Job/ salary/ General SF Bay Area questions

[soulcougher73]

I grew up in San Bruno & Millbrae. Not sure what they are like today really. Millbrae back then was the nicer of the 2 towns. Close to SF also.

 

[Specop 007]

You probably don't need to give up your guns.

Unless you're carrying around rocket launchers (ordinance) or something like that. :hmm:

Hell, I live in Berkeley/Albany, and there's a shooting range/gun shop across the street.

Out of the 3 things I enjoy 2 of them couldnt come with me.

 

[zinfamous]

Out of the 3 things I enjoy 2 of them couldnt come with me.

yeah. big guns and little yappy dogs are not tolerated around here.

 

[trmiv]

Redwood City is Peninsula - and Peninsula is generally spendy.

But overall its a nice area- there are some below avg areas of Redwood City - anything close to Hwy 101 and S of Woodside Rd. Pretty industrial with quite a few taquerias and carniciera's.

Nice thing is its not a horrible commute from anywhere: You could live in Newark and take the Dumbarton bridge - you can live in San Jose and take 101 or 280 freeway which allows you to live in Santa Clara or West San Jose for an easy commute of under an hour.

Wow someone mentioned Newark! The donut-hole of Fremont. I lived in Newark from 6th grade until I was about 25.

 

[gordita]

so can someone recommend 2-3 apt complex' to visit around redwood shores or in general, areas that are good to live in around redwood city, 94065? we would initially look for 2Bed/2Bth unit
There's no question that if we move, we will be renting for the 1st few years....
There's an opportunity to visit some apt complexes this saturday and we would like to atleast look at a few to see what they have to offer.
I understand some of them may not be open or shoo us away but we can atleast try.

one last question: on Hwy 101 and 280, is rush hour going N to S with N being sf and S being San Jose or the other way around? or does it not matter and its always packed?

if we're around zip 94065, what other areas can be visited between friday evening and all of saturday for us to get a good feel for our potential move?

again, thanks for all your help....

 

[gordita]

Under Information Systems and Technology, Apple has a number of Project Management positions open (your stated expertise is vague, sorry), and a couple of operational management positions open as well. Dig around, you might find a good fit.

Thanks! appreciate it.
I'm looking for opportunities in IT managed services related more to Infrastructure services and/or IT Infrastructure Operations....where I can manage day-to-day IT Operations and set strategic direction for small to mid-size businesses.

 

[zinfamous]

so can someone recommend 2-3 apt complex' to visit around redwood shores or in general, areas that are good to live in around redwood city, 94065?
There's no question that if we move, we will be renting for the 1st few years....
There's an opportunity to visit some apt complexes this saturday and we would like to atleast look at a few to see what they have to offer.
I understand some of them may not be open or shoo us away but we can atleast try.

one last question: on Hwy 101 and 280, is rush hour going N to S with N being sf and S being San Jose or the other way around? or does it not matter and its always packed?

if we're around zip 94065, what other areas can be visited between friday evening and all of saturday for us to get a good feel for our potential move?

again, thanks for all your help....

I don't know anything about specific apartment buildings, but see if you can find something through CL and maybe set up some visits ahead of time. The thing about renting out here--expect to be signing a lease and handing over a deposit when you arrive to look at the place. space tends to go pretty quickly, and you should never expect an open apartment or whatever to be around more than a day or two.
Of course, if you're just visiting to check out the area, don't worry about that. Only start looking in earnest a month ahead of your scheduled move. Listings aren't typically available more than a month in advance.


as for traffic--it sucks both ways, all the time, lol. Though for 101, I think it's worse going into SF. Don't quote me on that, because I don't live in that part of the Bay. If I'm in traffic on 101, it's usually late rush hour or saturday/sunday. It's generally quite bad heading south (from SF). It always seems to be bad on saturday/sunday, at most times. 880 isn't too bad, though. I avoid that during the weekdays, because it's packed with trucks and such.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

The giant complexes will have leasing agents on site - the smaller complexes (Under 100 units) will most likely not.

Your best bet is to drive around and look- Pick up a ForRent magazine at the local 7-11 and go from there.

Larger complexes are generally much more expensive as they have more amenities. For a 2bdrm/2bth 1000 sq ft unit - expect to pay a minimum of $1600 and more like $1900/mnth for something nicer.

If you go townhouse or something with a garage, $2100 - $2400-month.

 

[Specop 007]

So what about this then. What if one doesnt live on the peninsula but goes across the bay to Dublin, Walnut Creek, Lafayette or wherever else is available and does BART into SF.

Can a 90k a year job set a comfortable standard of living at that point or do you still need the 6 figures a year to make it work comfortably?

 

[zinfamous]

So what about this then. What if one doesnt live on the peninsula but goes across the bay to Dublin, Walnut Creek, Lafayette or wherever else is available and does BART into SF.

Can a 90k a year job set a comfortable standard of living at that point or do you still need the 6 figures a year to make it work comfortably?

yes. You could live quite well in the Berk/Alb/El Cerrito area.

total salary for household, and 3 kids, you say?

....maybe not with 3 kids.

 

[quikah]

101 is generally busier going N-S towards San Francisco. It usually clears up a bit when you get past the airport. I don't drive 280 enough to say for that. I suggest just looking at historical traffic data on Google maps. Weekends aren't usually bad.

Southbay/Peninsula housing, just search craigslist. I honestly found trying to rent in the area kind of depressing. The nice places are $$, the affordable places are dumps.

Look around Redwood City and San Mateo. Could also try Burlingame, but that is getting close to the airport, so might be noisy. Foster City is nice but $$. You could probably go as far south as Mountain View or Sunnyvale without a really long commute (40-60 min) to Redwood City. Not familiar with anything north.

You MIGHT be able to find something in Palo Alto or Menlo Park which is reasonable, there are clusters of apartments scattered around. The cheaper places are a bit run down though. Just stay west of 101.

Man, this thread made me go look at rental prices in the area (bought a place last year), things have shot up in the past 1-2 years. I was renting a 2bdr in Sunnyvale for ~$1750 (lease started in mid-2009), same place is listed for $2050 on Craigslist now. I remember when I first moved here in 2002 I got 2 months free rent and a free stereo system, places were desperate for tenants after the tech bomb.

 

[Specop 007]

yes. You could live quite well in the Berk/Alb/El Cerrito area.

total salary for household, and 3 kids, you say?

....maybe not with 3 kids.

I understand the 3 kids knocks everything down a bit. I'm certainly not looking for the big house and expensive car. Just a comfortable living with 3 bedrooms. 1 for the girls, 1 for my son and of course 1 for my wife and I. If that can be done on 90k without a ridiculous 3 hour commute that would be ideal. After looking at the BART map it really likes like thats the way to go. Live on the mainland (Or whatever the non peninsula side is called) and take PT across the bay to SF.

Mind you all of that is assuming I even get a job down there!

 

[SSSnail]

Why don't you look on Craigslist for 3-bedroom places and see the median price that you can comfortably afford and their locations, then check again and see if it's feasible for you. My guess is, you'll have to plan on a longer commute.

 

[halik]

I thought people are running away from that area and cali in general?

 

[zinfamous]

I understand the 3 kids knocks everything down a bit. I'm certainly not looking for the big house and expensive car. Just a comfortable living with 3 bedrooms. 1 for the girls, 1 for my son and of course 1 for my wife and I. If that can be done on 90k without a ridiculous 3 hour commute that would be ideal. After looking at the BART map it really likes like thats the way to go. Live on the mainland (Or whatever the non peninsula side is called) and take PT across the bay to SF.

Mind you all of that is assuming I even get a job down there!

not that these rents exist any more, but some friends (who are usually in Africa) have been renting for 5? years now a veyr decent 3bdr house (with coach house in the back) in South Berkeley for $1500.

It's not the type of neighborhood you want to be in, of course, plus the fact that recycling-fascist nazi landlord lives in the coach house, lol.


anyhoo, You'd probably be much better off looking into mortgage pricing around here. I don't think they've fallen as much as other places, but I've checked out a few fairly decent 2+ BR houses in nice areas of Berkeley going for around $400k.

to compare to somewhere like Palo Alto, downtown--expect a 1BR/1ba house with 5 sqft front lawn (if you're lucky), no parking, to start at $1mil.

lol.

 

[zinfamous]

and do try to find a job before moving out here. it's rough.

We moved out in 2008 jobless, just to move, you know, about 1 month before the shit hit the fan (2 months before most knew about it).

great.

it took me almost 5 months to find a job, my GF 1.5 years. living in two places during that time--1,500 & 1,100/month, on my single "poverty" salary and her savings.

And we certainly didn't feel poor.

 

[Vic Vega]

I've been in Santa Clara for the last month or so on business and love it here. I would move here if my work would allow it.

Spent some time this weekend at Half Moon Bay. Good stuff. I really like Palo Alto's down town.