Cheap/Safe County Areas within Bay Region (San Jose, San Francisco: apartment, rentals)

[johnathanrs]

Hello,

I am moving to CA and was hoping to get some advise on counties/areas to check out. I work remotely and need to drive into different cities into the bay area like SF, Oakland, San Jose, exc... like once a month or so for a weekend.

I was hoping to save up some money by living in a rural country area and simply having a long drive, every once and awhile, because I know how high rent is in CA bay area. Anyone have any recommendations on cheap places to live that are relatively safe?

I'm looking for something like (San Jose, Oakland, SF Bay Area). These would be ideal for roomshare:

Around 600 rent for a room share deal.
--------
800 for 1 apartment/studio for 1 hour drive.
1000 for 1 apartment/studio for 1 hour drive.

Thanks

[Tulemutt]

Rio Vista.
1 hour 40 minutes to downtown San Francisco in average, non-rush hour traffic.
1 hour 30 minutes to Oakland, average traffic
1 hour to Sacramento average
2 hours to San Jose, average.

Bonus if you like fishing. Is on the river in the Delta.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Vista,_California

//www.city-data.com/city/Rio-Vista-California.html

[Snort]

Taking for granted you don't want to be entirely bored, you might try looking for rentals in Vacaville, Davis, or Winters. Davis (most interesting of the three) is a college town, so you'd want to time when you look for housing. You'd be sharing something with a grad student or two.
Heading north, Lake County is about as cheap as it gets, but there's usually a reason for that. Middletown would be a place to look at for something to rent. Unfortunately, part of it got burnt down during the fire last summer. Not sure how the rental scene is there.
Alternatively, you could probably find something close to your price on the coast in Mendocino County. Ft. Bragg would have studio rentals that you could likely afford.
Closer in, you could look at sharing a rental in Benicia, but it's going to cost more.
There are a lot of nice towns in the East Bay area, but they are all even pricier.

[Snort]

...or check out Rio Vista. Never been there and don't know what I've been missing.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Snort

...or check out Rio Vista. Never been there and don't know what I've been missing.

Fishing.

And quiet.

Nice little Delta town.

OP, I notice you wrote "1 hour". If you want proximity to SF, Oakland, San Jose you're not going to find what you want budget-wise within 1 hour. Sorry. Have to go further to break through the price barrier. UNLESS you are willing to live in a city/town, not rural, and where the city/town is kinda sketchy in terms of crime / type of neighbors. Not all bad, but not so great either. For that you can save some time and probably find a place in Pittsburg or Antioch or Vallejo. They're not all bad, really. But I'd take the extra drive and stay in the real small town Delta for rural. But I'm into boating and fishing so ...

[Hawk J]

There are some nice Striped Bass caught & usually released around Rio Vista area.....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=darFVRuylVk

[johnathanrs]

Thanks for all the tips you guys. I started looking into the counties. This is exactly what I am looking for.

(I prefer to live in a rural area, but have no problem living in a city if need be. Price/Safety is my priority. I can always drive to a fishing spot on a weekend trip. I just know that cheapness in cities tend to not also be safe.)