Excited to move!!! (San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland: apartment, renting, schools)

[ExcitedAboutCali]

I've recently graduated from college and excited about my new move! I've visited a few times and have always wanted to relocate after college so I'm glad it's all working out. My first CA experience was LA/Ventura/Anaheim and after seeing North California, SoCal was out of the picture!

I'll be making 60K and prefer suburbs with access to urban areas. I would love a downtown area, and parks since I may get a pet. I have a vehicle so I don't need to live within walking distance of any stations, but I will definitely take advantage of public transportation. Commutes aren't an issue, my territory is pretty much North CA and I have company car for those expenses. I don't need anything large, 1-2 bedrooms and I prefer duplexes/small complexes.

I need some help on areas to look into, because my only restrictions are being within an hour of an airport. No kids, so schools don't matter, only things that matters are price and safety.

I know that I don't like the steepness of San Francisco, but I wouldn't mind some hills. I've visited San Mateo/Foster City, Fremont, Sunnyvale and San Jose and I like them as far as the landscapes go.

I'm kind of overwhelmed with the many areas I could possibly live and need some help. Please suggest any cities you think would work out.

Thanks !!

[humboldtrat]

Check out San Carlos - 25 miles to either San Francisco or San Jose and about 13 miles to SFO airport. It has a nice downtown with lots of apartment buildings and a train station all within walking distance. The beach is about 30 minutes away.

[RockyCity]

If you're only making 60K, I suggest San Jose, more bang for the buck. You could live in a nice area near downtown or willow glen. Plus San Jose has its own airport, about a 10 minute drive on 87. Most of San Jose has a suburb feel to it, with easy access to its downtown, willow glen or los gatos, in fact there a several towns nearby and easy accesss on the freeway. Since you're renting, once you live here for a year or so, and find a more desirable area to satisfy your needs you will have that option to move.

[mayorhaggar]

Could live in a nice part of Oakland like Rockridge if you want to save $$$. 1br's start around $1100, where they'd be more like $1500 in SF. It's 20 minutes from downtown SF on BART and the Oakland Airport is easy to get to. But if you want to be closer to SFO, Rockridge is about 45 minutes away on BART which kinda sucks.

If you want to be closer to SFO then definitely look into San Mateo County, but it's more expensive than the East Bay.

I wouldn't go with San Jose, unless you work there it's not a great place to live and it can be expensive, it's just blah suburban sprawl. But if you like that then by all means check it out.

[bmw335xi]

Maybe I missed it, but where will you be working? Traffic can be VERY bad, especially during rush hour, so it'd help to know where your job is located before recommending an area.

[lmk1707]

You may want to look into Walnut Creek, it is suburban, has a BART line, decent-sized downtown and plenty of people in their 20's.

[RockyCity]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Could live in a nice part of Oakland like Rockridge if you want to save $$$. 1br's start around $1100, where they'd be more like $1500 in SF. It's 20 minutes from downtown SF on BART and the Oakland Airport is easy to get to. But if you want to be closer to SFO, Rockridge is about 45 minutes away on BART which kinda sucks.

If you want to be closer to SFO then definitely look into San Mateo County, but it's more expensive than the East Bay.

I wouldn't go with San Jose, unless you work there it's not a great place to live and it can be expensive, it's just blah suburban sprawl. But if you like that then by all means check it out.

I would much rather live in San Jose blah, than anywhere near Oakland with all its crime. I know all of Oakland is not like that, some good areas, just by preference. To each his own.

[ExcitedAboutCali]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Maybe I missed it, but where will you be working? Traffic can be VERY bad, especially during rush hour, so it'd help to know where your job is located before recommending an area.

I don't have an actual office to commute to daily. I'll be doing IT consulting for the "San Francisco" area, which most likely includes SJ (The areas of choice for the state were SF and LA). I'll be driving all over the place to visit different companies so there isn't one specific area I need to be close to. My only restrictions are within 1 hour of an airport.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by RockyCity

I would much rather live in San Jose blah, than anywhere near Oakland with all its crime. I know all of Oakland is not like that, some good areas, just by preference. To each his own.

This post gets the award for the most clueless post of the week. *rolls eyes*

[RockyCity]

Originally Posted by jade408

This post gets the award for the most clueless post of the week. *rolls eyes*

Clueless? As I stated, all of Oakland is not like that, some good areas. My point was that all that crime, shootings etc. that you hear on the news, almost daily, as well as those recent riots that took place, would be to close for comfort if I was living there in Oakland. I would much prefer living in San Jose. Just my personal preference. And again like I stated there are some good areas there in Oakland. There is nothing clueless about what I stated. Have a wonderful evening