Relocating to San Fran?

Question

My wife, child, dog, and I are moving to San Francisco in . I will working for the sfpd my wife is an accountant and will start interviews soon, our son is 2. Where should I be looking to live. Somewhere good for family including small dog.

Would prefer a house, am I reaching with that one?

Answer 1

Richmond and Sunset is nice. Foggy though but your wife would be about a 20 minute express busride to the financial district (and the accounting market in SF is hot right now). As for you, it depends which precinct you'll be working but I'm guessing Central which means you would be about a 15 minute drive from there.

Only problem, SF housing costs sucks major @ss. A house in the Richmond, expect $800k. In the sunset, expect $700k

There are a lot of condos being built south of market street but i don't know how friendly these condos are for pets. And those condos still run about $700k to start, just add in the damn monthly HOA fees on top of a mortgage

Answer 2

Welcome to my beloved hometown! San Francisco is THE CITY here in the Yay Area. Expensive as hell but diverse and very cool people - the natives that is. I welcome you to the SFPD force here also, but please do not be a jerk cop. San Francisco will give you a mix of all worlds and do not be afraid to explore all of the City.

Where you should live is going to depend on how much of that there money you're willing to part with for a studio - If renting expect $1200 off top; if buying then $750K MINIMUM. Yes it's high, but hey, if you can stand to have a roommate in to assist do that too.

Weather can influence you too - if you like fog all the time live near the Beach and Sunset District.

If you like to be warmer than everybody else, then MIssion, Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill, and Mission Bay will do you good.

Ethnicity wise - Asians will mostly be in the Sunset and Visitation Valley.

Latinos in the MIssion; Blacks, Samoans, Latinos, and some Whites will be in Hunter's Point and Potrero Hill.

Rich White Folks in Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Potreo Hill and Sea Cliff and those areas.

Tramps and Undesireables of every stripe are on 6th Street, Capp Street, Tenderloin aka "The L", O'Farrell (which is in the L) and so on.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I would suggest commuting. I don't think you guys can live comfortably in SF with a cops salary and an accountant salary. You might manage but you will be on a budget. I would suggest looking in other cities around SF such as San Mateo, Redwood City, etc. Without a doubt though, the penninsula is the best place to live in the Bay Area, that is why it is the most expensive. You will however have to deal with traffic 7 days a week at ALL hours. As far as rent in SF, minimum 3500 per month for a 2/1.(If your lucky). Commute. Try looking at east bay too, San Leandro, Hayward, Castro Valley. GONGRATS ON THE SFPD. that will be an interesting job.

Answer 4

Congrats on your SFPD job! That's a great agency. Based on personal experience, unless you have been subscribing to the Chronicle for their real estate ads or have already made a good real estate connection out there--you really should kind of camp out in an efficiency/short term 'executive relocation' type of place and do some serious looking on site first. Have no idea what rank you're going to be in on the department, but [trust One Who Knows] unless you've been living in New York City, you will definitely get 'sticker shock' at the real estate costs in the Bay area...good example: a 2-bedroom flat in the city can be right around $2500/month. BART [the rail system citywide and out to most suburbs] may make a longer commute from a less expensive area feasible...and spending some quality time with other SFPD personnel who know the real estate ropes will be even better....hunker down with your new buddies and see how they've coped and where they've located. Good luck on all of it, buddy...!

Answer 5

If you want to live in SF, I would suggest Noe Valley. But, actually, with a small child, I would suggest living outside SF. Mill Valley will be better suited to a child and dog.

Depends a lot how much money you have. Housing is VERY expensive all around this area. Living on the peninsula (south of San Francisco) is the most expensive. Some people try to save money by living in the east bay (Oakland, Richmond, etc.).

I think the best area to live in is San Mateo county.

Answer 6

You can get the best of both worlds and get more bang for your buck if you work in sf but live in the eastbay preferably on the Bart line. Buying a house is expensive all over California but not impossible. You can also rent a house reasonably in the "Rockridge" section of Oakland near the Berkeley border. Its a nice place for a family. I would also recommend the cities of Pinole, Hercules and El Cerritto in Contra Costa County, and San Leandro, Hayward and Alameda in Alameda County.

Answer 7

I assume you are looking for apartment.
I would suggest that you look in the PENINSULA area (cities near SF). This includes Daly City, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae. The weather is very good in these area, and mostly asians ... crime rate is not that high and close to BART Train stations. Average 2 bedroom house is between 1500 to 2000. Check out this site..http://www.apartments.com/Results.aspx?page=results&stype=city&city=daly+city&state=ca&prvpg=5&Rent_Minimum=0&Rent_Maximum=99999&twobdrm=1&am5=0

Answer 8

Just take lots of money with you! It's very expensive there, but worth it. Good luck! Enjoy!

Answer 9

If may help to talk to a Realtor.

And browse www.craigslist.com