Moving to SF: Which areas to search for a safe rental? (San Francisco: house, neighborhoods)

[KimmieOnTheMove]

Hi!
You all were so very helpful with my last question, I figured I'd try again...

After a long search, I've decided I'm moving to San Francisco this fall. I'll be heading out there this summer to find a rental, and I'm wondering where I should look for a safe, but not too expensive (HA!) place to live? I'll need a parking space and at least a 1 bedroom apt. (prefer 2, but 1 will suffice)

I would prefer not to spend more than $1500, but I'm willing to go up to $2000. The actual city doesn't matter as long as I'm not more than an hour or two away from SF.

I've already been warned away from Oakland...any other ideas to float?

[sonarrat]

I live in South San Francisco, on the San Bruno border. I will be moving out in August to buy a house, but not because of any fault with the town. The upper peninsula has got a feel all its own, nothing at all like The City, but there's a lot of local pride and a lot of conveniences that are lacking in San Francisco proper.

[Palmer Eldritch]

An hour or two is a long, long way from San Francisco. If you want a three bedroom house with three car garage, game room and swimming pool, near a golf course you can rent one for under $2000 per month in Modesto, California which is about an hour and a half from San Francisco.

[gizmo980]

You're giving us a pretty wide range, since as Palmer said, an hour is a long way from San Francisco... I'm working an hour away today (in Napa), and I used to do this commute every day - not fun!! Not to mention the traffic, which would make this commute closer to 2 hours, so you can't just go by the number of miles.

If you could narrow down your radius, and give us some ideas of what you're looking for, that would really help. For instance, do you want coastal, inland, warm weather, cold weather, diverse population, outdoor activities, theater, golfing? With a rental range of $1500-2000 for a 1-bedroom, you shouldn't have a problem finding something - even in the city itself. And btw, don't rule out Oakland completely... there are some very nice neighborhoods there, and you'll get a lot more for your money (in comparison to SF & Berkeley). It's not all scary!

[rickca]

A place 60 miles away (Napa) is not really an hour away during commuter traffic and a place like Modesto is very far away, keep your search to: Marin, the East Bay and the Peninusla