Relocating DC to East Bay (Oakland, Fremont: rental, houses, safe area)

[tuezig]

I am considering relocating from the east coast (Washington DC) to take a job in the east bay (Fremont). I am a young professional (mid thirties) single, no children and looking for input on potential areas to live that will allow for a decent access to things to do, opportunity for social life and meeting new people, reasonable commute and of course, a safe area to live. Also, any thoughts on overall general differences between living in DC versus the east bay from those that may have made a similar move are greatly appreciated.

[Scorpion3510]

I'm a transplant from DC. I would say that you are best off trying to live as close to your work as possible. From what I understand, Fremont would not be a bad place to live in your situation (especially if you enjoy Indian food!).


Expense wise, it's much more expensive out here than the DC area. You probably will save money on utilities, but not much else. Gas is more expensive here, housing is significantly more expensive out here for what you get, and income taxes are higher (don't underestimate this one, especially if you skew towards a higher income). Surprisingly I haven't found that groceries are that much cheaper here unless you shop in the central valley for produce.


There are a lot of outdoor activities which are free however. Traffic is bad in both cities. People are fairly similar and generally friendly albeit a bit standoffish. People are intelligent, much like DC, and outdoor activities I think are more pervasive here than in DC.


Are you in DC proper or the surrounding area? Fremont is a satellite city and but has its own persona. Think of it as like Vienna but not as quaint and doesn't have the rich history. There is a BART station in Fremont that can help you get into the city if you want to visit and not drive. Metro DESTROYS BART in terms of service and cleanliness. Of course I have to endure the Civic Center stop everyday so my view is skewed somewhat.


For a mid thirties professional...hard to say. In all likelihood I would suggest renting for the first year near where you work. You can then explore the other areas if you are so inclined.


Hope that helps!

[Ruth4Truth]

You could live in Fremont, where rent is lower than other cities on the Bay. If you want to be closer to "things to do", and a potential social life (though there's a decent population of single techies in Fremont), you could scope out a few neighborhoods in Oakland, and south Berkeley (Elmwood, near the Rockridge BART station), and take BART to Fremont for work. You'll be paying higher rent to be in Berkeley/Oakland, though.

A compromise would be to get an apt. in Fremont for a year, see how you like it, check out Berkeley/Oakland, enjoy the entertainment there, etc., and then decide on if you want to renew your lease in Fremont, or move north a little.

If you like outdoor activities, Fremont has bike trails that go to a regional park on the Bay, and small lakes and parks in the hills. There's easy hiking in the Redwood park in the Oakland hills, and in the Berkeley hills in Tilden Park. There's a lot of natural beauty in the north Bay in Marin County, and a lot of terrain and beaches to explore along the coast. Fremont is mainly Asian, but I see techies of all kinds hanging out at the various Starbucks locations around town, too.

If you like jazz clubs, you're coming to the right place.

[tuezig]

Thanks a ton for your replies!

[Netflix]

Originally Posted by tuezig

Thanks a ton for your replies!

Even coming from DC you're going to find housing here is absurdly expensive. By far thats the biggest hurdle to living here. Live close to where you work because traffic here has gotten horrible in the last 6 years or so. Between 10am and 2pm traffic is fine, outside those hours its horrible. I strongly prefer living here instead of DC because of the outdoors stuff, great produce, food, and the weather is better than DC.

Check out the Grand Lake area of Oakland, Lake Merritt and downtown Oakland. There are hiking trails in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills (really all over the bay area)- you can't find that in DC.

[bmw335xi]

I know a few people in SF who moved from DC and they all miss DC and said if it weren't for their work they'd move back. Now if they lived somewhere like Fremont, they would be day dreaming every single day about DC. I'd visit for 2 weeks first unless you have a job already lined up.

[Netflix]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I know a few people in SF who moved from DC and they all miss DC and said if it weren't for their work they'd move back. Now if they lived somewhere like Fremont, they would be day dreaming every single day about DC. I'd visit for 2 weeks first unless you have a job already lined up.

I lived DC for a few decades and in my opinion DC just has absolutely nothing to offer compared to the bay area. It's really comes down to the cost of living. If you need to struggle its not worth it.

I could see someone moving from NYC to SF and saying they miss NYC but thats a different situation; but DC, no. OP (really anyone considering a move) needs to do some hard due diligence on the cost of housing here and the competition for that housing (go see some rental open houses, the volume of people, the condition of the property and the rent). Also, be sure to keep the door open to move back to DC if you need, or want, to.

[bmw335xi]

There complaints are the people, architecture, cleanliness and homeless in the Bay Area beig far inferior