San Francisco Livin'

Moving to San Francisco from Chicago. More specifically, my office is in Palo Alto. Planning on living in SF, but heard it's a pain to travel from SF --> Palo Alto, and that Palo Alto is sleepy town. 


Any advice on commuting? Is it as bad as people make it out to be? Tips on places to live at in SF would be much appreciated.

 

the Caltrain makes getting in and out of SF pretty easy if you live close to one of the stations and it's cheap. If you want to live in SF, the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Nob Hill, and North Beach are best areas to live. Anywhere around Fort Mason is nice in my opinion. Rincoln Hill has newer high-rise buildings but they dont have that SF feel. Avoid the Tenderloin, Civic Center, City Hall areas.

I have a post about moving from Miami to SF that you should look at. A lot people gave me good advice there. 

 

Thanks for your in depth response.

I just read your reflection post. A bit disheartening to read the brutal truth. I hope the weather makes up for it

 
Most Helpful

I second this. Do NOT live in SF and work in PA unless you are ok w/ a long car commute. Caltrain is a no-go. 

Caltrain runs many trains during rush hour, but only 1x hour at other times. So if you have a late night at the office (which will be always) then you're going to have to jam to get to catch the Caltrain. And if you miss it? You'll be sitting in the stop for an hour doing nothing. Then you still have the 1 hour train ride each direction. Caltrain drops off at 4th and King in SF, so you'd need to live near the station or else you'll have to catch an Uber every single day. 4th and King is not a great area, but not terrible either. But just... what's the point? You may as well live somewhere else and drive into SF on weekends for fun.

Yes PA is boring. It's not terrible, but it's more of a cute college town not a real city. You have University Ave w/ cafes and shops, which is nice, but it's not the crazy city life we've all come to know and love. It's more for families or tech workers.  

That said, you're getting this job to do work, not party. Weekends are for fun, and you can always drive in to SF. So just get yourself a place w/ a garage, get a car, and get set to focus your fun on weekends. The Bay Area is fantastic if you set your expectations correctly. I haven't lived there in more than 10 years, but when I did I had a GF who was still in uni, and I was working like crazy. But Friday night onward was a blast. Every weekend we'd be in the city, or taking a drive to any of 50+ locations around the Bay that are awesome. The Bay Area is all about the outdoors and day trips. Napa Valley, Santa Cruz, Marin, snowboarding in Tahoe or Shasta. It's a different kind of life than Chicago or NYC but it's awesome if you like the outdoors and day-trips. 

 

Would not recommend living in SF and commuting to PA. Lived in PA for a while and driving on 101 or 280 is a fat pain in the ass, especially during rush hour. If you want to go out on weekends, CalTrain up and split the Uber home with other people (its like $60 one way). Currently in the opposite position, would be able to live with parents in PA and working in SF. Would save a lot on rent but not worth the extra time spent commuting IMO.

 

Currently live in SF and commute to PA and actually think it’s not that bad. I live close to a CalTrain stop in the city and my office is close to the stop in PA. Usually take ~50 mins each way. Better than driving as I can work on the train if needed. Also will note I can work one day per week from home and work from home in the evenings so I usually will grab dinner, catch the 7:00 express train back to SF and crank out any other work from home. 
 

People say “live in PA, you can go to SF on the weekends” but it’s easier said than done and realistically you won’t get into the city as often as you think. Living in the city puts you closer to way more interesting events, restaurants, people and you’ll actually enjoy them if you live there. Just my two cents as someone in this exact situation. 

 

I live near Oracle Park and dont think its a bad area. I take the Caltrain to San Mateo sometimes to use my roommate's parents pool and hot tub and the Caltrain is always convenient even tho it only goes once per hour on weekend. Just need to be aware if there are Giants or Warriors games because it gets more crowded

 

Here's a different recommendation to consider - live in one of the new buildings in South San Francisco directly off the 101.  Weather sucks, but parking and rent are significantly cheaper (get a nice car with the delta) and you won't be hanging out there anyway.  You'll easily cut out 40-60 mins of round-trip traffic and you're now only 12 minutes away from the city for weekend trips (or $20 ubers for nightlife). Also a game-changer if you travel a lot as it's only 5 minutes from SFO. Both my roommate and my girlfriend drive to the peninsula daily for work and they're much happier with the commute than when we lived in the city. Caltrain is not worth it as you're not in control of your time and is slower than driving.

 

I live and work in SF and have been here for 7 years if anyone needs any tips! I've lived in the Castro for most of it and worked in the Financial District, so I've been spoiled. Would love to show anyone around or meet up!

Andy
 

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