moving to southbay/penins. (?) (San Jose, San Francisco: apartments, rental, crime)

[gitiair]

-moving from eastcoast and have a few job leads in mountain view, pacifica and possibly palo alto

-looking for a rental (max-$500) and no car... is biking a possibility?

thanks for any suggestions

g

[StandingRoomOnly]

For $500 a month you'll be lucky to rent a 10x10 room in a house. You won't find studios or 1 bedrooms for that price. Studios generally start at $800. You can check Craigslist out for the prices.

Some towns are more bike-friendly than others. Palo Alto seems very bike-friendly. Pacifica seems very hilly...if you don't mind biking up and down some steep hills. I'm not sure how bike-friendly Mountain View is.

Then with no car...Pacifica is not your best option...I don't know if there is any public transportation from Pacifica to SF...maybe buses. Definitely not your best choice place to live if you don't have a car. Without a car, you're really going to want to stick to the major cities or the downtown areas...unless you don't mind biking 10 miles or more till you reach the next town or city.

Although, check out 511.org...that will give you more information on the transit systems in the Bay Area.

[gizmo980]

Hi there- I've actually lived in two of those cities, and my sister lives in the other one. The last poster is absolutely correct, that you can't find anything for $500 a month... in fact, even the 10x10 room he mentioned would be tough to get! With a roommate, it's possible to get something for $600-700 a person, but it won't be the nicest place. Sorry to discourage you, but you should be prepared for the crazy prices! I also agree that craigslist is a great source, and you'll be able to research rental costs on there.

Mountain View is probably your cheapest option, unless you're willing to go to East Palo Alto... I've lived in E.P.A., and it's literally "crime central", but I still paid $900/mo. for my 2 bedroom apartment. Mountain View is a great town, however, and more reasonably priced than Palo Alto or Pacifica. It's also very bike friendly, since it's a flat & fairly compact town. Castro street is the main "drag", where you'll find many restaurants (mostly Asian cuisine) and cool/unique shops. Public transportation is pretty average there - bus and CalTrain - but most of the Peninsula is the same way. Palo Alto is extremely bike friendly, especially around Stanford campus area, but it's very expensive in almost every part. You'll be looking at around $1000-1200 and UP for a 1 bedroom apt. If you're willing to go a bit more south, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and San Jose are all more affordable & public transportation-friendly.

Finally, Pacifica... I love that town, but it's a little on the expensive side (by our standards), and biking/public transportation will be a real hassle. It's almost impossible to bike out of town, since it's at the bottom of some very big hills. It's at least 2 miles to the nearest town, and BART (rapid transit) in Daly City would be around 3-4 miles uphill. So unless you're a hardcore biker, it's not a good idea! Busses do run through Pacifica, but they're very limited in where they go, and the train isn't anywhere nearby. On the upside, it's quite convenient to San Francisco & Oakland if you can get to BART! Hope this helps, and good luck.

[gizmo980]

I have another suggestion... you might want to look on Google Earth, to see the topography of the towns you're considering (since you ride a bike). The Bay Area is really hilly in some parts, and flat in others, so it's good to know what you'll be dealing with. If you're researching any specific apartments/houses, you can type in the address to see exactly how hilly it is! Just a thought.