San Francisco Bay Area - Relocation Scouting Trip
 

My husband and I plan to relocate to California in about a year. We are flying into San Francisco in order to explore the area for about a week over Thanksgiving. We are renting a car and plan to check out surrounding towns and areas in search of a place that we would want to call home. I'm looking for suggestions of great towns we shouldn't miss, and even a suggested itinerary. We will be there from Saturday morning through Friday afternoon. We'll be traveling with our 1 year old daughter, too - don't worry, she is a great traveler. Thanks in advance!

Have you done your homework on the Cost of Living numbers (housing, food, insurance and taxes)? Historicly the San Francisco area is a rather high cost of living unless you have a job skill that is in demand or are independently wealthy.
Many Californians spend 4-12 months a year in Oregon.
Do you want to live within 2 miles of the ocean? Do you want to live within 2 miles of a major fault line when "the big one" hits? Do you want to live on a hillside that is prone to wildfire (Oakland)?
Where you or your husband can find a well paying job would be a major factor in where you want to live.
San Francisco is a lovely place to visit, but I couldn't afford to live there.

My son lives in Suisun City in the North Bay. We enjoy visiting the area. Lots of new construction.

Do one or both of you already have jobs lined up?

Yep - the Bay Area is expensive - because lots of people (like yourself) want to live here. I can't imagine us living anywhere else.

Stu Dudley

Definitely let us know where your jobs are and how much of a commute you are interested in. And also whether you are interested in urban, suburban, or small town environment. The Bay Area is big, it is really important to be able to narrow down your search.

I'm not sure what the relevance of some Californians spending months at a time in Oregon is - I guess there are people who do that, but I don't think it is particularly wide-spread.

Where to live in the Bay Area, depends on so many factors, the biggest being where you will be working. And income. Another is age. Many single young people and young couples move directly to SF because they want the City and of course, they aren't familiar enough with the surrounding areas; then they exit to be nearer jobs, schools for kids,and to purchase a home they can afford (a relative term in the Bay Area). Some of us never leave.

Looking at the Bay Areas with an eye to living here, is very different than visiting to see the sights. Visiting lovely towns in Marin such as Ross, Mill Valley, is a waste of time if you can't afford to live there. Same is true of places like Palo Alto, Orinda, the Berkeley hills, Woodside, Atherton, Kensington and the like.

Of course, if money is no object and communting is not an issue, take at look any of those towns, if you don't want to live in the City.


"Many Californians spend 4-12 months a year in Oregon." What has that got to do with living in the Bay Area?

Unless you are independently wealthy or both work from home where you will want/need to live will depend in large part on where you will work (unless you don;t mind spend 2 or 3 hours a day commuting). Also, have you looked at the job market to see your options there - and expected income versus the cost of housing.

If you are coming from another high cost housing market - and esp if you will be selling a house in which you have substantial equity - you will have many more choices. But I think you need to check this out and run all of the numbers so you have a realistic idea of where you will be able to live.

Regarding housing costs, since housing is on sale in much of the Bay Area, it is a good time to get into the market.

Unfortunately no one can give you (any) useful advice w/o more info from you. What sort of housing budget do you have? Renting or buying? Where will you be working? The general Bay area is huge and has towns/cities/unincorporated areas of every type/vibe.

(you can ignore our resident Oregon gnome. Oregon is lovely -- but if you want to live near SF, that's not very helpful ;) )

The most critical information is WHERE your jobs are. There are tricks to commuting and many of us can give advice on where to live and manage your commute time. With a one-year-old daughter you will most likely have childcare considerations, too.

"Many Californians spend 4-12 months a year in Oregon." - I don't think I know any!

Are you going to buy a house or rent to see if the area is right for you?

I am an Oregonian and don't know any Californians that do that. I am sure there are some that spend some time here, but it definitely is not the norm.

I resemble that remark (gnome)!
The only person I know who lives in San Francisco is Parker Ranney. http://regex.info/blog/2006-08-16/231
I knew him and his parents before he ever met Jerry Yang.
He was Yahoo employee #27 in the 1990's.
Last time I saw Parker was at a Christmas Eve service in Mifflinburg PA where his parents still live. We left Mifflinburg after I retired in 2005. We now live halfway between Bend and Crater Lake.
The remark about Oregon refers to the people who lived in CA and lost their jobs or decided to retire and figured out it was cheaper to live in Oregon. The native Oregonians are quoted as saying "Don't Californicate Oregon". Some of the people who moved north brought some of their problems with them such as drugs and DUI.
Good luck on finding long term jobs and affordable housing.
I have found it to be helpful to live east of your job if you work the day shift. That way you are not driving toward the sun on the way to work or the way home.

Tom - That is just a strange post.

Tom--Native Oregonian here;)

Why would someone who lives in Oregon, who never lived in the Bay Area, and states he only knows one person who lives in San Francisco, ever give advise on where to live in the Bay Area?

everyone's a maven,I guess.

Hey Deb, I have a question about your Paris rental. Could you check that thread?

Thank you for all the replies. My husband and I are both professionals. Of course where we get jobs will dictate where we move... However, we want to visit to explore and get a feel for the different areas we might end up. In fact, I do not expect us living or working in San Francisco at all. I was looking for an idea of what towns that surround SF would be good to visit... We want to get a feel for the culture and lifestyle of the working class, not the independently wealthy.

haha we don't have a "working class" here. We've all been shut out with the increase in cost of living...

Seriously, wait that was halfway serious.It's expensive to live here and many people who "only" have jobs are being shut out.

I think what others and I are saying is that, areas "surrounding" San Francisco vary widely in population demographics, cost of living and ease of commute. If you are not considering SF proper at all, what are you considering and what kinds of work will you be looking for? Or are you doctors, attorneys etc and expect to set up a practice? For ex, Daly City, 20 min south of SF is VERY different from Mill Valley, about 30 min north of SF.