Feeling adventurous.. Bay Area move? (San Francisco, Berkeley: renting, HOA, condos)

[WishyWashyWinner]

Hey all, I stumbled upon this site after a few Google searches and thought some of the wise men (and women) on this site can help me out and provide an opinion.

I'm a single girl in my late 20's living in South Miami (SW 'burb of Miami, FL). I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to transfer jobs within my company and work in Pleasanton, CA. I'm all for big moves, but this one really has me worried. My main concern is the cost of living and meeting all new people.

I'm originally from Boston and graduated from NYU a few years back. I've done the whole city thing, but I'm not really into it anymore. Sadly, I've become one of those people who drive everywhere and enjoys a nice meal w/ friends at Applebee's (though I am a sucker for vegetarian Indian food or a spicy Cuban dish).

So my questions are as follows:
1. Do all the young people in the Bay Area live in the city? Growing up in Boston, it seemed that all the young people, under the age of 35, lived in the city. Here in south Florida, young people live everywhere like downtown MIA, the beach, coconut grove, fort lauderdale, etc.

2. I can probably negotiate a salary around 120k. Is this enough to buy a condo (2/2) in a good part of the East Bay? I probably wouldn't buy until I've lived there for a year or two.

3. Are there a lot of normal, down to earth people in the Bay Area? I'm not political at all, so I don't care about protests or anything like that. I like going to football games with friends and going out to a bar afterwards. And, I like to class it up a bit and go to upscale lounges and clubs once in a while. When I think of SF, I think of politicos, pot, and protests. I'm sure this is just a dated stereotype. Am I correct?

4. If I'm not a big city person, is it worth it (cost of living wise) to live so close to such an expensive city. It almost seems like a waste. Besides proximity to SF, what is great about the East Bay? Does it have a lot of outdoor activities, upscale bars/clubs, etc?

Thanks all.

[lmk1707]

I'm also a single female in my late 20's, so I can give you advice from that perspective. I've lived in the Bay Area for awhile, but have also lived in Boston (Allston). While not all the young people in the area live in the city, a very large amount of them do. That said, you can still find young people in the 'burbs, but in Pleasanton it will be tougher. Pleasanton is an upper-middle class town with lots of ranches and farmland in the outskirts - the downtown has bars where you can find people our age, townies and cowboys mostly but it was pretty fun.

Condos in Pleasanton range from $200k - 400k; those payments + HOA could be difficult on a $120k salary, but perhaps not if you can make a down payment larger than 20% or if you have few expenses.

Your SF stereotypes are a bit more representative of Berkeley than SF. Pleasanton is rather isolated from either Berkeley or SF, so you wouldn't see much of that kind of thing. Even in Berkeley it wouldn't exactly interfere with your life if you chose to ignore it. Pleasanton doesn't have the same pot-friendly culture and is quite a bit more conservative. I'd recommend moving to Pleasanton straight off the bat, as there aren't too many places from which you'd want to commute to Pleasanton (680 and 580 are awful, traffic-wise).

There is a lot of nature in the East Bay, plenty of hiking trails and Mt. Diablo is close by, also Livermore has a burgeoning wine culture with lots of vineyards. Downtown Pleasanton is cute and quaint, with dive bars and snobby bars both, and some things in between. There is one club in Pleasanton, the only one for miles around that I'm aware of, and I did not particularly enjoy it but your mileage may vary - it's called Aura.

[Ceece]

If your job is in Pleasanton, and it's too "family oriented" for you, you can live elsewhere for fun. My 25 year old cousin is an example; She works in Pleasanton but chooses to live in Berkeley for the high energy atmosphere. She is renting with roommates right now, which keeps her costs down. There are areas within commuting distance to Pleasanton where you can buy a 2B/2b on 120K income, but remember that 10-20% down will probably be required. I think renting for a couple of years is a fine idea because you may not want to settle here permanently. Although I happen to think the Bay Area is one of the best places to live, everyone has their own ideas on that! The BART train takes you right into San Francisco and the surrounding areas so you are never far from the action when the mood strikes. Oh, and there is an Applebees nearby! Lot's of outdoor opportunities in the area and within short driving distances. Politically, people are all over the map and most aren't vocal about it. It's just the noisy ones people hear about.