One more Question (San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont: apartments, crime, appliances)

[tlwharton5683]

What is the best areas surrounding San Francisco that has the cheapest cost of living please?

[sliverbox]

In general, the East Bay is cheaper but not cheap. Be aware of just looking at prices. Parts of oakland, SF, and berkeley can be crime infested places to live. So... here's a list: Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Walnut Creek, Alameda, San Mateo, and Hayward. There are others, but I'm more familiar with these.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by tlwharton5683

What is the best areas surrounding San Francisco that has the cheapest cost of living please?

Rents will be cheaper in the Easy Bay than in SF, but other things like food and gas and utilities aren't. Pretty much the same prices. When I think COL, I think about the whole package.

Gas is 3.33 a gallon, milk is 4.99 for a two-fer (2 gallons) -- single gallons are 3.29. Eggs are in the 3 buck range, unless you go to Trader Joe's where you can pick them up for .99. My mom is shocked at the food prices -- she's from PA.

But you can shop at Grocery Outlets and pick up cheap stuff there, bulk buy at Costco and search out some deals...

[tlwharton5683]

Thank you very much sliverbox. I will look into these cities.

[tlwharton5683]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

Rents will be cheaper in the Easy Bay than in SF, but other things like food and gas and utilities aren't. Pretty much the same prices. When I think COL, I think about the whole package.

Gas is 3.33 a gallon, milk is 4.99 for a two-fer (2 gallons) -- single gallons are 3.29. Eggs are in the 3 buck range, unless you go to Trader Joe's where you can pick them up for .99. My mom is shocked at the food prices -- she's from PA.

But you can shop at Grocery Outlets and pick up cheap stuff there, bulk buy at Costco and search out some deals...

Thank you very much. WOW! Well, the gas here is 2.92 for plus, eggs range from .69 for 1/2 dozen to 1.79 for 18 eggs, Milk in High Point, NC is 3.99 a gallon. Could you give me a couple of names of some bargin dealers stores. Please. Thank you.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by tlwharton5683

Thank you very much. WOW! Well, the gas here is 2.92 for plus, eggs range from .69 for 1/2 dozen to 1.79 for 18 eggs, Milk in High Point, NC is 3.99 a gallon. Could you give me a couple of names of some bargin dealers stores. Please. Thank you.

We have Grocery Outlets, FoodMaxx, and Pak-n-Save. Grocery Outlets os about the cheapest -- but you can't count on the stock staying the same -- they buy overruns and label changes and sometimes "large stores going out of business" stock. We also have outdoor flea markets that have regular vendors that sell EVERYTHING from tube socks to toilet paper.

You can get some deals at Trader Joe which you may have where you are -- they are nationwide. Eggs, cheeses and nuts are great buys, and they also stock King Arthur Flours, white, white wheat and whole wheat. White wheat is TREMENDOUS -- KA is way worth the extra money. We also have BevMo (Beverages and More) where you buy wine spirits and beer. (You can also buy those at the grocery stores -- I'm from PA, so beer in the grocery was pretty cool). We have some international foods and cool international stuff at CostPlus (various locations) and TONS of small foreign foods groceries that sell specific foreign foods.

Hope this helps...

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by tlwharton5683

Thank you very much. WOW! Well, the gas here is 2.92 for plus, eggs range from .69 for 1/2 dozen to 1.79 for 18 eggs, Milk in High Point, NC is 3.99 a gallon. Could you give me a couple of names of some bargin dealers stores. Please. Thank you.

In addition to the ones TallysMom mentioned, there's also a store called FoodsCo (part of Ralph's), which we have in SF... I've been to one near my house, and wasn't so impressed, but it was cheap! Trader Joe's is also surprisingly cheap, considering how great their food is, and Bell Market is another less-expensive one in my neighborhood.

And to answer your original question, the cities in the East Bay (east of San Francisco, from approx. Berkeley to Milpitas) are least expensive around here... try Concord, Oakland, Alameda, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Hayward/San Leandro (parts are sketchy), Newark, and Fremont. If you'll be working in San Francisco, try to find one near a BART station, which would make your commute easy - driving that route is NOT fun, and there's a reason we call it "The Maze".

[gizmo980]

Oh, and as sliverbox said, definitely be aware of the specific neighborhoods... if something sounds too cheap, there's usually a reason! Avoid places like East Oakland, Richmond, certain parts of Berkeley & Hayward, etc. I used to live in the "ghetto" - East Palo Alto - and actually was fairly happy there, but it certainly wasn't a place I'd settle for good. But hey, if you don't mind gun-shots and broken glass on the street, you might not mind living there. I only paid $900/mo for a 2-bedroom townhouse, so you can't beat the prices in EPA!!

[tlwharton5683]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

Oh, and as sliverbox said, definitely be aware of the specific neighborhoods... if something sounds too cheap, there's usually a reason! Avoid places like East Oakland, Richmond, certain parts of Berkeley & Hayward, etc. I used to live in the "ghetto" - East Palo Alto - and actually was fairly happy there, but it certainly wasn't a place I'd settle for good. But hey, if you don't mind gun-shots and broken glass on the street, you might not mind living there. I only paid $900/mo for a 2-bedroom townhouse, so you can't beat the prices in EPA!!

OK. Where are some good neighborhoods in SF area? What is considered too cheap? I'm coming from NC if an apartment is 0-400.00 it's considered the ghetto. But, 401.00-600.00 is considered Ok neighborhoods; sometime you might see some action. But, 601.00 and up is considered as police at the gate, gated apartments, upscale appliances and got stuff period. Thanks for the information

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by tlwharton5683

OK. Where are some good neighborhoods in SF area? What is considered too cheap? I'm coming from NC if an apartment is 0-400.00 it's considered the ghetto. But, 401.00-600.00 is considered Ok neighborhoods; sometime you might see some action. But, 601.00 and up is considered as police at the gate, gated apartments, upscale appliances and got stuff period. Thanks for the information

Well, there are lots of good neighborhoods in/around SF, depending on your budget... we'd consider "cheap" to be less than $1000 for a 1-bedroom - yes, that's right! "Normal" would be around $1000-1400, and anything above that (for a 1-bedroom) is probably a very nice area or complex. But some neighborhoods are less expensive, so the ranges really depend on the town... for instance, you could find a nice place in Hayward for around $900.

I'm guessing you'd like something in the middle, safe but not TOO nice, so I'd suggest the following: Dublin, Concord, Berkeley, Lake Merritt (or other nice areas in Oakland), Alameda, Brisbane, Daly City (other than right next to BART & Geneva Ave.), and San Mateo. There's also a great town called Pacifica, where I lived for a while, and it's about 10-15 minutes from San Francisco... RIGHT on the ocean with spectacular views, and somewhat affordable by our standards. You should check on craigslist for listings, and then ask us about specific locations when you see something. To get you started, maybe I'll do a quick search & show you what we'd consider a good deal.