Hey guys,

I may be getting hired soon for a new job that I applied for that would require me to relocate to the Bay Area. The location of my employer would be right smack dab in the middle of downtown San Francisco.

That being said, where do you guys suggest that I live?
Of course the answer to that question requires some background info:

• I'm a single male, age 28.
• I'm looking for a one-bedroom apt or loft
• Rental budget: no more than $1500 per month just for rent
• I really-really-really want a garage (I know - parking is scarce in SF)

That's really just about it. I was looking at places in South SF...Daly City, San Bruno, Pacifica, and even as far south as San Mateo. But I know SF traffic is horrendous and I HATE gridlock with a passion. If I live down in Pacifica or San Mateo, how long will it take me to get to downtown if I drive (during morning/afternoon rush hour)?

I will most definitely be getting a motorcycle to commute, so hopefully lane-splitting and the car pool lane will speed things up a bit.

My other option I guess is public transportation. Is it convenient to take public transportation from the Pacifica/San Mateo area? How long to downtown using public travel?

Would it be worth spending a little more for an apt in downtown and being 5-10 mins from work?

I found some decent apt's in Pacifica within my price range...but was wondering if you SF natives have any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
-Mike

 

If you do decide on places a little bit more outside of the Pennisula and SF, then you might want to consider finding an area that is local to one of the BART locations. You may be able to get a nicer or cheaper or both location if you decide that you don't mind the commute time of sitting on the BART Train.

http://www.bart.gov/stations/index.aspx

http://www.bart.gov/index.aspx

 

CalTrain from San Mateo is going to be a good option. Not only is traffic a problem, but so is parking. It's been a while since I was in the rental market, but my gut says that $1,500 isn't going to get you much and there will be lots of competition at that price point.
What do you plan to spend your free time doing? Based on your post, probably not men.
If you're into going out to bars/clubs/nice restaurants, the city is going to be more fun. If you're more into riding your bike and hiking, look into the peninsula (San Mateo) or even Marin. The first thing I'd do is get on craigslist and see what's out there for $1,500/month.

edit: Just saw this on SFGate, might help with where to find hookers and drugs...or where to avoid living.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...entry_id=65711

 

Tiny 1bedroom with a garage spot downtown or SOMA is gonna run you more than $1500/month. Probably $1650-1800 range.

 

+1. Depending on how long you're willing to sit on a bart train, you could consider moving out to the east bay where rent would be cheaper than the city. I don't know too much about the rental market in the peninsula so I can't give any advice on the cities you mentioned.

 

craigslist has plenty of places in sf at your price range.

 

Awesome, thanks for the info guys.
I've never lived in a city with public transportation, so the BART website overloaded me!

I've actually been searching on CL for the last few days and I am finding nice apartments in Pacifica within my price range...however, based on the BART map, there's no BART station around there?

Based on the BART map, I did find some new locations that I like...Millbrae and Burlingame (who came up with these city/area names???). These two areas are in very close vicinity to the most southern BART station (Millbrae), and there are a few apartments that are decent in the area that are between $1200-$1500 (surprisingly enough). Is this a bad area or something?

Oh, and I am all about the nightlife (bars/restuarants/etc.) in SF, so I'd love to live near downtown, but it seems to be out of my budget. I like outdoors stuff, but I want to be as close to the city (SF) as possible. My primary concern is the commute. I don't want to spend half my life in traffic. But the BART system from Millbrae to downtown SF takes only about 20-25mins, so that's not too bad.

 

Hmm, I'll check out places in East Bay on CL next.
I'm new to the Bay Area, and I have some friends that live in Pacifica, so I'd like to stay on the peninsula (in the South SF area) if possible.

Where should I look in the East Bay area? I hear Oakland is gAnStA. How's Emeryville?

 

*Edit* redacted after having it pointed out I was being a whiny little *****

 

Overbear, don't you think you're being a little oversensitive?
I don't think the OP was being blatantly homophobic in his post, perhaps just a little ignorant (not necessarily his fault either as we have a very unique culture here in the SF Bay Area that many outside of the region don't understand).
In attacking the OP, aren't you becoming the very thing that you disdain so much? -- namely, the bigot that jumps to conclusions?
I understand where you're coming from, but the worst thing that any of us minorities can do is to become that which we hate, right?

Unlike many other BAIC'ers, I think that you can be reasonable in your own way, that's why I took the time to post this.

 

RiceyHot:
1.) Gawd, I love your SN.

2.) Millbrae is a nice, small town with a surprisingly large number of good Asian restaurants and very pleasant weather (no fog, more temperate), no to mention tons of parking. With the BART station there, you have not only easy access Downtown but also anywhere on the Peninsula between Millbrae and the City (SF), not to mention the East Bay.

3.) Regarding Emeryville and the East Bay: not to step on anyone's toes, but certain parts of the East Bay can be pretty dangerous, and just like in LA, good neighborhoods run into bad ones pretty quickly, thus making it difficult for newcomers to navigate well. I'd suggest the Peninsula over the East Bay (that way you won't have to worry about bridge toll either when you decide to take your car instead of BART).

4.) Regarding other parts of the Peninsula: Daly City and South SF are cooler and wetter than Millbrae, but are closer to SF. Both are very livable towns IMHO.

 

Umm, okay. I kinda meant the "not wanting to live anywhere near Castro" as a joke. I don't have a problem with homosexuals. In fact, I actually feel that gay marriage should be legal in all 50 states. To each his/her own.

I'll admit, my OP comment regarding Castro could come off as offensive, but I didn't think it was that bad. I'm not from NorCal, nor do I know much about it...I just hear jokes about the Castro area and SF being heavily populated with gays all the time that I expected someone to joke on here and advise that I live in Castro.

Sorry for hurting your feelings.
But I guess I'm just a bigoted-asshat-azzhole that doesn't know any better.

 

Choku,

Firstly, thank you for attempting to neutralize the "tension" between Overbear and I. I didn't intend to offend anyone, and I should have been more considerate of others in my OP. This is definitely my first valuable lesson in moving to NorCal...I understand that it is very diverse up there, so I'll have to learn to adjust.

Secondly, thanks for the great advice on the different regions of the Bay Area that I am considering. From your input, Millbrae definitely sounds like an area that I would like. Good Asian restaurants is a big plus - being that I am Asian (unfortunately ladies, that is not me in my avatar, sorry to disappoint). The pros you listed regarding the area make very good reasons for me to live there. I'd like to be closer to downtown SF, so Daly City and South SF are still areas that I will definitely keep an eye out for, as far as affordable apt's go. I'm def leaning more towards the Peninsula after your input.

And yeah, everyone thinks my screen name is ga...ah, wack. But I think it's funny. It's the AzN version of being "Icy-Hot".

 

i think gay people are cool. they're always so positive and energetic about stuff. at least all the gay people i know

i can't possibly imagine the traffic between san mateo and sf being worse than in socal. i think i would lose it living two consecutive days through socal traffic.

if you're going to live in the peninsula and commute (via 101) to sf, i recommend living at or north of burlingame. in between san mateo and burlingame is this ****ty construction area where the speed limit is 55mph and people slow down to ridiculous speeds (because of uneven pavement and curving roads), causing fat traffic for no good reason. that construction has been going on for years.

 

Judging from the price range listed, I'd seconded what Choku Dori suggested regarding Daly City & South SF.

The benefit of living in Daly City, aside from a short 10-15 min freeway drive to down town, is ease of parking. It's a lot less of a hassle, and most likely be included. If not, street parking isn't nightmarish/expensive like downtown. Not only that, you will also be relatively close to Irving St, and further in, Clement St; both are well-known [Asian] shopping strips.

Edited to add: And if you like good Vietnamese cuisines & Pho places, then there's Tenderloin District (adjacent to Union Square/downtown area). It's a bit of a scruffy area, but lots of good hole in the wall Vietnamese places.