Possibly Moving to San Francisco Area from Dallas

[comingbacktocali]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Sorry, no offend anyone about Brisbane, but when I was younger (perhaps it has gotten nicer,gentrified, etc) but some of it used to be gang territory. It butted up against Chamorro and/Filipino gang strongholds. If its changed, then someone please correct me. It was northern part---near McClaren Park in the City.

i believe that would be Bayshore or Daly City. perhaps the northern edge of Brisbane but not central or 'downtown' Brisbane.

[Nema98]

Yes considering people have overcome big obstacles and hurdles, moving from Dallas to San Francisco is very possible! Heck poor immigrants come to the country with nothing!

[esuperlife]

Originally Posted by Nema98

Yes considering people have overcome big obstacles and hurdles, moving from Dallas to San Francisco is very possible! Heck poor immigrants come to the country with nothing!

Excellent point. I think in some cases they are freer. No mortgage, student loans or car payments. :P

[esuperlife]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

What kind of suburb do you live in right now? The upper peninsula has plenty of more affordable rentals relative to SF, and parking with a secure garage or in a gated area shouldn't be that hard to find relative to what you can find in SF, if you're used to the weather in Dallas you may find the weather closer to the ocean a little depressing, if it is not foggy it tends to be overcast often, the over side by the Bay is sunnier, especially as you go south on the peninsula and the Mountains start blocking most of the fog/clouds. South San Francisco may have what you're looking for, while it is still in the "fog belt" the weather may be to your liking. Some people prefer the weather further south like San Mateo, but that really depends on your taste.

It's a quiet community, the median age is north of 60 I would say. People are mostly conservative but also keep very much to themselves. The town homes pretty much look the same, with brickwork from the 1970s. Most of the homes are similar size to ours, just shy of 1800 ft, 3br, 2ba. Backyards are non-existent for the most part though there is a small walk thru area, weight room (I would just barely call it that) and pool. Very basic amenities, but HOAs are only $102 per month.

I'm still more used to the weather on Long Island than in Dallas. Expecting it to rain almost everyday but going out and doing stuff anyway. It used to rain a lot in New York, along with other forms of precipitation. Really not used to a bunch of fog outside of summertime or being in close proximity to an area that smells like a toxic waste dump. I've been to a few of them in New York. Wouldn't want to live anywhere near one.

San Francisco is still up in the air. Talks with two companies fell through. I think there is a 3rd but not 100% sure. Coincidentally NYC is still on the list. I'm honestly not sure I'm ready to move right now. Staying at my job for only a year with so many bounces around on my employment history, the low cost of living, having bought a new car literally a month ago (not thinking we would be moving to a big car-unfriendly city), using debt snowball on student loan, 6% 401k matching kicking in next paycheck, possible raise coming soon, hassle / expense of selling house.

Bankrate says my current $55k salary is equal to $126,644.42 in Manhattan (where bf thinks we would be living if we go that route). I have doubts of getting a job right away much less going in and demanding that much.

[tikkasf]

Perhaps you can take a 3 day weekend and travel to the SF area......explore a few neighborhoods in SF, Brisbane and recommend looking at Berkeley area also

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by esuperlife

It's a quiet community, the median age is north of 60 I would say. People are mostly conservative but also keep very much to themselves. The town homes pretty much look the same, with brickwork from the 1970s. Most of the homes are similar size to ours, just shy of 1800 ft, 3br, 2ba. Backyards are non-existent for the most part though there is a small walk thru area, weight room (I would just barely call it that) and pool. Very basic amenities, but HOAs are only $102 per month.

I'm still more used to the weather on Long Island than in Dallas. Expecting it to rain almost everyday but going out and doing stuff anyway. It used to rain a lot in New York, along with other forms of precipitation. Really not used to a bunch of fog outside of summertime or being in close proximity to an area that smells like a toxic waste dump. I've been to a few of them in New York. Wouldn't want to live anywhere near one.

San Francisco is still up in the air. Talks with two companies fell through. I think there is a 3rd but not 100% sure. Coincidentally NYC is still on the list. I'm honestly not sure I'm ready to move right now. Staying at my job for only a year with so many bounces around on my employment history, the low cost of living, having bought a new car literally a month ago (not thinking we would be moving to a big car-unfriendly city), using debt snowball on student loan, 6% 401k matching kicking in next paycheck, possible raise coming soon, hassle / expense of selling house.

Bankrate says my current $55k salary is equal to $126,644.42 in Manhattan (where bf thinks we would be living if we go that route). I have doubts of getting a job right away much less going in and demanding that much.

I think you would be most happy in a Bay Area suburb, particularly some of the more newly-developed ones. I would recommend looking at some of the outer Easy Bay areas, such as Walnut Creek and Pleasanton/Dublin. These areas are very car-centric and are built more like the type of environment you're used to in TX. They also have hotter weather (SF and areas near the coast get cooler, especially in the summer), which you might find more enjoyable. For going into work, both areas have BART, which will take you right into downtown (Market St.).

You could also check out Oakland and Berkeley. These areas are a bit urban, have great transit access into the city, are very walkable/bikeable, and each have many neighborhoods that are very nice and hip. I have a suspicion these places may not suite your lifestyle (might be too crowded, for instance), but they're worth a look.

You could also look at some of the peninsula cities (South San Francisco down to Redwood City), but I suspect they'll be more expensive than you want and aren't any more convenient to get to SF than areas of the East Bay by BART (in many instances, they might be more inconvenient, depending on where your job is). These areas are great if you're working in the silicon valley area or on the peninsula itself, but if you're going to be commuting into SF (especially near Market St. or downtown), you should check out the East Bay first, in my opinion. That being said, the peninsula has some of the best weather in the Bay Area (especially mid-peninsula) and is close to some awesome stuff in the Santa Cruz mountains (I live in San Mateo, so I'm a bit biased here).

Lastly, you could also look at the city of SF itself, but I don't think you're going to find what you're looking for there. Even in places that are very quiet and far from the city center (such as the Richmond, where I lived for a while), you're still not going to find things like apartment complexes with guaranteed parking. It can be very safe and quiet out there, but it's still very much a city.


As far as driving into the city is concerned...it's generally a big headache if you're trying to commute in for work to downtown. Getting around the city by car is possible, but it can be a pain, especially if you're trying to park near downtown. It's not so bad outside of rush hour and in the neighborhoods, but it sounds like you're trying to park next to/near where you work downtown...I'm of the opinion that it really is not worth your time to bring a car into downtown during rush hour, and actually feel it's kind of stupid to even try. Buses or light-rail are the way to get around the city of SF (Or on foot or bike). And if you're coming from outside the city, BART/Caltrain are great. You have a lot of very convenient options that will get you to SF much quicker than a car. If you have an aversion to public transit...this area is probably not for you.

Traffic exists, and can be bad during rush hour (especially in certain places). In most areas of the Bay Area, traffic is non-existent outside of rush hour (generally after 9/10 AM in morning and after 7 PM in evening). YMMV, though...certain places, like 80 near Emeryville and Berkeley can be bad at various times of the day due to the funneling effect of the bridge and multiple highways coming together....whereas 280 on the peninsula is traffic-free south of SF almost the entire day, even during rush hour (my preferred highway for driving to work in Palo Alto).