Austin or the Bay Area?

[jade408]

I think it is completely do able to find something within a 45 minute commute. Of course, it depends on where you are commuting to. I live in Oakland. Downtown SF is only about 30 minutes away from most parts. I used to work in near North Beach, and that was about a 45 minute commute because I walked 1 mile to my office.

The tricky thing is there are many job centers in the Bay Area. If you work on the Peninsula, Oakland is about a 1.75 hr commute roundtrip (I find it faster in the AM, than the PM). If you can stick with working in SF, the East Bay or maybe San Mateo you'll be at work in 45 minutes (by car or transit to SF). Traffic on the other hand is unavoidable. But there are plenty of places that you won't have much traffic. Day to day errands are generally pretty easy.

There are a lot of great neighborhood choices in Oakland that will meet your budget requirements. And half of Oakland is closer to downtown SF than SF. I know they have been hyping up Oakland as the "Brooklyn of the West." I think that is a pretty good comparison. But it is much cheaper to get into the nice neighborhoods. And the hipster neighborhoods are way more diverse. It isn't only hipster. No matter where you go in Oakland, you'll see everyone everywhere. Bars, restaurants, the grocery store, diversity is everywhere. Of course both Oakland and Austin are sleepier than much of NYC. Things close earlier. Transit isn't as frequent or 24 hours. But you'll find safe, urban, walkable areas with lots of amenities. One thing that is a little weird about the Bay Area. Nice neighborhoods and sketchy neighborhoods are really close together. And there is rarely an obvious line between them. It's like one block posh, the next block is sketchy in the urban parts (especially in SF).

[jade408]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Also if you have a car it's really easy to park somewhere like Rockridge, compared to SF. But it's probably tougher to park in an area like Adam's Point or Piedmont Avenue which are mostly apartment buildings.

Parking in Piedmont Ave/Adams Point is harder for guests but most buildings all have some sort of secure parking. Some places include a spot in the rent, or they charge. The highest price I have seen for parking is about $50 a month. You can also do something like city carshare or zip car if you don't need a car all the time. There are plenty of stations all over Oakland. Piedmont Ave and Adam's Point are different than Rockridge in terms of development. There is more commercial mixed in off the main commercial street. For example, I live in Piedmont Ave. There is a 24 hour quickstop one block away from me, and 2 more convenience stores about 2 blocks away (one in Adam's Point). 4 blocks away there is one more.

If you pick the neighborhoods in "central" Oakland, you'll find what you are looking for in lots of different packages.

[sliverbox]

I have seen listings for $1200 two bedrooms in the nicer parts of Oakland. I want to move right away. That is CHEAP. We are not moving from NYC because of costs, we can handle the expenses, we are moving because the costs are not worth it.

Several people have mentioned getting a job before you move. That's probably sound advice as I have friends who work in tech who've been out of work for a year or more. Like I said- I am fairly well-seasoned in my career and this last time I was laid off was a real shock as it took me a lot longer to land something.

[80skeys]

I lived in Austin for two years in the mid 1990s. I don't know how much it has changed since then, if at all, but I can say for sure that San Francisco is a much more appealing, interesting and walkable city.

As for cost, NYC and SF are about the same, aren't they?

Here's the thing about the cold.... yes, it's true the temperatures don't get low here. Usually it's around 40-45 at night in winter. But the cold is a damp kind of cold that gets into your bones. When we first moved here (7 months ago), I saw people walking the streets with wool caps, heavy coats, gloves, scarves, dressed like it was Alaska or something ... and I thought it was funny (coming from Colorado as we were.)... But *now I understand*...

Okay, that said, still the winters are tolerable and mild. I will take Bay Area winters any day over NYC winters.

As for outdoors activites. No question about it. Plenty of stuff here. We've been hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains (redwoods) in January in t-shirts.

As for people, they're definitely more laid back than the East Coast. I don't know about "friendlier." I consider NYC people pretty friendly.

As a software developer, you'll definitely have no problem finding work here. In fact, right now is the time to make the move, because the Tech market has heated up a lot in the past 6 months.

However, my wife is a bookkeeper and has been having difficulty.

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

Short-term (next couple of years) goals: live some with an active lifestyle, no suburbs. No long commutes (45+ minutes), no traffic, public transportation highly recommended. We are somewhat frugal, do not need to live in an overly extravagent house, but the neighborhood must be clean with little crime (no violent crime). Target rent for the first year is a small 2-bedroom with a max rent of $1800 (below $1500 is highly preferred). I love live music, mainly small shows. Would love to continue playing in rock bands. No cover music.

It all sounded great until I saw your rent requirements. Unfortunately you're not going to be able to find the kind of place you want for $1800 in San Francisco. $1800 will get you a kind of old, drafty apartment in a sort of gritty neighborhood.

As for music, no issues whatsoever. Plenty of great musicians playing out all over town. I'm a musician myself.

Cost of living is important, but even most of the Bay Area is cheaper than Brooklyn.[/quote]

I guess Brooklyn has gone up in the past several years? Even so, SF prices are probably higher.

Anyway don't move to Austin. Either move to SF if you can swing it, or perhaps Seattle?

[rascal-c]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

I guess Brooklyn has gone up in the past several years? Even so, SF prices are probably higher.

As someone who is currently looking in SF and who has lived in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, I can say that most of the SF apartments in desirable neighborhoods fall somewhere in between Manhattan and Brooklyn prices. Definitely cheaper than Manhattan, but more expensive than BoCoCa/Park Slope. Maybe on the same level as Brooklyn Heights.

[Tycho Brahe]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

I think Oakland would fit the bill then. It is mostly pretty dense in terms of lot sizes but it's still mostly houses with some apartment buildings so it feels more spread out than SF and is quieter and cleaner too in most places. I moved from Hayes Valley in SF which has to be one of the noisiest parts of the city to Rockridge in Oakland and it's sooo much quieter. But I can still walk to the grocery store and there's a ton of shops and restaurants on College Avenue a couple blocks from me. The city buses suck because they only run like every 15 minutes at best. BART is pretty awesome though especially for commuting to SF, it doesn't really run frequently enough at night and on weekends but it's there and it's pretty fast compared to riding a bus anyway. I have a bike and I use it to get around so I don't have to depend on the buses, Oakland and Berkeley are really great for urban biking because they're mostly flat and there are bike lanes here and there.

I am open to anywhere in the Bay Area with a decent commute to downtown, but Oakland does sound like the best match. Open to other suggestions. Perhaps my wife will convince me to move farther out into the burbs as the years go by. Don't know, I am pretty old and set in my ways!

Originally Posted by jade408

The tricky thing is there are many job centers in the Bay Area. If you work on the Peninsula, Oakland is about a 1.75 hr commute roundtrip (I find it faster in the AM, than the PM). If you can stick with working in SF, the East Bay or maybe San Mateo you'll be at work in 45 minutes (by car or transit to SF). Traffic on the other hand is unavoidable. But there are plenty of places that you won't have much traffic. Day to day errands are generally pretty easy.

The various job centers is an issue. I love SF, hate Silicon Valley. I understand that I am limiting my job choices by only want to to work in SF proper or the East Bay. I will have few problems finding a job even in that limited area, but it will be much trickier for my wife.

Originally Posted by rascal-c

As someone who is currently looking in SF and who has lived in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, I can say that most of the SF apartments in desirable neighborhoods fall somewhere in between Manhattan and Brooklyn prices. Definitely cheaper than Manhattan, but more expensive than BoCoCa/Park Slope. Maybe on the same level as Brooklyn Heights.

From what I have seen, Manhattan is easily far more expensive than any other area, followed by SF/Brooklyn. Both areas are large, so some sub-areas would be more expensive/cheaper. East Bay is even cheaper, similar to Jersey City. From what I have seen regarding prices, I can afford Oakland. I can afford SF proper as well, but I would want more for my money, and the bigger city feel of SF is not a requirement.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

The various job centers is an issue. I love SF, hate Silicon Valley. I understand that I am limiting my job choices by only want to to work in SF proper or the East Bay. I will have few problems finding a job even in that limited area, but it will be much trickier for my wife.

Haha, I have the same requirements. It is definitely possible. My current job has more of a commute than I want, when I have to go to the office. Fortunately, I get to work from home generally with 1-2 days in San Mateo. And I can usually leave early and beat the traffic, so it is about 35 minutes in the AM and 40 min in the PM. This is about as long as I can tolerate. I used to work in Hayward, that took about 10 minutes less round trip than San Mateo (25 in the AM, 35 in the PM), but I had no choice on the time.

From Oakland, Livermore is still a 45 minute or less commute. You can easily work in SF, parts of Marin County (seriously) and all of the east bay. Even Fremont is 45 minutes or less.