Chugs

Hey Bay Area S2K owners!

I'm moving to San Francisco in a few weeks, and am pretty deep in the search for an apartment. I'm looking to be in, or as close to, the city as possible. I've been looking at apartments in Sunset and Richmond districts, which seem to have more places in my price range. My budget is ~$700 a month right now, if that helps..

I'm wondering what areas I should really look into and which ones to avoid. Parking is one of my biggest concerns, as I don't want to be sleeping with one eye open making sure my top doesn't get slashed.. An area where parking isn't bumper-cars is what I'm looking for.

A nice quiet area that I can get to the city easily(15-25 minutes, and with public transport) is ideal.

Thanks!

-Connor

danvuquoc

You're able to find apartments for $700/month?

Chugs

No, for a room in an apartment. That is do-able.

chViETnk

I would get a garage if you care about your car, no where in sf is "safe" lol

as for street parking, most residential areas aren't bumper to bumper.

also Richmond is a bitch to find street parking. I would never move there unless I had designated parking.

what does the $700 include? what are you looking for?

Chugs

Thanks for the input. I don't need much, just a small room to myself and a safe parking situation. I just want a temporary place that I can get the ball rolling on making my living there. Besides life essentials, I don't need anything special.

TougeHorseman

$700 is your parking budget per month for SF. Now drum up funds for rent.

shehatezme

If I were you I would leave your car garaged in NJ at a family member's house. Come here without a car and get situated first. Having a car in the city is a complete bitch, especially if you are just renting a room with no garage. I have seen S2Ks parked on the street in Sunset and Richmond but they are pretty beat up most of the time due to fog/wet/rain (car stays pretty dirty all the time). You can easily take public transportation. If you have a motorcycle, that is the easiest way to get around the city. Parking is cheaper and it's a short ride.

scai103

Sunset and Richmond is not the best place where you want to leave your S overnight on the street.

Chugs

This is exactly the kind of input I'm looking for. I don't know neighborhoods and the general outlook on having a nice car in SF. Where would you recommend looking for places to live outside of the city? Somewhere not terribly far away, though. I do plan on buying a motorcycle to commute when I'm all setup, but that would be in a few months.

There's a place in San Rafael that I've been considering, which seems like a nice area and not horribly far from the city. Any thoughts? I will also have my road bike with me, so any place that is within ~45min bike ride into the city is a plus.

How about the Menlo Park/Palo Alto area? I know a few people there, but not sure how it would be to live and commute to SF from.

Thanks for the comments so far, it is really helpful. Keep 'em coming!

shehatezme

I would second this.

Regarding where you want to live. It really depends on what you like to do. It will be awesome if you get the SF experience right when you move out here but Palo Alto is not a bad place to start since rent is cheaper and it's a lot safer to leave your car on the street (STAY AWAY from East Palo Alto though, it's pretty dangerous place to live). If I were you, I would look into renting in Palo Alto near the Caltrain station. The Caltrain station is a straight shot to SF, takes about 30 Mins on the bullet train, and it's pretty convenient there after. You can take Muni to get around the city once you get there. Driving from PA to SF is about a 30-40 minute drive depending on traffic. DT Palo Alto has a bunch of bars and it's cozy. Got a lot of Stanford students hanging out.