Relocating to Oakland - where to live? Salary? Taxes? (Fremont: sales, apartment complexes)

[Alphaville]

Hello!

I'll possibly be relocating to Oakland from Nevada. I'm female, single, mid-thirties, working in higher education. I am looking at a possible job offer in Oakland near downtown.

I'm used to suburb-type living. While the prospect of living in a more urban/exciting area I'm not sure I want to live in a super busy city the first year I'm there. I'd rather live somewhere relatively comfortable and explore other areas like SF or Oakland during time off. I'd also like to give myself time to get used to traffic/commuting and mass transit.

I'm most curious about areas to absolutely avoid. Crime happens anywhere but I don't want to end up in a "bad" neighborhood. I consider, shootings, break-ins, rape, gang activity, etc. as "bad". I get my car might get broken into but that seems minor compared to a crime that can do me physical harm.

Salary hasn't been negotiated yet, but I'm thinking I would like at least $68k a year. Does that sound realistic? Would it be realistic on that salary to look at apartments around $1400 a month? I've been looking at apartments and rent is almost 3x what I pay here in NV for a 1 bedroom. I'm willing to consider a studio since I like small spaces anyway. I have no pets so that is at least one less thing.

Any knowledge out there on CA taxes? Coming from NV (no state tax and very low cost of living) I'm worried I might bite off more than I can chew.

I have been looking these things up on my own but it's nice to get a more human perspective. Some of the threads here are a couple years old.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by Alphaville

Hello!

I'll possibly be relocating to Oakland from Nevada. I'm female, single, mid-thirties, working in higher education. I am looking at a possible job offer in Oakland near downtown.

I'm used to suburb-type living. While the prospect of living in a more urban/exciting area I'm not sure I want to live in a super busy city the first year I'm there. I'd rather live somewhere relatively comfortable and explore other areas like SF or Oakland during time off. I'd also like to give myself time to get used to traffic/commuting and mass transit.

I'm most curious about areas to absolutely avoid. Crime happens anywhere but I don't want to end up in a "bad" neighborhood. I consider, shootings, break-ins, rape, gang activity, etc. as "bad". I get my car might get broken into but that seems minor compared to a crime that can do me physical harm.

Salary hasn't been negotiated yet, but I'm thinking I would like at least $68k a year. Does that sound realistic? Would it be realistic on that salary to look at apartments around $1400 a month? I've been looking at apartments and rent is almost 3x what I pay here in NV for a 1 bedroom. I'm willing to consider a studio since I like small spaces anyway. I have no pets so that is at least one less thing.

Any knowledge out there on CA taxes? Coming from NV (no state tax and very low cost of living) I'm worried I might bite off more than I can chew.

I have been looking these things up on my own but it's nice to get a more human perspective. Some of the threads here are a couple years old.

For that income your options are limited, maybe a little south in hayward. Taxes are also killed here, you'll be paying income tax of 8ish% and a sales tax rate of near 10%. plus everything else is more expensive, sans your power bill since you won't need to run AC or heater all the time though the rate is higher.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Alphaville

Hello!

I'll possibly be relocating to Oakland from Nevada. I'm female, single, mid-thirties, working in higher education. I am looking at a possible job offer in Oakland near downtown.

I'm used to suburb-type living. While the prospect of living in a more urban/exciting area I'm not sure I want to live in a super busy city the first year I'm there. I'd rather live somewhere relatively comfortable and explore other areas like SF or Oakland during time off. I'd also like to give myself time to get used to traffic/commuting and mass transit.

I'm most curious about areas to absolutely avoid. Crime happens anywhere but I don't want to end up in a "bad" neighborhood. I consider, shootings, break-ins, rape, gang activity, etc. as "bad". I get my car might get broken into but that seems minor compared to a crime that can do me physical harm.

Salary hasn't been negotiated yet, but I'm thinking I would like at least $68k a year. Does that sound realistic? Would it be realistic on that salary to look at apartments around $1400 a month? I've been looking at apartments and rent is almost 3x what I pay here in NV for a 1 bedroom. I'm willing to consider a studio since I like small spaces anyway. I have no pets so that is at least one less thing.

Any knowledge out there on CA taxes? Coming from NV (no state tax and very low cost of living) I'm worried I might bite off more than I can chew.

I have been looking these things up on my own but it's nice to get a more human perspective. Some of the threads here are a couple years old.

If you don't want to live in Oakland, you might look at Contra Costa County. You could probably find a studio apartment in Martinez for $900-$1100, but in the large apartment complexes a studio would be $1400 or more. It's very quiet, has a cute little downtown and is one of the safest places in the bay area. You could take BART to work, the nearest BART station is in North Concord a few miles away.

Here's a studio in Martinez for $1100 Charming Studio Apartment in Old Downtown Martinez

Some apartments in Concord are a bit cheaper than Martinez but you need to watch the area in Concord parts of it are real "sketchy" and even in this tight rental market apartments in those areas will stay on the market for weeks.

Walnut Creek (south of Martinez) is very nice and close to Oakland, it tends to be higher than other parts of Contra Costa County but I did see some apartments on Craigslist that seem reasonable.

One bedRoom rental, in Keys Condominium


Oakland can be a neat place to live, it's quite urban full of younger people. In the decent parts of Oakland, you can still find a studio for $1400 or under, but a 1 bdrm would generally go for $1900 or more. The 'nice' parts of Oakland are Temescal, Piedmont, Rockridge, Claremont, Montclair.

Here are a few rentals in Oakland:
51st St. - Vintage Studio in Great Temescal Location Available Now !

Private Montclair studio in-law unit available May 1

Outside of rent the cost of living is really not higher in California, I moved back to California last year after living in Reno and pretty much everything costs the same except for rent. California does have a state income tax, I think for your salary it would be around $3,000-$3,400 a year.

There are some Oakland experts on CD, and I'm sure they will see this and offer better info than I am able to.

[Chuck5000]

Personally, if I were single in the Bay Area, my bare minimum salary to be able to afford the location I would want for my own place, and the savings ability that I'd want would be 90k (SF and the top-tier towns are not possible for that number).

If you don't see a lot of moves in your future, take a look at the data if home-ownership is on your radar and be sure that you can get on that trajectory. Once-marginal parts of Oakland are rapidly getting better, but petty crime like an auto-break-in is possible just about anywhere. Re: physical crime, check the statistics and see if you could make the data overrule subjective feelings - Oakland is a city and cities can "feel" less safe than they really are, for all kinds of invalid reasons. Entertainment and dining in Oakland, IMO, is great, you could actually avoid going to SF for almost everything.

[NorCalLover]

Hi OP - I just did a quick Craigslist search and saw a few listings in the Oakland Hills, North Berkeley, Alameda, El Cerrito, and Walnut Creek that were in your price range. These are all nice, not urban areas that would be a reasonable commute.

One good rule of thumb: if you see something you like, grab it immediately. Housing goes quickly in the Bay Area.

[Alphaville]

Thanks for the tips!

[Alphaville]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

If you don't want to live in Oakland, you might look at Contra Costa County. You could probably find a studio apartment in Martinez for $900-$1100, but in the large apartment complexes a studio would be $1400 or more. It's very quiet, has a cute little downtown and is one of the safest places in the bay area. You could take BART to work, the nearest BART station is in North Concord a few miles away.

Here's a studio in Martinez for $1100 Charming Studio Apartment in Old Downtown Martinez

Some apartments in Concord are a bit cheaper than Martinez but you need to watch the area in Concord parts of it are real "sketchy" and even in this tight rental market apartments in those areas will stay on the market for weeks.

Walnut Creek (south of Martinez) is very nice and close to Oakland, it tends to be higher than other parts of Contra Costa County but I did see some apartments on Craigslist that seem reasonable.

One bedRoom rental, in Keys Condominium


Oakland can be a neat place to live, it's quite urban full of younger people. In the decent parts of Oakland, you can still find a studio for $1400 or under, but a 1 bdrm would generally go for $1900 or more. The 'nice' parts of Oakland are Temescal, Piedmont, Rockridge, Claremont, Montclair.

Here are a few rentals in Oakland:
51st St. - Vintage Studio in Great Temescal Location Available Now !

Private Montclair studio in-law unit available May 1

Outside of rent the cost of living is really not higher in California, I moved back to California last year after living in Reno and pretty much everything costs the same except for rent. California does have a state income tax, I think for your salary it would be around $3,000-$3,400 a year.

There are some Oakland experts on CD, and I'm sure they will see this and offer better info than I am able to.

Great! Thank you. I didn't consider going that direction for some reason but Contra Costa seems like an option. I was doing most of my apt searching in Hayward and even Fremont. I've been hearing horror stories from most people (though I take it with a grain of salt). Good to hear you made the move from Reno successfully - I'd be coming from Vegas.If the move works out I'd like to give myself a good year to explore Oakland more. I wouldn't be opposed to living there if it's a place I end up digging.

[Alphaville]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Personally, if I were single in the Bay Area, my bare minimum salary to be able to afford the location I would want for my own place, and the savings ability that I'd want would be 90k (SF and the top-tier towns are not possible for that number).

If you don't see a lot of moves in your future, take a look at the data if home-ownership is on your radar and be sure that you can get on that trajectory. Once-marginal parts of Oakland are rapidly getting better, but petty crime like an auto-break-in is possible just about anywhere. Re: physical crime, check the statistics and see if you could make the data overrule subjective feelings - Oakland is a city and cities can "feel" less safe than they really are, for all kinds of invalid reasons. Entertainment and dining in Oakland, IMO, is great, you could actually avoid going to SF for almost everything.

Well, in my field 90k wouldn't be considered at least not at this point in my career. I will take a look at home ownership. I do think about getting away from renting.

You make a good point about the "feel" of places. I think it's overwhelming to look at crime maps where it looks like tons of stuff going on so yeah my initial feeling is a bad one. I'll look at those stats more carefully. Thank you!