First apartment for newlyweds (San Jose, San Francisco: rentals, neighborhood, movie theaters)

[Some Guy]

Hi, my fiancee (who is from out of town) is moving to California for us to be married and live in the area.

I'm a San Francisco native (born and raised) but interested in moving out of the city (because I was born and raised in this place and would like a change of scenery).

I don't have a super-strong preference, but my fiancee hates cold weather, though my San Francisco job means that I don't think we could move any farther from the city than, say, Mill Valley up north and possibly Palo Alto down south.

Not 100% sure about the East Bay because of safety issues and cold weather, but I'd be amenable to suggestions if anyone has other ideas.

We are Catholic, so it would be ideal of there were a Catholic church in the neighborhood (assuming you know of one).

Also, we'd ideally like to have some Korean restaurants and a Korean grocery in the neighborhood if that's possible.

Any suggestions for a good place to look for an affordable 2BR setup that's affordable ($1500/mo is probably our absolute limit, ideally we'd like closer to $1200 or less), safe, not freezing cold, and near public transportation (BART, Caltrain, SamTrans, etc.)? We don't necessarily want to live someplace that's TOO quiet and would prefer to be near enough to amenities (shopping centers, banks, post office, restaurants, movie theaters) to drive or ideally take public transit.

All suggestions would be appreciated. If what I'm asking for is also way too idealistic, a slap in the face with a giant, cold fish would also be acceptable.

[gizmo980]

First thoughts that pop into my mind are San Bruno, South San Francisco, Millbrae, and Daly City... there are some sketchy areas in these towns (with the exception of Millbrae), but also plenty of nicer parts. The weather is a bit cold up in the hills, mostly due to the heavy fog, while it's fairly sunny down by 101. Another thing to consider is airplane noise, which you'll get LOTS of in certain parts of San Bruno & SSF.

All of that being said, these towns each have a BART station or two, lots of shopping (Tanforan Mall, Serramonte, tons of mini-malls), easy drive/train-ride into San Francisco, and they're somewhat "affordable." They also have very large Asian populations in these towns - mostly Filipino and Chinese, but I'm sure you could easily find a Korean restaurant & Catholic church (since many Filipinos are Catholic). Check on craigslist for rentals around there, and I'd be happy to advise on the specific locations. You also might look at San Mateo, though BART doesn't go that far south, so you'd be stuck with Caltrain. Good luck!

[sonarrat]

Everything in your post points to Daly City, IMO, and I mean everything. San Francisco job? You can take the MUNI 14 bus, dirt cheap and 24 hours a day. Or you can take the SamTrans 391 to St. Michael's Korean Catholic Parish at San Jose Ave & Broad Street in SF.

[Some Guy]

Hmm...both very insightful and helpful posts!

Any thoughts on Berkeley/North Berkeley/Albany as an alternative? Albany seems a bit on the quiet side, and a bit gentrified, but seems pretty centrally located for BART...

[worktolive]

Albany does not have a Bart station. They use either the El Cerrito or North Berkeley stations, both of which you'd have to drive (or bike) to and parking is fairly tight. You might really like N. Berkeley. There's a Bart station on Sacramento street that most people in the neighborhood can walk to. You've got Andronicos market and a fair amount of restaurants and shops in the University/Sacramento St area and you can walk up to Shattuck and downtown Berkeley. My DH used to live about 2 blocks from the Bart station and the neighborhood is relatively safe. He rarely used his car. Don't know about the church situation, but there's probably one fairly close.

As for weather, Berkeley is okay, but honestly, Oakland is better (it's alot sunnier than Berkeley/Albany). You have to be careful where you choose in Oakland, but for your needs, the Grand Lake area might be perfect. There's a large parish church right by Lake Merritt on Lakeshore and Oakland also has a "Koreatown" area stretching up Telegraph Ave. from about 21st St. to about 40th or so. That area's not real safe to live in, but if you lived in or near Grand Lake/Lakeshore, you'd be within a 5 minutes drive. Grand Ave. and Lakeshore also have nice shopping/eating areas, a great farmer's market every Saturday and Trader Joe's just opened a new store there.