Well thread title pretty much sums it up, I'm thinking of moving to the northern Bay Area early next year, and I have a couple questions.

I currently work at a subaru dealer, and would like to continue to do so. What are some good wrx friendly dealers in the area, ones you guys/gals have had good luck and service with? If any of you work there, are they seeking techs? I will be trying to get my emissions license in cali once i get there. I already have ASE A1 thru A8, L1 and X1. AFIAK L1 is a prerequisite for the emissions program down there. Any other techs on this site?

Also, I know the cost of living is high, but so is Alaska. From what I've found searching cost of rentals seems to vary quite a bit from area to area, are there any places that are affordable but not unsuitable for raising a child in elemtary school/i.e. high crime or etc.? I know these are vague questions but I'm a long ways away and hope to figure as much of this out as I can before I depart! I really like the Marin County area, so any info/links around here would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance for any advice, links or reccomendations,

Jerry

 

anyone??

 

Well, for the dealer part, there are numerous threads about Carlsen Subaru in Redwood City, that'll be a communte if you're in SF. Also, Santa Cruz Subaru is a good one, and its pretty far down from SF, about 1.5-2 hour drive from SF. Search for dealer reviews in the review section, or just search for those dealer names.

The cost of living is pretty high i guess. Look on www.craigslist.com or are you purchasing a home?

 

come to so cal

rennick, south coast subaru, norm reves subaru

 

i have only heard good things about santa cruz subaru everyone seems to hate all the others for service atleast. i bought mine at carlson in redwoodcity but i heard the service there sucks plus they claimed they perma plated my car but it doesnt look like it to me bird**** still leaves marks on the clearcoat even if i wash it off the same day. so im not happy with them either.

 

Santa Cruz Subaru is the best. I am going there in an hour to have one of my last few free oil changes.

 

Marin County is beautiful - not so urbanized with lots to do if you're into outdoorsy stuff - but also quite expensive in terms of cost of living. Here's a site that you may find useful: http://www.marin.org/html/about_marin.cfm

Also, I believe Marin Subaru currently has an opening for a tech position; you may want to contact Roo for more info, he works there in the parts dept.

 

I don't use the local dealers so I can't comment there.

I do live in Marin (San Rafael) however. I make about $350k as a guide. Not sure what Alaska prices are (when you say high) but Marin average house single family prices are close to $1million or $3000+ rent per month.

Most house buying is done by people moving within the area (taking the proceeds of huge sales to make huge purchases) only the very well paid actually move here and buy.

Most people who live in Marin do so in order to commute to San Francisco, if you are not planning to work in the city then I would suggest further North, somewhere like Novato (still expensive), Petaluma, Santa Rosa. I suggest Sonoma County as a place you might want to look.

As a very simple rule of thumb, the further North you move from the Golden Gate Bridge;

I am not saying there is a correlation beteween the following, just stating the facts -

House prices go down (Sausalito $1M = Santa Rosa $0.5M)
Immigrant population increases (Sausalito literally ZERO, Santa Rosa not zero)
Schools get worse
Crime increases (in Sausalito I think speeding is the only crime)
Weather gets warmer (Sausalito 60's, Santa Rosa 90's)


Do some searches on the web, if you have specific questions PM me.

 

If you could get a gig in Santa Cruz you could move there and the cost of living is MUCH cheaper than living in the city, and the lifestyle is much more laid back.

 

I forgot to mention, the roads in Marin are the worst maintained I have ever seen (born in England, lived and worked all over the World). There are very few places where you will be able to drive your car without fear of potholes and bumps; my STi is lowered and stiffer and I have to drive at about 45mph on the freeway in places ! Gets better in Sonoma and South Bay (Los Gatos, Palo Alto, San Jose areas seemed to have nice roads when I visited).

 

I just printed your post, and took it to the Service Manager. He's interested, so give him a call.

800-400-6144

Ask for John Lauster in Service.

 

Actually, it's Petaluma that has the dubious reputation of having the worst roads in California...

 

what kind of guide are you to make 350k/yr?

 

If you are looking into the southbay, I would suggest Campbell, willow glen, or los gatos.....all are nice areas, good for raising gradeschoolers (Willow Glen actually has one of the most desireable school districts in the area). Not really any Violent crimes (atleast as long as I have lived here....~1.5 years) A pretty nice 3 bedroom 2 bath house, in a nice neighborhood will run you between $700k-$850k and up.

All of the places I mentioned are within about 20-30 minutes to Santa Cruz....if you get a job at Santa Cruz Subaru. I have a buddy that just got a job there as a Salesman.

-Ted

 

heh. that's what I'm saying, though I think he was using his salary as an example of how much you'd need to make to afford a house in Marin.

00maddog - looks like you found your way over here. hope it all works out for you.