Bay-area bound

[trochee]

[ETA: Unlocked post now (and specifics removed); please feel free to point your Bay-area friends here!]

It's official as of Monday afternoon: we're going to the Bay Area. imtboo has been admitted to a San Francisco school for her chosen field.

School starts August 21 for her, so we'll be moving out of Seattle and down to the Bay Area in that first week of August, more or less.

I will be finishing up my dissertation at a desk in a research lab in Menlo Park. But D's school is downtown -- right by the Civic Center BART stop. Unfortunately, this means that one of us will be commuting a long way on the CalTrain and/or the BART. At the moment, it looks like it might be her, since at at least for the first semester she'll only have classes two (very full) days a week, while I'll be at ResearchLab five days a week.

Any suggestions or comments, from people who live in the Bay Area (or who have lived there) about places to live -- or to avoid? I think the East Bay is out for us -- the commute to Menlo Park is insane -- but we're considering paying more to live in the city, or paying less to live on the Peninsula. Any recommendations?

Bay Area roll call:
apollinax or bicoastal?
lunacow?
evan?
xaosenkosmos -- you've already sent us comments, thanks!
damidnara?
cleverpig?
I'm sure I've missed people in this roll-call. Anybody else?

Comments

[gentlybreathing.livejournal.com]

*Sob* I will be arriving in Seattle July 28th, so hopefully we can fit in a final meet-up in amongst your packing.... I mean not final as in last one ever, but you know what I mean....

[trochee.livejournal.com]

aww. that's really bad timing. :(

[damidnara.livejournal.com]

congratulations! Unfortunately, all i know is the East Bay. I think SF is pretty pricy, but I don't know how that compares to the peninsula. You're welcome to stay at our house (we have a guest bedroom) if you need someplace for a short while until you find some place. And do let us know if you want suggestions for venturing around the Bay, we have some interesting places here to explore.

[damidnara.livejournal.com]

er, i mean all i know in terms of places to live is the East Bay...

[trochee.livejournal.com]

thanks for the offer! I think we're going to fly down in July and find an apartment but it's always nice to know we've got friends who have our back.

I look forward to exploring the Bay very much. Been there a few times now and it really looks lovely. Of course, with my dissertation and Dorothy's first-year-in-grad-school, we will be finding our exploring-time wherever we can!

[localcharacter.livejournal.com]

On my last tour in the Bay Area (1996ish), I lived in MP and commuted to SF on Caltrain, so I have many non-specific and outdated tidbits. Probably good for conversation, though.

[trochee.livejournal.com]

great! It looks like I might be able to see you in the second half of your trip to Seattle -- after I get back from Berlin (!) -- and I'd like to hear about your experiences with Caltrain, even if it is ten years out.

thanks!

[beckyb.livejournal.com]

Am sending an email with old SRI/Nuance/SPI-SSLILab people to talk to. They live below MP though but these two won't be ones you find at SRI anymore. I lived in Mountain View when I was there, which had a CalTrain stop and was much cheaper than Palo Alto and MP, however I think it's all expensive now. Hopefully you will hear from someone who knows about places north of MP since that might be more convenient.

[trochee.livejournal.com]

isn't Mountain View where the Googleplex is? so yes, things may have changed.

And thank you for connecting the dots with the various alumni-ish contacts. that's a great place to start!

[penelopesque.livejournal.com]

I have a ton of Bay people on my flist. Would you like me to send them over here to comment? (Coincidentally, this is how I met champignon - on LJ while she was moving here and looking for apartment info.)

[trochee.livejournal.com]

yes please! I'd be happy to have other contacts in the Bay. Not that we don't already have some, but more perspectives are good.

Accordingly, I've unlocked this post. Thanks!

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

she was in the bay area before?
wow... i did not know that !
:)

[isolt.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to imtboo! And good luck with the move...

[isolt.livejournal.com]

Also, you should talk to peculiaire, who is recent to the Bay Area, but well connected, as is her nature to be wherever she goes.

[trochee.livejournal.com]

thanks! D. and I make a pretty good team, so I'm not worried! :)

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

Thank you !

[evan.livejournal.com]

Rent in SF is usually around $1000 a person, unless you live in the ghetto. The commute to Menlo Park sucks, too. On the other hand, the commute the other way is also terrible, and south bay culture is really weird to me (suburban, driving-heavy).

One consideration (I can't believe I'm recommending this, but it actually isn't such a bad thing) is looking at the caltrain schedule and picking a place near one of the super bullet (red) trains, which take only 40 minutes to get to SF (and then you have to take more transit to get anywhere useful -- caltrain dumps you off in the middle of nowhere).

[trochee.livejournal.com]

your advice and sense of the market matches bicoastal's below, and it's nice to hear it from another point of view. thanks!

Could you clarify for me: why do you say "I can't believe I'm recommending this"? The towns on the Peninsula are too... suburban? car-heavy?

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

Sadly, oakland and berkeley aren't options for us considering J has to get to Menlo Park every day of the week. I would prefer that too. I know we'll need a car if we move to the peninsula or south bay and am not thrilled about that. Cost wise, it will all end up being the same it looks like.
Maybe living near the 22nd st caltrain is the best option... dunno.

[bicoastal.livejournal.com]

OK, I have tons of recommendations. But the most important of them is this: Get the Caltrain Baby Bullet Schedule and plan your move around that.

Are you cool driving to the train? There's lots of options, then. I love San Francisco, but if I had to move down the Peninsula my preferred towns (north to south) are Brisbane, Burlingame, San Mateo (some parts, good downtown), San Carlos and MAYBE Redwood City. I hear decent things about Menlo Park itself but I don't know it and it's no cheaper than SF.

Rule out BART for your southbound commute. It goes around San Bruno Mountain and that takes to long.

If you live in SF and you want to bike to Caltrain, you need to live near either the 22nd or 4th Street stations. More on that later... gotta go to work.

[bicoastal.livejournal.com]

Ok. So, about Caltrain in SF: if you want to live right within walking distance, you have two choices: SoMa/China Basin/the ballpark right near 4th Street, or the Dogpatch near 22nd Street.

If you want to bike to Caltrain, you can also consider Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill, the Mission, and the lower part of Noe Valley (where we live). Kil bikes to Caltrain every day -- that said, he is a hard-core biker who travels at the same speed as cars and shares Cesar Chavez Street with them. Cesar Chavez is the feeder route to the highway, so you can imagine what that means for his prime-time commutes.

If you are willing to drive to the station, you have more options with your residence, but you still want to live in the eastern half of the city - anything east of Twin Peaks is fine, really. That said, you can live in the western side if you really wanna - I know someone who lives near GG Park and takes public transit to Caltrain and Caltrain to Menlo Park or Mountain View or someplace like that. It's a long commute but he gets lots of reading in.

Some general things to consider for living in the city:
- Living in "safe" neighborhoods costs more.
- The further west you go, the cooler the weather is.
- If you will keep a car, you need to consider where you are going to park it. Be prepared to pay more for a place with a parking garage or lot -- parking is not standard for SF apartments.
- How much do you want wonderful pedestrian living? Be prepared to balance that against parking issues, crime (depending on the 'hood - I'm mostly talking about the Mission there) and whether you want to live on a hill -- living on a hillside often means great views but less pedestrian-ness, unless you are right on a retail corridor like Bernal's Cortland Ave. or Potrero's 18th Street.
- Potero Ave is not on Potrero Hill!
- $1,000 per person is a good bet for rent unless you wanna get real small.

Things to consider living on the Peninsula:
- the further south you go, the warmer it gets.
- Each community has the things that it's best at. Brisbane has amazing open space nestled into San Bruno Mountain. Burlingame has a brewpub and shopping. San Mateo has an actual downtown with a movie theater and a funky Latino section with great tacos.
- Only a few towns have Baby Bullet stops, so if you want to walk to the train, those will be your considerations.
- you can rent a house.
- It's not free of crime anywhere cheap.
- Mountain View is not bad, but it's a loooong way from SF.
- Gas here is the most expensive in the nation. Don't lock yourself into a long car commute if you can help it.
- Remember that the Baby Bullet only runs during commute time -- there are lots of other trains, but they don't get you from SF to Palo Alto in half an hour.
- If you do like a car lifestyle, though, some other things open up. Some people like Foster City, which is very clean and safe.
- There are obviously way more young professionals in SF. But on the Peninsula, young people tend to live in Burlingame or Mountain View.
- There are no "hippie" towns like Berkeley on the Peninsula.

Forgive my crime emphasis - I work in the field, now, so it's hard for me not to think of it.

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

Talk to Dustin please on how they found an apartment and proceeded to move ! When you get a chance. Phone might be better because less time consuming back and forth question/answer.

[tulip-tree.livejournal.com]

Good luck! I have little that's useful to add - I love SF and have been visiting relatives and family friends in the bay area every few years for most of my life but haven't spent enough time there to know much. I did read the rest of the comments just for fun, and coincidentally, I have cousins in Noe Valley, which I saw mentioned a couple of times. It seems like a nice area.

I'm glad that things are working out for you to be at SRI while you finish.

We have a bit of the same issue with A's job in one place and my job possibilities kind of spread out all over the region, so I sympathize with that challenge. Good luck finding a nice place to live with acceptable commutes for both of you!

[trochee.livejournal.com]

Dustin from our lab is currently in Noe Valley and I have a feeler out to him about suggestions there too.

thanks!

the bay

[monkeyzul.livejournal.com]

there is some wisdom to snagging a place down in the peninsula BUT if you are moving from seattle i suspect you'd be happier in the thick of things. there are definitely some nice spots to be had that are relatively commutable up in bernal/diamond heights/noe valley (via a combo of bus and bike), or you could check out potrero hill. parts of PH are AWFUL but there are some cute up-and-coming areas that are proximal to caltrain or at least a busride away. definitely pay a visit and ask around the neighborhood before you do the Potrero thing.

i live in the east bay, and the only neighborhood i think i'd move to the city for is hayes valley. it is a little overpriced but REALLY cute and tons of fun. it sounds like it would be almost on top of imtboo's school, and there are a ton of muni stops that could shoot you over to caltrain with a quickness.

the east bay is my absolute favorite but if you are commuting to menlo park that would be awful. many people love the mission, but it is a little dirty and loud for my tastes (and i'm 28, have a penchant for loud music, and people refer to me as "the bad monkey"). avoid the marina and nob hill unless you love sorostitues and bankers. the richmond has some really nice areas but is farrrrr from everything. and no matter what anyone tells you, the tenderloin is NOT charming and the "local color" does NOT make up for its shortcomings.

Re: the bay

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

When i went to see the school and apply, I stayed at a really cheap lovely hotel in Hayes Valley and completely fell in love with the neighborhood. So much amazing food and cute stores. It felt very neighborhoody and yet was close to so many things.
But alas, only Bart there. No caltrain for J to commute from.

[harlequinaide.livejournal.com]

Hey, friend of champignon, SF resident.

I lived in Redwood City for a while, and hated it. There's no There, there. It seems, on paper, as though it would be central and nice. In reality, it's just far from everything interesting.

In the end, I move to the Outer Mission, two blocks from the 280. I commute to San Jose every day, and the drive is much better than the 101. Any farther into the city, and I'd add 20 minutes to my hour long commute. Out in the Outer Mission, rents are better, but you have to hit the right neighborhood. Some are far from public transportation and free of amenities like shopping, others aren't much different, in terms of travel, from living in the center of the city.

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

yeah i think redwood city is now out of the question , considering all i've heard.
what do you know about bernal heights or potrero hill ?

Josh Drvsh pointed me over here...

[auros]

Personally, I live in East Palo Alto, which is a location that would provide a short commute to Menlo Park... EPA used to have serious gang problems, but parts of it have significantly improved, in particular the sliver that's west of 101, which now might as well be part of Menlo Park. The school district sucks, but if you don't have kids, that doesn't really matter. Downtown Palo Alto and Menlo Park are both quite nice, and you can take CalTrain up to BART.

I kinda think living in the city is overrated -- way too expensive for any of its possible benefits. My rent is literally half as much as a couple comparably sized places I saw in a higher-cost neighborhood when my gf and I were looking for a place to move in together.