• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

SF Bay Area Deacs

T

thewakedeacon

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2011
Messages
128
Reaction score
6
Location
San Francisco
Bay Area Deacs,

I'll be moving to the area in 3 weeks. I just accepted a job in the Financial District. I have a small of network friends who just moved to the area as well. They all live and work in the Palo Alto, Mountain View area. I'm considering living there as well but I'm curious about the daily commute North.

Can anyone provide their opinion on my plan? Would the commute be unbearable? I know there's a train system that goes from the Peninsula to the city. I wouldn't mine making use of that.
 
Do you have a family? Plan on buying a home? Want to rent? What would your max budget be for housing per month?
 
Unless you want a roommate, you're not going to get a place in the City for $1800.

If I were you I'd look in Oakland and take BART to work. The peninsula/south bay sucks. You can do the commute, but that's like an hour each way for no reason. You can BART into SF from the East Bay in like 20 minutes, there's way more to do there than the south bay, plus you'll have easy access to the City.

I just did a move from SF to Oakland, so if you'd rather get into specifics via PM, feel free to message me.
 
I am taking a family trip to Yosemite next month...Any suggestions for San Francisco sight seeing with a wife and two young boys? We are there for two days...One day we have tickets to a Giants-Phillies day game so everything that day will be centered on the game but how about day 2?


Sorry if this is a hijack, been meaning to ask Board but didn't want to start new thread...
 
Ralph Medlin said:
I am taking a family trip to Yosemite next month...Any suggestions for San Francisco sight seeing with a wife and two young boys? We are there for two days...One day we have tickets to a Giants-Phillies day game so everything that day will be centered on the game but how about day 2?


Sorry if this is a hijack, been meaning to ask Board but didn't want to start new thread...
Click to expand...

Moonzzz and I did a tour of the best SF bath houses. Then we went out to dinner and he romanced me with truffles and a bottle of Prosecco. We finished the night at a private leather club in Castro.

Let me know if you want the names of the places.
 
Look at some of the Cal Train schedules. There are express trains into SF, but you still have to transfer to BART (Milbrae station) or Muni once you get to SF to get to the Financial district. SF is the best place to live, but it's expensive. Palo Alto/Mountain View are OK, but still expensive and a long commute. Oakland, Berkeley, and Walnut Creek are cheaper and have direct trains to SF. Marin County is also expensive, but beautiful and the Larkspur Ferry is a 30 minute ride into SF and a short walk from the Financial district.
 
Still laughing at the $1800/month idea. That was my budget upon arrival FOB in 2003.
 
Last edited:
You can live pretty nice in Berkeley/Oakland for that amount, though, if the goal is a 1BR.

Unless you have kids or a job in hand at one of the big tech companies, you don't want to live in Palo Alto or Mountain View. Unless you really love the suburbs and taking long train rides five days a week when you could be using that time loving life in the Bay Area.
 
I was never really asking about what neighborhoods to live in; was more curious about what the commute North from the Peninsula would be like. I've been told that if riding CalTrain be prepared for frequent delays.

Thanks for all the advice and tips though.
 
+1 you should rule out MTV, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Altos, etc. Live as close to the city as you can afford.
 
If you're into that sort of thing, Oakland is supposed to be the Bay Area's Brooklyn, but as I tell my coworkers from over there, I didn't move to California to live in Oakland. Although the weather is allegedly better over there (not that it's ever really that bad anywhere out here).

But if the $1800 is a true max, you'd be better served in the EBay than scraping the housing bottom in SF or rocking the suburbs in Palo Alto or Mtn View. I'm sure it happens in reverse, but the typical commute is SF to the Valley these days. If you decide to go opposite, the Caltrain is pretty easy and efficient - it drops you off within a walkable distance of FiDi or an easy Muni ride.
 
thewakedeacon said:
was more curious about what the commute North from the Peninsula would be like. I've been told that if riding CalTrain be prepared for frequent delays.
Click to expand...

The answer is that it's not a great idea.

ukwakefan said:
If you're into that sort of thing, Oakland is supposed to be the Bay Area's Brooklyn, but as I tell my coworkers from over there, I didn't move to California to live in Oakland. Although the weather is allegedly better over there (not that it's ever really that bad anywhere out here).
Click to expand...

I can see how some dude in his 40s wouldn't want to live in Oakland vs. SF, but the quality of life is pretty great. The weather is much, much better. Almost always sunny and in the high 70s so far this summer. No fog. Parking all over the place. Bigger/better 1BRs to be had without question. Berkeley is nice, too.
 
Menlo Park/Palo Alto has the best weather in the Bay Area, but everyone I know who lives on the Peninsula works in the Valley. If you really want to hang out with friends who live in PA/MV, maybe San Mateo/Burlingame would be a compromise. Short commute to Milbrae BART and a direct commute into FD. I take Cal Train from SF to Palo Alto or San Jose a few times a year. It's not terrible, but I can't imagine doing it 5 days a week. The Google Buses wouldn't exist if the Cal Train commute was a pleasant/productive experience.
 
bigdoublezero said:
You can live pretty nice in Berkeley/Oakland for that amount, though, if the goal is a 1BR.

Unless you have kids or a job in hand at one of the big tech companies, you don't want to live in Palo Alto or Mountain View. Unless you really love the suburbs and taking long train rides five days a week when you could be using that time loving life in the Bay Area.
Click to expand...

the schools, though!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top