New job in Menlo Park - suggestions on where to live? (San Mateo: extended stay, apartment complex)

[Shastihaha]

Hello
I'm a 30-something year old single woman from Upstate NY considering accepting a job in Menlo Park, CA. Knowing nothing about CA except for the depressing fact that the cost of living is 100% more than here, I was wondering if you guys could recommend some reasonable areas for me to start my apartment search based on location, safety, traffic/commute, and fun things to do.

I'm ideally looking for a 1-br apartment and I'd be driving to/from work. I'm an avid hiker, musician, and horsewoman and I enjoy running each morning through (safe) neighborhoods and local parks. I love being able to walk to the local coffee houses, breweries, and wine bars and explore the singles scene.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is anyone here familiar with the Archstone apartment communities? They've popped up several times during my online searches... are they reputable and in nice areas?

Thanks!

[sonarrat]

I would advise you generally to steer clear of Archstone. They're like the McDonald's of apartments - they pay their staff the minimum they can get away with and try to make it easy to get in and out with low deposits and flexible month-to-month or short-term leases. The quality of the accomodations rivals pricey condos, but as far as the experience goes you may as well be staying in an Extended Stay America, and they're very expensive to boot.

I would be looking at downtown Menlo Park. It has all the conveniences and the singles scene; it will be a culture shock but a good one, and there's still a lot of unspoiled parkland in the area.

[Shastihaha]

Thanks sonarrat!

[DMenscha]

There are some nice little apartments in downtown MP like sonar says. I lived a couple of hundred feet away from Draegers (The most upscale 7-11 you'll ever find) for a while. My brother lived a couple of streets away earlier as well. We paid $1850 for a 2 bedroom duplex, but there are much less expensive options in the general vicinity. Of all the city places I've ever lived, MP had the most going for it.

[Shastihaha]

Thanks DMenscha! What streets are considered 'downtown?'

[sonarrat]

Santa Cruz Ave and environs, the area around the train station.

[menlomanager]

The closer you get to El Camino the better. West of El Camino in Menlo Park is extremely posh and you will certainly pay for it. Anything cheap/affordable on this side is certainly going to be small or what you'd consider unacceptable coming from upstate NY.

I personally manage a very small apartment complex (16 units) on the brink of residential homes located on Coleman Ave. We're surrounded by a pretty darn good area for Menlo Park. We're set in from any road by approximately 1000 ft. and so have absolutely no road noise. Other noise is minimal if any (neighbors, lawn mowers, cars starting up, etc.)

Rents in this area are DEFINITELY on their way up. Our 1 bedroom units are renting for approximately $1350 right now. They are SMALL by upstate NY standards. You will definitely be shocked no matter what apartment you look at when you come here. I still remember my first apartment - I couldn't believe I was paying nearly $1000/mo. for essentially a bedroom & a closet!

Our 2 bedrooms currently are renting for $1750. They are considerably larger than the 1 bedrooms, but STILL small compared to something I'd expect to find in western or upstate NY.

Again, we'd love for you to live here (especially coming from upstate NY - I sure do miss that area!) but whatever you do, choose a place WEST of Highway 101. Once you go over that overpass/bridge to what they like to call "East Menlo Park" (though I personally consider it part of East Palo Alto because it's a dive of a neighborhood like EPA) you're going to be seriously worried about your neighbors and their activities.

I know it sounds so weird that you can go less than 2 miles and suddenly have to worry about the neighborhood being dramatically different, but that's how it is in the SF Bay area no matter what city you choose to live in. I remember living in western NY I felt like you had to drive at least 10-15 miles to find the "bad" part of town. Let that mentality go when you move here and trust no-one no matter where you live in this area. Anyone can hop into a car and drive 2-5 miles and break into a few cars.

Also be prepared to see about 20-30 illegal Mexican immigrants on just about every street corner or in any Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. parking lot. It's quite a shocker and quite frankly I'm not sure why they're not rounded up and deported... you know seeing as how they're technically illegal - that's what the word would imply last I checked anyhow.

Again... pretty much ANYWHERE in the SF Bay area two things are key:
#1 - Stay on the peninsula (west of the bay)
#2 - Stay WEST of HWY 101. The further west the better, though your cost will increase proportionally to distance westward.

[Ken Bowles]

If you are working in Menlo Park, live in Menlo Park. I would even try to live West of Middlefield (that's a main street before you would get to El Camino Real, travelling West). Parts of Menlo Park are actually unicorporated San Mateo County and you'll find the streets become very rural. Downtown Menlo Park is a great place. Best and most Popular Coffee Shop, if it can be called that, is Cafe Barone. It's not far from the CalTrain Station, so there are lots of commuters, usually from the City, at Cafe Barone. Right next to Cafe Barone is a great Restaurant (at least I thought it was); British, but I forgot the name. When you get here you must visit Half Moon Bay, just not during the Pumpkin Festival (October 18th this year).
Ken

[menlomanager]

Like I said... Menlo Park:

East of HWY 101 = $, but sketchy
Just west of 101 (as in right after you get of HWY 101) = $$
West of HWY 101 (Coleman Ave.) = $$$
West of El Camino/Middlefield = $$$$$$

Once you get past about 3 blocks west of HWY 101 the neighborhood cleans up quite a bit. On Coleman ave., the further north on the road toward the residential homes (we're right next to them) the better and more tranquil the neighborhood becomes. These aren't sketchy houses either, they're 1.2 - 2.4 MIL.

However once you cross El Camino prices get stupid and the neighborhood is pretty much the same as the rest of anything West of HWY 101. I have no idea why "Ken" says, "if you can even live past Middlefield..." because there aren't any apartments between Middlefield & El Camino in Menlo Park & unless you can afford to rent a house for $3.5K/mo. you won't find anything there.

I definitely agree on the not going to Half Moon Bay during the pumpkin festival - or at least if you're going to go (it is pretty nice if you have kids even if the roads are crazy, no --- CRAZY!!) take HWY 84/Woodside Rd. through La Honda to the coast and then go up via HWY 1... and go EARLIER like 8am and you'll beat the traffic for sure. Just DON'T TAKE HWY 92!!!!

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by menlomanager

I definitely agree on the not going to Half Moon Bay during the pumpkin festival - or at least if you're going to go (it is pretty nice if you have kids even if the roads are crazy, no --- CRAZY!!) take HWY 84/Woodside Rd. through La Honda to the coast and then go up via HWY 1... and go EARLIER like 8am and you'll beat the traffic for sure. Just DON'T TAKE HWY 92!!!!

I have to drive on Hwy 84 out towards the coast a couple of times a year. What a nightmarish, dangerous, motion sickness-inducing road. I'd rather take my chances with 92, or go north to Pacifica and loop back around via Sharp Park/1.