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

[lunacow]

bicoastal's info seems great, and in far more detail than I could provide, since I've only lived in the South Bay. One thing I'm not sure of in terms of Caltrain stations, which maybe bicoastal can speak to: The 22nd St Caltrain station has always looked to me like a scary place to be alone after dark. If I were considering living near it and using it as my primary station, I'd want to check on crime stats.

Portrero Hill, or at least parts of it, is walkable to both SF Caltrain stations, though not necessarily practical by foot for a daily commute.

Using Muni trains or buses, you can get to 4th St Caltrain from many (all?) parts of SF, but of course you'd have to consider how long you're willing to spend on a regular commute.

For a few months in 2000, I commuted from Sunnyvale to San Francisco by Caltrain 4 days a week. Including the time walking from the 4th St station to the office in SoMa, I spent 3 hours a day or more commuting (depending on exactly which train I took). I got a *lot* of reading done, and for me it was a far better option than driving, but it was exhausting spending that much time in transit (though it's hard to say exactly why), and I always felt like going to bed as soon as I got home. With the Baby Bullet, commute times can be much shorter now, so I absolutely echo the advice to take into account where the bullet trains stop.

The Baby Bullet trains are very comfortable, with tables and AC power outlets on the upstairs level. I would be surprised if they don't add wifi within a couple of years. The non-bullet trains aren't quite as fancy, but they do have comfortable seats (much improved over when I was riding them daily).

That's all I can think to comment on right now. Good luck figuring it all out!

[trochee.livejournal.com]

thanks L! this is excellent advice as well. The bullet train stops are definitely worth taking into consideration.

Thanks much!

[bicoastal.livejournal.com]

It is a bit scary, but the Dogpatch nearby is not so bad - and it's near Mission Bay, so it will gentrify incredibly fast in the next few years. With that area, it's kind of all about exactly where you are. That said, most people I know choose to live in Bernal or Noe and bike or scooter or drive to the 22nd Street Caltrain.

[trochee.livejournal.com]

is that what Kil does?

Does he lock up his bike at the Caltrain, or bring it on? (Does that change which trains you can use? I think I remember that it did, when my brother lived in the Mission and worked in Mountain View.) Obviously I couldn't take a scooter on to the caltrain, but if it's safe to lock it up outside then that works too.

so much great information!

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

i am hearing wonderful things about bernal heights and potrero ( sp? ) hill...
but could we really do it without a car ?