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Old 07-28-2015, 03:38 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,982 posts, read 32,663,382 times
Reputation: 13635

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It still would be much faster and cheaper to just drive to a local BART Station than drive into Downtown SF.
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Old 07-28-2015, 03:40 PM
 
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
522 posts, read 737,754 times
Reputation: 638
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flavia84 View Post
Hello all,

Like many other dreamers out there, I'm entertaining the idea of moving to the Bay Area.

My budget is 1600$ for a place (rent+utilities+fees and all)

Is it realistic to find a studio in the Bay Area in a safe neighborhood? I'm willing to look as far as 45 minutes out.
Come to Concord! Two Bart stations, diverse, affordable, low crime, easy commute to SF and Oakland.
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Old 07-28-2015, 04:09 PM
 
1,068 posts, read 1,444,112 times
Reputation: 1205
Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858 View Post
It still would be much faster and cheaper to just drive to a local BART Station than drive into Downtown SF.

Sav858, I'd be commuting to SFO airport for work, about once a week.

But I'd be still coming to San Francisco or Oakland often to enjoy everything that the cities have to offer
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Old 07-29-2015, 03:32 AM
 
28,115 posts, read 63,680,034 times
Reputation: 23268
As a property manager/owner... safe is hard to define for anyone other than myself.

I have had problems in safe areas like Walnut Creek/San Leandro and no problems in supposedly dangerous areas like East Oakland...

My friends that live in SF always have car issues... a window popped or drivers the drive by brail from all the scrapes and dents these new cars have... plus two have had smart phones stolen.

You can always check crime stats for an overview of what has transpired...
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Old 07-29-2015, 10:15 AM
 
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
82 posts, read 107,176 times
Reputation: 121
Default How to afford bay area rent if you're not rich.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flavia84 View Post
Hello all,

Like many other dreamers out there, I'm entertaining the idea of moving to the Bay Area.

My budget is 1600$ for a place (rent+utilities+fees and all)

Is it realistic to find a studio in the Bay Area in a safe neighborhood? I'm willing to look as far as 45 minutes out.
Yes, it can be done in a variety of ways-

1. Move a little farther out from SF. Benicia and the outskirts of Vallejo bordering on Benicia have multiple rentals in your price range and you can take the ferry to the city. Areas around Santa Rosa are about an hour and 15 minutes from SF and have 1 bedroom apartments for well under $1,600. Petuluma is slightly closer to SF and has 1 bedrooms within your price range. Plenty of areas in Oakland are also in your price range.

2. If you only need a studio check out the rooms for rent and home share sections of Craig's List. Many people in the bay area rent out their master suite or in-law suite and set up an efficiency kitchen in it. Most of these have their own entrance and bathroom and they will nearly always be in your price range.
They are often advertised in these sections of CL.

3. Find a large $2,500-$3,000 home and set it up with separate spaces. Share with one person (advertise on CL). My best friend lives in the bay area and does this very successfully. You will need a house with a separate family room/den/office space for a 2nd living area, at least 2 bathrooms and an area to set up a mini kitchen with a small refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven etc. You can purchase these items on amazon or likely on CL and they don't need any special wiring.

4. Find a small home that is out of your price range but has a separate studio that you can make into a guest cottage. You can fix it up cute and rent it out on AirBNB for good money. I have a friend you pays ALL her rent and utilities doing this in Oakland. She did have to get a co-signer because her income was not 3x the rent.

$1,600 is a decent amount to be able/willing to pay for a studio so don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. It will just take some thinking outside the box. Good luck!
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Old 07-30-2015, 11:16 AM
 
2,379 posts, read 1,815,960 times
Reputation: 2057
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck5000 View Post
I think that if you are on the affordability borderline right now, unless you have a strong likelihood of improving your earnings in the near future, (say, to the 90k+ level) -- if there is not a clear trajectory that you can get on in your career, then it's not wise to move here.

This is because if you can't pay higher rent (it is going up unpredictably) you could get trapped and forced to live with horrible commutes. And if you later aspire to maybe become a homeowner and have children here, then you must be able to make 200k+ as a family household. That's the low-end for middle class, and at that level you won't be able to buy much here, but you can rent decently.

I have a younger friend right now who is in her late 20s, and in the early grieving stages because she and her new fiancee are both in non-great-paying fields, don't have likely potential to make enough, and so they almost definitely have to leave the area, leave their friends, their lives, etc.

The Bay Area is no longer a place to move to if you're looking for a fun, chill place. It is still nice, but it an extremely competitive and expensive region. It's like NYC, it's for people who commit to being successful. Otherwise, you're in for pain.


The last paragraph sums it up well....I would just add SF is on it's way to becoming like the Manhattan part of NYC
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Old 07-30-2015, 11:19 AM
 
2,379 posts, read 1,815,960 times
Reputation: 2057
Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858 View Post
I was referring to the two places you quoted with your last post in the Sunset/Parkside area of SF and Pacifica.

El Cerrito isn't imo.

Bear in mind, if you are a person who like sunshine, those neighborhoods aren't for you
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Old 07-30-2015, 11:24 AM
 
2,379 posts, read 1,815,960 times
Reputation: 2057
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
As a property manager/owner... safe is hard to define for anyone other than myself.

I have had problems in safe areas like Walnut Creek/San Leandro and no problems in supposedly dangerous areas like East Oakland...

My friends that live in SF always have car issues... a window popped or drivers the drive by brail from all the scrapes and dents these new cars have... plus two have had smart phones stolen.

You can always check crime stats for an overview of what has transpired...

Car issues for sure in SF. I have had all my tools stolen out of my car trunk twice in SF and someone even stole some DVDs out of the passenger area of my car one time, side mirror ripped off the car by a MUNI bus, collection of scratches and small dents appear over time.
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Old 07-30-2015, 11:39 AM
 
28,115 posts, read 63,680,034 times
Reputation: 23268
Quote:
Originally Posted by tikkasf View Post
Car issues for sure in SF. I have had all my tools stolen out of my car trunk twice in SF and someone even stole some DVDs out of the passenger area of my car one time, side mirror ripped off the car by a MUNI bus, collection of scratches and small dents appear over time.
Sad but true...

If you have a car and live in the city... off street or garage parking is mandatory unless you have a car you don't care about.

We can always tell SF cars in the company parking lot... 1 or 2 years old and plenty of battle scars... especially the front and rear bumpers.

One of my friends finally bit the bullet and now rents a garage space for her car... it's two blocks aways and costs her $400 a month...
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