moving out of SF...where to? (San Francisco, Oakland: apartments, power lines, rentals)

[mochabubble]

I've been living in lower nob hill/downtown SF for school for almost three years, and the rent is just incredibly expensive! I'm close to finish up school and my hubby moved in with me last fall. Now we're ready to move to a bigger place since this old tiny drafty studio is slowly becoming a nightmare. We're looking for at least 1 bed/bath for around 1600/mo and doggie friendly complex. His office is in Brisbane, but he drives around here and there everyday. We're currently looking into San Mateo and Foster City, but open to anything. We prefer "newer" neighborhood/buildings or earthquake safe areas. (yeah, we're scared of the earthquake!) We only have one car which is for his use, so decent public transportation to SF once a while is kinda important to me.

Any suggestions? gizmo, please help!

[humboldtrat]

A dog friendly complex might be difficult, however there is a large apt complex in the Hillsdale section of San Mateo Hillsdale Garden Apartments in San Mateo, CA - San Mateo, California Apartment Rentals | Essex Property Trust, behind the Hillsdale mall and within walking distance of the Hillsdale Caltrain station. Also easy access to Hwy 101.

Also check out San Carlos which has lots of apartments in the downtown area (close to shopping) and near the San Carlos Caltrain station. Everything is within walking distance.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by mochabubble

We're currently looking into San Mateo and Foster City, but open to anything. We prefer "newer" neighborhood/buildings or earthquake safe areas.

For earthquake safe areas this USGS map may be of help.

Susceptibility Map of the San Francisco Bay Area

[sonarrat]

Is your complex under rent control? If it is, you might be better off staying where you are. Rents have been on the rise all down the peninsula and I haven't seen any signs of slowing.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by mochabubble

I've been living in lower nob hill/downtown SF for school for almost three years, and the rent is just incredibly expensive! I'm close to finish up school and my hubby moved in with me last fall. Now we're ready to move to a bigger place since this old tiny drafty studio is slowly becoming a nightmare. We're looking for at least 1 bed/bath for around 1600/mo and doggie friendly complex. His office is in Brisbane, but he drives around here and there everyday. We're currently looking into San Mateo and Foster City, but open to anything. We prefer "newer" neighborhood/buildings or earthquake safe areas. (yeah, we're scared of the earthquake!) We only have one car which is for his use, so decent public transportation to SF once a while is kinda important to me.

Any suggestions? gizmo, please help!

LOL... sorry, I've been busy & didn't see your plea!

I grew up in San Mateo, and it's mostly a very nice town... there are different parts to it, which each have their own "personality" and level of niceness/safety. The main parts are San Mateo Park (expensive), San Mateo Hills/Hillsdale (very nice & slightly less expensive), Shoreview (bad), East San Mateo (kinda bad), and downtown (okay, but probably not dog-friendly). Foster City is ALL nice, and probably more dog-friendly than San Mateo, but is also considerably more expensive - especially if you get a place on the water.

I have a doggie myself, and considered this complex before I moved to SF... Lake Pines Apartments for Rent in San Mateo, CA - UDR
It's in a decent part of town at the edge of Foster City, and very convenient to downtown SM, Hillsdale Mall, the Expo Center, and the freeways (101 & 92). They are extremely dog-friendly, and I found the apartments to be "reasonably" priced, though a little on the small side. The Hillsdale Garden Apts., which were mentioned above, are also pretty nice... seem to be mostly older folks, though, but it's right on top of Hillsdale Mall & library.

Other towns to consider? If you want to be within a 20-30 minute drive of San Francisco, try looking in the following places... Burlingame (very nice!), Millbrae, Brisbane, parts of Daly City & SSF (particularly near 280), Pacifica, San Carlos, Belmont, and west Redwood City. You could also head to the East Bay, maybe in Lake Merritt/Oakland, Dublin, Pleasanton, or Walnut Creek - all accessible to SF by BART, but driving can take a LONG time at rush-hour. Finally, don't concern yourself too much with the earthquakes! Most buildings here are earthquake-safe, especially the newer ones, and it's not like we have big quakes every day... we had a 5.8 last year, and that was the biggest we'd had since the 1989 Loma Prieta. Just make sure you have an earthquake safety kit, which I actually need to do myself, and get renter's insurance if you're really concerned. Good luck!

[gizmo980]

P.S. San Mateo has an AWESOME new dog-park, which my Rudy really loves visiting: San Mateo Shoreline Dog Park
Foster City also has a fenced dog-park, with one side for big dogs & one for little ones... I don't like it, though, since it's very small & has astroturf - yucky when they go potty. Foster City Dog Run

[tennis368fan]

Much of the Bay Area is seismically active, and though hilly areas are not as prone to liquefaction, they can be affected by landslides, strong shaking from being near a rupturing fault line during an earthquake, and other non-related hazards, such as wildfire and flood.

So far, the only region that I can think of that is close to the Bay Area but is less affected by these hazards is the Central Valley. At least they don't have landslides and proximity to the San Andreas, Hayward, and Calaveras Faults. Some regions in the Central Valley are flat and not as prone to liquefaction as the San Francisco Bay Area Shoreline. On top of that, homes cost less in the Central Valley. If you happen to come across a Central Valley city with a commuter bus line to BART (Mountain House) or an ACE commuter train station to the Tri-Valley and the Silicon Valley (Tracy, Lathrop, Manteca, and others), you could avoid driving altogether depending on your place of employment.

As far as newer buildings are concerned, it is probable that in the event of a major earthquake at a magnitude of 7 or 8 on the Richter scale, these buildings in the Bay Area would fail due to strong shaking. On top of that, there are the issues of gas line ruptures and down power lines, which can lead to fire, and water line ruptures, which can lead to flood and/or hinder firefighting efforts if water cannot reach burning buildings. However, like Gizmo said, large earthquakes that cause this much damage are very uncommon.

Here’s a link to the ABAG Hazard Maps Viewer – " + theTitle + " (http://gis.abag.ca.gov/website/Fault_Map/viewer.htm - broken link)

[mochabubble]

Thanks for all the info!! really helpful!

I checked out the susceptibility map. It seems like Foster City is on the VERY HIGH level (to liquefaction...) So it's out of our list now. Besides, my husband doesn't like to live close to the water.

We're planning to stay in the Bay area for another 2-3 years. So I guess as long as it's safe neighborhood and decent distance to shopping/grocery area is fine.

Any detailed info on these areas: Burlingame, Millbrae, S. SF and Belmont? Which parts of these cities should avoid?? We don't consider Daly City since it's always foggy and cloudy.

[mochabubble]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Is your complex under rent control? If it is, you might be better off staying where you are. Rents have been on the rise all down the peninsula and I haven't seen any signs of slowing.

yeah, we do have rent control, but it only applies to if you're staying at the SAME apartment...In the same building for the same size of studios, the rent has been raised at least 40%!! And the space we get in the city is just too small...

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by mochabubble

I checked out the susceptibility map. It seems like Foster City is on the VERY HIGH level (to liquefaction...) So it's out of our list now. Besides, my husband doesn't like to live close to the water.

Foster City as well as Redwood Shores was built on landfill. The area was once a tidal wetland along SF Bay. In a earthquake, the land will sink and settle in many areas of these two towns. Parts of Hwy 101 was also built on landfill and you can see on some parts of the freeway where the ground has settled a little. Move inland from the bay .