be a good fit.
1. Multicultural/Cosmopolitan Area - I'd say there is a decent mix of Asians, Indians, Latinos, Whites in the aforementioned areas. Not too many African-Americans, however.
2. Relatively good access to BART/Public Transport/freeways - As others have said, public transport is pretty bad everywhere in the bay. That said, these areas have good access to 280 and 85 which will get you to SF in less than a hour.
3. Close to International Airport (<30 min drive) - San Jose airport is solid. SFO is around 40 min drive.
4. Good Schools - outstanding public schools in Cupertino, West San Jose, Saratoga. Also good options for private schools in the area also.
5. Warm Weather (main reason we are moving to Cali) - Unbeatable climate IMO in these cities. Significantly milder year-round compared to San Francisco and even East Bay. Not as hot in the summer as East San Jose and interior cities. The perfect medium.
6. "Cool restaurants" - due to diversity, a lot of good ethnic restaurants (Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Korean, Japanese, etc) in these areas. In Los Gatos and Saratoga downtowns, a good number of hip and upscale restaurants. Manresa with 3 michelin stars come to mind.
7. Being relatively close to downtown SF (<60 min ideally) - see above
8. 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home. I guess around 2500 sq - this will cost between 1.5mil-3mil in the aforementioned areas. Still not as expensive as SF or Palo Alto. But not cheap either...
I think somewhere like Cupertino, West San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell would be a good fit.
1. Multicultural/Cosmopolitan Area - I'd say there is a decent mix of Asians, Indians, Latinos, Whites in the aforementioned areas. Not too many African-Americans, however.
2. Relatively good access to BART/Public Transport/freeways - As others have said, public transport is pretty bad everywhere in the bay. That said, these areas have good access to 280 and 85 which will get you to SF in less than a hour.
3. Close to International Airport (<30 min drive) - San Jose airport is solid. SFO is around 40 min drive.
4. Good Schools - outstanding public schools in Cupertino, West San Jose, Saratoga. Also good options for private schools in the area also.
5. Warm Weather (main reason we are moving to Cali) - Unbeatable climate IMO in these cities. Significantly milder year-round compared to San Francisco and even East Bay. Not as hot in the summer as East San Jose and interior cities. The perfect medium.
6. "Cool restaurants" - due to diversity, a lot of good ethnic restaurants (Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Korean, Japanese, etc) in these areas. In Los Gatos and Saratoga downtowns, a good number of hip and upscale restaurants. Manresa with 3 michelin stars come to mind.
7. Being relatively close to downtown SF (<60 min ideally) - see above
8. 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home. I guess around 2500 sq - this will cost between 1.5mil-3mil in the aforementioned areas. Still not as expensive as SF or Palo Alto. But not cheap either...
Very helpful, thank you.
I presume areas like Los Altos/Mountain View/Sunnyvale are much more expensive than the areas you suggested?
Also, of those 4 areas you mentioned, how would you rank them in terms of cost of living?
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