Moving to the Bay Area?

[jpiniero]

Why do people keep bringing up electricity/gas prices?

Well, gas as in the stuff that makes your car go, of course.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

If you happen to live near the express stops and can work with what is a pretty constrained weekday peak only schedule. IIRC, last outbound buses leave just after 6PM which if you're tech working a lot of hours is sub-optimal. There is a reason stuff is cheaper in the Richmond and Sunset...because the transit sucks even worse than most of the rest of the city.

You might as well live in Oakland and take BART. Your commute would be better.

Certain parts of the city are still technically in SF and relatively close to stuff, but are so inaccessible that it is easier to live across the bridge or along a BART station to the south.

Examples:
Richmond/sunset
Marina

There are no freeways, no subways, and in some areas no street cars and if you are along a route, it is above ground meaning it is crawling through city streets during commute hour. Also in the case of the Marina there is no parking (unless you have a garage)

Getting around SF is pretty miserable unless you have a commute that fits well into a bus schedule.

Examples
My wife does: Haight Ashbury to the Marina. One bus, easy, but that isn't a common commute for professionals

I used to: N Judah from Cole/Carl to Montgomery station. Pretty good, because it goes underground right after my stop. When I first started doing this in 2012 the N was packet, now in 2014, it is straight up comical, trains completely full roll past one after another.

Motorcycles are the way to get around the city.

 

[MrCassdin]

I don't have a motorcycle but have been thinking of getting one (I am not a new rider). Can you ride year round? Might be a good supplement to our Volt.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Yes great idea. Leave the wife holding the bag while you shit yourself in your wheelchair. Oh yeah you'll have a $4000 mortgage she'll need to pay.

 

[mikegg]

If you happen to live near the express stops and can work with what is a pretty constrained weekday peak only schedule. IIRC, last outbound buses leave just after 6PM which if you're tech working a lot of hours is sub-optimal. There is a reason stuff is cheaper in the Richmond and Sunset...because the transit sucks even worse than most of the rest of the city.

Nah, if you live in Richmond, you're going to be close to an express stop. All of those buses cover the entire Richmond. The 1AX's last bus is 6PM but other buses can go up to 7PM.

And if you leave at 7AM, there should be no reason why you're not out by 6PM. I get to work at 9:30AM and leave at 5:30PM everyday at my tech job. I get paid over 100k.

Don't assume that if you work in Silicon Valley, you have to work many hours. I found it to be the opposite. The job market here is so good, employers don't dare make you work more than 8-9 hours. You'll just leave for an even higher paying job.

 

[mikegg]

I don't have a motorcycle but have been thinking of getting one (I am not a new rider). Can you ride year round? Might be a good supplement to our Volt.

You're crazy to want a motorcycle in the Bay Area. This isn't like Texas. The roads here are smaller, filled with people and cars for 12 hours a day.

 

[mikegg]

Well, gas as in the stuff that makes your car go, of course.

I live in San Francisco. I drive my car like twice a month. Gas for me is probably $300/year.

 

[K1052]

Nah, if you live in Richmond, you're going to be close to an express stop. All of those buses cover the entire Richmond. The 1AX's last bus is 6PM but other buses can go up to 7PM.

And if you leave at 7AM, there should be no reason why you're not out by 6PM. I get to work at 9:30AM and leave at 5:30PM everyday at my tech job. I get paid over 100k.

Don't assume that if you work in Silicon Valley, you have to work many hours. I found it to be the opposite. The job market here is so good, employers don't dare make you work more than 8-9 hours. You'll just leave for an even higher paying job.

Most people I know work tech (including my husband) and don't have strictly 9-5 jobs. My statement wasn't an assumption, it is experience.

 

[zinfamous]

Well, gas as in the stuff that makes your car go, of course.

well, yeah, there's that.

I added the /gas part as part of the electricity bill, though--power. Most houses are gas/electricity around here. In terms of monthly living expenses, that is one of the lowest. There is no need for AC year-round.

Back home, that was hitting $300/month during the summer, and those one or two "winter" months. Here, I barely crack $40/month..averaged throughout the year for all home power.

but fuel to get your vehicle running, yeah that's a bummer here. major bummer. Luckily, I only drive on some weekends, for the most part, and locally on certain evenings.

 

[zinfamous]

You're crazy to want a motorcycle in the Bay Area. This isn't like Texas. The roads here are smaller, filled with people and cars for 12 hours a day.

Which is exactly why a motorcycle is a good idea. You can zip through a lot of stopped traffic, and have better parking options from time to time. Well, much of this is best with a scooter, if you plan to only use it locally.

That being said, not a morning goes by where I don't hear about a motorcycle accident on the bridge.... :hmm:

 

[Imported]

Which is exactly why a motorcycle is a good idea. You can zip through a lot of stopped traffic, and have better parking options from time to time. Well, much of this is best with a scooter, if you plan to only use it locally.

That being said, not a morning goes by where I don't hear about a motorcycle accident on the bridge.... :hmm:

Every single morning there's a motorcycle accident or two. Two coworkers who drive motorcycles have gotten in serious accidents in the past two years.

 

[Slew Foot]

I used to work at the SF General ER, there were always motorcyclists in there.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Good lord -

Looked at a few homes yesterday out in Sunnyvale in the "bird" neighborhood where our daughter went to school for 7yrs -

Nothing priced under $1.1M there now.

And found this beauty - but hey, its Cupertino schools and a 10,000 sq/ft lot -

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Cupertino/21030-Gardena-Dr-95014/home/773008

 

[Imported]

Pretty much a teardown for over a mil.. geez.

 

[Drako]

Good lord -

Looked at a few homes yesterday out in Sunnyvale in the "bird" neighborhood where our daughter went to school for 7yrs -

Nothing priced under $1.1M there now.

And found this beauty - but hey, its Cupertino schools and a 10,000 sq/ft lot -

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Cupertino/21030-Gardena-Dr-95014/home/773008

Birdland Neighbors.

But yes, it's getting relatively expensive now.

 

[MrCassdin]

My house went on the market today. Realtor thinks that we can get more than I was hoping for (don't they always?) but I'm not holding my breath.

My wife has a fairly concrete job lined up in Fremont working for the city, so she may go ahead of me and scout around. Her family in Berkeley is going to let her use their spare room if needed short term.

 

[Rinaun]

Buy my house Cass:

http://16731hicksroad.info

xoxoxo love I'll take 1.299 mil cash in a suitcase.

 

[MrCassdin]

Buy my house Cass:

http://16731hicksroad.info

xoxoxo love I'll take 1.299 mil cash in a suitcase.

Man, I need your realtor! Aerial footage? Winning.

Very nice house, dig the front yard and the circle drive. You're out of my price range sadly. Good luck!

 

[RichieZ]

Buy my house Cass:

http://16731hicksroad.info

xoxoxo love I'll take 1.299 mil cash in a suitcase.

boy los gatos is pretty affordable for the area

ps: i grew up next door in saratoga. i now own a 2bdrm concrete box (aka condo) in sf that cost almost as much as you're asking for your house

 

[Michael]

Pleasanton (where I live) to Fremont is a pretty close commute and Pleasanton schools are pretty good.

Michael

 

[Rinaun]

boy los gatos is pretty affordable for the area

ps: i grew up next door in saratoga. i now own a 2bdrm concrete box (aka condo) in sf that cost almost as much as you're asking for your house

Don't remind me We're moving to Morgan Hill to own 23+ acres. Tired of having neighbors!

 

[Slew Foot]

Buy my house Cass:

http://16731hicksroad.info

xoxoxo love I'll take 1.299 mil cash in a suitcase.

do you back up to a trailer park?

 

[SSSnail]

My house went on the market today. Realtor thinks that we can get more than I was hoping for (don't they always?) but I'm not holding my breath.

My wife has a fairly concrete job lined up in Fremont working for the city, so she may go ahead of me and scout around. Her family in Berkeley is going to let her use their spare room if needed short term.

If that's the case, might as well live in Fremont. You can commute by BART, save your wife the trouble.

Man, I need your realtor! Aerial footage? Winning.

Very nice house, dig the front yard and the circle drive. You're out of my price range sadly. Good luck!

Drone it up!

 

[Rinaun]

do you back up to a trailer park?

My dad is senile as fuck and is a hoarder. That's part of the reason we are moving; so that the house is farther away from his hoarding section. I've warned my mother that giving him more space is a bad idea because he will fill it with more shit, but that's her problem and not mine.

 

[MrCassdin]

Not sure if I'm a hoarder but we've been packing our house and I'm amazed at the junk which has accumulated and not been looked at in years.

I've been told if you work for a city or other local government never live there... so that's keeping me from looking hard at Fremont since my wife more than likely has the job. Maybe next door?