HELP! Where in the San Francisco region should I reside? (San Diego: apartment complex, rentals)

[Rose454]

I received word that a San Francisco regional position within my organization should be opening up soon!!! Initially, I wanted to transfer from the DC metro area office to the L.A. office, but I'll settle for year round warm weather and beaches any way I can get it, even if that means shifting gears and moving to the San Francisco regional office, instead of SoCal.

I'm trying to research affordable areas (if there's such a thing) in the San Francisco region, that's close to the job (near the Civic Center UN Plaza bart stop). Since it's so close to the bart stop, I can definitely commute in, but I'm unsure which neighborhoods to target.

If I get the transfer to San Francisco, my salary will be ~101K/year. Here's what I am looking for:

- Close proximity to work (commute time < than or/= 45 minutes from the civic center UN Plaza location).

-I'm a single young professional (with no children), so access to stores/shops and nightlife is a plus. Also, I'm African American; and in truth I would prefer to reside in an area where there's a diverse group of people.

-I'm interested in residing in a safe/ semi luxury apartment complex with great amenities and palm trees w/ a nice pool.

-It's certainly NOT a necessity that I reside in San Francisco. I know that the rents are very high. In truth, I'd prefer to reside in a close-in neighborhood that offers train access to the Civic center stop. Also, I'm willing to drive-in, as long as the commute is not too long.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

I'm sure the suggestions will give me a jump start on researching the best places for me...

[gone down south]

You may want to look up SF weather.... 'warm' is a relative term, and the beaches are cold even on the hottest summer day!

[Rose454]

Thanks for all of the great housing advice! I knew that I could count on the bay area city-data board.

[AngusHsu]

I suggest somewhere along the BART line. There is another subway line cutting through the center of the city (see Castro, Church, Forest Hill, West Portal)- the areas around there are not diverse at all besides LGBT. Central SF is very much white-collar white.

Along the BART line, I suggest areas around Balboa Park and Glen Park. With your income level, the Glen Park area is just about right. Not many luxury apartment buildings- those are in South of Market area.

The area around Lake Meritt station in Oakland is also very good value- there are Victorians in that area too and Chinatown is nearby. I am not familiar with luxury apartments there though.

[Ruth4Truth]

North Oakland (Rockridge), El Cerrito, and North Berkeley (the Solano Ave. area is nice, and near BART) are all good. The East Bay is a bit warmer than San Fran (Mark Twain said of SF: "I've never had as cold a winter as July in San Francisco"), rents are better, though there are commute expenses. But Solano Ave. and the Rockridge area are delightful neighborhoods full of shops and restaurants, great for strolling and hanging out. Not as starkly urban as some of DC, SF, or NYC. Tree-lined streets, views of the Bay, great places to live. Those neighborhoods are good diversity-wise, too.

To compare rents, Google craigslist rentals, eastbay. Then specify: Berkeley Hills, North Berkeley, Kensington, El Cerrito, Rockridge (each has separate listings). El Cerrito will probably have the best rental rates (more space for your $$).

[easherly]

For someone with your salary who is single, you might look into a place in the Marina/Cow Hollow area.

[clongirl]

No need to live in the City. You would get far more for your $ in the nicer parts of Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, and some of the other places mentioned.. etc. I'm surprised that some of the helpful posters aren't around today.

These areas would seem like a great fit, but I don't know all the specific details of BART(which would get you to your job easily) and specifics on rent, etc. Do a search here and look up neighborhoods in Oakland (or some of Jade408's or Mayorhaggar's psots)---there are some great, diverse, hip neighborhoods there that would definitely suit your needs!

[Natural510]

The Bay Area isn't pool & palm-trees like L.A. or San Diego. Still, on your salary and lack of dependents, you can find a nice luxury apartment in Downtown or Uptown Oakland, Downtown Berkeley, or a nice neighborhood with retail/restaurant strip like Rockridge or Piedmont.

[mayorhaggar]

The central Bay Area (the SF area and the inner East Bay, i.e. the area around Berkeley and Oakland) are the most fun and urban parts of the Bay Area, but they are also not places where you can easily or affordably find "luxury" apartments, and it's not like more suburban areas where there's tons of big uniformly laid out apartment complexes. You can find those places in the inner Bay Area if you pay a lot, or you can go further out into more suburban areas. Most apartments are small, old, kinda dingy, and are rented out by private landlords who maybe own a few buildings at most, and maybe just own one building. Condos are kind of a rare breed in the Bay Area but there are more being built every year, Oakland has gotten a lot and Emeryville has quite a few. Berkeley has some scattered around in downtown and in its NW corner around 4th Street. SF has some as well but I imagine they're out of your price range.

Anyway I'd look mainly at Oakland and Berkeley and expect to pay a pretty penny for a small place, but you should be able to hold out for one with nice furnishings. I'll post some more later but I gotta run.

[04kL4nD]

Downtown Oakland sounds like the best bet to me.