Hi I-clubbers, I am currently living in Sacramento, but I am planning on picking up a gig in the financial district in San Francisco. I am jsut doing a little homework at the moment before making the move. I know everywhere around the financial district is expensive as hell. So i am for sure looking to commute via muni/bart.

Are there any apartments you guys would recommend that is pretty close to a muni/bart station? My price range is like 1200-1500/ mo for hopefully at least a 1 bedroom apartment.. Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks!

 

I'll ask a couple friends of mine.

 

Get a place in Walnut Creek or Millbrae and BART it in. There are very few apartments in SF at any price

 

Oakland. I have like half a dozen friends who are former residents of the city now living in Oakland and liking it better. A couple of them really wanted to live in the City, but the prices drove them to Oakland reluctantly. Their attitude towards Oakland changed pretty quick, though, and they are loving it now.

 

I work in Financial District and $1,500 gets you a 200 sq ft studio or a prime parking spot (half serious/half joking). You are better off looking somewhere like South San Francisco/San Bruno or (what other suggested) near East Bay; Berkley, Oakland, etc. Than again, I lived in SF, Daly City, South City and now Walnut Creek and rent EVERYWHERE is jacked. If you want an updated 1 bedroom in a good area with easy access to public transit...budget between $1,700-2,000 outside the city and at least $3,000 in the city in all the "cool" zip codes.

Your mileage may vary if you have hook ups...

 

If you can't find anything that close to BART, you can also try living near any of these casual carpool spots. I used to use it to commute from Oakland to downtown SF. It's faster than BART and sometimes you get to ride in some pretty nice cars.

Casual Carpool Sites East Bay and San Francisco

 

haha no joke.. the lowest i've seen like in soma is like 2300 haha

But Walnut Creek or Millbrae sounds ideal... thanks for the suggestions! keep em coming!

 

Only thing with Walnut Creek is you will have at least 1+ hour one way commute (get there, park, pay, train) and you have to get to BART early. Non-reserve spots at Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill fill up by 8:30 on regular days...and 8:00 or earlier on bad weather days.

I would start looking around Orinda and Rockridge areas if I were you. BART rides are less than 30 minutes from those stations and from what I hear isn't that much higher than WC.

I cannot speak for Millbrae but I imagine it is similar compromise...It will come down to Time vs Money the farther you go outside the city.

 

jeez did you pick the wrong time to look for an apartment in SF!

Map: Average Rent For 1BR In San Francisco By Neighborhood: SFist

 

Lafayette is a bit more expensive than Walnut Creek but I have seen a few apartments for rent.. and in down town Lafayette its about a 10-15 minute walk to BART.

 

dafaq?!

 

Yeah those prices look lower than what I see on CL. I was looking around 3rd/Market just for laughs as our company just got a place there for execs to stay when they come into town. Nearly $5k/mo. What is going on? We have been trying to find a place ever since moving out of HMB and turns out that was a big mistake. Prices are nuts and landlords are asking for 1st, last, plus deposit plus pet deposit and such. One place wanted around $10k for move-in (2x rent plus a retardo deposit plus $800 per dog). Factor in living in an apartment for the last year or so, meaning we would also need hefty deposits for PGE, water and such. Who are these people that think it makes sense to put $10k down on a rental? Also, our apartment rent has gone up $600 since we moved in a year ago, and ours is lower than the ones on CL. Now these places are over $3,200 for a 3br and they are still crap. I guess the only thing to do is jump in a time machine and go buy a house!

 

Or wait for an earthquake.

 

man places in the city are like 3200 to 6k a month. Are there that many people making 70 to 100k a year to live in these places. Im surprised theres even a waiting list. almost seems like its living pay check to pay check. I've been browseing the web at locations such as alameda, oakland, walnut creek, fremont, and emeryville.

 

$6k/mo is around $72,000 of after-tax cash per year. You would not bring home that much cash if you had a $100k/yr salary. It is a little crazy, and I don't really get it either. At least with two bedrooms people can split it, but with 1br's starting at $3k, it's a little weird.