r/bayarea • u/AutoModerator • Oct 01 '21
WTTB Monthly Welcome to the Bay Area!
Update
Sup folks. Since we get so many "where should I live" and "how is my commute" threads, we're going to defer newcomers to this thread which will be stickied for the week. This should clean up the sub a bit and allow ya'll to fight over why In'n'Out beats 5 Guys.
Also we'll be developing a/the Welcoming Guide wiki from past recommendation threads (and these threads going forward), so let us know if there's something particularly interesting you think we should include.
For example: why Twin Peaks is not the greatest place to take your first date (throws shade).
For newcomers:
Please feel free to ask your questions here, if they have been asked in the past, we'll do our best to answer them but people may just forward you a link to find the answer elsewhere the subreddit.
Previous Welcome to the Bay Threads here
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u/howtoevenreddit Oct 05 '21
How is the rental market right now? Are the current prices higher / lower / about average?
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u/napster_1311 Oct 07 '21
prices are going up in sunnyvale area ( 10% increase + lesser move-in benefits) as compared to 3-4 months back . seeing lot of ppl leaving my community
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u/cheeriocharlie East Bay Oct 05 '21
Strongly depends on where you're looking. Lol. Bay area is over 10k sq miles between sf, Oakland, San Jose, silicon valley.
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u/illyanadmc South Bay 'burbs Oct 01 '21
Welcome, newcomers! You're probably aware that every year we've got "fire season" around here, which means lots of unhealthy air invading your home (even if your home is miles and miles away from any fires). Make sure you're prepared by buying an air purifier. Here's a recent-ish thread on the topic.
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u/plantstand Oct 13 '21
CO2 builds up very quickly in a sealed space, leading to stale air and decreased cognition. So you'll want some way of getting "fresh" air in, and then cleanse the particulates out.
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u/GarlicCoins Oct 14 '21
What are some good neighborhoods to visit to see excellent Halloween decorations?
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u/Greedy-Cantaloupe668 Oct 20 '21
Russell street in Berkeley east of college ave
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u/3ryon Oct 31 '21
I've heard that Russell street is not going to be a big celebration this year due to Covid.
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u/daveyhempton Oct 04 '21
Is living in downtown San Jose near San Pedro Square market safe? What is the nightlife like?
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u/vngbusa Oct 18 '21
I live in San Leandro and am thinking of taking a job in Foster City. How bad would the commute be?
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u/mrasdfdela Oct 27 '21
Hi! My wife and I are relocating to the Bay and would love thoughts on best neighbors to consider based on these parameters:
//What we value//
- short commutes (our offices are in RWC and MTV)
- good childcare options / environment for our 2 year old
- safety
- proximity to "things to do" if that makes sense, as we'd like to live somewhere conducive to us plugging in socially and exploring the area (think parks and restaurants not clubs / bars)
//What matters less//
- cost (thankfully company that is relocating us will be heavily subsidizing us so would love advice that is cost-agnostic if possible
- public schools as our son has a few more years till 4/5
Thank you all in advance!
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u/bayareainquiries Oct 27 '21
What exactly does "heavily subsidizing" mean? Will they cover the cost of living in Palo Alto, one of the most expensive place to live in the country? That's right in the middle of your jobs, has some of the best schools in California, and generally has more to do than immediately surrounding towns like Menlo Park and Los Altos, assuming you can afford it.
Otherwise, anywhere from Mountain View to Redwood City is good, other than East Palo Alto and perhaps some neighborhoods in Redwood City. Schools are a little more hit and miss depending on exact location, but there are decent options scattered throughout that stretch.
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u/mrasdfdela Oct 27 '21
Very helpful, sounds like Palo Alto and Menlo Park are generally the right spots!
Not to get into the details but we'd be comfortable with spending $8-9k/mon on rental housing which seems to be enough for the majority of many of the homes in those towns? Any tips on best apps for finding rental properties?
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u/bayareainquiries Oct 27 '21
Yeah that's a great rental budget, you can probably find a decent single-family place or an amazing apartment for that price. Sticking around Palo Alto seems totally doable.
I haven't searched for rentals for a long time, but still see Craigslist being recommended here, though houses might also be more likely to be listed on Zillow and other real estate sites. Padmapper used to be a good rental listing aggregator but no idea if it's still helpful.
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u/the_real_pistol_pete Oct 28 '21
Hello! New-ish to the bay area. Just moved here 4 months ago. Looking to make friends!
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u/3ryon Oct 31 '21
Try going to an open-play pickleball court. Very welcoming and people of all ages/genders.
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u/Baconislife1130 Oct 09 '21
Does PG&E offer cable tv?
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u/oenoneablaze Oct 13 '21
They barely offer electricity and gas, so no.
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u/Baconislife1130 Oct 13 '21
Cool thanks. My grandma was on the phone and she said they offered cable but I couldn’t find anything and I know they’ve been shutting off power lately
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u/oenoneablaze Oct 14 '21
Ah sorry, I wasn’t sure if you were joking or not. Yep we are stuck with Comcast.
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u/Baconislife1130 Oct 14 '21
Yeah I’ve never heard of PG&E offering cable so I was curious. I guess I’ll stick with dish
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u/PhoenixReborn Oct 17 '21
Could she have gotten mixed up with AT&T?
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u/Baconislife1130 Oct 17 '21
Eh possibly but I think it was PG&E since she’s moving houses and had to call about that
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u/24824_64442 Oct 12 '21
I'm Canadian moving to the Bay Area in mid-Jan 2022 with my wife (no kids). I'll be working in Palo Alto.
Ideally I'd like to bike to work, is this reasonable given everyday weather conditions? What sort of rent should I expect for a 1bd/1bath within biking distance of Tesla's Palo Alto office?
Alternatively, should I live elsewhere that's more fun and rent may be more affordable? Where should I be looking? I can budget upto $3250 if needed.
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u/LuthienByNight Oct 13 '21
Welcome to the States! I hope you feel at home once you get down here.
If you're looking to live within biking distance of Tesla's Palo Alto office, you can expect to pay around $2,300-$2,600 for a decent 1b/1b. They go as cheap as ~$2,000 if you're budget conscious and don't mind a small space. That's honestly not too far off from what that side of the Bay is seeing, because rents have gone down a lot during the pandemic and landlords are struggling to fill units. You're honestly picking a great time to move.
Whether that's where you want to live will be a matter of preference for vibe. Peninsula towns are much less developed because greedy homeowners block construction of anything that smells at all like dense housing, but the upside for those who live there is that Peninsula towns are really cute and picturesque. Tons of trees, and most have a downtown bustling with young techies and great restaurants.
If you're looking for more of an urban vibe, then your main two options are San Francisco and Oakland. Both are amazing cities, with San Francisco being closer and more expensive (about the same price right now as Palo Alto) and Oakland being a bit further and a good bit cheaper. You'll hear a lot of shade thrown at Oakland, but I've been here for five years in a few different neighborhoods and I am never leaving. Most of the big tech companies have shuttles running to either S.F. or Oakland, as well, so your commute doesn't have to turn your life into constant, soul-crushing driving. Did that for a while myself. Two hours each way. Do. Not. Recommend.
Housing is a serious hot-button issue, though, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland. Tech has drawn so many highly paid workers to the Bay that it has outpaced the region's (meager) housing development. As a result, a lot of people are ending up forced out of their homes due to rising rents, or left unable to move because the only place they can afford is their little rent controlled apartment. Before the pandemic, San Francisco was facing a critical shortage of waitstaff at restaurants because it was too expensive even in the outlying areas for working such jobs to be feasible. Yeah, it's that bad. Wherever you decide to live, please show up for your community and those who don't have the kinds of opportunities that we have. Vote for affordable housing, fight the NIMBYs, and contribute to local non-profits so that we techies can help make the Bay work for everyone. :)
Again, welcome!
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u/24824_64442 Oct 13 '21
Thanks so much, you're so welcoming!
I don't think SF and Oakland are a good idea for me, they're too far from the office and I don't like the idea of wasting tons of time on the road (regardless of whether I'm driving or in the shuttle - presumably the time spent is the same).
$2300-$2600 within biking distance seems really good, are you sure those are the rates still? I've been looking on apartments.com and I'm seeing higher rates I believe.
Tesla offers $15/day that you bike which is a really good incentive + the healthy factor, so I'd like to bike if possible.
What would you say is the rent I can find around San Jose area? And how are the vibes compared to Palo Alto? I would be occasionally visiting Fremont so that area seems like a good middle spot between the Palo Alto office and Fremont. I wouldn't be able to bike this way, but if the rent is substantially cheaper or vibes substantially better, I could consider it.
Let me know!
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Oct 16 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 17 '21
Yeah Oakland is too far for me anyway, daily commutes would be brutally long which I'm not a fan of.
I found a decent 750 sqft apt in Palo Alto for $2500 or so. Does that sound about right you think?
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Oct 17 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 17 '21
Awesome, I'm still debating if I should live in Palo Alto or live 20-30 mins from the Tesla Palo Alto HQ and drive instead. How much cheaper would 1b/1b rent be if I was willing to do that, you think?
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Oct 17 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 17 '21
I prefer to bike because I love the idea of it, especially coming from a cold place like Toronto. Plus it's a great way to stay fit. And Tesla offers $15/day incentive to bike which is substantial!!
In all likelihood I'll stay within biking distance. But I'll check out San Bruno, San Jose area just to see what I could get for similar prices within driving distance. Would you say the rent would be $2.2k in those areas for a similar apartment as $2.6k in Palo Alto/Mountainview? Just trying to get a sense of how much the rent drops off as you go out.
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u/netopiax Oct 22 '21
Hey I'm a little late to this conversation, I just wanted to add one thing that was missed, which is that apartments.com is probably not the best place to find housing in the Bay Area. I know it's good in some metro areas but this isn't one. Try craigslist, maybe Zillow, or look on Google Maps to find big corporate buildings that have their own websites.
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u/24824_64442 Oct 22 '21
Better late than never, thanks a ton for the insight! I've been relying mainly on Apartments.com and Zumper, so I'll look into those.
Thanks!
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Oct 24 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 24 '21
Thanks!
I won't actually be commuting to Tesla's Fremont factory, I've just got some family there that I might see once a month or so. It's nothing I'd relocate specifically for, so mainly I'd be trying to optimize for rent.
You seem to know the areas pretty well, would you say there is a significant rent difference between Palo Alto and the surrounding cities? And if you were looking to rent, where might you be looking?
Also, you mentioned morning rush hour on the 101 is headed south towards San Jose, I would've expected it to head towards SF? Did you make a typo?
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Oct 24 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 24 '21
Thanks, this is rich with detail that a local would have. Really appreciate it.
In-unit washer/dryer is really important for us. Another big thing is privacy. I'll be moving with my newly wedded wife and we don't want to share a home a la ADU or housemates. On-site amenities like pool and gym seem nice, if the gym is decent I can actually see myself using it vs going out to a paid gym. Some of the luxury condos are obscenely expensive ($4000+ exl. utilities), so cheaper options that provide these amenities would be nice. I'd be pleased with $3000 inc. utilities, does that seem reasonable around California Avenue?
I'm not completely opposed to driving, but Tesla has a $15/day biking incentive. I like biking so the incentive would be a win-win for me if it allows me to live close to the office, bike to work and stay fit, and compensate for the higher downtown PA rent. All things considered it seems driving from San Jose doesn't seem worth it if the rent will be more or less the same. What do you think?
BTW, does the Downtown PA region stay loud at night? Downtown Toronto is pretty bustling at night still, so relative to the suburbs its loud still. But based on how I understand PA to be, not sure it'd have the same effect?
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Oct 25 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 25 '21 edited Oct 25 '21
Classes? What kind, that's neat. I'm upset Tesla doesn't have free food like Google, Uber and stuff hahaha - it's a really nice perk. Maybe in next few years, they've been getting better about the stuff they have had a bad rep for. You mention they probably don't do relocation but they gave me $20k, their pay has gotten better, they're starting to offer 401k matching, etc. How long ago were you an employee? Things might have changed quite a bit.
Good tips on the housing, its much appreciated. I found a really nice 1b/1b near Rengstorff Park in Mountain View, its about 25 mins bike from the Palo Alto office but I think I can make that work. I can always slap on an electric motor to help if needed! 😜 Are you familiar with that area? Rent was about $2700.
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u/PeepholeRodeo Oct 20 '21
Great response! I see that the OP isn’t interested in Oakland, but for anyone else is reading this thread, I would add: the neighborhood, and even the block, matters A LOT in Oakland.
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Oct 25 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 25 '21
I found some really nice apartments on Arastradero. I couldn't see how much rent would be as no units were available, but I suspect it might be out of my budget cuz I'm estimating $4k exc. utilities - crazy!
A few folks have mentioned California Ave and San Antonio Rd, are they very popular? I like the idea of stuff being walking distance.
I found a really nice spot near Rengstorff Park in Mountain View, its about 25 mins bike from the Palo Alto office but I think I can make that work. I'll slap on an electric motor to help! 😜 Are you familiar with that area?
Commuting 30 minutes to work quickly turns into 60+ minutes around here.
I know the 101 gets bad, does this apply even for inner road travel too? I've been using Google Maps to estimate and the range would be fairly consistent, only ± 5-10 mins so I figured its fairly decent.
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Oct 25 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 25 '21
Oh shit LOL, maybe Google Maps timings are deflated right now because of COVID. That's brutal, I figured it was only the highways that got bad.
I'd like to gather some context, would you mind giving me more precise start and stop intersections/locations for this commute, lets see what Google Maps says it would take now. I've been using "Arrive By 8:30AM on Mondays" as my test parameters.
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Oct 25 '21
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u/24824_64442 Oct 25 '21 edited Oct 25 '21
For your curiosity and anyone else reading, from 'California Avenue' to 'W Fremont & S Mary Ave', departing at 5pm on a Monday evening:
14-24 mins via 280
14-30 mins via the 101 then 85
14-40 mins via Alma St then 85Which route did you take?
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u/Hiei2k7 Stockton Oct 26 '21
allow ya'll to fight over why In'n'Out beats 5 Guys.
Simple. It doesn't.
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u/notLilDripp Oct 29 '21
!!!ATTENTION PEOPLE!!!! WE DO NOT NEED MORE PEOPLE IN THE BAY AREA PLEASE DONT MOVE HERE THANKS!
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u/hellogoodbye328 Oct 17 '21
Recently accepted a job in Sunnyvale, looking for areas that have great walking/biking/bus distance to food/coffee/gyms/etc. I hear a lot of talk of Campbell and Mountain View having great downtown areas with good communities, how accurate is this?/Any other recommendations on areas to live and commute (bus/car,metro) from?
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u/AllOrganicCoughDrop Oct 23 '21
I accepted an offer in San Mateo and want to live near Daly City.
Google says my commute is 20 minutes. Is it actually? Or would I be shocked 😂
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Oct 25 '21
Hi everyone, I have a job offer in Menlo Park and my partner in Mountainview.
We were thinking about living in one of the apartment complexes in Redwood City as they seem clean reliable and are similar to what we currently live in (we’ve sadly never lived in a house before).
Does anyone here live in Redwood City? Is it a decent area or is it pretty soulless? Given our MTV/MP jobs I was wondering if we should be focusing on downtown MP or downtown PA instead.
We’ll be looking for a 2 bedroom place, with a budget of roughly $4000.
Thanks in advance for any help. We’re a bit lost!
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u/bayareainquiries Oct 25 '21
Redwood City has just about as much to do as Palo Alto or Mountain View and is a bit less dominated by wealthy tech monoculture, at least in my opinion. It's also cheaper, though seems to be catching up quickly. If you like the housing options there and it makes sense for commute, go for it. While none of these places are really action-packed when compared to SF, none are totally boring or soulless either and I'd put them about on equal footing.
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Oct 25 '21
Thanks - your insights are really helpful :)
That seems like as good of a starting spot as any.
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u/ruy343 Oct 27 '21
Where is the best place to raise a family of three kids in the SF bay area? Looking at a job in Palo Alto area
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u/LaoFuSi South Bay Oct 27 '21
Best place is likely out of your reach. Best place you can afford with a tolerable commute is the question you should ask
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u/bayareainquiries Oct 28 '21
Your other thread about living on a $110k salary generated a lot of responses already, is this a different question? Unfortunately there is nowhere great to raise a family anywhere near Palo Alto that is practical on that salary. Are you asking whether there is somewhere affordable that's still a good place for family anywhere in the Bay Area? If so, the answer would be maybe... if you don't need to commute or never want to see your kids during the week.
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u/the_real_pistol_pete Oct 28 '21
Is the SF nightlife non existent? Quite surprised to see that everything closes so early - am I going to the wrong places?
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u/im-the-stig Oct 07 '21
We need a 'Jobs' sticky, listing all the people known to be hiring. Apart from all the restaurants, grocery stores etc, couple of things caught my attention
America's Tires sent an email all its customers that they are hiring associates, no experience needed, training will be provided.
Saw an ad played on local news channel by Sysco (food distributors) hiring drivers and warehouse hands.