Renting in San Francisco (Oakland, Daly City: apartment, rentals, condo)

[aaronufl]

Hi everyone. I will be graduating from college in the Fall and am looking to get out of Florida for a little while. I know the housing situation is horrible in San Francisco, but are apartment/condo/etc. rentals just as bad? I of course would be looking for roommates to cut down on rental costs and such. This would also be a temporary move, as I would just like to live there for a few years to enjoy the Bay Area while I am young. What type of salary would I need to be making to rent a decent place in a somewhat safe/decent area and be comfortable? I've been looking at areas such as San Rafael on the outer areas, but i've only visited SF once, so I am sort of out of the loop.

Thanks for any help!

[gizmo980]

Renting is pretty expensive here, but not so bad with a roommate... I share a 3-bedroom house with 1 guy, and it's definitely do-able. Actual prices vary according to the neighborhood & town, so it would help to narrow that down first. But let's say you live in San Francisco itself, in a mid-range neighborhood like the Sunset... expect to pay around $1600-1800 for a decent 2-bedroom, and $2000+ for a 3-bedroom. So basically, the more roommates you have, the cheaper it'll be! That all sounds about right, so I'd say you should budget for at least $700-900/month.

As for salaries, the "average" for a professional-type of job is usually between $40-60K (to start)... what will you be doing for a living? Anyway, hope this babbling helps, and let me know if you'd like neighborhood suggestions too.

[gizmo980]

Oh, and San Rafael is very far from San Francisco... not really in miles, but that drive can take forEVER sometimes. If you want to be outside of the city, try looking around Oakland, Berkeley, Daly City, Pacifica, and Alameda.

[aaronufl]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

Renting is pretty expensive here, but not so bad with a roommate... I share a 3-bedroom house with 1 guy, and it's definitely do-able. Actual prices vary according to the neighborhood & town, so it would help to narrow that down first. But let's say you live in San Francisco itself, in a mid-range neighborhood like the Sunset... expect to pay around $1600-1800 for a decent 2-bedroom, and $2000+ for a 3-bedroom. So basically, the more roommates you have, the cheaper it'll be! That all sounds about right, so I'd say you should budget for at least $700-900/month.

As for salaries, the "average" for a professional-type of job is usually between $40-60K (to start)... what will you be doing for a living? Anyway, hope this babbling helps, and let me know if you'd like neighborhood suggestions too.

Well, I will have a few options. I will be graduating with 3 degrees (music, public relations, and anthropology). I've checked into teacher certification to teach music and have also looked at various other jobs such as playing in orchestras, local music, public relations positions and such. I will either be looking in one of those areas or heading back to school for something healthcare related before I leave Florida. As I have been lookining around, I think the 40-60k salary will easily attainable for me in either field, moreso in healthcare.

I was looking into Berkeley (tossing around the idea of grad school) and the surrounding areas because they are a little less expensive. At the same time I wouldn't mind paying a little more to live in SF as it wouldn't be permanent and I would like to be close to local music and the arts in general. I'd appreciate any help you could give me in listing some areas that might be a good fit :-)

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by aaronufl

Well, I will have a few options. I will be graduating with 3 degrees (music, public relations, and anthropology). I've checked into teacher certification to teach music and have also looked at various other jobs such as playing in orchestras, local music, public relations positions and such. I will either be looking in one of those areas or heading back to school for something healthcare related before I leave Florida. As I have been lookining around, I think the 40-60k salary will easily attainable for me in either field, moreso in healthcare.

I was looking into Berkeley (tossing around the idea of grad school) and the surrounding areas because they are a little less expensive. At the same time I wouldn't mind paying a little more to live in SF as it wouldn't be permanent and I would like to be close to local music and the arts in general. I'd appreciate any help you could give me in listing some areas that might be a good fit :-)

Well, I'm a fellow musician (viola), so I could probably help with that part too! I think you would love Berkeley, which has a very artsy vibe to it. So does San Francisco, obviously, but some neighborhoods more so than others. In SF, I think you'd probably like SoMa (South of Market), a very hip/trendy part of town, which is also somewhat "affordable". Other neighborhoods to consider - North Beach, outer Sunset, Bernal Heights, Castro/Noe, parts of the Mission, and so on. Kinda depends on how close you'd want to be from downtown, and exactly what your budget is. Hope that helps!

[mandom]

definitely try http://www.craigslist.org