Commute from East Bay to San Mateo (San Francisco, Hayward: apartments, renters)

[gowell]

Just wondering how long the commute might be from Hayward to San Mateo around 7am week day? If 7 is not early enough to beat the traffic, would 6 or 6:30am make a difference?

Work will be in San Mateo and am considering Hayward as I might get more bang for my bucks for more space and newer units (rent, not buy). I understand there will be toll using the bridge westbound. How easy it is to find carpool?

As I am not local, I can't just go and do the drive to see how long the commute might take, so any suggestions/insights from the locals are much appreciated.

My budget is $2000/month, but I prefer to pay less and save more, for a spacious one bedroom with small yard/patio and pet friendly (small dog). Prefer not to stay in big apartment buildings and rather deal with individual owner directly. Any suggestions as to choosing Hayward or any other cities in East Bay or should I just stick to towns near work, such as Foster City, Daly City, Belmont, South San Francisco etc?

I know Craigslist is a good place to start, but the apartment section is mostly filled with big property management companies or deals that seem too good to be true (scams) by companies such as New Line Equity. Any other places to find rentals? Checked out San Francisco Chronicle website, but did not find anything useful there.

Thank you for reading my post and offer any help or information.

[Archan]

I don't think that if you leave at 7:00 from Hayward that you would run into a whole of traffic, 7:30 or 8:00 would be another matter. The San Mateo bridge toll is $4.00 going west and free on the return trip. You also may want to check out Burlingame and Foster City to look for apartments. I would think that your budget should allow for a nice place that is closer to your work.

Here is a website that gives reviews of apartments and shows floorplans.
Apartment Ratings :: The leading source of apartment reviews by renters for renters.

[humboldtrat]

Check out San Carlos - about 5 miles from Foster City. Nice, safe suburban town with a nice walkable downtown with restaurants, etc.

Traffic near the approach to the bridge on either end can be a bummer sometimes. Traffic flows OK once you get on the bridge.

[sonarrat]

You might beat the traffic in the morning, but getting home is another matter. 92 is well-known for being a logjam during the afternoon commute, and it starts early. It backs up from about Industrial Blvd, all the way past 880 into downtown Hayward, and it can take a half-hour to get through it.

I definitely would want to steer you towards the peninsula, but the issue I have with that is that you want a newer unit, but not a big professionally managed community. The individually owned and operated buildings tend to be really old, which pretty much just leaves renting a condo.. and there's not a whole lot of new construction on the peninsula of that type, either. I agree with the suggestion of Foster City, that and Redwood Shores might be really good choices for you.

[gowell]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated. I understand it is unrealistic to expect newer units and not want to live in a big professionally managed building. After some though searching, I think space/value is probably more important to me than newer units. I will focus on finding a 1+ bedroom with patio/balcony or small yard on the peninsula.