new job in SF. to live in the city or outside? please help with advice

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mngo4322

hi

I am a 32 year old female that will be relocating to the SF area for work. My office will be based in the heart of union square in SF and I will only be there on Monday and Fridays. I will be traveling Tuesday thru Thursday within norcal (Walnut Creek, Palo Alto, San Jose, Sacramento, Valley Fair). Due to the high amount of traveling, I will be bringing my car. I was wondering if it is best to live in SF to get the most out of living in the city or should I live outside of SF and commute into SF on my office days? If living outside the city, can you please recommend some areas. I like to be within walking distance to coffee shops, markets, having a cool downtown vibe, and safe. My budget is between $1700-$2000. Any advice would be much appreciated.

thanks

Here's the OP. She won't be commuting to south Bay, only SF. So an Oakland location would be fine.

[HelloAaron]

I'm biased with San Mateo. I love the massive amounts of eateries in downtown San Mateo. Pretty sure you can find something easily in your budge range in San Mateo as well.

[Teiki]

Casting my vote for San Mateo as well. Perfect distance to San Francisco for your Mondays and Fridays.

It will also be perfect for commuting to various parts of the Bay the rest of the week (proximity to 101 for South Bay and Hwy 92 for East Bay).

Your budget should be fine for San Mateo and you should be able to find a place near Coffee Shops and the like.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Here's the OP. She won't be commuting to south Bay, only SF. So an Oakland location would be fine.

Nope, read it again. She WILL be commuting to South Bay.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Nope, read it again. She WILL be commuting to South Bay.

OK, fine. Then what about Fremont? Easy commute to San Jose, super-easy to Palo Alto, BART-able to SF, easy to Walnut Creek. No cool, downtown vibe is the only drawback. But she can go to all kinds of great markets in Berkeley on weekends, enjoy the cool vibe on College Ave. or Solano (Berkeley) on weekends, and the restaurants in Oakland and Berkeley. Fremont has some interesting ethnic restaurants, too.

[funtimessf]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OK, fine. Then what about Fremont? Easy commute to San Jose, super-easy to Palo Alto, BART-able to SF, easy to Walnut Creek. No cool, downtown vibe is the only drawback. But she can go to all kinds of great markets in Berkeley on weekends, enjoy the cool vibe on College Ave. or Solano (Berkeley) on weekends, and the restaurants in Oakland and Berkeley. Fremont has some interesting ethnic restaurants, too.

To quote the OP, "I like to be within walking distance to coffee shops, markets, having a cool downtown vibe". Fremont does not sounds like a good match for her at all.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Walnut Creek is your best bet. Oakland is decidedly urban and Burlingame is expensive for what you get.

Only thing is commuting from Walnut Creek to Palo Alto/San Mateo is all kinds of suck. If you're only doing it once a week, it'd probably be okay. Reverse commute would be less hassle, sort of, but the Peninsula area is quite a bit more expensive than the East Bay is. It just depends what you're looking for. I'm more an East Bay person. Less built up, a little more rural, especially if you go looking for it.