Advice needed - Confused... (San Francisco, Oakland: real estate, renting, buying a house)

[JRT19355]

I realize that most of this is personal preference, but I could use some external perspective... We are conflicted about where to live because there are so many choices.

About us...

1) We have 2 kids- 1 in 1st and 1 in kindergarten. Preference towards public schools, but could go private if necessary - tradeoff with home price.
2) We have older dogs - so they need at least a small outdoor fenced in area
3) I have an office in Redwood Shores and an office in South San Francisco, both that I need to show up at regularly. Can work from home occasionally. I'm comfortable with a commute - accustomed to 45 min to 1 hour, but could probably handle an hour and a half if necessary - would just time it right and do calls from car
4) Could technically buy a house up to 1.4m, but would be much more comfortable at 1.1 or below... flexible here from 700 to 1.4 ish.
5) Have home restoration experience- so could handle a fixer
6) Moved to SF because of the weather and year round gardening- so would like to avoid extreme fog or wind



Current thoughts:

1. Home in a neighborhood
a. Select areas in RWC
b. Select areas in San Mateo
c. San Carlos
d. Belmont
e. Palo Alto
f. Menlo Park
g. Mountain View
h. Burlingame

Pros: Commute, weather, Schools.
Cons: Size of house for money.


2. Home in a development
a. Hayward (Stonebrae)
b. Fremont (?)
c. Dublin (Sorrento)
d. Others (San Ramon, Pleasanton, etc.)

Pros: Size of house for money, access to pool, gym, social clubs, kids in area.
Cons: Commute, some schools aren't as good.


3. Anything else a little zanier - on the water somewhere?

I know this is really broad, but any thoughts? We are really having a difficult time. And of course, time is getting short because we want to be in before the school year, if possible.

[JRT19355]

And Thank you!!!!

[zitsky]

I'm rather confused when I read your post. I really don't understand what you're looking for and what you're asking. Why are you feeling pressure to move out of SF? Is your work commute too long? Are you unhappy with schools that your kids are in right now? It's difficult to advise you when you haven't really explained what's going on. What's most important: schools, housing prices, commute time, etc? What are YOUR top choices right now? You're leaving out a lot of info in this call for help.

[mayorhaggar]

Damn, if you can afford a house up to 1.4 million you should be able to live wherever you want! Most towns in the Peninsula, especially from Burlingame on south, are very nice and fairly upscale suburbs. Palo Alto and Cupertino might be the only places where you wouldn't be able to get as big a house for the money but you could probably find a nice place even there. It just depends on your commute and where you feel comfortable, most of these Peninsula suburbs are very similar.

[lmk1707]

For somewhere a little less cookie-cutter, and on the water, I'd suggest Alameda. This one (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/05/21/BU7B1DHAJE.DTL - broken link)'s outside of your price range at 1.6m, but there are lots of interesting-looking Tudor and Victorian type houses in Alameda and Oakland that may suit your fancy. You may also want to look into Piedmont.

[JRT19355]

Funny answers.

We are currently renting on the penninsula, now we need to move somewhere more permanent. I can't see buying a house that is under 2,000 square feet and spending over a mil. We need a house that is big enough for kids and dogs, still in commuting distance, and isn't too ridiculously priced.

Are Alameda and Piedmont in commuting distance of Redwood Shores? I'll take a look at those.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by JRT19355

Funny answers.

Why?? Are they unhelpful or just not what you expected??

Originally Posted by JRT19355

Are Alameda and Piedmont in commuting distance of Redwood Shores? I'll take a look at those.

Looking at Google maps, it doesn't seem that Piedmont is a reasonable commute, but Alameda is doable. Looking at real estate, I came across this 4 BR, 3 BA, 3000 sq ft house that's very close to the water for only $878K. I'm coming across similar priced houses with much smaller lots on the peninsula.

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by JRT19355

Funny answers.

We are currently renting on the penninsula, now we need to move somewhere more permanent. I can't see buying a house that is under 2,000 square feet and spending over a mil. We need a house that is big enough for kids and dogs, still in commuting distance, and isn't too ridiculously priced.

Are Alameda and Piedmont in commuting distance of Redwood Shores? I'll take a look at those.

Piedmont would be a trek, but do-able, depending. I assumed some flexibility of commute hours based on your original post, but if you have to travel during peak time, it would be more difficult. However, I travel from Oakland to the Peninsula (Belmont) every day, and have coworkers who travel from Berkeley, Alameda, and other East Bay locations (even Clayton, but I don't know how long she'll be able to keep that up). My commute is 45 - 50 minutes during rush hour, 30-35 with no traffic, via Bay Bridge.