joslin2

Daughter going to college in CA (not sure which one yet), maybe in Atherton, Bay Area, or Northern. We want to stay near her for extended visits, or may relocate. We do not need fancy housing, just affordable and safe. Need ideas for Y's, or hostel types, or other affordable short stays. Then also need ideas on: Is there ANYWHERE to live in CA that is affordable and safe? Thanks!!!

FainaAgain

For Berkeley campus, she may stay in SF Mason st hostel, safe, close to BART.

As for housing... my son is in Berkeley, rented a 2-bedroom for 3 students. He lived and worked night shifts at the above hostel the 1st year.

Underhill

Most areas in California are safe; affordable is another question. Just what do you mean by that?

rjw_lgb_ca

RE: Relocation. First, start by securing employment-- THEN start worrying about housing. You have to know how much money you'll have for living here before you plonk down some considerable change for a house.

Betsy

Do I understand correctly that you (the parents) are looking housing in CA from which to visit your college-student daughter? If so, one suggestion is (when she determines the school she'll be attending) to study hard at www.biddingfortravel.com and learn how to use Priceline.

As an aside, why would you consider relocating to be near your daughter whilel she's in college unless she has special needs? This is probably a topic for another thread.

suze

Of course there are places to live in California that are affordable and safe, mostly because it's a HUGE state and has a little bit of everything.

In the most general way I think it is safe to say, the nicer the place the more expensive you will find it. Also along the beautiful coastline more expensive than inland.

There's industrial and agricultural communities, rural and urban inner city, and everything in between.

E

IMO, it's not our business why the OP wants possibly to relocate nearer to his/her daughter.

Now, for short-ish stays, I second the suggestion of Priceline. Go to www.biddingfortravel.com and study up on how to use Priceline. You can get good hotels for low rates, especially off-season. Once your daughter decides on a college, you can familiarize yourself with the hotels in that area.

Another idea is to see if the college she chooses has a parents organization, or some other resource for you to ask other parents where they stay while visiting. Some colleges also offer on-campus housing for visiting parents, or have reciprocal arrangements with nearby schools, or have negotiated lower rates for parents and alumni at nearby hotels.

As for relocating, I suggest you wait until your daughter makes her choice; then, get a good map of the state, put a protractor on her location, and draw a circle, the radius of which would be your maximum preferred distance to drive to her school. This may sound silly, but it will really focus your attention!

There are affordable communities in CA (and of course, everyone has a different idea of what's afforadable), but your projected areas are just too big and vague for anyone to offer really useful suggestions right now.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

fehgeddaboudit

Consider this: California has been popular for far longer than just the Gold Rush days. If you want to be "there" (wherever there is) so do 10,000 other people. Hence: higher prices than the less desirable locations.

Let's go ahead and rule out Atherton. If you have to ask, you can't afford it. Nice place for the CFO, CIO, CTO, CEO, and the OFO.

Look at a map and aim North, East, or South from the Bay Area and your housinig prices decrease, generally speaking.

Have you considered speaking to a Real Estate professional? Just to get the accurate info, that would be my first move.

Good luck & re-post here with some parameters to help narrow our replies.

Underhill

An anecdote: when I was a kid I used to go trick-or-treating in Atherton because the people in the very large houses gave out giant-sized candy bars. I still have a soft spot for the place.

janisj

w/o knowing which college/town your daughter will attend, there is no way anyone can give you useful advice.

UOP - Stockton. very to moderately inexpensive (by CA standards)

Stanford - Palo Alto/Atherton. VERY to VERY VERY expensive (even by CA standards)

Chico State, Sacramento State, Berkeley, USF, Santa Clara, San Jose State, etc - there are as many price ranges as there are colleges.

suze

Joslin,

Maybe you can post again when you narrow it down? Is it for extended visits or a permanent relocation? And what are the colleges your daughter has been accepted to.

Then people could actually address your questions and concerns. With what you posted it is not possible to give an accurate answer.

iamq

The only college in Atherton that I know of is Menlo College in Atherton. Is that where she is thinking of going? There are no hostels that I am aware of. There are a ton of motels/hotels in the surrounding area up and down El Camino Real. As has been mentioned, the area is very expensive and increasingly upscale in personality. $)
-Bill

Marilyn

When I went away to college, I would have flipped out completely if my parents had followed me. That's why I went away. There must be more to this story, no? Not to be mean or nosy, joslin, but we can help more when we know more.

MB_Photog

If by "northern" you mean northern California (north of the Bay Area), then yes, there are still some affordable places (by CA standards). I'm thinking of places like Chico, Arcata, perhaps Sacramento (not sure how safe, though), etc. Is she thinking of anywhere in CA (just to be there), or only a few schools?

Martin

KT

Hmmm... clicking on Joslin's name I see she seems to specialize in open-ended questions. Since a year ago she was saying she wanted to buy a place with acreage, away from pollution and traffic, for less than 100K, I'd have to say it seems just a bit odd to be considering the Bay Area, much less Atherton!