Las Vegas Aussie Family moving to San Francisco (Richmond, Redwood City: apartments, employment)

[wam888]

I was relocated to to Las Vegas from Brisbane Australia 2 years ago and want to move to San Francisco at the end of June. My wife & I are both professional people (Finance/IT) and will be treading the well worn track of finding venture capital funding for our new venture. What I need is a 6 month contracting finance role till we get our financial situation back in balance. While we bootstrap this next 6 months we need to find rented accommodation for our family of 4 + 2 dogs. We have no idea of a reasonable cost family safe area that is less than an hour from the mainstream employment oportunities. If anyone out there can share their experience and local knowledge it would be greatly appreciated.

[uptown_urbanist]

Most of this is going to depend on your budget and the type of neighborhood/housing you prefer. We moved to SF with a toddler and a couple of pets. It was hard, although not impossible, to find housing that would accept animals, and expect to put down an additional pet deposit. We decided on the Richmond District of San Francisco because it was cheaper than some of the other city neighborhoods, had fairly large apartments, including flats with yard access, had a lot of activity (shops, restaurants, etc.), is safe, plus is within walking distance of Golden Gate Park. It's extremely family-friendly, and we were very happy with our choice. The Outer Richmond gets colder and foggier but is cheaper; there's also not as much activity going on out there as there is there is in the Inner or more Central Richmond. It's a straight shot by bus (both express and regular, and they run all the time) to downtown.

[majoun]

SF will remind you A LOT of Melbourne, although I know you're from QLD and not Victoria.

[alohakat]

You definately are choosing SF? Just curious because the IT heavy corridor extends from SF down the peninsula to of course Silicon Valley. There are tons and tons of thriving start-ups in that region, many exploding in biz no matter the economy. Some are in downtown SF, some in the SoMa district and some the financial district, some towards San Bruno and South of there especially to Redwood City, and then bigger more established Silicon Valley firms both public and private extend from there.

[wam888]

Hi alohakat, we see that the Palo/Menlo districts being our focus for business. Whilst we hear great things about places like Pentaluma, we expect we will be settling south of the Silicon Valley. Is there any place sort of equivalent to Pentaluma on the southside...ie San Bruno? Until I get the new business funded I will need a contract finance role. I'm at ground zero with this challenge. I'm heading up to SF next week to look at potential places to live as well as interview with recruitment agencies. Do you have any info/directions in regards to how/who I can approach. I'm an Australian CPA with 30 years experience. Thanks for your help.

[US-Traveller]

Why do you feel the need to move to San Francisco/Silicon Valley to find venture capital? If you have a good idea it doesn't matter if you are out in Nome, Alaska you'll be able to get capital. Moving to very expensive San Francisco isn't a good idea, if you don't have a firm commitment from a venture capitalist. I might add that capital is still scarce.