From Houston to SF... (San Francisco, Oakland: neighborhoods, to buy, school districts)

[akzit]

We might be relocating from Houston, Texas to SF later this year and I had some questions. I have been reading the threads and posts in this forum and have gotten some useful info, like names of suburbs, the BART systems, etc.

One of our main concerns is the high cost of housing in SF and surrounding areas, the other would be public schools (2 kids in elementary, one to move to middle school). At the moment we live in a suburb 25 miles away from Downtown Houston, my commute is like 30-40 mins so I don’t mind it, plus I've read that the BART is a great system.

So here are some of our questions we had about SF and suburbs:

- What can we expect to pay for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home?
- Commute options and times.
- Option for suburbs.
- Good public school districts.
- Is it a good time to buy (is market falling)?
- New subdivisions coming up around suburbs.
Well thanks in advance for your info, please feel free to add anything else you might think is important for an outsiders thinking of moving in ;-)

[akzit]

forgot to mention, my workplace would be right off the Bay Bridge on the SF side.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by akzit

We might be relocating from Houston, Texas to SF later this year and I had some questions. I have been reading the threads and posts in this forum and have gotten some useful info, like names of suburbs, the BART systems, etc.

One of our main concerns is the high cost of housing in SF and surrounding areas, the other would be public schools (2 kids in elementary, one to move to middle school). At the moment we live in a suburb 25 miles away from Downtown Houston, my commute is like 30-40 mins so I don’t mind it, plus I've read that the BART is a great system.

So here are some of our questions we had about SF and suburbs:

- What can we expect to pay for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home?

Depends on the neighborhood & condition of the home, but prices can range anywhere from $400K-1M and UP for a 3-bedroom house. San Francisco itself is very expensive, and you likely couldn't find anything that size for under $700K - even in the bad neighborhoods. The East Bay is slightly more affordable, and you can find decent deals in places like Oakland, Hayward, Alameda, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Dublin, etc.

- Commute options and times.

BART is always a great option, so you'd be smart to live near a station... check their system map (BART - Stations & Schedules, Maps & Directions), and then we can give more detailed advice on the neighborhoods. Since you have a family, I'd suggest looking in the Walnut Creek area, but I don't know it well enough to give specifics. I do know it's a nice, family-friendly area, which has a BART station that'll get you into SF fairly easily. Alameda is really nice too, but doesn't have a BART station (does have a ferry, or you can drive to Fruitvale), and there are some nice parts of Oakland that might work.

The north Peninsula is also a viable option, and you can catch BART from San Bruno, Daly City, SSF & Millbrae - mostly decent towns, but the former 3 have some sketchy parts. If you can find something affordable, try looking in Millbrae or Burlingame... both are easy commutes into SF, and Burlingame in particular is a great place to raise kids. I grew up right next-door in northern San Mateo, and had a pretty good childhood!

- Option for suburbs.

See my comments above... with the exception of Oakland, the towns I mentioned are considered suburbs of SF/OAK.

- Good public school districts.

I don't know much about the East Bay schools, but Burlingame & San Mateo school districts are rather good. Hopefully somebody else can fill you in! I also don't know the answers to your last questions, so we'll have to wait for another poster to chime in... good luck, and I'll let you know if I think of any other relevant advice.