OT - Moving to San Francisco
I'm hoping to solicit a little MGoHelp. I'm moving to San Francisco from Los Angeles in a few weeks - mostly so I can troll both Oakland and the 49ers, and secondarily for a new job.
I'm looking for an apartment, and wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I know this is near-impossilbe, but trying to find something within a reasonable price range ($1,500-$2,300), and open to roommates. I'm open to living in Oakland as long as it's not too hard to get to a BART.
Any advice on neighborhoods or where to look would be appreciated! Thanks.
Call this guy and tell him you know Harbaugh....
I always think of this character when I see Davis.
If you're going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
If you're going to San Francisco, you're gonna meet some gentle people there
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Neighborhoods in SF and Oakland are very different. So what are you looking for? Are you young? Do you want to live right by restaurants/bars? Do you want to live with younger people or a calmer neighborhood? What do you value more- safety/space/the scene/cost.
Sorry, tough to give suggestions without really knowing someone (or knowing more about them).
1) Look on craigslist. It really is the palce to look for places out here. There is also the app padhopper it is semi-useful.
2) Areas in SF: You are going to need to do the roommate thing at that price.
1) Mission- it still has some rough parts so you should definatley check out the place/area to make sure you are comfortable. It’s probably the best mixture of cheaper price, younger people, convenient location, lots of bars/restaurants and safe(-ish). You could put lower Haight in this category as well.
2) The Marina/Cow Hollow- basically post-college aged kids. Tons of bars/restaurants. Very safe. Convenient to public transport, but not freeways. Very expensive. Laurel Heights would be another similar neighborhood. As would Noe Valley (just further out) and North Beach. Put Russian Hill and Nob Hill as similar neighborhoods.
3) Pan Handle- this is where I lived when I first moved to SF. A pretty good situation for finding roommates. Not bad for safety/commute. Not much night life that close.
4) Cole Valley- probably in the same vein as The Marina, but a little less nightlife right there, a little further out and a little cheaper.
5) Patrero Hill- can find some good places here. Again not as much nightlife right there, and a little longer commute, but cheaper.
Stuff out by the Ocean- (say past 30th Ave) is much cheaper. There isn’t a ton of nightlife out there and the commute is long. And it is COLD. (not snow cold, but tons and tons of fog).
Sorry this is pretty rambling….
What Jenkins said...
I lived in the bay on and off for 10 years. Most recently in 2013. I'd look in the Lake Merrit area of Oakland it has a plethora of rental space is walkable and safe and pretty centrally located for the East Bay. Lots of restaurants, bars, shopping, etc.
When I left I was renting a 1 bedroom that was around 1100sq ft for 1650 a month. A block off of Grand avenue.
Good Luck in your search! The Bay area is an awesome place to live.
Edit: The mission is safe unless you like to pick fights with hipsters.
I'm 30, past my crazy going out days, but would love to be an area with a handful of restaurants/coffee shops. Safety - I don't want to worry about my place getting broken into or getting mugged on the street. I don't need that much space, but would rather have a 2br with a roommate than a small studio.
I know it's tough to suggest...but I appreciate the thoughts. So far I've been looking on Craigslist at Inner Sunset and Lake Merritt as jumping off points.
Probably avoid Mission, Marina and North Beach. All great neighborhoods but Mission is probably not safe enough for you and the other two are too expensive.
I would check out the pan handle (around Oak & Fell west of Divisadero), potrero hill, inner sunset (south of golden gate park out to about 20th ave) and Cole Valley (if you can find something in your price range)
Cole Valley has become one of the most difficult places to rent. Very little turnover. Of course, if you find a rent-controlled unit looking for a roommate, it's another story.
Castro is actually a really good place to be too. My old boss lived there with his family and loved it.
Also there are new hoods by the stadium that I bet you could rent a room from.
I'm not from the area, but ive been living in Oakland for the past year. Too bad you just missed the Warriors parade.
Q: Are you bringing a car?
Oakland near Lake Merrit is a decent area, walkable, close to the BART, decent coffee shops/restaurants, etc. and much warmer than SF. You can walk to Downtown Oakland from Lake, but it it can be hard to get around the rest of Oakland if you don't have a car.
If you definitely ARE bringing a car, keep in mind that finding a place to park in SF will be an additional challenge.
Bringing a car, yes. I'm thinking Lake Merritt would be a solid option - looking at Adam's Point. Do you have any recommednations more specifically on where within Oakland without getting into the bad areas?
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Virtually impossible to live alone on that budget, even a studio. Craigslist will be your friend: many people look to rent out rooms in their house/apartment, etc. Be prepared to sign as soon as you see. Make sure you have your finances in line, etc. otherwise others will probably snag your dream shared apartment.
I hope you don't have pets either as that limits your options but is not impossible.
My condolences about your future savings account.
I got an offer out there for WAY more than I make in Orlando.
I was super excited. Then I started looking into where I might live with my wife and daugher plus four cats (apt not an option). Ouch. Counter-offer denied. Thanks anyways.
When I was single, I totally would have done it, so gratz. My parents lived there for the first 10 years of their marriage and still talk about how much they loved it (before it was 3 million per square inch).
The company I work for out here often acquires smaller companies, usually for the engineering talent. The problem we're running into more and more often is that if they're based somewhere where the cost of living is dramatically lower, there is no way the salary is going to compensate.
Orlando is a perfect example. We acquired a company in the Orlando area and a number of the engineers refused to come, because moving to Silicon Valley meant switching their 4-bedroom palace with a big yard for a 2-bed dilapidated shack. So we actually have people who fly here 2 weeks a month and work from a quiet Orlando office the other two weeks. Crazy, man.
People who want to know how this bubble deflates, that's probably it-- companies losing out on talent eventually say to hell with this, we're relocating somewhere we can attract top talent, and startups stop starting up here and go to the midwest, south, or pretty much anywhere else besides Honolulu or Manhattan.
It's funny - I've live long enough in NYC area to not be scared off by high prices in other places, but knowing friends and family who live in SF I'm still not sure I'd move there for a job. People are shocked when they come to NY and wonder why a 1-bedroom in Manhattan runs you $2.5k, but at least there's a decent amlunt of real estate and enough inventory in the surrounding burroughs. But in SF, it seems like it's basically Oakland and then hellacious commutes to bedroom communities.
With the small footprint of SF, and the tons of Asian money - namely Chinese - I dont think that bubble really gets changed. Like ever. It's going to be like Manhattan in that foreign money is going to support it - doesnt mean prices wont ever go down for 2-3 years during a recession or whatever but you dont have normal markets in those areas. Much like London and Paris, Manhattan and San Fran are now global cities and there are many buyers who are nearrly completely insensitive to prices. For a rich Chinese person you take your money out of the country and park it in U.S. real estate and at least its a country with laws that won't be changing and potentially taking your money away at some point like could happen in China. Same for Russians in London, and increasingly Manhattan, etc.
I do wonder if there will be a bit of a downturn if SF changes some of their zoning restrictions, such as the retention of single-occupany rooms in the middle of the city, and other limitations on growth. Say what you will about Manhattan, but they aren't afraid of building bigger units at the expense of those who can't keep up. SF, perhaps rightly, seems to be trying to keep at least a sheen of diversity to the city; NYC is mostly designed to let the most money into the middle and leave the outer burroughs/NJ for everyone else (despite the fact that Brooklyn, Queens, and even parts of the Bronx are getting pretty pricey).
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And the rent there is much cheaper than SF, and the area is much safer than Oakland. I lived there til I moved to San Diego for a job.
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I second this if you are a little older. Maybe not best place to start in the Bay Area though if you want the SF experience. WC, Lafayette and Orinda are great neighborhoods. WC is by far the largest with the most stuff to do.
What he said. Nice town, lotsa restaurants shops and stuff, near BART and reasonably priced (for the Bay Area, anyway).
I lived and worked in WC for a few years. Great town. But the entire time I lived there I wished I lived in SF. Take advantage of the opportunity to live in SF even if more expensive w/ room mates.
I have visited and it looks like the whole town was built 5 years ago. That may suit some but for me I felt it to be completely devoid of any sort of culture or unique aesthetic. Just a bunch of high end strip malls for white people to walk around with their thumbs up their chihuahua's asses.
I hear ya. I lived out there in Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. It's generic bland white suburbia. But as with everything, tradeoffs. It's only 32 minutes to Embarcadero on the BART from Walnut Creek so maybe 15 minutes further than Oakland 19th street. Roughly. And you can also get a nicer larger apartment for cheaper than Oakland and way cheaper than SF. Maybe I had friends who lived in Lake Merritt or bought houses in various parts of Oakland but none of them wanted to leave their houses, especially after dark. I'd live in Berkeley before I'd live in Oaktown. In your price range. Either live somewhere cheaper, save up and compromise, or go for the real deal and get an apartment and a roommate in SF. Oakland is a poor compromise on value vs. cost. You'll probably just wind up BARTing it into SF most of the time anyway.
SF in general is going to be waaaay colder than the east bay or peninsula (Oakland, walnut creek, etc.)
Like, 55 and foggy vs 70 & sunny.
I live in Palo Alto and the difference in weather is substantial.
In my opinion, don't take the job and don't move to the Bay Area. There are way too many people here and its too damn expensive because people keep moving here.
I lived in Walnut Creek for a year, much cheaper than SF and has a BART. Though the BART system is awful. Good Luck.
You'll find something. You could ask your new employer if they have any leads. Consider this: your first place you won't live forever. Use this as a gauge where you might want to live long term.
Check out craigslist; rents are out of control but you might be able to find existing roommates that have a better deal. With roommates SF might be doable at that rate; consider areas such as outer sunset / outer richmond as well. Not sure your commute needs. If in the city, stick near BART lines and/or MUNI train lines (K/L/M/N/T). Uber rules here -- out of the way neighborhoods are now accessible for nightlife. BIG change from when i moved here. Gives you more options.
Outside of SF stick close to BART. Oakland is Oakland... but places like Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, etc are doable and the commute isn't crazy, especially if you work downtown. Emeryville is a nice compromise - close to MacArthur Bart (as well as AC transit lines) and rents aren't insane. Also Alameda can be interesting -- just figure out your commute and work backwards from there (AC Transit, Ferry, etc). I've heard Daly City might be pretty affordable but don't know many people that live there. Pacifica might work as well, but you'll be on suicide watch due to Fog.
Really craigslist or word of mouth is still the best way to nab an apartment out here. Even try subletting for 6 months. Just keep your belongings light until you get 'settled'.
I would recommend the Tenderloin district.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Not the earthquake you feared. It's just your Bay Area roommate.
Hey man,
I'm also moving to SF at the end of the month and looking for a good spot to live.
I think I'm going to sublet something in Oakland for a month to get acclimated so I don't have to rush into a decision.
But if you're looking for a potential roommate I could be down. I also know a bunch of alums in the area, but they're all locked into good leases right now.
Best,
Patrick
Hey Patrick -
hat's an interesting option... my email is [email protected] (trusting the blog here!). Feel free to shoot me an email and we'll see if it's a good fit.
- Josh