Hayward? Sacramento? Maybe S.F.? where do i go? (San Francisco: apartment, for rent)

[bigdaddy123]

Heres the situation I am a senior in high school. Im 18 years old. I live in livermore. I am black. after im done with school out here i am going to move out to a different city in the bay area. the places that me and my folks are talkin about is Hayward, sacramento, and possibly s.f. which ever city i move in, i will be going to the junior college out there. i will also be living in a studio apartment with a room mate. were do i move? you guys gotta help me

the things im looking for is diversity. not that i want juts other blacks around me, but u can mix it up with asians, indians, latinos u know the whole meltin pot. i also want stuff to do. thats the problem with livermore, there really aint that much out here.

-hayward seemed cool, im hoping that its not boring
-sacramento seems cool but its kinda far away from everything
-frisco is a cool city. i luv it. but its always cold and driving can be fun but it can also be a pain. i might get annoyed with the city to
-berkeley is alright, its a amazing city its got hella history and everyone seems chill when i go there but the driving part reminds me of frisco
-pittsburgh/antioch its ok to me. my girl wants to move out there but i feel like its in the middle of nowhere
-vallejo hella diverse. u got the six flags. but i dont know to much about it
-oakland is cool, its diverse in all. but there is also a lot of trouble
-richmond my folks wouldnt let me move out there
- i dont wanna live in the south bay

SO HERES THE LIST
1ST OPTIONS
-HAYWARD
-SACRAMENTO
-FRISCO
2ND OPTIONS
-BERKELEY (PROBOBLY SOUTH BERKELEY BUT IM OPEN FOR UR OPINIONS)
-OAKLAND (LIKE NORTH OAKLAND)
3RD OPTIONS
-VALLEJO
-PITTSBURGH/ANTIOCH

thanks for taking the time to read this please get back at me

[gizmo980]

A few thoughts on the towns you've mentioned...

Hayward - OK, not great... there are some sketchy areas (not really dangerous), and doesn't have a whole lot going on. On the up-side, there's a good community college there (Chabot College), and it's very convenient to the Peninsula, East Bay, and San Francisco via BART or the San Mateo bridge. It also has the diversity you'd like, as just about every ethnic group is well-represented there.

Sacramento - Weather is WAY too hot in my opinion, and it's a world of difference from SF. It seems much more conservative, which is positive or negative depending on your taste, and definitely has some bad parts. Good things would be the location (halfway between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe), a few colleges to choose from, and cheaper housing compared to the Bay Area.

Oakland - Very diverse with tons of "action," but obviously has some bad neighborhoods... I'll let somebody more knowledgeable fill you in on the good & bad areas.

Berkeley - I'm not too familiar with this city, but have always thought it was really cool! It still has that hippie vibe to it, is very diverse, and you can easily get to Oakland or SF via BART... driving around there is a major pain, though, since it's right in "the maze" (where 880/80/580/980/etc. all merge).

Richmond - Your parents are right, this is not where you should move... highest crime rate in the Bay Area, and doesn't have much to offer from what I can tell.

Vallejo - I drive through this town every day, and it's not all that exciting - does have Marine World, or whatever they call it now, which is pretty cool! Housing there is fairly cheap for the BA, but I've heard it has a lot of bad neighborhoods.

San Francisco - I don't think you need to be "sold" on SF, but it's a great place to live! Downsides are definitely the ridiculous housing costs, lack of space, and driving anywhere in the city... traffic can happen at ANY time, and parking is a huge hassle in most neighborhoods. On the plus side, it's extremely diverse, vibrant, full of culture & activities, and has some awesome scenery.

A few more cities you might consider are San Mateo, Daly City, SSF, and possibly the Fairfield area. Good luck!

[bigdaddy123]

well i think that i can say that richmond and vallejo are off the list....you said that sacramento is conservative. but im not conservative not that i really noticed that when i went out there. if i were to move to sacramento then i would probobly be living close to my grandpa who lives in south sacramento. i dont really know if this is a bad place. i didnt seem that bad but everything looks the same over there so its not like as if i could tell

[clongirl]

The actual city of Sacramento is not conservative. The outlying areas can be however, but it really doesn't affect day to day life overall. Seeing as you're from Livermore, I'm sure you can handle the heat as I know it's not that different temperature-wise. There are some good JR colleges out that way and the cost of living is less than the Bay Area proper. Downtown Sac has a pretty good nightlife/restaurant/art scene also. San Francisco is a great place, but there is pretty much only one Junior college and that area is pretty dull and not the safest place overall. Have you considered choosing the school that best fits your needs/interests first, then move to the town second?

[mkcking]

Big Daddy,
If I were you I'd move to SF, go to SF City College (diverse), then transfer perhaps to San Francisco State, it's diverse and open-minded, a place where you can just be yourself and mix with a lot of different people.

Housing is a big problem in SF, very expensive. Driving is a big problem too. Do you have to have a car? Can you manage on public trans for a while? I know the weather and the parking and the housing are a pain but you seem to be in need of an adventure. You're not going to find adventure and diversity in a dull, lifeless place.

Berkeley too is really cool. I don't know anything about the schools there.

How much can you afford for rent?

The western addition neighborhood in SF is a great location if you want an open-minded, reasonably priced (well, comparatively anyways) area to live in. It was traditionally a black neighborhood, there are still some older black families living there, the area has become very hip in recent years. Check out Divisidero/Fulton sometime.

Also, Hunters Point/3rd street is changing a lot too and MUNI goes there now. (Big Daddy beer is brewed out there).

Again you have the problem of cost of housing, transportation and fog. (the Western Addition is not too foggy) but the opportunity to mix with a ton of people. You're young, go for it!

Also, when you go to junior college try to get the best grades possible, then apply for scholarships, that'll help offset the cost, especially when you transfer to a 4-year college.

[mkcking]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

A few thoughts on the towns you've mentioned...

A few more cities you might consider are San Mateo, Daly City, SSF, and possibly the Fairfield area. Good luck!

I would not consider San Mateo Big Daddy, too stuffy and conservative. Daly City and SSF perhaps for living (especially if you want a parking gargage) but I'd go to school in San Francisco if I were you.

Again, I'd live within SF if I were you, close to the MUNI line (and commute to school). You'll meet a ton of people.

[bigdaddy123]

thats right i do have to find the school of my needs before i move there

someone ask a question if i have a car and i do have a car. ive been to h.p. in frisco and its kinda shady. sac is starting to sound better. frisco in general sounds alright the western addition sounds cool. drinking is not my thing, id rather smoke haha . yeah frisco and sac are also sounding better than hayward. i heard that hayward is diversee but its boring. do you guys know anything about north oakland?

[mkcking]

Sorry, don't know about Oakland, except for those gorgeous homes in the hills and the fabulous weather.

You're right hp is shady but it's been getting a lot better. Still, better to be safe than sorry.

Visit the WEstern Addition sometime, the bars are not the dumpy kind. There are some nice shops/restaurants/cafes. Try taking BART into the city and get off at Civic Center. Then walk to Hayes Street and walk up Hayes (around Hayes and Octavia there are lots of cool shops). Then take the 5-Fulton up to Divisidero and check out Divisidero and Fulton.

From there you can walk to the Panhandle (where GG Park ends) and walk up into Golden gate park. I lived on McAllister up towards Central and I really liked it. The neighborhood has a laid back feel and it's close to Golden Gate park. I took the bus/muni to school.

Good luck! Warning - any big city takes some getting used to

[tracymama]

Hi Big Daddy-
I'm another vote for SF. If I could do my life over again, I would've moved to SF in my early 20s (instead of Fremont, lmao).. Always thought I'd live in SF someday, but then marriage, kids, house, and blah blah blah happened and you know... Anyways, lol -- Definately SF if you can afford it! and just park your car- it's really a pretty small city (areawise) and you can get everywhere on Muni - why even bother with the car?
You're right- Sacramento is just too far, and it's just up there by itself. Live in SF you can also go up to Marin County, down to Monterey , Santa Cruz, etc. - within a couple hours. And forget Hayward! That is the armpit of the Bay Area, lol! I don't know why anyone would choose to live there.
I wish you well whichever you choose - I know you know this already, but you have the most exciting times of your life ahead of you, and the good choices you make now will shape the rest of your life- you sound like a great kid- good luck!
PS- what are you going to school for?

[bigdaddy123]

im not realyl shure waht im going to major in yet im still deciding. my mom keeps bringing up the fact that im moving out and that i need to find a place that isnt too expensive. she is going to help me out when it comes to expenses. my mom wants to lean towards sac bekuz its expenses. i said frisco but she said its expensive. i said h.p. and she slapped me (even though its getting better). i know some folks who live in h.p. and its ok in some areas. they have some nice paintings on some of the building and they got a YMCA center where i could work out. she also said something like '" if you were to move there i know you would get in trouble and if that doesnt kill you then you will get cancer" or something like that which didnt make any sense at all.

im going to try to stay on the frisco path but this is my mom where talking about it will be a long battle that will take patience, strategy and stamina....dam.

hayward is starting to look dull and bad. hella people are saying that the vibe there is jus not good and that there are some bad areas and a lotta wanna bes which i cant stand. sac is actually looking better than hayward. maybe south sac. i can get my studys done, play ball, hav fun and still live in the city in all. its also where my mom would like me to go because she said something about expenses....you guys have giving me great info im still going to research all this and start visiting places and really lookin into them. plus im going to have a girl be my room mate. she says that shes gonna keep me straight and outta trouble. we get along good

ive been to all these places so its not like i have no idea. but visitng somewhere is a lot different then living at a place.

1.sac
1and a half. frisco
2.everywhere else
never-richmond