Hospital physician looking to relocate to Bay area

[artsy1]

Also, do you mind me asking what your specialty is? My partner is a pediatrician and he's always complaining about how hard it is to network and find job leads in a new city, particularly if you're looking for a hospital-based position with opportunities to teach (which is what he has now).

[jombie88]

Just got it! I'll definitely keep you posted. I just got an email about jobs in Australia and NZ. Now that would be a heck of a change, but I think we'll keep our sights on CA for now!

[jombie88]

I'm an internist working for one of the bigger health organizations up here. It's a great job, busy, definitely intellectually stimulating. I was briefly in academics after I got out of but I was actually working harder than I was in residency. Takes a very dedicated person to do academics!

[jombie88]

As I'm sure your partner knows, physicians develop a ton of contacts over the years starting in residency, and we all sort of become like diaspora over time, spreading out to places far and wide. If I find out I have any acquaintances out there in hospital pediatrics I'll let you know. My sister is a pharmacist at the hospital in Santa Cruz. I can ask her if she knows of any hiring occurring.

[Ruth4Truth]

Santa Cruz itself would be a great place to work and settle down, but I get the idea you have your heart set on the big city. For affordable housing in the vicinity (that doesn't involve crossing a bridge), try Pacifica. But there are affordable houses, as someone else noted, in the Richmond and Sunset districts of SF.
btw, the area around GG Park and the Richmond have buildings that started out as single family, but then got subdivided to 3 separate apts., one on each of three floors. Don't overlook those, as you could combine the top two floors into one unit again,for yourself, and use the ground floor as a rental, to help pay the mortgage and cover repairs and maintenance. i always look for a place with a rental, or rental potential, so I don't have to worry about maintenance and taxes coming out of my own pocket. Let the renter/s pay the taxes, and insurance, too, while they're at it, lol!

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by jombie88

My wife has autoimmune issues which make being in cold weather painful for her.

In that case, you may want to reconsider Richmond/Sunset, it's not Twin City cold but that area is considerably colder/foggier than the rest of SF, especially after sun down. The western side of SF tends to be cold and foggy (that includes city like Daly City, Colma, etc).

If you're looking for something sunny, sticks with the eastern part of SF or the East Bay. Also towns like Brisbane and South San Francisco tends to get overlooked. If you like urban, also check out the nice part of Oakland like Rockridge, Temescal, etc.

[keshmi]

Mill Valley-probably not the best option. It would eat up your budget and then some. Rent is high, but demand is higher (because of schools). A lot of families move there from the city. San Rafael, Corte Madera, Larkspur are a little easier on budget in North Bay. Novato is also an option but farther.

[Ruth4Truth]

The only downside to Mill Valley (GREAT place to raise kids, btw) would be the bridge commute. The stress can be avoided by taking the bus, but still, due to extreme traffic during commute hours, travel time is unpredictable. However, the OP may end up with a schedule that's outside of traditional commute hours, in which case there wouldn't be a problem. The other problem with Mill Valley is that people pay 1 mill and up for a modest 3-br. house.

Much more affordable (and a little farther away from the city) is Fairfax, also a good kid town, and a bit more rural than Mill Valley or SF.