Bay Area Living?

[tom slick]

It is very possible I'll be working in Sunnyvale for 3 months this summer. What is a good spot to look for an apartment/room for rent. Or better yet, where should I stay out of? I'm not really familiar with any of that area other than driving through it on the 101 or 880.

 

[oilboy123]

Last time I was there was 1971 when our family was on a vacation from Hawaii. I have not been back since. I would like to see it again.........Moribundman??????????

 

[moribundman]

Panda Bear is the one who knows the price of housing in the Si Valley like no other. I only drive through there. I know East Palo Alto isn't healthy.

 

[The Critic]

How far are you willing to commute?

 

[mstrjon32]

Really nice area, I'm there for work quite often. I could see myself living in the area someday. oilboy123, people take vacations *from* Hawaii!?

 

[moribundman]

 Originally Posted By: The Critic

How far are you willing to commute?

I'm not looking for a sidekick, Michael.

 

[tom slick]

 Originally Posted By: The Critic

How far are you willing to commute?

An hour maybe? I consider time more of an issue than mileage. I'm not afraid of trains and there is a stop in front of where I'll work. (maybe I should be afraid?)

 

[moribundman]

Well, as you know, traffic on 101 can be a nightmare in either direction during rush hour. Don't you have some AF connections? Maybe you can move into an old hangar for a year? It works for Dirk Pitt!

 

[oilboy123]

 Originally Posted By: mstrjon32

Really nice area, I'm there for work quite often. I could see myself living in the area someday. oilboy123, people take vacations *from* Hawaii!?

Well we did.........We drove down the coast from Seattle to San Diego. That year had a ton of snow........I remember seeing snow for the first time in my life. We even pulled off the freeway in Oregon so we could play in the snow.

 

[tom slick]

I could live in the blimp hangars and walk to work! Unfortunately I have no connections at Moffett. More than likely this company has housing assistance but I like to be prepared early, I wouldn't want to take an offering on the wrong side of the tracks.

 

[PandaBear]

 Originally Posted By: tom slick

It is very possible I'll be working in Sunnyvale for 3 months this summer. What is a good spot to look for an apartment/room for rent. Or better yet, where should I stay out of? I'm not really familiar with any of that area other than driving through it on the 101 or 880.

I live in Sunnyvale. Most of the places around here is very safe and we are rated very high in safety in cities our size. Not the newest or most luxurious of the bay area, but good urban middle class town. Lots of apartment here, you'll find something that is right for you. I don't recommend the apartments that are next to the train track, but most others are ok.

 

[PandaBear]

Forgot to mention, for 3 months the best would be searching for apartment sublease or taking over a lease, from someone wanting to leave but the contract is not up yet. The usual goodies are one month free or waiving the deposit the original leaser put down. Or if you are looking for a room only the rent is usually around $450-700 for a room (700 is master). Whole apartment rent is around $1000 for studio to $1600 for 2 bedroom luxury new apartment, something like that. Craigslist is the best guide. The only thing it can get better for sunnyvale IMO is the school. It is not as good as the surrounding cities like Cupertino or Saratoga, therefore the homes aren't as expensive. It is still decent up to HS, the HS is average to above average, but not top 10 of the nation like Cupertino or Fremont.

 

[tom slick]

I'm glad to hear the area is nice. I'm more familiar with SoCal where "work" is in a bad area and "life" is an hour commute in a decent area.

 

[PandaBear]

 Originally Posted By: tom slick

I'm glad to hear the area is nice. I'm more familiar with SoCal where "work" is in a bad area and "life" is an hour commute in a decent area.

The SoCal bad area like places around here are: Oakland (as you know, the homicide capital) Richmond (the city) East Palo Alto Tracy/Modesto (Central, not really bay area) East San Jose Part of San Francisco (Tenderloin, 3rd street, Western Addition, Bay View) Not so bad but still pretty bad Redwood City Hayward San Leandro / San Lorenzo South San Francisco Menlo Park Berkeley Part of San Francisco (Mission, Silver, Ocean, etc) Stay away from these area and you should be "fairly" safe in most cases.

 

[Steve S]

Live close to where you work.

 

[tom slick]

I was offered the position today. Salary is reasonable, the housing allowance/stipend should almost cover rent and the company does offer assistance to find housing. Thanks for the input. I plan on finding something nearby.

 

[paulo57509]

Tracy isn't bad. Although we've been in the news lately...for all the wrong reasons. Trouble with the Central Valley (Tracy/Modesto) is that there are a lot of Bay Area transplants here, myself included. They bring their bad, self-centered attitudes with them. I tried to get away, but they followed me here. You wouldn't want to commute from here to Sunnyvale anyway. I grew up in neighboring Mountain View.

 

[tom slick]

I grew up in the southern Central Valley, I'm trying to stay away.