place to rent; work location is SOMA (San Francisco, Oakland: apartment, rentals)

[techcrazy]

Hello everyone, I am getting a new job at a tech startup in SOMA, San Francisco. We have 2 kids - aged 2 & 4. What would be a good place to rent a 2 BD apartment in a budget of 1500-2200$? I don't care too much about proximity to the city. I would prefer a quiet safe neighborhood within 45 minutes of SOMA. Thanks for your help.

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by techcrazy

Hello everyone, I am getting a new job at a tech startup in SOMA, San Francisco. We have 2 kids - aged 2 & 4. What would be a good place to rent a 2 BD apartment in a budget of 1500-2200$? I don't care too much about proximity to the city. I would prefer a quiet safe neighborhood within 45 minutes of SOMA. Thanks for your help.

I'd suggest you use padmapper.com to browse the rentals.

Within SF: the Outer Sunset and Outer Richmond. Around 45 mins commute. It's going to be around $2,000 and up. Be proactive because the inventory are very scarce and competition is fierce. In-law units are cheaper but you probably don't want those. The weather tends to be chilly in these parts.

Otherwise - Daly City and South San Francisco (SSF is NOT SF). Again, inventory is scarce and the weather is on the cold side.

Or the Marin County (Marin City and Mills Valley). You'll have to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and pay toll. Traffic to cross the bridge sucks. Don't venture too far north or off the beaten path because traffic really sucks there.

Oakland could be an option but I think you're priced out of the nicest and safest nabes but up and coming area like Laurel, Redwood Heights, etc are within your budget.

If you can up the commute time to 60 - 90 mins, then look at Lafayette, Orinda, and Walnut Creek; these are more comfortable suburbs with good size homes, good schools, and good weather; many families in tech live there.

[pch1013]

Alameda, which is quite safe and very family-friendly with good schools, has plenty of 2BR rentals in your price range. There are various ways of getting to SF from there; the direct transbay bus (with WiFi!) goes to the temporary Transbay Terminal in the Financial District, while the ferries go to the Ferry Building. Either is within easy reach of SOMA, especially on a bike. Depending on how close you are to the ferry terminal or bus line, your commute time to SF would vary from 40 to 60 minutes.

Bike/bus to Fruitvale BART is another option, or you could drive there and park at the station.