Do you know San Francisco?
 

I just found out that one of our children is being transferred to California. There is the possibility to live anywhere in the San Francisco area. Since I volunteered to help find a place to live, can anyone help with suggestions? Where would be a good place for a single twenty-something to live? I am not familiar with the area at all and this has come as a big surprise! I know the city itself is very expensive, but is there some place that is not San Fran proper that is appealing for that age group? Help!

First (and probably most important) question - where will he/she be working?

Impossible to really give useful advice/suggestions w/o knowing 1) Where will s/he be working, and 2) what is the housing budget.

was posting the same time as dmlove . . . .

He will be working out of a home office, so he can be very flexible with location in the Bay Area. He should have fairly easy access to the airport. He will be making a nice salary for a 25 year old, but I can't be very specific with exact rental budget for him. I know it is important that he be able to have a social life, so no cabins in the woods!

I don't know how anyone can give any help rbnwdln without more information. A cabin in the woods won't be a big possibility I wouldn't think however.

"Close to the airport" means I assume SFO..the San Francisco airport. There is also the Oakland airport and the San Jose airport.

The SF/Bay Area is expensive. I have a stepgrandson that lives south of SF..a university graduate. He rents a house that he shares with three other roommates, the only way they can afford decent housing.

A lot of younger people I know love San Jose. But housing is not inexpensive there either.

More details would be needed I would think, such as what he/she will have budgeted for housing before anyone can help you. Best wishes to your child.

Sorry that I can't provide more details. The transfer isn't even finalized. I guess what I'm looking for is names of places that would be appealing to people his age. I know nothing about San Francisco, other than a few trips there and to Napa/Sonoma, so just going out there and driving around California trying to find him an apartment is what I am trying to avoid. He can live basically anywhere in the Bay area, as I have said. He needs access to an airport, any decent airport, because his job involves travel. He currently pays $1000 per month for his apartment in the Midwest, but he will be able to afford more in SF, but not crazy more. Does this help? Thanks!!!!

Wow - he's going to have a great time! In his 20's, no commute issues, and a decent job. He's going to the best place in the whole country for his circumstances, in my biased opinion! (And as an Air Force kid, I've lived in most areas of the country and been to all the major US cities many times, so I have at least some data upon which to base my opinon.) ;->

Of course the SF Bay Area is expensive (there's a reason it's expensive - many people want to live here), but plenty of other people manage, even without your son's advantages, so he can too.

In his shoes, I'd live either in San Francisco itself or in Berkeley/ north Oakland. Berkeley has slightly better weather, if that's a concern.

(We live in Sonoma County now, but we lived in Berkeley for years. My husband currently works in San Francisco. We have two kids in college, so just a little younger than your son. DS is a senior at UC Berkeley and already moaning about not wanting to leave, and DD is a sophomore in San Francisco - she is so in love with SF that the junior year she is planning in Paris next year is paling by comparison.)

UC Berkeley has about 10,000 graduate students - so there are plenty of bright, interesting people your son's age around. The Rockridge area of north Oakland (on the Berkeley border) is also a great place for 20-something professional people.

We have also lived in Palo Alto (on the peninsula) and I've worked in the San Jose area. The peninsula and SJ are more "suburban" in feel generally - although SJ is an interesting town. There are lots of 20 somethings - mostly employed in Silicon Valley firms - but the ones I know would rather live in SF or Berkeley if commuting to jobs was not an issue. (For example, even the grad students I know at Stanford say they would prefer Berkeley or SF as a place to live/socialize.)

I will be glad to bore you with further details about the area. Just ask!

Another question in considering a convenient location to live: What is his destination when he flies from the Bay Area? For example, if he flies to Europe, living near SFO may be more convenient than living near San Jose or Oakland.

Also, will he have a car? Some more affordable housing that's on the outskirts of the city, but a car would be helpful for when he wants to go in and hang out.

I think a twenty-something would enjoy living in Berkeley. There are so many people in that age group living there, including undergrad and graduate students. Lots of choices for housing, but might be easier to find in the months before school starts. I'm not sure about that, though. It's probably a year-round market in any event.

Our daughter recently rented the upstairs flat in a very nice renovated Victorian in south Berkeley. It has four bedrooms, two baths, two parking spaces off-street, washer/dryer, new appliances, lots of free street parking, and it rents for $3000/month plus utilities. Her employer had told them to expect to pay anywhere from $800 to $1200/month apiece, depending.

The Oakland airport is one of my favorites, because it's small and easy to use. We always fly in and out on Southwest Air.

There's so much to do in that region, from visiting S.F. to hiking in the Berkeley hills, to shopping, visiting Napa, etc.
:)>-

I have lived in San Jose my whole life. I agree with NorCalif who gave lots of good advice. I think your son would enjoy living "in the city" San Francisco. If that's where he chooses you might want to research the different districts (the Presido, the Mission, the Marina, the Embarcadero, etc.). For example, I know that a lot of young people enjoy the Marina area (near Chestnut Street) but I believe it is a more expensive there. If he does not have a car then living in the City would be ideal due to the public transportation and the fact that it's a walking City.

Good luck to your son and happy researching.

My son moved out there from the midwest a couple of years ago. He lives in Marin County (which is expensive, but he isn't paying too much more than your son is now for a nice condo in Novato). He moved out there because his job was located there and most of his early socializing was done through work. He has changed companies so is now looking at the south bay area. Also, wants to be closer to good public transportation (like Bart). From what I understand, that would probably be more a consideration than living close to an airport. He found his apartment on Craigslist.

With cell phones and email, we are in contact with him as much as our other children still left in our area. And it gives us a great reason to go there!

Another vote for SF or Berkeley. San Jose is nice (where I live) and there is a decent amount going on, but SF and Berkeley are more interesting.

I know Berkeley and some areas of Oakland are good for youngsters.

If I were your son, I'd try hard to find a place to live in the City. My daughter lived in Burlingame in a 1 bedroom apt. and paid $1300. You can't get much closer to the airport and Burlingame has a nice little downtown with cafes and bars. It's also a quick walk to CalTrain.

Has he looked at Craig's list?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/

My kids have found ALL of their apartments on cragslist. I remember when in 2002 my daughter told me she found an apt. in New York on craigslist. I asked her who this Craig was and why was he making a list and was he trustworthy!!!! Hahahaha. She and our son-in-law and our son have found their apts. exclusively on craigslist. BUT in this case I wanted some feedback from area people before he even looked. I've looked at craiglist today and it looks like most of the apartments are in a place called Cupertino! Where the heck is that?? Anyway, thanks for your help and I will steer him to Berkeley and other places mentioned. Norcalif, I may call on you again! Maybe even in person!!!!! Moms gotta stick together even if the kids are 25. Another consideration is that he wants to try and get an MBA while he is in California since he will not have to travel as much as he did with his previous job. Oy!

I'd agree with grasshopper. I know several young people living in SF right now and they wouldn't live anywhere else in the Bay Area. SF has so much to offer and there are lots of safe areas where your son could get an apartment for slightly more than what he is paying now, nothing fancy.

He also doesn't need a car. If he finds something with convenient public transportation, he can take BART to SFO.

I was in SFO over Thanksgiving and we stayed with friends in the Noe Valley area -

My daughter is in her 30's and it seems like an area she would love
you can walk to restaurants and trendy shops/ BART station not far

Close to the downtown/ Market St area
Short drive to the Chestnut St and Union St shopping areas - of course I have no idea what rents would be like in that area -

but take a look and see what you can find

Forget Cupertino! Suburb near San Jose. Great if he's working at an office in Silicon Valley, but not if he can choose anywhere in the Bay Area. I'm with the others - San Francisco or Berkeley (despite my affiliation with and fondness for Palo Alto, Berkeley is a far superior "university town").

There's nothing wrong with Cupertino per se. It's decidedly suburban and family oriented. It's not a place a 25 year old would thrive IMHO.

What's his style? Preppie/frat/post-collegiate? Earthy? Nerdy? Nerdy-hipster? Hipster? Indie-rock-y? Urban-dancey? :D

I've been here for ages; the above gratuitous labels can help us advise a little better.

Congrats to your son!

Hahahaha. Well, I guess if I had to choose one of those I would say preppy/post-collegiate/guitar-playing/yoga-doing/frat guy/adventure-traveler. It sounds like he should try to find something in SF proper or Berkeley, right? Any ideas beyond craigslist? He started with Apartment-Finders in Chicago and that was worthless.

Good morning rbnwdlin, here is the website for the SF Chroncle. On the upper left is Real Estate. Click on that and you will get to rentals. Good luck to your son!

http://www.sfgate.com/

North Bay! It depends on whether he likes the urban feel or not. SF proper is $$ and while not overtly dangerous, it's really a lot more dangerous than it should be for the size of the city. Let's just say that we in NoCal are not into law and order... and it shows. I recommend Berkeley, or San Rafael, or if he enjoys the healing arts the Sebastopol area. One hour north of SF is pretty rural - one hour east is not.

My choice would be to actually live IN San Francisco, if he can by any stretch possibly afford it.

Next up would be Berkeley or Oakland.

I am 33 and wouldn't choose Cupertino - unless perhaps I had kids in school because it seems like all the real estate listings there shout out "Cupertino Schools" in big letters, so I suppose they are good - LOL. Definitely family oriented.

My sister-in-law recently moved to Santa Rosa (north bay) because she got a job working in the wine industry. She likes it up there, but she is having trouble finding people her age (23) to hang out with. Most people she is meeting are 10 years older.

I would NOT live in Santa Rosa. While it is only about 45 miles away from the city, the traffic is horrendous. For several years they have been working on Hwy 101 and it doesn't look like there is an end to it.

Our daughter works out of a Santa Rosa office, but has been assigned to a post which requires three meetings a week in the home office in San Francisco. It is killing her. One day, going back home, she simply got off the freeway in Corte Madera and sat there for two hours, waiting for the traffic to clear. (It didn't).

Here is one off the wall for you. Our son works for a San Francisco firm as a computer programmer. Last year he talked them into letting him telecommunicate, sold his expensive house in El Cerrito, and moved to Reno, where he was able to buy a very nice house and furnish it well.

Then he got a dog, then another, and now spends part of his flexible working day at the dog park. He loves to ski, so that is close, and he has made friends his age there.

He just got a promotion.

Whatever works.

I wish your son good luck. It would really be nice for him if he could live in the city, I think.

The vast majority of post-college kids that I know share apartments in SF either with roommates or a partner or if they can swing it, go solo in a studio. A few, usually investment types or young lawyers, have their own condos in the Marina or SOMA. The big areas for the post-college kids are the Marina (preppie/frat); parts of SOMA (preppie/frat who want to be seen as more "hipster"); Lower Haight ( arty/hipster/activist); Hayes Valley (more affulent arty/hipster); part of the Mission (hipster/activist). Nob Hill is also popular as is the Upper Haight.

It WOULD be nice if he could live in the city. The rents on craigslist look insane, though. He has a BIG two bedroom apartment in Chicago and it would be ideal to have two bedrooms, one for a home office. BUT he realizes that he won't be able to afford that. If he was looking in the city, which area would be good and safe? Can anyone give me names of areas, ie marina, etc. I see names of places listed in real estate ads but that doesn't help because I don't know the city. I think he is leaning towards Berkeley, though. Thanks for all the advice. I forward it on to him.

I mentioned Noe Valley earlier - its full of trendy restaurants and shops / close to downtown and finacial area and many of the areas young people like to hang out.

I was there last weekend and I can assure you its full of "upwardly mobile" young people

He'll definitely need to give up the idea of a 2 bedroom!! He would need a roommate or two or better get used to the idea of living in a studio. To me it would still be worth it to live IN the city. Berkley is a fine idea too.

I live in Seattle and wanted to move down BAD a few years back. I did not pursue it seriously because the rents were soooo over-the-top and the pay was not that much different than Seattle.

rbnwdln,

Here is a page with descriptions on the various neighborhoods for you to read yourself:

http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/

Thanks for your help. There are not a lot of offerings in the city and if there are they are way too expensive. He doesn't want a roommate because he will be working from home and he doesn't know anyone in SF and he is over the 5 guys in a run down house lifestyle. So it will most likely be Berkeley, although the apartments listed with pictures all remind me of kind of junky college apartments. He has such a charming, large apartment in Chicago!!! It will work out. I appreciate all the suggestions!

North Oakland or the Claremont area or Berkeley. San Francisco only he can afford to live in places like Noe Valley.

I live in Palo Alto and there is a large population of young, upwardly mobile people here thanks to Google, Stanford, Apple and countless other conditions.
There is a thriving downtown bar scene, there are a ton of cultural activities and it is about as cosmopolitan and city-like as upper middle class suburbia gets.

Don't laugh...but look into Burlingame also. Close to the city, airport, a walkable downtown area, young folks (and plenty of blue haired ladies too).

Rockridge in North Oakland is great, although it too will be expensive. He could look into the Temescal area and also around Piedmont Avenue, both in Oakland. Have him look in North Berkeley and areas farther away from campus.

I'm in SF, although went to Berkeley and lived in Oakland and Berkeley for ages--what's he seeing and for how much? I read that the housing market woes are driving up rents again, so he may be feeling the effects of that as well. In SF, has he looked at Bernal Heights? Panhandle? Inner Richmond? Cole Valley? Mission? Glen Park? Really, I think he'll find many neighborhoods suitable as the city is small and easy to get around. However, way out by the beach wouldn't be my choice.

iamq--Burlingame. I *am* laughing. ;)

Actually, iamq has a point with Burlingame. The downtown is very walkable, has a great park (Washington Park) and easy CalTrain access into the city. Most people think about the airport side of Burlingame, and overlook the other side.

<i>Don't laugh...but look into Burlingame also. Close to the city, airport, a walkable downtown area, young folks (and plenty of blue haired ladies too).</i>

Burlingame is a great town (ask me, I live there). And I'm in between the &quot;young folks&quot; and the &quot;blue haired ladies&quot;. Suburban, yes, but with a very vibrant main street that is very similar to any of the individual neighborhood streets (Union Street, Chestnut Street, etc.) in San Francisco (Gap, Starbucks, book store, clothes stores, etc.). The difference, of course, is the town is mostly single-family housing, although there is a good sized component of multi-family, and those buildings are actually closer to downtown/train. Excellent shopping and restaurants, what seems like a fairly active bar scene, etc. So IF your son decided to live in a suburban area, yes I'd vote for Burlingame! Berkeley, although also technically suburban, actually has a more urban feel to it. I would guess that housing in Berkeley is more expensive because they expect students to cram into the apartments, but I don't know that for sure.

I was under the impression it is quite difficult to find a rental in Berkeley due to all of the UC Berkeley students. At least in the past it was but perhaps that is no longer true.