I need your help! (San Jose, San Francisco: best city, apartments, to rent)

[TSame]

Hi everyone!

My boyfriend and I are moving to California...San Francisco this summer. We will be attending SFSU and I would like everyone's opinion on the best city to live in that is an easy commute and doesn't take more than 30 minutes to get to school. We're looking to rent a house, maximum $2000 a month, that is located in a trendy/fun city that isn't known to be incredibly foggy everyday.

All suggestions are welcome!

[bmw335xi]

You probably won't find a house in a trendy area with a $2k budget. Why a house? And why not somewhere in SF? SFSU is a pretty bad school, its main benefit is being in San Francisco. There are better state universities in California.

[TSame]

Because of their journalism major and not in SF because it's more expensive.

I guess I should reword my original post: We want to live right outside of Frisco because we figured it would be less expensive to rent. Also, when I said 'trendy' I meant a fairly exciting place, not anything upscale or fancy...just not boring either.

[bmw335xi]

How many bedrooms do you want? I'd recommend renting an apt near campus. I can't imagine commuting multiple times a day would save you any money. SFSU isn't in San Francisco proper, so the rent market is reasonable. Especially if you look in Daly City, which is just minutes from SFSU. There are a few apt complexes around Westlake Center. There's a Trader Joe's, restaurants, walgreens, and some shops walking distance or biking distance. There's also a large AMC movie theater nearby and a BART station if you want to go to downtown SF. You can find a 2 bedroom around $2k. Homes are very expensive in the Bay Area...all the way down to San Jose and beyond.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

SFSU isn't in San Francisco proper, so the rent market is reasonable.

SFSU is very much in San Francisco proper unless by 'proper' you mean a trendy part of town. With the housing decline in southern part of the city I guess one can even by a 2 bedroom place for 2K/month in BVHP, Portola or Excelsior.

[mayorhaggar]

Most people in the inner Bay Area live in apartments, not houses. Within San Francisco you'd be lucky to find a 2 bedroom apartment for less than $2000, even out in the Outer Sunset near SFSU (which is definitely within the SF city limits).

You might want to look at areas on the eastern side of San Mateo County, i.e. the area near the Bay, not near the Pacific, because it will be warmer than places by the Pacific like Daly City or Pacifica. Check out Millbrae, Burlingame, etc. It will be a bit cheaper than in SF but not by much, I think you'd be looking at a 2, possibly 3 bedroom apartment with your budget. That area is a mix of suburban housing with apartment buildings and a lot of towns in San Mateo County have their own walkable downtown areas.

Another alternative would be the East Bay which is cheaper than San Mateo County (but I expect a house for 2K would still be rare) but that would be a long commute to get to SFSU. Unless you were going to the downtown SFSU campus, then it would be easy on BART.

[peninsular]

It would be hard to achieve both trendy and within 2K budget. Likewise, short commute and sunny weather will not be easy, you might have to sacrifice one in favor of the other.

[clongirl]

SFSU is not a "bad school" and it IS in San Francisco proper. I'm not sure where bmw is getting his odd and untrue comments.

For film, music, arts, journalism etc this is a highly regarded university. A friend of mine who is now a well known film director drove two hours out of his city just to attend the SFSU (rather than another State Campus nearby). Christopher Lloyd used to be an instructor there as well as some very well known Bay Area artists and news people. SFSU was also the first university to offer "Human Sexuality" as a major. (But hey, I'm just an alumna, what would I know

Anyhow, to the OP: There aren't really any more exciting towns near the school. Burlingame or San Mateo would be the closest to trendy and warm but if I were you, I'd just focus on living in the City- I can't imagine having to commute to school every day---but then again, a lot of Bay Areans do it.

Forget about the house part- you won't be able to find that in your budget but perhaps look for a 2bd apartment/flat or even a spacious 1bedroom in a nice neighborhood. Since you mentioned avoiding the fog belt--generally the more Eastward you go within the City, you'll find more sunshine.

Daly City is tends to be cold, foggy and pretty unhip and more family oriented, so not a great option, imo. Look on the MUNI map to see the most direct public transportation routes and go from there. Hayes Valley, Upper or Lower Haight, Lower Pacific Heights, Inner Richmond/Sunset, Laurel Heights, Castro, Mission, etc...any of those neighborhoods would work (there are many others not mentioned of course)

[TSame]

Okay, so I should be checking out Burlingame and Millbrae?
Any distinguishable factors between the two places?

[TSame]

Originally Posted by peninsular

It would be hard to achieve both trendy and within 2K budget. Likewise, short commute and sunny weather will not be easy, you might have to sacrifice one in favor of the other.

What do you suggest?
Where would you say is best for a short commute and sunny weather?