Moving to the SF-Bay area. Suggestions to live?

G

Greenhorn

Stay Present
Hey now!

Got a gig in the SF Mission district, and will be moving there in a few weeks.

Question. What's a decent place to live that won't cost an arm and a leg and is somewhat close to the mission district?

Never knew how "intense" SF area rent is- that's what I get for growing up in Sacramento where you can rent a huge house for less than 1300.
 
ST Guy

ST Guy

Well-known member
Outside the city if you can. And not any place you have to use a bridge. That means south on the Peninsula. If you have to use a bridge, you have no other options should traffic suck. Alternative routes are important around here. Good luck!
 
RightCoastBias

RightCoastBias

F8TRED
If you commute on a motorcycle, crossing bridges isn't bad. The East Bay has plenty of nice and affordable places to live. How long of a commute do you want, ideally?


Also, where are you from? Do you have experience lane splitting? Are you a competent lane splitter?
 
revnort

revnort

Tasty Pants
If you're young you should live in the city. IMHO you will be bored as fuck in daly city or farther south. Oakland is pretty much just as bad for rent these days despite what people say. The only difference is you are more likely to get slightly more for your money...like a yard. A nasty crime ridden yard. :laughing :twofinger

You can still find decent places to live in the mission for not too much money but it will take some looking. If you are up for sharing a space with others your options go way up.

Also look in outer mission, bernal, poretrero, glen park, noe valley, and excelsior. If you have motos look for places where you can steal a little garage space.

Other areas to look are Lower haight, nopa and western addition, duboce triangle.

Cheaper but far from everything will be sunset and sfsu area.

What is your budget?
 
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revnort

revnort

Tasty Pants
Another thing to note that I know from experience (I have had several out of town friends move to SF recently) it is VERY hard to find a good spot for the right amount if you are not in SF already. The rental market here is a fucking war. Anything decent at a reasonable price you are going to need to see and jump on right away.

A good suggestion is to find a place you can sublet for a month, and really do some digging while you are in town. This has worked for several people I know. Plus if you are going to go with a group situation it makes it easy to go and meet the folks for a drink etc.
 
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tuxumino

tuxumino

purrfect
troll through craigslist and check out prices, if you ain't from Kali your mind will pop at the prices of rentals.
East bay near a bart station is desirable and slightly cheaper than SF, Oakland Rockridge/Temescal neighborhoods are trendy.
 
two wheel tramp

two wheel tramp

exploring!
Greenhorn said:
Hey now!

Got a gig in the SF Mission district, and will be moving there in a few weeks.

Question. What's a decent place to live that won't cost an arm and a leg and is somewhat close to the mission district?

Never knew how "intense" SF area rent is- that's what I get for growing up in Sacramento where you can rent a huge house for less than 1300.
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My neighborhood is not "cool" but it's got the basics and it's a quick ride into the Mission. Check out the Portola District. Revnort is right, you should find a sublet and go explore neighborhoods for a while to see which one you like.

I also work in the mission and it takes me about ten minutes to get to work in the morning.
 
GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Sorry it is so big...the image AND the numbers! :laughing

SF-Infographic.png
 
Hooli

Hooli

Big Ugly
revnort said:
Oakland is pretty much just as bad for rent these days despite what people say. The only difference is you are more likely to get slightly more for your money...like a yard. A nasty crime ridden yard. :laughing :twofinger
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Tell that to the people moving there. :rolleyes

#firstworldproblems :twofinger

And yes, East Bay rent is getting ridiculous...tech-heads moving into places like Berkeley and Oakland and running prices up. :nchantr
 
Toast

Toast

Well-known member
Define "arm and a leg"... But if you have a moto and are willing to commute some the east bay is great!
 
Surj

Surj

Uneasy Rider
RightCoastBias said:
If you commute on a motorcycle, crossing bridges isn't bad. The East Bay has plenty of nice and affordable places to live. How long of a commute do you want, ideally?

Also, where are you from? Do you have experience lane splitting? Are you a competent lane splitter?
Click to expand...

This. Used to live in the city, gave up on it when my wife and I decided to buy a place. Buying in the city makes renting look downright cheap and sensible.

revnort said:
If you're young you should live in the city. IMHO you will be bored as fuck in daly city or farther south. Oakland is pretty much just as bad for rent these days despite what people say. The only difference is you are more likely to get slightly more for your money...like a yard. A nasty crime ridden yard. :laughing :twofinger
Click to expand...

I agree with this in principal (young, live in the city). Hell, I'm nowhere near young any more and I still loved my years in SF. But if you're a serious motorcyclist on a budget and you want a garage, you can get that in the East Bay, while it's nearly impossible in SF.

And my yard is neither nasty nor crime-ridden! :laughing Although it's small. Yes, much of Oakland is out of hand now too, but not as much as Berkeley.
 
afm199

afm199

Well-known member
monkeyneck said:
This. Used to live in the city, gave up on it when my wife and I decided to buy a place. Buying in the city makes renting look downright cheap and sensible.



I agree with this in principal (young, live in the city). Hell, I'm nowhere near young any more and I still loved my years in SF. But if you're a serious motorcyclist on a budget and you want a garage, you can get that in the East Bay, while it's nearly impossible in SF.

And my yard is neither nasty nor crime-ridden! :laughing Although it's small. Yes, much of Oakland is out of hand now too, but not as much as Berkeley.
Click to expand...

I bought in Oakland cuz I could get a house, two car garage and huge lot for less than the cheapest house in Oakland. The hood has only gotten better over the last 25 years. I love it here.
 
Surj

Surj

Uneasy Rider
afm199 said:
I bought in Oakland cuz I could get a house, two car garage and huge lot for less than the cheapest house in Oakland. The hood has only gotten better over the last 25 years. I love it here.
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Me too. We live in a mellow hood where many of the folks have been here forever. My wife and I thought it was sensible move and we got a place we really like, but I've been a little surprised by how much I ended up liking Oakland. :thumbup
 
Reli

Reli

Well-known member
Lake Merritt or Walnut Creek. Plenty of young professionals, and BART is right there. Sorry but commuting is just stupid when you have BART available.

I wouldn't pay $1300 to share a 1-bedroom with someone, just to say that I live in the city. I'd rather pay 1500-2000 for my own place across the bay.
 
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