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Moving to SF in a 3 weeks - any advice?
We (me+wife+20month old) are moving to SF in 2 or 3 weeks from London. Has anyone got an advice that they can share with us? Particularly to do with housing / good|bad areas / commuting, or just anything else that you think would be helpful.
At the moment the plan is AirBnb it for 3 weeks while looking for a place to rent. I'm going to be working on Mission and 2nd.
Thanks so much!
- dvpdvp 13y agoHere is a fun little guide to SF that is for the most part accurate: http://www.thebolditalic.com/drewhoolhorst/stories/1958-moving-to-san-francisco http://www.thebolditalic.com/drewhoolhorst/stories/1958-movi... Here is part 2: http://www.thebolditalic.com/drewhoolhorst/stories/2138-moving-to-san-francisco-part-2 http://www.thebolditalic.com/drewhoolhorst/stories/2138-movi... Best of luck with the move! I'm @danielpearson on twitter if you need anything else!
- joebeetee 13y agoHaha, thanks so much. Funny, but surprisingly informative. WIll stay away from You-Arent-Rich-Enough-To-Live-Here-Landia. 2 kids and a dog land looking good.
- tectonic 13y agoSF is expensive, which can be a shock. I think staying in an AirBnb while you search is a great idea.
- joebeetee 13y agoYup - we've noticed... :) Would love to just move straight into a house, but there seems to be lots of rentals that are immediately available, so hopefully we should be okay after 2 - 3 weeks. Anything else to look out for? Thanks for the comment.
- jophde 13y agoLive in the East bay and pay half the rent and BART into the city. You won't find a 2 BR in SF that has a dishwasher for under 3 or 4k a month that isn't in a sketchy neighborhood. Depending on where you live it will be faster to BART from downtown Oakland to the Mission than it will be get from say North Beach to Mission.
- joebeetee 13y agoGreat, thanks for this. Yeah, I must say, it's hard to stomach paying these amounts when you can pay half the rent just across the way. What's the commute like? WIll definitely take a look around there when we arrive. Thanks for the tip.
- jophde 13y agoAround Lake Merritt in Oakland is nice, particularly Adam's Point and Grand (Northern Shore). It's a little far from the BART but definitely walkable. It does get more ghetto the closer you get the BART stations though, at least on Oakland. If I had a family and needed to get to SF easily I would strongly consider Rockridge. It's a bit more highbrow than the rest of Oakland so it won't be much cheaper but you will get what you pay for. It has it's own BART station too. Berkeley is cool too but it's a college town. Any of the East Bay BART stations will get you any where in the city in about 15 mins and it won't be crowded since it's a reverse commute. The only downside of living is the East Bay is that BART closes at 12:30ish. If you see yourself being out later than that it's about a $40-60 cab fare back. There is a late bus, but I have never ridden. I have heard mixed things about it but I just always assumed it would be a disaster. I will so though, if money were no object I would live in San Francisco. You will probably be slightly envious. It's just a much better city in my opinion.
- joebeetee 13y agoGreat, thanks so much for the reply. Yes, a few people have said that we should check out the East Bay. It makes sense financially, so we'll definitely take a look around. However, I'd love to live in the city if we can. Part of me thinks, we're moving all that way, let's get the full SF experience. I've heard that having a car isn't common in SF itself and is really expensive. What do you think?
- jophde 13y agoYou shouldn't have one in the city. It will be about $150-$300 to park it. It's really not faster to get around SF in a car either. I usually just walk most places. It's really not that big of a place area wise. Parking in the East Bay is pretty cheap. I was paying $75 a month. Having a car is very nice if you want to explore the rest of California. Zip Cars and rentals can be a bit expensive. Especially if you are trying to do a weekend trip to Tahoe. If I was living in SF I would probably get a car and park it somewhere else that is near the BART for much less.
- peacemaker 13y agoIt's really difficult to get a rental in the city, especially as a foreigner with no credit history. All the best places are available only for minutes and usually have queues of people outside ready to take them ASAP. These people will be carrying their credit reports, references and the ability to place a down-payment instantly. If you want to live in the nicer areas in the city, be prepared to pay minimum $3000 per month rent for a 1 bed place. If you're lucky, you might find an agency that won't require a credit report - instead they'll just want more deposit, maybe 2 months rent. Seriously, get an AirBnb or cheap hotel sorted out and expect to be there a while during your search. Also, don't rule out Oakland/East bay because of all the bad stories you hear. It's not that bad and getting better. I moved from the UK too so I know how hard it can be. Feel free to email me and I will do my best to help.
- lgieron 13y agoI don't get it - if the best places are available only for minutes, shouldn't the landlords adjust (raise) the prices? The demand is obviously there.
- peacemaker 13y agoI have no idea either, the place is insane when it comes to getting a nice apartment!
- joebeetee 13y agoThanks so much. The list of stuff that we need to provide as well is really helpful. We're looking 2 bed house, 3 - 4k. We've already got a BofA bank account/credit cards with 1 years spending on it - hopefully that'll count towards credit history? You're right - I've realised that the only way is going to be AirBnB-ing it for a few weeks. No way you can get a proper feel for the area looking at a map, I've taken a guess at your email :) - mine is joe - at the domain in my profile - would it be okay to ask you a few more q's? Thanks so much!
- peacemaker 13y agoNo problem, email away :)
- andrewhillman 13y agoStay away from Tenderloin at night.
- joebeetee 13y agoNoted :) Draws you in by sounding like a nice steak...