<p>DStark-She is looking but just to see cost. Unfortunately she knows nothing about the bay area so the areas don’t mean anything to her. Just heard that two of my friends have kids who live in Rockridge. Unfortunately my D was a week to late to snag her great guest house apartment.
She is leary of getting excited till she has the signed offer in her hand. There are some variables with the job that are not yet clear that might have some bearing as to where D lives.Might be some late night hours that would have to be factored into how far away she lives and transportation options during that time. She might also get some suggestions from her co workers.
I have suggested she take a sublease so she can take the time to learn about the area but she hates change and doesn’t want to move twice.
She also has been invited for a 2nd interview at another company closer to home. I am hoping that moves quickly so she can have time to consider both jobs if the 2nd one is offered to her. Also in a high cost of living area but an area D already knows.
I think the job is on the top of a hill. So any commute option will mean hills</p>
<p>Ok…Rockridge is a great area. It is right next to Elmwood, one of the best areas in Berkeley so that is an added plus. Not as hiily as SF either. Rockridge is a few miles to the UC campus, another plus. Tilden Park is close by…a great place for dogs.</p>
<p>Talking to coworkers is a great idea. You never know who will have knowledge about a place opening up. My daughter found her place because my wife was talking to a friend who knew of a vacancy. It was a fluke.</p>
<p>Finding temporary housing can also be a good idea because once your daughter gets here, if she comes here, she will figure out what she
wants. (despite the fact she dislikes change).</p>
<p>Rockridge rents are cheaper than SF rents.</p>
<p>Interesting discussion. My D is 26, so similar in age to your D, mom60. My D has a job lined up in downtown San Francisco as well. She currently lives in Berkeley near the campus as she is finishing up grad school there. But once she works full time in San Fran, she plans to move (probably around August 1). She has not started the apartment search yet, but currently lives alone in a nice apartment in Berkeley. She told me she will likely look in Rockridge section of Oakland, and in downtown area of Oakland (hope I got that right). She knows other young people who live in these areas. My guess is she will likely still live alone. She also owns a car, and it may be easier for parking in Oakland than in SF and also she will continue to use the BART to go to work in SF. Oakland is closer to work in SF, than she is now in Berkeley.</p>
<p>Mom60, is she bringing a dog with her or does she just want a place where the dog will be permitted in the future?</p>
<p>For public transportation availability, it may be useful to check maps:</p>
<p>[San</a> Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA, Muni, Sustainable Streets)](<a href=“http://www.sfmuni.com%5DSan”>http://www.sfmuni.com)
[BART</a> - Bay Area Rapid Transit](<a href=“http://www.bart.gov%5DBART”>http://www.bart.gov)
[AC</a> Transit | Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District](<a href=“http://www.actransit.org%5DAC”>http://www.actransit.org)
[caltrain.com[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://www.samtrans.com%5Dsamtrans.com%5B/url”>http://www.samtrans.com]samtrans.com[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://www.goldengatetransit.org/]Golden”>http://www.goldengatetransit.org/]Golden</a> Gate Transit](<a href=“http://www.caltrain.com%5Dcaltrain.com%5B/url”>http://www.caltrain.com)</p>
<p>Calmom she would like to take the dog with her. It lived with us when she worked in Asia and could stay with us a bit longer.</p>
<p>mom60, my S1 moved to SF right after graduation (age 22) and started out getting roommate sublets in cool houses to test out some nabes. He used Craigslist and also BRB to find short term rentals. There’s actually an aggregator website that shows all rentals—I forget the name. Maybe someone else will know? Anyway, he started out using VRBO and stayed in Potrero Hill in a beautiful condo for 2 weeks. The wonderful owner/roommate showed him all over SF and told him ins and outs of public trans, neighborhoods, shopping, etc. If you’d like her info, PM me. My son ended up living in Hayes Valley and also loved SoMa. He loved the energy of living in the city and rented coworking space in SoMa. There are so many young people moving to SF for tech jobs there is an increased availability of short-term leases while these new folks begin to settle in.</p>
<p>The city itself is very expensive to live in (hence the 10 dollar minimum wage), still expensive on the other side of the bridge but not nearly as bad. Bart is great for commuting and has good weekday hours (a neighbor used to leave for work at 5:45, took Bart into the city without a problem). I would definitely agree with above posters about rockridge. Then she can take rockridge Bart into the city (I think it’s around $7 round trip to powell which is right by union square but less if she gets a monthly pass). Research the neighborhood before she makes any down payment, Oakland can go from nice to rough within the same block). Berkeley is nice as well but some apartments near Cal can be pricier because they’re in such high demand. </p>
<p>I honestly wouldn’t recommend living in the city. It’s a great place to visit but tough to get anywhere and always really crowded (and cold…). It’s hard to escape San Francisco.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t mind a longer commute, walnut creek is great and the weather is a lot better (since it’s on the other side of the mountains. Bart also has stops there. Really nice city, love spending time there.</p>
<p>Mom60 - how big is the dog?</p>
<p>I have lived in the SF Bay Area for close to 40 years, 3 years in Berkeley & then many years in SF & on the peninsula. I don’t agree with the Rockridge suggestions – I think she would do better to look for housing in Richmond/Sunset area or outer Mission/Daly City. The areas closer in are not going to be dog friendly. </p>
<p>Shared housing is the best option. If she rents a small apartment or studio, it’s unlikely to allow the dog unless the dog is very small. But she might want to look at renting a small house and then subletting bedrooms to roommates. </p>
<p>Her best option might be to leave the dog with you for now, use Craigslist to find a sublet or shared arrangement (no lease) on a temporary basis while she gets her bearings. She’s a lot more likely to find a good long term arrangement for herself + dog after she moves to the city, gets a sense of the neighborhoods, and can network with other people as well as looking at listings. </p>
<p>Nob Hill borders the Tenderloin, and each of my kids at different times have taken rooms in apartments that were in an “in-between” area, up the block from the seedy part, but down the block from the pricey part. So it is quite possible that she could find something very reasonable very closes to her workplace, if she’s willing to go with a shared rental for the first few months.</p>
<p>Just got off the phone with DS and told him about this thread. He said that where he lives is technically Elmwood, and I must say, its darling!!</p>
<p>A lot of this depends on what your D is looking for. My 25 year old S lives in SF - and his job is in Santa Barbara! (They’re letting him work remotely - seems like a lot more companies are doing this these days.) He wanted to live in S.F. for the energy, social life and networking for his career. He has friends all over the city - it’s only 49 sq. miles - and they seem to have no trouble getting around. I have to say, after visiting him a couple of times, that San Francisco seems to be teeming with bright 20 and 30-year olds. If I was young, it’s where I’d want to live.</p>
<p>Berkeley or North Oakland? For the academically-inclined, the area is dominated by UC. Not so much networking potential for non-academic career-oriented folks, though. If the negatives of the more urban areas outweigh the positives for your D, Walnut Creek (on the BART line) is an option as well. It’s a suburb, but there’s a lot of young people and a pretty vibrant social scene there as well. </p>
<p>Oh - and don’t even think about driving in SF. My S and all his friends always use public transportation or walk. (One has a motorscooter.) There’s no parking in S.F., period.</p>
<p>All options are pricey by my standards. My son shares a 2 bedroom apt in the Inner Richmond with a guy he knew from college; his split of the rent is over $900, IIRC. My other son lives in Walnut Creek; his older 1 BR condo rents for about $1100 - $1200, I think. Rockridge/Berkeley will be no cheaper.</p>
<p>Jym626, love Elmwood.</p>
<p>Trick about living in San francsico is layers. And cold is relative. We say cold is 45:degrees. Hot is over 80. Easy to get around. Easy to escape for weekends. My goodness Tahoe, Sonoma, Pacifica. </p>
<p>It’s a very user friendly city. We decided to live in the city as we didn’t want to go over a bridge everyday.</p>
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<p>Obviously a post written by someone who has never lived in SF.</p>
<p>There is no (free) parking downtown. No problem at all finding parking in many areas out on the avenues or other less congested parts of town. I have always had a car and always had a place to park it; the rental units often included garage space. Mom60’s daughter’s place of employment might have parking for employees (it’s worthwhile for her to ask). But that’s just one more factor to bring into the equation when deciding where to live – if the d. wants to rent close to her job, then both dog & car are a problem. But if she wants to live out by the beach for the sake of her dog, then she may be very happy to have a car. </p>
<p>I agree that public transportation is usually a better option for commuting to & from work, but SF and the bay area are full of wonderful places that are accessible by car, and there are restrictions about dogs on public transportation.</p>
<p>It is very possible to live in SF without a car, and that definitely is a cost savings. But it isn’t all that impossible to manage.</p>
<p>San Mateo county is still an option for young professionals. Its safer and housing are plentiful. You can get better pricing along the BART Stops. Lots of apts in SSF, Daly City, Colma, San Bruno, not so much in Millbrae. Living cost is lower.</p>
<p>Just keep in mind the weather in SSF, Daly city, Colma and San Bruno is often foggy overcast. </p>
<p>However Brisbane, which is against San Bruno Mountain, is an often overlooked spot. The weather there is often sunny while the places I mention above are gray.</p>
<p>Lightning strikes again … I have to agree with Calmom on the car in SF issue. </p>
<p>Fwiw, the “where to live in San Francisco” must be the highest ranked question on the web when controlling for the size of the City. This article does a good job in describing the more recent changes. </p>
<p>[Rents</a> rise in S.F., Oakland, San Jose - SFGate](<a href=“Rents rise in S.F., Oakland, San Jose”>Rents rise in S.F., Oakland, San Jose)</p>
<p>Deciding where to live and which areas to prefer is very subjective. One given is that the decision will require balancing priorities, starting with deciding on the budget. A good start is to realize that 2013 is different from 2009 and that most bargains will be very hard to find, forcing many to look at the (much) lesser alternatives offered outside the city. And, no matter, how one slices it, most people in the age group discussed here would prefer to live in San Francisco over Oakland or Berkeley if the possibility existed.</p>
<p>Finding the “right” place does require a LOT of work and a large dose of good luck. Nothing comes easy in this town, with the notable exception of the free flowing capital that has made it even more crazy than it ever was. The upcoming and rude awakening might not be too pleasant.</p>
<p>North Bay resident here. According to Goskids, twentysomethings really want to live in the City, not the burbs or East Bay. Skip the car; use public transit or cabs; living within good transit areas is key–close to Bart or MUNI lines. Marina is a favorite of this age group; also “affordable (ha)” housing can be found in the Mission, along with fun restaurants; South Beach/ATT area has newer housing.
Be prepared for a lengthy search! Helps to have some connections and flexibility…</p>
<p>Sadly (for me), Goskid#1 checked out housing options and determined that spending half of take home pay for a studio or shared 2 bedroom apt in SF wasn’t worth it, and transferred to Chicago. boo.</p>
<p>Another vote for living in the city while she is young if she can swing it. SF has a vibe like few other places that will not be duplicated across the bridges. </p>
<p>My brother lives in Sunset and takes the N-Judah downtown every morning. He went 10 years without owning a car even though he has parking.</p>
<p>Sunset has changed a lot over the years, earning the nickname “Second Chinatown.” Half of the classes at Sunset Elementary are taught in Chinese. I’m not saying (or feeling) that this is either good or bad, just different. It is also adjacent to Golden Gate Park and the beach, so good for dogs.</p>
<p>The house my grandfather bought in 1935 for $1900 recently sold for $1.6M. Housing in SF has gone crazy, but, because of that, many people are renting rooms/flats to help pay the mortgage.</p>
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<p>I’m very familiar with the Mission. I’d strongly advise that a newcomer avoid renting in that area. (Gangs, vandalism, gun violence). “Mission” encompasses a lot geographically, and many parts are safe – but better to know the territory first before moving in, especially when there are so many better alternatives for a young woman who may be choosing to live alone.</p>
<p>Restaurants are fine if you are coming from somewhere else. I’ve never personally been bothered in the area, but my ex was mugged in front of of an ATM, and when walking with my son and friends on 24th street a few yearss ago we witnessed the immediate aftermath of a shooting. But there are restaurants in the area that are long-time favorites. When my son was visiting in December, we made a point of taking his grandson to son’s favorite Taqueria on 17th street - (no problem finding parking) – and then walking around looking at shops and visiting a playground.</p>