Searching for housing in SF/Bay Area Forum

[LawGuy2014]

Hi everyone,

I'm a long-time reader (pre-LSAT), rare contributor.

I am a recent UCLA Law grad who will be working in a firm in Silicon Valley come October. I am currently searching for apartments in SF and the surrounding area (I've been told living in Silicon Valley is miserable if you're under 30). I've found it pretty difficult so far to find roommates or affordable apartments.

I was just wondering if anyone on this site knows of any particularly useful websites, realty agencies, etc. for my search. Also, if anyone on this site is in a similar scenario in the Bay area, PM me, as I'm currently looking for roommates.

Thanks so much!

[Anonymous User]

I made the transition from LA to SF about 6 months ago. I never found the equivalent of "Westside Rentals" up here and used Craigslist for most of my searches. I also had friends suggest an app called "Roommates." As I'm sure you already know, the housing market in SF is a nightmare. There is affordable housing available, you just need to be there at the right time to snag it because it doesn't stay on the market for very long. I would suggest looking for open rooms with groups that already have a lease. You can also try to match up with a few different people/groups looking for housing (I was searching with 3 or 4 different groups I met through CL) and then just jump on the first good housing opportunity you find. When you go to open houses or meet landlords who offer to show you the place, come prepared to sign - bring your credit report, paystubs, etc. I know some people even come with references from past landlords. You still have about a month before October, but be prepared to stay in temporary housing if you can't find a place within that time (my friends up here recommended looking 3 months in advance). I lucked out and found a place within 2-3 weeks but was staying temporarily in Oakland with a friend's mom.

As an aside, I don't know how familiar you are with the Bay Area but just a head's up that SV is really not that close to SF. My roommate works in Palo Alto and takes the CalTrain, but his commute is easily an hour each way. It's fine for him because he works regular 40-hour weeks, but that sort of commute when you're working BigLaw hours is not going to be fun. I know people in SV biglaw who actually chose not to live in SF because they didn't want to deal with the commute.

[LawGuy2014]

I made the transition from LA to SF about 6 months ago. I never found the equivalent of "Westside Rentals" up here and used Craigslist for most of my searches. I also had friends suggest an app called "Roommates." As I'm sure you already know, the housing market in SF is a nightmare. There is affordable housing available, you just need to be there at the right time to snag it because it doesn't stay on the market for very long. I would suggest looking for open rooms with groups that already have a lease. You can also try to match up with a few different people/groups looking for housing (I was searching with 3 or 4 different groups I met through CL) and then just jump on the first good housing opportunity you find. When you go to open houses or meet landlords who offer to show you the place, come prepared to sign - bring your credit report, paystubs, etc. I know some people even come with references from past landlords. You still have about a month before October, but be prepared to stay in temporary housing if you can't find a place within that time (my friends up here recommended looking 3 months in advance). I lucked out and found a place within 2-3 weeks but was staying temporarily in Oakland with a friend's mom.

As an aside, I don't know how familiar you are with the Bay Area but just a head's up that SV is really not that close to SF. My roommate works in Palo Alto and takes the CalTrain, but his commute is easily an hour each way. It's fine for him because he works regular 40-hour weeks, but that sort of commute when you're working BigLaw hours is not going to be fun. I know people in SV biglaw who actually chose not to live in SF because they didn't want to deal with the commute.

Extremely helpful--thank you!

[Tiago Splitter]

Could also use some advice about good spots to live for people working in SV. I don't think I'd want to deal with the commute from SF but apparently about half of the juniors in the office do just that.

[sixseat]

Could also use some advice about good spots to live for people working in SV. I don't think I'd want to deal with the commute from SF but apparently about half of the juniors in the office do just that.

I've been living in Mountain View and I genuinely enjoy it (I am under 30 but also not single FWIW). Pretty decent restaurant and bar scene downtown. Not a ton of late night places, but there are a few. Good amount of young professionals (quite a few startups in the downtown, plus Google/LinkedIn nearby). Lots of parks; great for dogs if that's something that interests you. If you're going to live in MV I HIGHLY recommend living somewhere within walking distance of the downtown (which is also where the public transit stops are conveniently located). It's about a 15 min drive to PA with no traffic, 20 min if traffic. Add 5-10 min if going to Menlo Park. If working in Redwood Shores it's probably closer to a half-hour drive no traffic and 40 minutes in traffic. If working in downtown PA you could also take the train from MV to PA then walk to work.

Palo Alto is great but very pricey (a close second to SF in that respect). Has a larger and more upscale downtown, nicer bars & restaurants on the whole. Because of that it can skew a bit older and tends to be a bit snobby IMO, but there are a decent amount of young professionals here too. Also great parks, etc. Obviously if you're working in PA the convenience factor here is huge. Once again, living near the downtown is credited. Would not recommend living in East PA (cheaper, but probably the only "sketchy" area of the South Bay).

Menlo Park I know next to nothing about because I never go there, but seems like it's mostly residential. Ditto Los Altos. Redwood City is decidedly meh.

Campbell is supposed to be fun; I've never been myself, though. It's close to Cupertino (i.e. Apple HQ) so I've heard it skews young and is "up and coming." But, I would probably not live there if you're working anywhere north of Palo Alto because the commute may get a bit hairy.

If you are going to live in SF, I'd recommend living close to the CalTrain station (SoMa) or living close to a BART station (e.g. 16 & Mission) as you can take BART south and transfer to the train at the Millbrae station. MUNI is probably the worst big city transit system out there.