Commute Potrero Hill, the Mission or Bernal Heights to Cupertino (Apple campus)...Help please! (San Jose: to rent, lofts)

[Scaxter]

My husband and I have been researching where we want to live in the SF area. Through another thread (thank you everyone!), I pretty much decided on Mountain View. I love that it requires less use of a car (we currently live in a car only area), has a nice downtown, plenty of the big box stores for larger purchases and nice weather. Also, it's very close to my husbands new job in Cupertino.

I know my husband really wants to live in SF. I'm trying my best to find a compromise. I don't want to be the "wet rag" who wants to live in the burbs. I've done some research and heard from many people (his friend's in the area) that if he commutes from Potrero Hill, the mission or Bernal Heights at around 7:30 a.m., he can be in Cupertino in about 35 minutes. We are from NJ, the land of long commutes. I used to drive 50 min. each way to work and thought nothing of it. 35 mins barely sounds like a commute at all

I should mention that I am laid off (teacher), so if any of these areas happen to be better for finding a job, that would be greato too....but not necessary.

Questions:
-Does anyone know if apple shuttles pick you up near Potrero Hill, mission or Bernal Heights? If so, how long is the ride? If not, we do have a car.
-Our budget is about $3000, 2 bedroom, with dishwasher, washer/dryer, parking (easy street or for a fee) and pet friendly...is this possible?
-Weather patterns in these neighborhoods? I need the sun to shine every once in a while to keep me happy
- Are these more walkable neighborhoods..grocery, bank, cafes, bars, etc.?
-Safe neighborhoods? I will be walking the dogs at night when he travels.
-Family friendly? We are thinking of starting a family in the next 6mo-year.

Thank you in advance for your help. This forum has saved us so much time. Once we both have the opportunity to back it out there together I know we will know exactly which neighborhoods/towns to consider.

[mayorhaggar]

You'll have to ask Apple about where their shuttles stop, that is their info and they should be providing it to you.

I would definitely look into riding Caltrain. It's pretty fast, almost always on time, and it totally bypasses the traffic on 101 and 280. 280 is usually ok during rush hour but 101 is a parking lot. I don't know where the shuttles go, probably on 280, and you'd deal with unpredictable traffic any time you're on the highways here esp at rush hour. If you were living by the Caltrain 4th and King Station or 22nd Street Station, you'd have an easy commute. Prices will be expensive near the stations though because there's a ton of techies who bought up the condos there so they can commute on Caltrain.

Potrero Hill is ok but more spread out than other neighborhoods in SF like say Noe Valley or the Mission and there's less shopping/eating options. This means it's quieter but it also feels kind of isolated and public transit there kind of sucks if you want to get to other parts of the city, you'd probably end up driving a lot anyway. Also it's expensive because like I said there's a lot of highly paid techies who take Caltrain who have moved there in the last 10 years or so. Honestly I'd pick Mountain View over Potrero Hill if those were my only two choices.

Bernal Heights is ok, it's also spread out and quiet and is on a pretty steep hill which makes it less walkable than other parts of SF. Most shops are on Cortland or nearby on Mission. You'd end up driving a lot from there too.

The Mission is great but you want to live west of Mission Street, on or east of Mission there's a ton of crime and grime, lots of drug dealers and junkies. It's also a pretty noisy neighborhood no matter where you are. The area around Dolores Park is really nice. Lots of shops on 16th, 18th and Church as well as on Market and Valencia.

I'd also look at Noe Valley, it's cleaner and quieter than the Mission though it does have less shopping/eating options which are mainly on 24th. Also generally more expensive than the Mission.

A 2br for around $2500 would be pretty basic, probably no dishwasher or w/d, as we said in the other topic they're pretty rare in SF unless you're in a new building and most buildings in SF are old. $3000 might get you better furnishings though. Pet friendly is hard to find. Parking will almost definitely be an extra $200 a month in SF if you want to rent an off-site space or rent a space in the garage of your building.

[skyao]

i would also agree on Mission or Noe Valley. There is also a pickup at 30th and Church, which is on the border of noe/glen park. You can also drive on 280 to apple from there which is probably an hour.

$3,000 is doable in that area. Not the easiest budget to work with but doable if you have the time to look. Pet Friendly will reduce your amount of places to rent by at least 80%, especially in that price range.

[beb0p]

I don't know where your friends get the 35 mins from, but without traffic it's about 50 mins from Potrero Hill/Bernal/Mission to Cupertino. I've done a similar commute from the Castro to just the edge of Cupertino in 40 mins going really, really fast late at night when there's practically no car around. 280 is generally less congested than 101 so you have that to your advantage.


Regarding your questions:

1. Apples does not disclose their bus route to the public so your husband has to contact them regarding your question. I'd assume the time it takes depends on how may stops and how long is the route.

2. Without pets, possible. With pets, hard to say. Luxury condos tend to be the most pet friendly (and more expensive, standard $3,000 for a one bedroom) and they're found in South Beach/SOMA/Mission Bay. Mission/Potrero/Bernal aren't neighborhoods known for having tall luxury condos (although there are some condos and lofts in the Mission District that are pet friendly but they're harder to find there).

3. Potrero Hill and Mission are the sunniest spots in SF. Bernal a bit less so but is still sunnier than places like Sunset.

4. Mission is very walkable because it's very flat and it's a very happening area. Potrero and Bernal are hills so by nature not very walkable. Potrero is a sleepy neighborhood but it abuts very trendy nabes so it's actually quite convenient. Bernal least convenient of the three but it's still close to the Mission and walkable if you live in the very northern part.

5. The Mission is not for everyone, it has many moving parts to it; there's already several threads exclusively devoted to this nabe. If you live there, I recommend west of Valencia St or East of Folsom and north of 20th. Overall, Mission is more of a single's paradise. Potero Hill is very family oriented. It is pretty safe (and more convenient) in the North Slope. South Slope is a mixed bag because it has a housing project there but crime tends to concentrate inside the projects. Rent is much more expensive in the North Slope vs the South. Bernal is overall safe and family oriented but it has its intricacy. I'm not an expert on Bernal but I personally love the northern part of Bernal around Precita Park. If you enjoy walking your dog, you'll love the Bernal Heights Open Space.

6. Potero and Bernal are generally more family oriented (more single family homes, quieter) than the Mission. I'd suggest you do more research on the Mission if you are seriously considering it. As I've said, the Mission is not for everyone.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Go for Bernal, the car commute will happen more frequently than you now imagine.

San Jose Ave -> 280 -> De Anza Blvd. Not all that bad.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Oh, also, Glen Park, and even shorter commute and a better (albeit more expensive) hood than Bernal.

[robregan]

If you can afford Noe Valley that's where I'd recommend. $3,000 won't go as far there but you'll get your Mountain View desires filled more easily. I'm from NYC and lived in NJ for a while. There is probably no worse commute on earth than any NYC commute. No matter how bad 101 or 280 gets it just doesn't compare. That said you're looking at an hour commute to Cupertino. I'd call Apple about their shuttles, but I know Noe is popular with the Google crowd so it may be true of Apple as well.

In Noe if you can live near either 24th St or Church or both you will be in walking distance of great retail and restaurants. At 24th and Douglass you also have a small park where you can walk your dog.

Alternatively look into the Mission Dolores neighborhood around Dolores Park. It too gets great weather and is less urban feeling than the Mission but you can walk to the Mission restaurants.

Bernal and Potrero Hill are both extreme hit and miss neighbohoods. You'll want to do a lot of touring and walking before settling on a section of either neighbhood to make sure it is what you are looking for.

[katskill]

" There is probably no worse commute on earth than any NYC commute. No matter how bad 101 or 280 gets it just doesn't compare."
Interesting to me since Im actually moving from NYC to SF. I like the Marin county and was thinking of commuting from Novato or San Rafael to SF (Presidio area). What are your thoughts on this commute ? Im guessing peaktime over the Golden Gate is a nightmare?

[skyao]

marin to presidio shouldnt be too bad...novato to presidio is probably an hour at most?

i have friends who bike in from mill valley to SF.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by skyao

marin to presidio shouldnt be too bad...novato to presidio is probably an hour at most?

i have friends who bike in from mill valley to SF.

Well, it can be bad and might take longer than an hour. Traffic is a crawl on 101 between Novato and SF in the morning and the same thing going north in the afternoon.