Need to relocate to SF best place to move with good schools around $2500 (San Francisco: affordable apartments, rental)

[Carpenter858]

Originally Posted by davdaven

Consider Castro Valley, Albany, Alameda, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek. El Cerrito could work too. You can reach SF by BART, ferry, and/or AC Transit Transbay bus. Don't bother with Oakland, San Leandro, Berkeley, Richmond, or Concord. See if you can find something in South SF too, as they also have good schools. Daly City is fine, but it's quite cold there and that's not for everybody.

Good advice. OP, I would seriously consider any of the above, but would focus on situating yourself close to a Transbay bus line in Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond Annex. This way you avoid Bart. I couldn't imagine taking Bart more than the one day a week that I do now into Oakland. It's a complete cesspool. The bus is significantly better and only working people take it so there's no homeless, mentally ill, nor people smoking crack, needles on the ground like I currently see on Bart.

El Cerrito HS is up and coming, and plenty of our friends' kids graduated from there and were accepted at elite colleges. The $2,500 budget will be difficult in Albany, but El Cerrito is cheaper and may work.

[Ruth4Truth]

I did a search of rentals in Albany and El Cerrito at the beginning of the thread. They're no longer the bargains they used to be. However, just now, checking again, I had slightly better luck. 1 listing adjacent to Richmond Annex, between Hwy580 and 80, for $2100: small building, spacious apt. relatively, but had bars on the windows. Is that area Richmond?

1 listing in a decent area of El Cerrito, around $2360 in what looks like a corporate-owned building,but the starting rent is better than most in the area. And one 2-br. in-law unit in a home in the El Cerrito hills for $2400. Good schools, quite, safe neighborhood, garden, fireplace. At 560 sq. feet it's the smallest one of the three that don't push the limits of the Op's budget, but it's the best location, IMO, for ticking all the OP's boxes. And the rent will probably be more stable than in the corporate-owned buildings.

So, affordable (for the OP) rentals exist in El Cerrito, but they're not the norm. Not anymore. Albany was more expensive than El C. last time I checked. Alameda would be worth a try, though. Easy commute to OP's employer's nabe.

[davdaven]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I did a search of rentals in Albany and El Cerrito at the beginning of the thread. They're no longer the bargains they used to be. However, just now, checking again, I had slightly better luck. 1 listing adjacent to Richmond Annex, between Hwy580 and 80, for $2100: small building, spacious apt. relatively, but had bars on the windows. Is that area Richmond?

Yes, everything between the freeways, except for a little area around Potrero Avenue, is part of Richmond.

My personal preference would be to be "closer in" to SF at a location where you have at least two commute choices. Albany and El Cerrito both have BART and the Transbay buses (G and L lines). I would also seriously consider Alameda, which has Transbay buses (O, OX, and W lines) and very good levels of ferry service (3 different routes). Buses are nicer than BART, and ferries are even better because you don't have any traffic on the Bay. Also, ferries drop off at the Ferry Building, which is closer to Embarcadero BART than Salesforce Transit Center (the bus stop) is.

El Cerrito should be cheaper than Albany because Albany schools are considered better. However, prices in El Cerrito have increased quite dramatically over the past few years because it seemed to be one of the last "undiscovered" suburbs with decent schools. Much like next-door Richmond was the last "undiscovered" affordable suburb with bad schools. I lived in Richmond for 4.5 years, until very recently.

If you consider Richmond Annex, be sure to review the assigned schools boundaries. West Contra Costa USD services both El Cerrito and Richmond, and the boundaries for the "good" El Cerrito schools don't exactly correspond with the city limits. For example, there is a little slice or El Cerrito that shares the same really bad school assignments as my until-not-long-ago neighborhood. In that case, the joke is on El Cerrito residents, who are paying a 25-50% premium for housing without any notable benefits.

You will have to shop around to see what exactly $2,500 buys you these days. Don't get your hopes too high.

[Ruth4Truth]

Several 2 br. apts. just posted today in Alameda, in the $2500 range, all small (non-corporate) buildings, one is in an updated 4-unit Victorian within walking distance of shopping & restaurants. The Victorian has an open house tormorow. Most 2-br. apts. rent for more than that, some go for over $3000.

Good schools, ferry to SF Ferry building near Embarcadero, plus commuter bus service to downtown SF.


How is your search coming along, OP?

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Lafayette would be great for kids. Good schools, too. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find an apt. there in your price range, though, OP. But I just saw one now, on a quick check. You may have better luck checking RE agencies for units they manage, rather than rental websites like Craigslist.

The trick about finding an apt. is to try to avoid corporate-owned buildings and complexes. They lure people in with discounted rents, or rents that sound somewhat reasonable, but if you look at their websites' rent structure, you'll see that the rents aren't stable; they raise them annually. So if you sign on for a rent that is near the top of your affordability range, you'll be priced out of your unit within 2 years, with that type of landlord. Then you'll have to move. Be sure to ask questions and do your research before making a commitment. Rental markets are being taken over by corporate entities all over the US now, that use occupants' rents to provide a good return for their shareholders. If you really dig around their website, you may turn up info stating that the building or complex is owned by an investment group, that owns other complexes around the US. That's a red flag.

Best to look for an apartment in a small building (duplex, triplex, quad), a backyard accessory unit, or a small house that's locally-owned, or owned by an individual rather than a corporate entity.

This is 100% true.

I also think the advice to quit the job and take another job on the East Coast might also be very good.

[mysticpearl]

Originally Posted by norcalsocal

Why? Lafayette and Walnut Creek are in the Acalanes Union High School district, which is the top two (?) in the state of California. And it is not like you would pay two or three times less for a house in another nice part of East Bay with good schools.

There are countless areas across this country where you can find great school districts without getting absolutely murdered on cost of living like the Lamorinda area.

I don't know why OP doesn't look to work for someone other than a SF company requiring travel into that hellhole of a city.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mysticpearl

There are countless areas across this country where you can find great school districts without getting absolutely murdered on cost of living like the Lamorinda area.

I don't know why OP doesn't look to work for someone other than a SF company requiring travel into that hellhole of a city.

She only has to travel as far as the Embarcadero. Hardly a "hellhole". A life in Alameda commuting by ferry to SF wouldn't be bad at all. Or if she could get one of those lower-rent apts. on 2nd St. in Lafayette, that could work out well, too.

[norcalsocal]

Originally Posted by mysticpearl

There are countless areas across this country where you can find great school districts without getting absolutely murdered on cost of living like the Lamorinda area.

Well, we are talking about East Bay here and not "countless areas across this country", aren't we?

[Fedupwiththis]

You literally could not pay me enough to live in San Fran. Like I'd honestly probably turn down $500k a year.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Fedupwiththis

You literally could not pay me enough to live in San Fran. Like I'd honestly probably turn down $500k a year.

Good thing the thread topic isn't living in San Fran. The reference to "SF" in the thread title was to the Bay Area, not the city itself.