Job at Stanford or UC Berkeley? (San Jose, Sacramento: real estate market, 2013, rental)

[NorCaliMom]

My husband has been offered a position at both universities and we are having quite a difficult time deciding which one to take. We're a family of 4, relocating from Sacramento. The Real Estate market next to Stanford is quote high and seems out of our range. He's willing to commute 20 minutes or less but not sure how far that takes us with traffic. Berkeley real estate is a bit more affordable but commutes in the East Bay aren't easy either.

Any one have advice for which one is a better place to work? Or where a good place to live would be for either position? Thanks!

[sliverbox]

No clue about Stanford, but as you did point out, it is very expensive indeed. Its basically right in the heart of Silicon Valley and real estate is very costly there and in the nearby environs. The East Bay has a lot of cities within it and you can be in Berkeley fairly quick. The biggest Pain is that traffic in Berkeley itself is a quagmire.

I guess if it were me I'd probably not immediately buy a house in an unfamiliar area. I'd rent first and get a feel of the land. Its also of note to mention that real estate in the Bay Area is on fire and the competition for homes now is fairly high. So be prepared.

[04kL4nD]

I'd say Stanford is probably a more stable less hectic place to work, but I have no idea what the position is. Faculty?

[ccm123]

Albany or Orinda would be nice areas to live, if he chooses the Cal position. The other inner East Bay neighborhoods are also generally nice.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by NorCaliMom

My husband has been offered a position at both universities and we are having quite a difficult time deciding which one to take. We're a family of 4, relocating from Sacramento. The Real Estate market next to Stanford is quote high and seems out of our range. He's willing to commute 20 minutes or less but not sure how far that takes us with traffic. Berkeley real estate is a bit more affordable but commutes in the East Bay aren't easy either.

Any one have advice for which one is a better place to work? Or where a good place to live would be for either position? Thanks!

I can't comment on working at Berkley, but I can say that working at Stanford is a very good experience. You are right to be concerned about the costs of the area around the school, but you don't have to live in Palo Alto (which happens to be one of the most expensive areas of the entire Bay Area). There are more affordable areas up and down the peninsula (relatively affordable compared to Palo Alto, Menlo Park), such as San Mateo (where I live), San Bruno/South SF, Redwood City, some parts of Mountain View.

Most of the cities on the peninsula also have below market rate housing (e.g. San Mateo's: San Mateo, CA - Official Website - Below Market Rental Program, Palo Alto's: http://www.paloaltohousingcorp.org/b...ting/index.htm http://www.paloaltohousingcorp.org/bmr/). Most of my colleagues in the lab that I work in (grad students, post-docs, research fellows), who are not payed well by any means since we work in academia, take advantage of some sort of below market rate housing. I personally make too much to qualify (although, not by much) but I'm still able to live comfortably in the area. So, it is possible to live near Stanford on the peninsula, although you'll likely not be right next to Stanford.

One great thing about working at the university is you get free Caltrain/VTA transit (Go Pass/EcoPass), and they even give you money if you don't drive to work (Clean Air Cash). So getting to Stanford from other towns on the peninsula (and even SF) is actually pretty painless. During rush hour, driving is a much bigger pain and is often slower than taking the train (plus, it's nice not having to worry about parking).

Also, you could look at living in the Fremont/Union City/Newark areas in the East Bay, which are pretty nice towns. Transit options are more limited to Stanford, but there are options:

Bay Area Transit
Line U: Bay Area Transit
Dumbarton Express: Bay Area Transit

Even if the pay is limited, working at Stanford has many perks that go beyond pay (such as having Stanford on your resume, or being around ground-breaking research and world-renowned faculty). Berkeley is a great school, too, with many of its own advantages (such as cheaper housing), so I'm sure it won't be an easy decision.

[Nerys52SoSilver]

some people would give their right arm for Stanford
and what is up with willing to do a 20 minutes or less commute , expand that to a larger time slot and see what you get for that where do you get if the commute is 38 minutes or 44 minutes etc , broaden your horizon
I know Statesside people who commute 2 and 3 hours for their jobs so 20 minutes is very little

[mayorhaggar]

Yes Stanford is in the middle of one of the most expensive real estate markets in the US. Berkeley is expensive too but is closer to places that are more reasonable.

Figure out your budget first of all, and think about what kind of place you want to live in, and whether you need good public schools or not. If you want to be 20 minutes from Stanford and have a nice house with a white picket fence, that is going to cost well over a million bucks.

For one thing I would be concerned about how much California's budget problems would affect a job at a UC--California public universities and colleges have cut a lot of stuff and slowed wage growth. Stanford might not have that problem and might be more stable long-term.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by NorCaliMom

My husband has been offered a position at both universities and we are having quite a difficult time deciding which one to take. We're a family of 4, relocating from Sacramento. The Real Estate market next to Stanford is quote high and seems out of our range. He's willing to commute 20 minutes or less but not sure how far that takes us with traffic. Berkeley real estate is a bit more affordable but commutes in the East Bay aren't easy either.

Any one have advice for which one is a better place to work? Or where a good place to live would be for either position? Thanks!

Congratulations on the job offers!

Both real estate markets are much more expensive than Sacramento. Palo Alto is also much more expensive than Berkeley. It depends on your income. If you can afford it, I would definitely choose the Stanford offer for a couple reasons.

1) The Peninsula area is much more family friendly and safe.

2) Stanford is more stable considering all the budget cuts already in place and potentially to come with the UC system.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

I can't comment on working at Berkley, but I can say that working at Stanford is a very good experience. You are right to be concerned about the costs of the area around the school, but you don't have to live in Palo Alto (which happens to be one of the most expensive areas of the entire Bay Area). There are more affordable areas up and down the peninsula (relatively affordable compared to Palo Alto, Menlo Park), such as San Mateo (where I live), San Bruno/South SF, Redwood City, some parts of Mountain View.

Most of the cities on the peninsula also have below market rate housing (e.g. San Mateo's: San Mateo, CA - Official Website - Below Market Rental Program, Palo Alto's: PAHC - Below Market Rate - Rental Program PAHC - Below Market Rate Programs). Most of my colleagues in the lab that I work in (grad students, post-docs, research fellows), who are not payed well by any means since we work in academia, take advantage of some sort of below market rate housing. I personally make too much to qualify (although, not by much) but I'm still able to live comfortably in the area. So, it is possible to live near Stanford on the peninsula, although you'll likely not be right next to Stanford.

One great thing about working at the university is you get free Caltrain/VTA transit (Go Pass/EcoPass), and they even give you money if you don't drive to work (Clean Air Cash). So getting to Stanford from other towns on the peninsula (and even SF) is actually pretty painless. During rush hour, driving is a much bigger pain and is often slower than taking the train (plus, it's nice not having to worry about parking).

Also, you could look at living in the Fremont/Union City/Newark areas in the East Bay, which are pretty nice towns. Transit options are more limited to Stanford, but there are options:

Bay Area Transit
Line U: Bay Area Transit
Dumbarton Express: Bay Area Transit

Even if the pay is limited, working at Stanford has many perks that go beyond pay (such as having Stanford on your resume, or being around ground-breaking research and world-renowned faculty). Berkeley is a great school, too, with many of its own advantages (such as cheaper housing), so I'm sure it won't be an easy decision.

In view of this info, I would pick Standford. It's safer, economically more stable (not dependent on state funding), a better school. Also, I don't know what your husband's field is, but faculty politics in some of the academic departments at Berkeley is vicious, very dog-eat-dog.

If for some reason you can't take Stanford, a lot of faculty at Berkeley live in Orinda, Lafayette, etc. Though the commute can be time-consuming, depending on the schedule. Faculty also live in Alameda and El Cerrito, which are a little more affordable than Berkeley and north Oakland. Another option might be to live in Fremont, and take BART to downtown Berkeley, and walk the 2-3 blocks to campus.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

For one thing I would be concerned about how much California's budget problems would affect a job at a UC--California public universities and colleges have cut a lot of stuff and slowed wage growth. Stanford might not have that problem and might be more stable long-term.

Yes, funding is one thing you don't have to worry about at Stanford. It recently was the first University to ever raise more than $1 billion in a year:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/ed...2012.html?_r=0
Stanford breaks donations record with $1 billion in one year - San Jose Mercury News

Getting funding at Berkeley has traditionally never been a challenge since it's an extremely good school (equal to or close to Stanford in many fields), but with CA budget cuts it could get more difficult.