Questions about San Francisco-Oakland area

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

More pricey, actually. Sausalito and Tiburon are not for the faint of heart or wallet, and even if you go further into San Rafael or Mill Valley you will still be paying a daily bridge toll ($5?) and driving in utter gridlock on 101 and/or 19th Avenue to take advantage of the San Francisco job market and salaries. So it could cost you more than living in the city.

I agree... the tolls are now $5 on the GGB (), or $4 if you have a FasTrak pass. The only cheap-ish areas up north are "Marin City", which is basically the projects, and Santa Rosa or Novato, which will make for a VERY long commute. Few people commute from the north into SF, and these are the reasons why. If you could easily afford Tiburon or Sausalito, I'd say go for it, but otherwise I recommend staying on the Peninsula or East Bay.

South San Francisco and San Bruno are fairly affordable and safe, and the 280 commute is actually pretty nice, but you'll get airplanes buzzing you day and night because they're in the SFO flightpath to East Asia. It's really not hard to get accustomed to the noise, but you'll just feel like Lenny from the Simpsons.

LMAO. I looked at one apartment in San Bruno, down near 101, and the first thing I asked about was airplane noise. The landlord said "oh, it's not too bad" - RIGHT then a plane flew over, and the entire place shook like a 5.0 quake. But if you're in the Southwest parts of SSF, like the neighborhood above Serramonte Mall, it really isn't that bad. Pacifica (where I lived for a year) is also fairly quiet except near Skyline College, and it's a great town! You might also consider the little town of Brisbane, which is between SSF and Daly City, and looks across to Monster (Candlestick) Park. I also looked at an apartment there, and really really liked the neighborhood... unfortunately the place was too small, or I totally would've rented it.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

LMAO. I looked at one apartment in San Bruno, down near 101, and the first thing I asked about was airplane noise. The landlord said "oh, it's not too bad" - RIGHT then a plane flew over, and the entire place shook like a 5.0 quake. But if you're in the Southwest parts of SSF, like the neighborhood above Serramonte Mall, it really isn't that bad. Pacifica (where I lived for a year) is also fairly quiet except near Skyline College, and it's a great town! You might also consider the little town of Brisbane, which is between SSF and Daly City, and looks across to Monster (Candlestick) Park. I also looked at an apartment there, and really really liked the neighborhood... unfortunately the place was too small, or I totally would've rented it.

Yep, I lived in South San Francisco at El Camino Real & Country Club Drive. Only moved out because the complex caught on fire! And not to nitpick, but Serramonte is north of SSF in Colma (aka graveyard town). The western part of SSF is known locally as Westborough, and it's OK, but the nicest area is actually the zone around Hillside Boulevard on the eastern side. It's a lot like Brisbane, in fact, which is just on the other side of San Bruno Mountain.

[NOEL123]

Originally Posted by cicerone

I pay 1000 for a shoebox of a one-bedroom in a nice neighborhood in SF. The place is tiny, old and needs a lot of work (old carpet, peeling paint, drains clog, etc), Still, my apt is still considered a fantastic deal and there were plenty of people at the open house. More average might be 1500 and up.

As for Japanese, it might help you, especially if you get a job with the tourist industry. Or if you're specifically working for a company that does business with Japan. There are far more opportunities for Chinese and Spanish speakers, however, as those are the Bay Area's biggest immigrant communities..

I am from PHILLY and planning to move to SF area. You pay $1000/mth for a tiny bd, is it normal or too expensive?

Where & what is Bay area?

[sonarrat]

$1000 is a deal so good you'll have lines 50 deep to snag any vacancy.

Bay Area is the area around the San Francisco Bay, defined as San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Marin and Sonoma counties. (Is Napa a county?)