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Old 07-08-2012, 05:31 PM
 
255 posts, read 512,702 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
I referred to "gated community", becouse its my impression that here in the bay area most rental housing is in a fenced area. I live in "the woods" ( www.woodsapartments.com/ ) which is like that.?
My friends used to live in The Woods before and it is actually quite nice. Just stay to the west of Capitol and it shouldn't be rough at all.

The apartment complexes you listed are all fine, except they are probably older than The Woods (and thus not gated). $1200/mo is pretty good though... Bottomline: you are juggling between commute time, comfort (old vs new, size), and price. Something has to give...
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:27 PM
 
105 posts, read 337,380 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
OK, what do I get for 1200/month?
1bed apartments in south-sunnyvale, north san jose advertised at 1200. How bad can it be?
The size does not really matter, if it is at least 500-600sqft and has a separate bedroom. School districts dont bother me too much as i am single no kids. safety, quality and niceness.

A few more at 1200:
Upstairs Apartment, End Unit, A/C, Pool, Balcony, Carport, Great Location!
Minutes from Public Transit, Second Floor 1-Bedroom
1 Spacious Upstairs Unit Available 7/30 in the Rose Garden Area!!
For me it would be "coin laundry outside or no laundry at all" for those apts. Your current apt has W/D inside but W/D in the unit doesn't come with a convenient location and a price $1200. Other things that are usually missing in cheaper apts are air-conditioning (you have it now) and microwave.
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Old 07-16-2012, 06:53 PM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
6,288 posts, read 11,728,147 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
Hi
So, in the craigslist advertisments I see two distinct price ranges for 1bed apartments. One range is around $1250 the other one is around $1600. I dont see many apartments between the twoo ranges, most of them are close to either of the two numbers above. Why is that? What is the difference?
The $1200 ones won't have amentities like swimming pools and might be basic on the inside, no fireplace, older appliances.

Quote:
The other thing that I am thinking on is moving to a gated community or to a single-building (multiple apartments, like a 4plex-8plex) in a residental street. In south SJ I live in a gated community where it seem to make sense, the sorrounding looks a littlebit rough, but what about Sunnyvale/SC ? Is there any advantage of a gated community?
You mean in terms of safety? No, I dont' think so.

Quote:
One more thing: windows. The place I am now has single-glazed windows, and in cold weather the cold air just comes through the edges of ot.
That will be the other issue you'll have with the $1200 apartments vs. the $1600 ones.
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Old 07-17-2012, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,748,895 times
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Does it make sense to rent an apartment with no air conditioning (in Sunnyvale)?
The nicest place I saw has no aircon. I could rent a less nice one (bigger complexes in busy streets) with aircon. Which one is a better option?
People mentioned portable AC units from supermarket. My problem with them is they are not built-in, and we have to mess with the windows all the time to use it. Are these really practical?
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Old 07-17-2012, 10:37 PM
 
Location: Bay Area
1,789 posts, read 2,908,488 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
Does it make sense to rent an apartment with no air conditioning (in Sunnyvale)?
The nicest place I saw has no aircon. I could rent a less nice one (bigger complexes in busy streets) with aircon. Which one is a better option?
People mentioned portable AC units from supermarket. My problem with them is they are not built-in, and we have to mess with the windows all the time to use it. Are these really practical?
no, you can buy a portable one that doesn't go in the window. honestly, i was born and raised there and never had a/c anywhere except a swamp cooler in a mobile that i never used. if you are somewhere that has good ventilation and some electric fans, it won't be bad at all.
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Old 07-17-2012, 11:54 PM
 
1,263 posts, read 3,997,334 times
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It depends on personal preference. For me AC is must in the south bay. But for people who have lived here for a long time, they've got used to it without AC. I've always found people in California more tolerant to some mild cold or hot weather, and I think it is because of years of experience without using AC. I used to live in Minnesota and there I turn AC to 60 during summer and turn heater to 80 during winter to feel comfortable.

I do find it tends to be hotter in well built highrises/lofts with good insulation and getting lots of sunlight because the day heat can be trapped inside. Those units with paper thin walls and zero insulation are cooler because they quickly drop down to the outside temperature levels at night. And in the bay area it is usually cool outside at night (the day and night temperature difference is big in south bay). However, in winter it also takes much longer for those units to heat up.


Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
Does it make sense to rent an apartment with no air conditioning (in Sunnyvale)?
The nicest place I saw has no aircon. I could rent a less nice one (bigger complexes in busy streets) with aircon. Which one is a better option?
People mentioned portable AC units from supermarket. My problem with them is they are not built-in, and we have to mess with the windows all the time to use it. Are these really practical?
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Old 07-18-2012, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
6,288 posts, read 11,728,147 times
Reputation: 3369
Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
Does it make sense to rent an apartment with no air conditioning (in Sunnyvale)?
there's probably 15 days out of the year where it really would be nice. The rest of the time it's not needed.

Quote:
People mentioned portable AC units from supermarket. My problem with them is they are not built-in, and we have to mess with the windows all the time to use it. Are these really practical?
They're kind of a pain but they are good for cooling down a room.
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Old 07-18-2012, 05:16 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,427,107 times
Reputation: 23222
Some truth to those born here being acclimatized...

I was never so warm as the winter visits I made to my family living in snow country... they heated in the winter and used A/C in the summer...

Living in CA... I have never lived in a home with A/C and the heater was ONLY turned on during the holidays when elderly relatives were staying a few days...

I think people accustom to A/C will miss it... just something they are used to.

My Godparents have lived in Santa Clara since 1957... they have a nice ranch style home and have never had A/C... they love warm weather and have a nice pool to enjoy.

Probable much different if you live in an apartment... might have sun all day... etc.

My Uncle lives in Moraga and it can get hot there... really nice home... no A/C. It is super insulated and every evening they would open the windows and then close them in the morning... home stayed nice all day.
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Old 07-18-2012, 07:18 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,297,864 times
Reputation: 11039
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
Some truth to those born here being acclimatized...

I was never so warm as the winter visits I made to my family living in snow country... they heated in the winter and used A/C in the summer...

Living in CA... I have never lived in a home with A/C and the heater was ONLY turned on during the holidays when elderly relatives were staying a few days...

I think people accustom to A/C will miss it... just something they are used to.

My Godparents have lived in Santa Clara since 1957... they have a nice ranch style home and have never had A/C... they love warm weather and have a nice pool to enjoy.

Probable much different if you live in an apartment... might have sun all day... etc.

My Uncle lives in Moraga and it can get hot there... really nice home... no A/C. It is super insulated and every evening they would open the windows and then close them in the morning... home stayed nice all day.
I always associated AC with people who live inland. Here it is associated with the far East Bay, much of the North Bay (anything past San Rafael) and the far South Bay (anything past a line ~ Stevens Creek / San Carlos / Alum Rock). I never lived in any of those places and have never had AC any place I've lived which was always closer to the water. The hottest summer conditions I experienced here were in Sunnyvale and that's pretty mild.

I also lived in SoCal on and off when I was a young adult. There, the line is closer to the water but there is definitely a line. There again, I never lived inland of that line and never had AC.
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