Daly City (around DC Bart) vs downtown Oakland, where to live (San Francisco: apartment complex, to rent)

[fashionguy]

I understand I created a similar thread about traffic, but in terms of general living, like amenities, safety, etc., where do you think is a better place to live?

I understand that downtown is not the best area of Oakland but we'd like to rent in a modern building close to the lake (the Grand Apartments specifically). In Daly City we have set our eyes to 88 Hillside, a new apartment complex converted from condo, which is close to the Daly City BART.

Both of them are fairly close to public transportation. Our commute needs are to Mountain View and Berkeley. For Daly City it is like 40 minutes to Mountain View and 30 minutes to Berkeley by car and 50 minutes by BART. For Oakland it is very close to Berkeley but close to an hour of commute to mountain view without traffic.

They are equally close to the City. The one in Oakland is less expensive, with a better view but has a smaller floorplan.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by fashionguy

For Oakland it is very close to Berkeley but close to an hour of commute to mountain view without traffic.

There is always traffic with that route. Try it at commute times and once will probably be enough for life.

The Daly City location is very convenient but most people won't appreciate that neighborhood. Have you walked around and checked out that area? At least it is walkable to Bart.

I would look for a third alternative in Daly City,SSF or San Bruno. Like this one which is walkable to lots of decent restaurants in South SF.

Grand Avenue, South San Francisco CA - Trulia

[fashionguy]

Thanks.

Yes I drove around the area and I think it is fine. Not great but not bad either. The BART station seems filthy but fairly safe. The apartment is new and clean and we like it.

We considered SSF briefly but it is two stations farther away from the Berkeley commute and the trains are less frequent so we decided to draw the line at Daly City.

Originally Posted by capoeira

There is always traffic with that route. Try it at commute times and once will probably be enough for life.

The Daly City location is very convenient but most people won't appreciate that neighborhood. Have you walked around and checked out that area? At least it is walkable to Bart.

I would look for a third alternative in Daly City,SSF or San Bruno. Like this one which is walkable to lots of decent restaurants in South SF.

Grand Avenue, South San Francisco CA - Trulia

[ImRandy]

I would vote Daly City because I lived there for many years and enjoyed the weather. It's extremely convenient to downtown San Francisco, the airport, great access to the rest of the Bay Area, and it's cheap to live there. Traffic to Mountain View can be ugly but without a bridge to cross it's less painful. You also have the option of two freeways. Traffic over the Bay Bridge gets bad but it's usually not as bad as west bound in the morning and if it seems too bad you can take BART.

[rkwalton]

Because you've got to commute to Mountain View, you should probably move to Daly City. However, downtown Oakland is pretty great. The area is revitalizing. I said to some people I was out with there a few weeks ago that in the 90s I would have never thought I'd be running around downtown Oakland having fun, drinking and socializing. It's also convenient to both the city and other East Bay communities.

But if you've got to do a regular commute to Walnut Creek, I think you should make your commute as easy as possible.

[ssmaster]

daly city

at least in that case the bay bridge is a reverse commute

[fashionguy]

If I commute from Oakland I'll cross the bridge 84. Is that equally bad during commute hours? Or you are just referring to the fact that one person crossing bay bridge as a reverse commute is a lot better than the other person driving on 880 southward?

Originally Posted by ssmaster

daly city

at least in that case the bay bridge is a reverse commute

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by fashionguy

If I commute from Oakland I'll cross the bridge 84. Is that equally bad during commute hours? Or you are just referring to the fact that one person crossing bay bridge as a reverse commute is a lot better than the other person driving on 880 southward?

i was just talkingg about the bay bridge commute not 880 and 84.someone else will have to answer that

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

i was just talkingg about the bay bridge commute not 880 and 84.someone else will have to answer that

84 (Dumbarton Bridge) commute is fine, but the 880 commute to get there is absolutely awful. Probably one of the worst (if not THE) worst commuting corridor in the entire bay area.

I lived in Alameda briefly when I first moved to the bay area, and I commuted to Palo Alto. This commute never took less than 1 hr 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes unless it was after 10 AM or after 7/8 PM. The longest it ever took was 2 hours and 30 minutes (due to being stuck on 880 between exits, and a "perfect storm" of rain, multiple accidents and a basketball game at Oracle in Oakland). The quickest I could make it was 50 minutes (but this never happened).

There really is no good way to commute from Oakland to the south bay...this is why I voted Daly City. I really like Oakland and think it can be a great place to live; but living in the bay area means you have to think about your commute before choosing where to live. I seriously think this commute from Oakland to Mountain View would get old really fast (no matter what roads you took). It would drain the life of you, and you'd have nothing left when you got home at night.

The commutes from Daly City will let you be able to relax a lot more (BART is a good commute to Berkeley, and 280 is pretty smooth at most times of the day).

For these reasons above, I voted Daly City. But, if you ever get a job closer to Oakland (or SF), I'd seriously take a look at Oakland. There are some really nice places there (as most people here will tell you).

[mayorhaggar]

How about Fremont, 45 minutes on BART to Berkeley and it's across the bridge from Palo Alto which is next to Mountain View.