Certain parts are very safe, there are definitely still unsafe areas.
I thought you were dead set on living in SF. East Bay is where it's at.
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SF BayEra |OT|
- Thread starter kristoffer
- Start date
I thought you were dead set on living in SF. East Bay is where it's at.
If you go looking for trouble you'll get trouble and that goes for most US cities. People, and particularly young yuppies, like to shit on Oakland and stereotype it because one friend's friend's cousin got mugged when wandering around at night.
Don't take all advice and information as finite. Go out and explore these places. Some of them may look gritty, but the people there are just looking to get to the next day without issues.
That said, check out Oakland. Its culture is somewhat different than San Francisco's.
Yup. Truth of the matter is that there are parts of SF and parts of Oakland that look a little bit like the zombie apoc hit and nobody told you. That goes for almost everywhere in the Bay if you look hard enough. Oakland is nice and it's more affordable. But I also like SF. I personally value convenience (including public transit access) very highly so I'd pick Oakland over Sunset, Outer Richmond, ect... because it's hard to get places from there. That's all I meant by that earlier comment. Some people value the atmosphere of those areas more and on top of that you've got GG park and the water, which IMO are also really nice too. Different strokes for different folks.
You know how a lot of apartments have minimum income requirements? What if you're not making any income currently, but you do have a lot of savings, enough for you to pay rent for 2+ years on savings alone?
I'm not currently in this situation, but I'm considering making a major career pivot and moving around the same time.
I'm not currently in this situation, but I'm considering making a major career pivot and moving around the same time.
I think you have to show them some past W2's.
I'll try that.
Thanks definitely adding Oakland to my radar now. Have no problem living in East Bay, as long as there's an active scene around my apartment for going to a couple of cool cafe's and bars for the 30-40 crowd.
Saw some amazing apartments in Berkeley but I imagine it's nothing but college students there.
Saw some amazing apartments in Berkeley but I imagine it's nothing but college students there.
Depends where in Berkeley but it definitely skews younger. Oakland will probably suite what you're looking for best, especially near a BART station.
Remember there's 10k grad students at UCBerkeley too, so keep that in mind. Berkeley isn't a bad place to hang. Sure you do have a lot of young kids too, but especially north side is quite a bit better.
Good point on the grad students. The apartments in Berkeley are really new looking too. Would need to choose a place by a restaurant / bar hub area within walking distance since I'd have no car.
RE: Meetup
I contacted the mods, they said they would pin the meet up thread once I have it ready.
However, I am currently back in LA because Tesla.
My thoughts are that the next meet up will most likely happen in October. So I'll finish prepping the OT this week and post it in a few days.
Please review and suggest changes!
You should try to attend the meet up once it's set up! :D
I contacted the mods, they said they would pin the meet up thread once I have it ready.
However, I am currently back in LA because Tesla.
My thoughts are that the next meet up will most likely happen in October. So I'll finish prepping the OT this week and post it in a few days.
Please review and suggest changes!
I moved from LA to San Jose last year, and went back for about five months, now I'm back in Sunnyvale.
You should try to attend the meet up once it's set up! :D
When we talkin October? Wife and I are doin the annual in-law visit to Japan 1st - 15th of October. I know I'm not the heart of the party but I'd be heartbroken. Can also bring back weeb gear upon request or import games.
I'm going to put in a link for dates.
I'll basically put all the weekend dates for October, and the last one of September.
Quote to see the link!
Hidden content
Came back from a weekend in SF and then around Palo Alto.
I was frustrated at the clear wealth disparities and homelessness. It felt vastly different from any other city I've been to. In NYC I saw people of color as professionals walking around in suits or whatever work attire they needed. In SF mostly every non-Asian minority I saw looked like they were apart of the gig economy or homeless.
And then in Palo Alto I felt like I was in such a privilege area of the nation, where I could be blissfully ignorant to the lives of other less fortunate people.
I did not get a chance to explore Oakland or Berkley.
I was frustrated at the clear wealth disparities and homelessness. It felt vastly different from any other city I've been to. In NYC I saw people of color as professionals walking around in suits or whatever work attire they needed. In SF mostly every non-Asian minority I saw looked like they were apart of the gig economy or homeless.
And then in Palo Alto I felt like I was in such a privilege area of the nation, where I could be blissfully ignorant to the lives of other less fortunate people.
I did not get a chance to explore Oakland or Berkley.
Welcome to the Bay Area! SF is not as great as everyone says. I feel very uncomfortable in Mountain View and Palo Alto (at times) because the blissful ignorance is extremely apparent. I've never spent more than 2 hours in Oakland but that's due to circumstance. Spent less time in Berkeley, again due to circumstance. I live in what everyone calls the armpit of the Bay, San Jose. It's whatev, because no city has better weather.
Yea my significant other and I were discussing how if we moved out here we would be constantly fighting the guilt that we can ignore the problems of the world. That area just feels like it was design to not be bothered with the rest of the world. Kept hidden away on purpose.
Wait San Jose gets insulted? I was trying to figure out where do most of the young people who work in Mountain View live, and I assumed it would be San Jose.
There are worse places to be blissfully unaware in the Bay, trust me. Palo Alto is like that because it's really populated.
SJ does get insulted, with good reason. It's increasingly getting more expensive to live in, I might be wrong but I think we're matching SF's costs to live. The night life blows but the diversity here is massive. Anyone is anything here. There just isn't much to do around here is all. It's sprawling with people all the time but where are they at night? Not at the bars or clubs, I'll tell you that much.
Is SF considered the best place for young people looking for a mix of excitement and proximity to Mountain View?
If so, seems like I would rather just take the hit and live in the burbs for the first time in my life.
If they're in MV? Probably.
East Bay is where it's at, but you'll still get some of those feelings. SF just...isn't what people think or see from the outside. I'm not a big fan.
SF is really bad when it comes to racial disparity. However, I've never felt that any other American city (including NYC) was any different. STL was the same. In NYC it's a little different cause you push a lot of the minority communities out towards the outer boroughs or NJ. Berkeley is pretty bad but at least you got the University which adds a lot of diversity.
Also, I take it you didn't go to EPA Darryl M R. EPA is a disgrace to the Peninsula, especially considering how close it is to the big bois on the block (FB, Google), all the VC firms up in Sand Hill.
Also, I take it you didn't go to EPA Darryl M R. EPA is a disgrace to the Peninsula, especially considering how close it is to the big bois on the block (FB, Google), all the VC firms up in Sand Hill.
You have to think of the bay area as a massive, sprawling, empty suburb. Rich and poor have lived there, but the poor are being kicked out in droves because of all the tech money being funneled in there.
I personally really hated living here because of how suburb it was. Ironically, I'm from a burb in LA. However, I feel like LA cities just have an energy that keeps going. It's probably because of the people though. We Angelenos love to party. :P
The bay area loves to live in a place of feigned ignorance about it still having a sense of being in a "small town" like Palo Alto or something. Sure they're small towns, but the amount of money going through makes them anything of the sort. So the issues are that they restrict density and restrict public transport. Just look at how idiotic the break in BART is on the peninsula and how it's seem-less in the east bay. The people from the rich parts don't want the unseemly (homeless) going into their cities.
The young people work in all directions, as long as they can afford it. Most people who don't want to be associated with SJ flock to its neighboring cities like Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale. Although they're really not that much different . . .
However, the young people in the bay area (who are from the bay area) pretty much just do house parties or go to local bars on occasion. They really don't do much else. Mostly because there isn't much else to do.
Everyone else just goes to restaurants or the bars that close at 11 . . . Like Yard House or places in downtown Palo a lot or Mountain View.
From my experience living in SJ a year (yes, just a year, so take it as you will):
- As you can tell Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, etc are the "nicer" areas. Anything lower than that are the "not-so-nice" areas. (The other nice areas are around Los Gatos and Saratoga in the south. So they kinda circumscribe SJ)
- I think it's been historically known to be a "cheaper" place to live that's outside of the east bay (see #9)
- San Jose is the largest city in the bay with about 1 million people and a downtown that houses several 30-40 story buildings. It's the most "city" out of all the cities around because of . . . height limitation reasons??? Seriously, besides SF and Oakland there are no sky scrapers anywhere. However, unlike other cities that have tall buildings, these don't really give the city any life. People just sleep in their expensive downtown apartments *shrug*
- The city's borders are probably 5x larger than any of the cities around it. It could honestly be divided into 10 different cities if you go by the stats of 100k in the surrounding areas (eg, 120K Santa Clara)
- There is no sense of community. I feel like there would be some if the town was smaller and had different identities . . . but then again no one really says anything about Milpitas or Fremont other than they smell
- It also has homeless problem around said little downtown
- It's not a place most people want to go
- There's nothing of cultural importance there, not that the bay has much of this :p
- Like the rest of the bay, it's dead after sunset (8pm)
- Prices historically were a little bit lower than other parts of the bay (as far south as it goes), but it's become incredibly expensive over the last few years
- People who live north of SJ probably never go into SJ unless they work there
I was actually pretty close to renting out a room in East Palo Alto, but then the whole place got rented out. It would have been . . . interesting. Kinda reminded me of the places in East LA or the Inland Empire.
However, it's also going through a price hike, so I imagine over the next 10 years it will be gentrified AF.
Where in the East Bay? All I hear about the east bay from people in the south and peninsula is this:
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hateradio I disagree. Peninsula isn't like the suburbs anywhere else. A suburb in STL, NJ anywhere else in the country is collection of strip malls, actual malls, and houses and schools. Peninsula gets it right in that regard -- most towns have a decent downtown with a lot of local shops and restaurants and a lively (if not late night) gathering point. I'm not really a late night dude, so my priority is always gonna be good food and Peninsula has it in spades. Just not past 10 PM. Which is ok in my book. Admittedly, it gets worse the further east and south you go. That's why I don't get the East Bay comment at all AcridMeat. Yea, Oakland and Berkeley are great -- I especially like Berkeley cause I spend 80+ hours a week there. But anywhere else -- forget about it. None of the East Bay suburbs are worth a damn. Maybe Walnut Creek. But honestly that's too far for me, I'd never live that far. And then you've got the heat to top it all off. I agree (aside from the food) SF is overhyped. Well, the weather too. I know that comes from a privileged position. Most towns in the 60's had a nice downtown. And as soon as the wealth leaves here a lot of that is gonna dry up. But I'm enjoying it for now.
Interesting that you mention Seattle, since it houses my favorite kind of space, which is the inner suburb <3<3<3, specifically East Seattle. Great public transport that people use, mid-high density housing of buildings around 8 stories high, and the downtown area spreads across several blocks with record shops, crunchy granola stores, local gay bars that pour heavy, and Asian food. :p
It's really, really fantastic.
My hometown of Whittier, CA in LA (which is by no means a lofty bitch like Palo Alto) has a little uptown area like the ones you mention, so I don't see them as being particularly special. It has several comic book shops, coffee shops, games/sports shops, restaurants, and has an old town feel because of the houses in the area. However, it is one of the few cities in LA that have its own separate downtown/uptown area. I think Brea (which is more integrated as a mall) and Fullerton, which is near the CSU campus are better known. Downtowns are nice, but a city they do not make if they close early and die off at night.
STL = Saint Louis for me, but East Seattle sounds fantastic. I agree it isn't perfect, but compared to most of the rest of the country the Peninsula is fantastic. Despite it all, that is.
Whoops. SEA is Seattle. Got my short names wrong.
So far the thing I love most is the weather, since it feels like how LA used to feel when I was a kid. It is just way to mellow for me. And for these prices but 1/10 the energy and excitement? Like damn. Anyway, maybe we can go to somewhere else instead of SF for the meet up.
I did see that Redwood City is having an October fest, but I saw on yelp that it kinda sucked last year. Are there any interesting events happening in the East bay that month?
The reason you get that reaction hateradio is that it takes forever to get anywhere when you're southern peninsula on either side. I'm not surprised at all that people don't go out to Oakland if they live anywhere south of SFO.
He was talking about St. Louis but I agree that's why I've wanted to move to Seattle for about a decade. That said, it is getting the same exact problems the bay has. Public transit has gotten worse and traffic is abysmal. The city itself has way more my type of vibe than SF however. I'm too young to really remember what SF was like before the (second) tech boom, which sucks.
I will agree with you the little downtown areas in the southern peninsula at least have restaurants and things to do, which I haven't seen in east bay suburbs too much. Albany/Westbrae seem pretty cool for a quieter spot. There's a good beer garden I like over in Westbrae. Plus fieldwork brewery isn't too much farther.
He was talking about St. Louis but I agree that's why I've wanted to move to Seattle for about a decade. That said, it is getting the same exact problems the bay has. Public transit has gotten worse and traffic is abysmal. The city itself has way more my type of vibe than SF however. I'm too young to really remember what SF was like before the (second) tech boom, which sucks.
Well I live exactly in Berkeley/Oakland.
I will agree with you the little downtown areas in the southern peninsula at least have restaurants and things to do, which I haven't seen in east bay suburbs too much. Albany/Westbrae seem pretty cool for a quieter spot. There's a good beer garden I like over in Westbrae. Plus fieldwork brewery isn't too much farther.
A perspective from someone who's been here forever:
- There are just as nice and wealthy pockets all over SJ. Almaden, Willow Glen, Rose Garden, Silver Creek etc. SJ has and will never be a city of "look at me wealth". Sure, not as comparably desirable to Palo Alto, but not everyone wants to be in Palo Alto.
- Historically, the further south in the Bay Area you go, the cheaper it gets. Given how dense SJ has become, SJ is now one of the most expensive in the nation. Now Morgan Hill which is south of SJ is starting to get expensive.
- There is literally an airport next to downtown which limits building heights to over 300ft. Most of them offices and hotels with a few residential living.
- SJ has really weird city boundaries, especially towards the west by Campbell/Saratoga. There are many micro communities within SJ. There's quite a number of Eichler communities, Willow Glen is one big community, but the biggest are the Vietnamese and Mexican communities that populate the entire East Side of SJ. There's also a large Portuguese community near downtown SJ.
- Yes, homelessness is a huge problem in SJ just as it is in SF. Lots of tent cities springing up overnight. SJ has been battling against homelessness and neighbors to put "Tiny Homes" in each district.
- Probably not to party or visit, but you have people who are moving here because the desirable neighboring cities are more expensive. SJ is a commuter city with a huge suburban sprawl.
- Depends on what you're looking for. Skateboarding, art, graffiti, ethnic food, music, car scenes are pretty lively here. SJ is now home to one of the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam.
- This is true. Thursday nights to Sunday gets lively in downtown SJ in the evenings because of SJSU nearby. Also, a lot of out of towners south of Gilroy come to party in downtown. Personally I avoid downtown SJ at night besides a couple of dive bars.
- It will only get more expensive now that Google, Adobe, and Splunk plan to open more offices around downtown SJ. It will effectively double the size of downtown SJ. Also, with not a lot of available land to develop residences and NIMBYS.
- This is true. SJ is a commuter city.
I will amend my statement and say Albany is actually pretty nice. I haven't been to Westbrae, but I'll take your word for it. I too like the East Bay, but pretty much only Oakland and Berkeley (and Albany) are included in that, so IDK is that means that I actually like the East Bay or I just like a few cities that are the best part of it.
Yeah, so I wasn't really off. I didn't include Campbell or Willow Glen because they're tiny. :p
I never really thought of a "commuter city" before until I was thinking about it maybe last month now that I live a teeny bit north of SJ.
I guess that's because in LA, I can pass lots of citifies in the same span that it takes me to drive from my old place in south SJ to my new place (about 20 miles), but I'll still be in SJ while driving on the 101. :ol
Compared to what I'm used to, the Bay Area is just very badly designed. Poorly executed. (Not that LA is great, but it's just more compact.) The roads are too wide, there's always a damn cement center divider blocking me from turning left (!!!), but then the roads are made narrow and with thrown in random bike lanes. Everything is so spaced out.
There's so much land in that space, I think it could inhabit at least 2-3 million people, but I don't think it ever will given the awful density restrictions in the whole place.
My thing about community is not that different kinds of groups live there, it's that there is no sense of a community in SJ. It doesn't have an identity like SF. It's just a city that people inhabit.
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Yea I get what you're saying. SJ is more of a place people call "home" as there aren't as many transplants as SF. Not so much of a place to "play" in. However, downtown SJ has been rapidly changing. It's been welcoming new small businesses while at the same time big corporations doubling the size of downtown.
At least SF/East Bay public transportation is more effective than the South Bay. The whole BART system is limited, just recently barely making it to the South Bay. VTA public transportation has a proprietary system and is competing against BART. There's also a proposed high speed rail that most people don't even know about since it's being built further inland and being fought against by NIMBYs.
Created the meet up thread now that I'm back in town.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/me...-rents-arent-going-to-raise-themselves.70737/
If someone wants to create a discord, please do and send me the link.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/me...-rents-arent-going-to-raise-themselves.70737/
If someone wants to create a discord, please do and send me the link.
Moving to SF on Tuesday and super excited! We got an apartment SOMA/Rincon Hill area in one of the newer towers. Anyone else in this area?
Any recommendations on nice cafes to work and nice restaurants to eat?
How about the arts/cultural? I think SF MOMA is quite close to our place at least.
Any recommendations on nice cafes to work and nice restaurants to eat?
How about the arts/cultural? I think SF MOMA is quite close to our place at least.
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My brother worked in the area and he always appraised a place called SO.
It's a Japanese fusion restaurant.
There's Coin-Op, a brewcade, one that all of SF Era is planning to go to.
I don't know. Honestly, the best way to find places is to just wonder around. I have little stars all over my Google Maps because I just wander around to different places when I go out.
I'm in the area. Without knowing your specific tastes I wouldn't be able to make solid recommendations. I mean, culturally, I think you're in a decent place. MoMA is there, like your said, and there's a few comedy clubs in the area that I like. There's also performing arts and the Asian Art Museum in the area as well. You're also fairly close to BART, which you can take to get a lot of decent places for that sort of stuff.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Thank you and thanks for the replies! We're definitely looking forward to exploring a ton.
It was gorgeous, and we didn't get a summer. I appreciate it.
I'm so used to the mildness that it was killing me yesterday. Plus I had this new hoodie I wanted to wear out and couldn't....