Can anyone recommend some of the better SRO hotels? (Oakland: for rent, good credit)

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

Thanks for that. Is it a common thing for everyone over there to have such a "glass half empty" attitude?

I repeat, I know that these places aren't fabulous. I just was looking for somewhere to crash until I get settled. Why is everyone turning this into a calamity? And also, to the guy who said commuting on BART is possible, I guess it is if I only want to go to the city to work, what if I want to go out? I'd have to take like 4 buses to get home or wait till the morning. And any money I would save by living in oakland would be eaten up by the $200 a month I would spend on BART not including a monthly pass to get around SF and another to get around oakland. That's like $400 a month total just to get around.

I get that you want to live in SF but the point people are raising on here is that the city life you said you wanted:

I know these kinds of living situations aren't luxurious regardless but I would prefer to live in a place where I won't get robbed, catch lice, or get bit by bedbugs until I can get an apartment. Ideally not looking a to spend more than $200 - $225 per week on a room. Anyone recommend any SRO hotels that aren't complete hellholes or in the tenderloin?

Is not going to happen in an SRO and least of all one in San Francisco. I'm speaking as someone who actually has spent time (not living) in SF SROs. I'm not going to lie and say that I know the situation in every individual SRO but typically they're decidedly not what you said you're looking for other than the rent.

And yeah the glass half-empty attitude is common here when it comes to scraping by in SF, if you're aware of how much rent has gone up in the last 3 years - let alone 10 - you should know why.

[movingtosf1995]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

I get that you want to live in SF but the point people are raising on here is that the city life you said you wanted:

Is not going to happen in an SRO and least of all one in San Francisco. I'm speaking as someone who actually has spent time (not living) in SF SROs. I'm not going to lie and say that I know the situation in every individual SRO but typically they're decidedly not what you said you're looking for other than the rent.

And yeah the glass half-empty attitude is common here when it comes to scraping by in SF, if you're aware of how much rent has gone up in the last 3 years - let alone 10 - you should know why.

Why do Yelp reviewers give some places 5 stars across the board?and rent has gone up everywhere . I'm from the biggest most expensive city in the English speaking world.

[gnomatic]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

Thanks for that. Is it a common thing for everyone over there to have such a "glass half empty" attitude?

I repeat, I know that these places aren't fabulous. I just was looking for somewhere to crash until I get settled. Why is everyone turning this into a calamity? And also, to the guy who said commuting on BART is possible, I guess it is if I only want to go to the city to work, what if I want to go out? I'd have to take like 4 buses to get home or wait till the morning. And any money I would save by living in oakland would be eaten up by the $200 a month I would spend on BART not including a monthly pass to get around SF and another to get around oakland. That's like $400 a month total just to get around.

There are night life outside of the city as well. Oakland have a vibrant scene. But perhaps it's just not cool enough for you because you know everything about the bay area right? And it's a girl, not a guy.

Posters actually live in the area, and know what it is like to actually work and live in this city.

SRO's are not places people willing stay in. Even if you do find a waiter job makes $1000 (are you paying taxes on your tips at all?) a week (doubtful, the restaurant scene in SF is much smaller, and tend to be more casual then NYC), with your age, you will have a hard time be competing for those sub-$2000 studios in the decent area of the city. Your savings is barely enough for the first, last & deposit.

I know plenty of young professionals in their early 20's with salary in the 50-60K who love living in the city. They do it by having roommates, often in the farther out neighborhoods.

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

What's a JC? Junior college? And roommates don't work, I don't need people complaining if I go out in the middle of the night or talk to loudly on the phone or listen to music. Been there, done that, no.
Also I don't know why you're being so diminutive and talking to me like I'm some bright-eyed farm boy from Nebraska who doesn't know sh*t. I'm from New York City, I grew up I'm subsidized housing with crackheads in Coney Island...I'm really not ignorant to the problems that come along with living in a big city. I'm laughing at you for perpetuating the "I'm from the west coast so I know more about life so I have a god given right to be insufferably smug" stereotype. And blow through my money? I set my budget low on purpose to avoid that. In my line of work there are always jobs and I've been on my own working and supporting myself since like 9th grade so I don't really think you should make assumptions and personal attacks at me. I didn't ask for your personal annotations oh wise sage of the Bay Area. People make it on way less cash and skills than I have (which admittedly is not an enormous amount) every day. What about the 10's of thousands of Mexicans and Asians(not techie immigrants) who come to the city? They probably don't have $100 in their pocket and maybe don't speak enough english to pass elementary school, they haven't all moved out right? You're probably the biggest drag to hang out with. You're officially dismissed, bye!

You make a ton of assumptions, but I'll bite. For one, I grew up all over the East Coast and I moved to CA with nothing but the bags on my back when I was 20. I moved to the Bay Area with about $500 to my name back in 2007 right before the bubble burst. I had the support of a few friends and family and it was hard as hell to make it here, but I also had a restaurant job that put in a transfer for me and was going to school full time. Part of the reason why I think I was able to put myself through school and wind up with a Master's degree is because I was realistic and had a sensible plan. I knew SF was out of my price range, so I stuck to housing in Oakland, even though I spent all of my free time partying it up in SF whenever I could. If you think living in an SRO is better than 'dealing with room mates' you sure have a lot to learn about life and people. Again, you seem to know everything and don't want to listen to people who have actually done what you WANT to do and wound up successful, so good luck.

[movingtosf1995]

Originally Posted by gnomatic

There are night life outside of the city as well. Oakland have a vibrant scene. But perhaps it's just not cool enough for you because you know everything about the bay area right? And it's a girl, not a guy.

Posters actually live in the area, and know what it is like to actually work and live in this city.

SRO's are not places people willing stay in. Even if you do find a waiter job makes $1000 (are you paying taxes on your tips at all?) a week (doubtful, the restaurant scene in SF is much smaller, and tend to be more casual then NYC), with your age, you will have a hard time be competing for those sub-$2000 studios in the decent area of the city. Your savings is barely enough for the first, last & deposit.

I know plenty of young professionals in their early 20's with salary in the 50-60K who love living in the city. They do it by having roommates, often in the farther out neighborhoods.

Why would you willingly claim tips for taxes? I only pay tax on credit card tips which get put into my paycheck at the end of the week. And isn't SF like a mad foodie town? as does every server I've ever met.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

Why do Yelp reviewers give some places 5 stars across the board?and rent has gone up everywhere . I'm from the biggest most expensive city in the English speaking world.

You got neither of those right, see Lagos and London for bigger and more expensive respectively. New York isn't even the most expensive in the US, that would be SF.

Being serious though, the major difference between SF and NYC is the amount of room you have to maneuver without a degree and especially when you don't have family in the area to fall back on. What's stopping you from applying to a school in SF before you move here?

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

Why would you willingly claim tips for taxes? I only pay tax on credit card tips which get put into my paycheck at the end of the week. And isn't SF like a mad foodie town? as does every server I've ever met.

I don't think you've given much thought about the restaurant scene in SF. They hire the cream of the crop at the places that pay big bucks, and many of them will REQUIRE you to declare ALL of your tips. You will be competing with people with 10, 20, 30, and even 40+ years of experience sometimes. My guess is you'll either wind up working for a place that abuses their employees with a crazy high turnover rate (be sure to consult Craiglist as these places are ALWAYS hiring) or some mediocre, corporate chain where you'll maybe make $100 on a busy shift after tipping out 1/3 of what you earned. Oh, and nobody is going to care you have 'experience' working in NYC, especially with your know-it-all attitude- that'll show right through during the interview, if you can even get one.

[gnomatic]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

Why would you willingly claim tips for taxes? I only pay tax on credit card tips which get put into my paycheck at the end of the week. And isn't SF like a mad foodie town? as does every server I've ever met.

What were you planning to show potential landlord to prove your income?

SF IS a "foodie town" ... it's more food centric then service centric restaurants. Some of the best/popular restaurants are actually quite reasonably price, and have communal table type setup.

[daepro]

SF may have a Youth Hostel that may work temporarily until you get employed and better situated.

[pch1013]

Originally Posted by movingtosf1995

What's a JC? Junior college? And roommates don't work, I don't need people complaining if I go out in the middle of the night or talk to loudly on the phone or listen to music. Been there, done that, no.

You will probably find that even having your own apartment will not be enough to prevent noise complaints against you, unless you can find someplace with thick concrete floors and walls (not too many of those around, at least not in the low-end rental market; most "affordable" buildings here are made of wood and papier-mâché).

Best of luck with your search. With your friendly, considerate attitude, you should have no problem finding a lucrative job and lots of good friends here.