Need help deciding on a city- moving to Bay Area

[isadorable]

Hi Bay Area moms! I am an breastfeeding, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, sahm, ap mommy in Boise, Idaho.

My 21 month old dd, dh and I are relocating to the Bay Area from Idaho (for dh's job) and we could use some help narrowing down a city/neighborhood along the BART line to move to. He will work in SF, but we are looking to live outside the city.

I am excited to see that there are SO many AP parents in the Bay Area, here in Boise I am hardpressed to meet any outside my very small La Leche League group. (I always get stared at wearing her in the sling, as well as nursing in public. Sadly, I have never personally seen anyone breastfeed in public here (except at a LLL meeting), and can't wait to be a part of an larger APing community!

We need to rent a 2 bedroom single family house (not apartment/duplex) in the price range of $900-1,200 a month. We'd like a relatively safe neighborhood, not too crowded.

I'd appreciate any ideas, we have had less than a month's notice to move, and with so many options it is hard to know where to start!

(Tips on moving with a toddler will also be VERY helpfull!!)

Many Thanks,
Peace!

[Cindi]

I really only know the north bay very well, but Marin County is out considering your price range. We are looking for a place ourselves, and just looked at a 2 bedroom house in Petaluma that was $1600 and included utilities. That was on the west side which is very nice and in an old Victorian neighborhood. It is cheaper on the east side. I think moving north you would have to be as far as Rohnert Park to find anything within your range...and then the commute to SF is too much, in my opinion.

A good resource is craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org). Go to apts section, and houses are listed too. Good luck. The cost of living is pretty high out here. Traffic is bad too.

[oceanbaby]

If you want to be along the BART line, then the East Bay is your best bet. There is no BART in the north bay. And traffic into the city can be quite bad. I don't know much about the South Bay, but am pretty sure it is more expensive than the East Bay.

Honestly, $1200 for a single family home is pretty low for almost any area in the Bay Area, particularly a nice family neighborhood with safe streets. Way up north to Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, or maybe even Petaluma, you might might might be able to find a home in this range, but not in the best neighborhood, and you are looking at an hour commute minimum into the City, each way, more with traffic.

Martinez might be a good city to look at in the East Bay. It has some not so nice areas, but definitely many very nice areas. Same with Oakland or Berkeley. Berkeley is definitely the most liberal, AP friendly place. I still think $1200 will be hard to find. Orinda, Walnut Creek are going to be fairly pricey. But some friends of mine live in a great area in Martinez right on the border and although not cheap, it is less than surrounding areas. If you look in Berkeley, you definitely want to be on the north side.

I live in the city of SF, where you definitely cannot rent a single family home for $1200.

If you can't come out here to check places out before moving, I would probably suggest renting an apartment for awhile before deciding on an area, because it will be hard to find a home for that price in an area that you like. But you would be able to find a nice apartment in the East Bay for that amount.

And I agree that www.craigslist.org is a great place to look.

It is definitely going to be sticker shock moving out here, it is very expensive. But, it is a fantastic area, and worth the money in my opinion. Great weather, diverse population, liberal and tolerant (for the most part), safe, and so much natural beauty everywhere you look that it is almost overwhelming!

[MysticHealerMom]

I'd prefer Palo Alto, you could take Cal Train to SF. But Bart only goes down the peninsula as far as Daly City. Peninsula is expensive, as well. Oakland has some good areas as well as some scarey stuff, but it keeps the costs down. And has BART access. BART goes as far south on the east bay as Fremont. Which isn't bad, but isn't cheap, either. BART goes into the north bay a bit, mostly north east towards Richmond or Dublin. Dublin is nice, and not so expensive, but it's further out.

The bay area is expensive, hands down, no matter where you go. $1200 doesn't sound like enough to me. Do your research before the move, a lot of people were "tricked" into moving during the dot-com boom, and couldn't find affordable housing. I'm sure it's not the same as it was, but it's not going to change that dramatically.

Best of luck.

Lori

[MysticHealerMom]

Originally posted by oceanbaby
But, it is a fantastic area, and worth the money in my opinion. Great weather, diverse population, liberal and tolerant (for the most part), safe, and so much natural beauty everywhere you look that it is almost overwhelming!

True that. Lots to make it worthwhile. :nod

They say people move to LA to get rich, and to the Bay Area to be happy. I'll agree with that.

[StarMama]

We live in Concord (about a half hour from SF without traffic) and houses here, 2 bedroom usually go for $1400+. Two bedroom apartments run about $1200 (we pay $880 for a one bedroom :eek) I agree that Martinez would be a good place to look, its 15 minutes from me (further away from SF) and things are a bit cheaper there. The downtown area there is quaint and cute looking. :D Benicia, which is about 20-25 minutes away is also price wise MUCH better than Concord. However, I don't know if Bart goes there (in fact I think it doesn't...) and then if you drove you'd have to pay TWO tolls to go to SF (at 2$ a pop). But Benicia is cheaper and still a decent area. And you could drive to Bart in 15/20 minutes from Benicia if Bart usage is due to parking issues in SF (and goodness does SF have parking issues! :p )

If you want to PM me, I could give you some prices from our local paper, which covers Concord, Walnut Creek, Martinez, and other close areas (Antioch, Pittsburg, Bay Point... but those places don't have bart access I don't think, and have a HORRIBLE traffic bottleneck). We're doing research looking for a two bedroom house/apt so it wouldn't be any extra work on my part to give you some info :D

Good luck finding a place!

[isadorable]

Thank you all for the great ideas and resourses! We will be looking online at the places you recommended over the next couple of days, then flying down for about 5 days to search (and hopefully find) a house.

I will let you know what we find. We will keep checking for ideas for a few more days before we go, so if you think of anything else, please post it.

We reaaaaally appreciate it guys, thanks!

Peace

[Cindi]

You know, in Vallejo you may be able to find a 2 bedroom for $1200, and then take the ferry to SF. You can look at rentals in the paper online. Here is the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/rentals/) and for North Bay, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (http://classifieds.pressdemocrat.com/northbayhomes/rentalclassifieds.cfm). I'm sure there is a good paper for the East Bay too, but I'm not sure what to recommend.

Good luck!

[teachma]

I live in Redwood City, which is south of San Francisco and north of Palo Alto. We pay $1500 for a pretty crappy 2 bedroom duplex with backyard, garage. This is considered inexpensive for Redwood City, which is one of the less costly places to live in the south bay. We've been out here in CA for 6 years...and it's so expensive, we're moving back to Connecticut in June! But, as someone else has implied, people live here for other reasons: liberal-minded people, an outdoor, healthy lifestyle. I've really enjoyed living out here. You may find taht, realisticaly, you'll have to become willing to spend a little more on your rent than you were planning. Lots of luck!! Oh, and advice on moving with a toddler? I'll be needing some myself come summertime. :)

[LisainCalifornia]

We live in Moraga (just outside of Orinda by the East bay Hills) which is a very pricey area, but I have lived all over S.F. and in Berkeley in the past. Martinez is FAR out there--does not really even seem like the bay area to me, but it does have a quaint downtown. The only issue is the refinery is there--I don't know if you all have seen it (kinda hard to miss it!) it is enormous and smelly and would be very scary to live near--like living in a toxic wasteland.
Here is a picture of the Martinez Shell Oil refinery:
http://www.shellmartinezrefinery.com/

A much better choice would be Albany, which is just outside of Bekeley. It is a very "Family oriented" area, but also so close to Berkeley so it is very progressive. There are more affordable houses there, and the schools are pretty good--as well as the shopping and restaurants. You can zip over to Berkeley very quickly, and also have easy access to Oakland, Emeryville (IKEA!), and the Bay Bridge to go to S.F.

Here are some pictures of Albany:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~transitguide/photos/albany1.htm

[crat19]

I agree...Albany would be a good place to look. Same with some parts of Berkeley/Oakland, but the more reasonable rents would likely be located in some questionable neighborhoods. But you never know...you could come across one of those great deals in a great neighborhood!

Another suggestion is to keep your eyes open for a detached cottage (in-law unit) in the "high rent" areas. You might get lucky and find a cute little gem behind a monstrous house and in a great neighborhood (with great schools). They do exist! We found one about 4 years ago and lived there for three years until we bought a home. Good luck with your search!

[D'Anne]

I'd agree that the east bay is your best bet. I live in Concord too, and there are some affordable places out here. Also check out Pleasant Hill. BART services both those areas. BART doesn't go to Martinez, unfortunately.

The local Contra Costa County paper is the Contra Costa Times (http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/), and craigslist is a great resource too. Good luck, you'll love it here! :D

[isadorable]

Thank you all for your help, recommendations and advice!

Update: We found a house in San Leandro for $1150/month, 2bdrm, 1 bath, detached garage and large fenced yard. We are very happy with it and will move in mid January.

Looking forward to joining a LLL group there, and maybe a playgroup.

thanks again!!
Isadorable, dd - 21months and sweet dh

[Mama Lori]

[laurata]

We have a pretty big AP group that meets in the Fremont/ Newark/ Union City Area. There's also a group that meets in San Mateo County and San Francisco County. Have fun settling in!