Moving to SF and need advice (San Jose, San Francisco: closing, quality of life, living in)

[NYCtoSF]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Don't expect Jade to greet you at the airport!

She's too busy hating on whitey anyways!

I keed, I keed!

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by NYCtoSF

I'm willing to walk 10-15 mins to the station. You think this Bayside Village is a good option at $1,900? There's a light rail from there that stops at the CalTrain depot.

Since I work in Palo Alto, I was also looking to live in that area of town near the 4th and King caltrain station.

My assessment of almost all of the buildings in that area is that they're all insanely overpriced. As others have said, this is because they are all new buildings, and (for whatever reason) they all decided to be "luxury apartments" and build in extra amenities (pool, gym, parking garage, etc). While these amenities are really nice, I personally do not need any of them. Also, since these apartments are all new, there is no rent control (only applies to buildings built before 1975, I believe), and your rent can jump by hundreds of dollars a month when you re-sign a lease (a premise I did not like, at all).

I came to the conclusion that I like my money too much to throw away by living in this area and decided to move to downtown San Mateo for a 50% decrease in rent. And this was last January when prices for 1 bedrooms was below $1800-2000 a month. I would never consider the ridiculous prices I'm seeing now. And you know what? I'm still in the city 4-5 times a week since I date a girl in SF, and I can use the money saved on other stuff. I love where I live.

You basically have 3 choices: 1) pay a ton of money to live around the train station (basically throwing your money away); 2) live further from the train in SF and use a bike (or something like that) to cut down the commute time; or 3) move out of SF to an area around one of the other train stations on the peninsula. I'm guessing only options 1 and 2 are ones you'll consider.

This is just the reality of the market right now.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by jade408

The Indian girls one is hilarious too:

**** White Girls Say... To Brown (Desi/Indian) Girls - YouTube

Haha, this girl is too funny. She reminds me a lot of one of my best friends (who also happens to be a (stand-up) comic...Phoebe Robinson, check her out!). I need to check out more of these videos...

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by NYCtoSF

I'm willing to walk 10-15 mins to the station. You think this Bayside Village is a good option at $1,900? There's a light rail from there that stops at the CalTrain depot.

Here's a map of the light rail system in SF. Most everything east of the West Portal station is subway and the trains move well. Everything else west runs on surface streets and goes as fast as the traffic. 404 - Not Found

Pick an area near one of these stations. The Caltrain station is at Fourth and King and you can transfer to BART downtown. You can get a monthly pass called a Clipper Card good for unlimited rides on the light rail, Caltrain, BART and other transit. www.clippercard.com

You can probably get a studio in some of these other areas for about $1100 - $1200/month. It will be in an 80 year old building and not as fancy as the South Beach area - no pool or gym.

BTW, public transit stops running about midnight - 1 am. All bars/clubs close at 2am. Booze can't be sold in CA between 2am and 6am. You can't party all night like you can in Manhattan .

[rkwalton]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

BTW, public transit stops running about midnight - 1 am. All bars/clubs close at 2am. Booze can't be sold in CA between 2am and 6am. You can't party all night like you can in Manhattan .

Actually, some MUNI lines run 24/7. BART, however, doesn't (which is just bone headed because they could do something like one train every 45 minutes to an hour from midnight to 4am, but noooooooooooooooo.)

However, you're right, it's NOTHING like NYC. That part I miss.

[NYCtoSF]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

Since I work in Palo Alto, I was also looking to live in that area of town near the 4th and King caltrain station.

My assessment of almost all of the buildings in that area is that they're all insanely overpriced. As others have said, this is because they are all new buildings, and (for whatever reason) they all decided to be "luxury apartments" and build in extra amenities (pool, gym, parking garage, etc). While these amenities are really nice, I personally do not need any of them. Also, since these apartments are all new, there is no rent control (only applies to buildings built before 1975, I believe), and your rent can jump by hundreds of dollars a month when you re-sign a lease (a premise I did not like, at all).

I came to the conclusion that I like my money too much to throw away by living in this area and decided to move to downtown San Mateo for a 50% decrease in rent. And this was last January when prices for 1 bedrooms was below $1800-2000 a month. I would never consider the ridiculous prices I'm seeing now. And you know what? I'm still in the city 4-5 times a week since I date a girl in SF, and I can use the money saved on other stuff. I love where I live.

You basically have 3 choices: 1) pay a ton of money to live around the train station (basically throwing your money away); 2) live further from the train in SF and use a bike (or something like that) to cut down the commute time; or 3) move out of SF to an area around one of the other train stations on the peninsula. I'm guessing only options 1 and 2 are ones you'll consider.

This is just the reality of the market right now.

I hear you on the living in San Mateo part, but I haven't driven in years and I want to get comfortable with the area before leasing a car. I'm thinking I'll have to pay through the nose for a 6 month lease and then probably move elsewhere. By the way, doesn't the cost of your rent in San Mateo + car costs almost add up to the same as the rent in SF?

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Here's a map of the light rail system in SF. Most everything east of the West Portal station is subway and the trains move well. Everything else west runs on surface streets and goes as fast as the traffic. 404 - Not Found

Pick an area near one of these stations. The Caltrain station is at Fourth and King and you can transfer to BART downtown. You can get a monthly pass called a Clipper Card good for unlimited rides on the light rail, Caltrain, BART and other transit. www.clippercard.com

You can probably get a studio in some of these other areas for about $1100 - $1200/month. It will be in an 80 year old building and not as fancy as the South Beach area - no pool or gym.

BTW, public transit stops running about midnight - 1 am. All bars/clubs close at 2am. Booze can't be sold in CA between 2am and 6am. You can't party all night like you can in Manhattan .

Yea, I don't care about fancy. I'm going to research all these areas before flying out there next week. Any reputable management companies in those other areas you can recommend? I don't want to live in a complete ****hole of course.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by NYCtoSF

Yea, I don't care about fancy. I'm going to research all these areas before flying out there next week. Any reputable management companies in those other areas you can recommend? I don't want to live in a complete ****hole of course.

Check out Noe Valley and the area around Dolores park where the J Church light rail runs - a fairly nice neighborhood.

[NYCtoSF]

I Is Here!!!

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by NYCtoSF

I Is Here!!!

I will alert the media.

So, gives us your thoughts about the place in the coming days.

[mini_cute]

Originally Posted by NYCtoSF

I Is Here!!!

Welcome and Happy Valentine's Day! Were you able to catch Tony Bennett sing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at City Hall today?