DINKS San Francisco Bay Area Location Questions

[cbr shadow]

My wife and I are from Chicago and currently living in Melbourne, Australia for my wife's job.  Her company is offering her a spot in the SF Bay Area, but I'd like some advice on where to live.

- Her job: Software Sales, Will pay $140k base + $50k-80k commission.  Total = $190k-220k
- My job: AutoCAD/Revit Design, Pays $54k.  I work remotely for my Chicago company here in AUS, but will likely look for a higher paying job in SF Bay Area.
- No kids, so school district isn't important
- Plans: Stay in SF Bay Area for a few years to save as much as possible and get way ahead on retirement savings.  If we dislike the lifestyle move back to Chicago after 2-3 years.  No plans to ever buy a home in SF.

We have (2) dogs that we brought from Chicago to Australia and will bring them to SF as well. FWIW they're both Rottweiler/lab mixes 60lb girl and 80lb boy.
I was told it would be impossible to find a rental house in Melbourne that allowed dodgs, let alone our breed, but we found a place fairly quickly by offering $500 non-refundable deposit and creating a "dog resume" with a list of their obedience certificates, classes, and references from dog trainers and previous landlord.  The dogs do make things more difficult, but bringing them is non-negotiable.

So we're looking to rent a small house with at least a small backyard.  Wife will work from home most of the time, visiting clients or meeting at their "hotel office" 3-4 times per month.  I work from home, but plan on finding a better paying job once we get to the Bay Area.  I know I want to live outside of the "Peninsula" because the cost of living will be insane near SF.  I used the search feature in the forums and found similar discussions where someone ended up in San Jose, Fremont, and Milpitas.  Would any of those seem like a good fit for us? 

In Chicago we lived in suburbia with only chain restaurants, starbucks or Mcdonalds were your coffee options, and outdoor parks/recreation areas were never used.
In Melbourne we live closer to the city in a more trendy (and EXPENSIVE) area, but enjoy the culture here, dog parks nearby, outdoor cafes on every block, and options for outdoor activities.

We're both 31 yrs old, been Mustachian for the last 4 years and no matter where we lived had a >50% savings rate.  Even though I know the Bay Area is very HCOL, I'm sure we can continue to save >50% of our income.

So what areas should I be looking into?  Any tips would be much appreciated!

-CBR

[electriceagle]

There are (relatively) cheap places to live in the Bay Area, but commuting will drain the life from you. The roads weren't designed to handle the number of people currently zooming up and down 101, etc.

I recommend that you look hard for a place either near your wife's job or near a public transit line that goes to your wife's job.

Its going to be tough to find a place that will take two rotweillers. I don't know how things work in Australia, but here many property insurance policies won't allow certain breeds of dogs. If the insurance company won't allow them, the landlord can't either.

[tipster350]

Finding a rental to take your dogs will be the single hardest nut to crack. As dog friendly as the Bay Area is one the one hand, on the other, finding rentals that take dogs is very, very difficult. The few places that take dogs almost always have breed/size restrictions and charge higher rents. My last apartment allowed dogs under 20 lbs. There is so much competition for housing that landlords simply do not need to accept tenants with dogs.

I would be very concerned about accepting a job and then not being able to find a place to live.

The areas you mentioned are probably the best bets. I would add in San Leandro to the list. Commuting is going to be a b!tch.

You could get lucky as you did in Melbourne, but the odds are not in your favor.

[dude]

Your dogs are not Rottweilers, they're mutts.  Say it with me, "they are mutts."  I'd advise sticking to that line.  I faced the same problem moving with a Rottweiler (105#) and a Bullmastiff (165#).  I did what I had to do --i.e., LIED -- about my dogs.  Said they were mutts (in truth all dogs are, they were ALL cross-bred from something), not too big (hey, relative to a Mastiff, they weren't), and offered a $1,000 security deposit and references from past neighbors re: the dogs' impeccable behavior.  It sucks that the shitty dog owners ruin it for the rest of us.  Also, I would advise NOT disclosing the dogs' existence prior to arranging to see the place.  It's really easy for them to just say flat-out NO when you are just talking over the phone.  I would go see the place, oftentimes with the landlord, and give the person an opportunity to personally interact with me (and my then-girlfriend, now wife), and if I liked the place, I would then pitch the dog thing to them in person.  This approach worked for me in Philly, NYC and Boston.  Thankfully, I own now, so I never have to worry about that shit anymore.

[Eric]

Finding a rental to take your dogs will be the single hardest nut to crack. As dog friendly as the Bay Area is one the one hand, on the other, finding rentals that take dogs is very, very difficult. The few places that take dogs almost always have breed/size restrictions and charge higher rents. My last apartment allowed dogs under 20 lbs. There is so much competition for housing that landlords simply do not need to accept tenants with dogs.

This is the biggest issue.  Since you'll both be (mostly) telecommuting, can you live a little further out?  The further you are from SF or Silicon Valley, the more likely you can find a place to take dogs that won't cost $4000/mo.  So while San Jose or Fremont may be options, they'll be tough options.  I'd consider either the East Bay suburbs (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Danville, Walnut Creek) or somewhere up in the North Bay like Novato, Petaluma, or one of the smaller towns around there.  The few days a week that your wife has to commute will suck, but I really don't think you're going to have too many other options with two large dogs.

The North Bay will feel less suburban, but most of the East Bay places have downtown areas and there's always lots of stuff going on in the general area.  There are plenty of parks and outdoor spaces that are dog friendly pretty much everywhere.

All of these places have businesses in the nearby area too, so if you're looking to change jobs, you should be fine limiting your searches with acceptable commutes to wherever you end up.

[spud1987]

Finding a rental to take your dogs will be the single hardest nut to crack. As dog friendly as the Bay Area is one the one hand, on the other, finding rentals that take dogs is very, very difficult. The few places that take dogs almost always have breed/size restrictions and charge higher rents. My last apartment allowed dogs under 20 lbs. There is so much competition for housing that landlords simply do not need to accept tenants with dogs.

This is the biggest issue.  Since you'll both be (mostly) telecommuting, can you live a little further out?  The further you are from SF or Silicon Valley, the more likely you can find a place to take dogs that won't cost $4000/mo.  So while San Jose or Fremont may be options, they'll be tough options.  I'd consider either the East Bay suburbs (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Danville, Walnut Creek) or somewhere up in the North Bay like Novato, Petaluma, or one of the smaller towns around there.  The few days a week that your wife has to commute will suck, but I really don't think you're going to have too many other options with two large dogs.

The North Bay will feel less suburban, but most of the East Bay places have downtown areas and there's always lots of stuff going on in the general area.  There are plenty of parks and outdoor spaces that are dog friendly pretty much everywhere.

All of these places have businesses in the nearby area too, so if you're looking to change jobs, you should be fine limiting your searches with acceptable commutes to wherever you end up.

I second the East Bay advice. It is the most affordable location in the Bay Area by far. There are also some great areas depending on what you want. Check out Oakland for small house with a small yard in a more urban setting. Montclair, Temescal, Rockridge, and Oakmont are all quite nice. Alameda is nice as well. Farther east gets you more space and a less "exciting" environment (less restaurants and bars but also less crime). Nice areas include Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Danville.

You should be able to rent a small house for around 3k in any of the above areas. If you want to pay around 2-2.5k, check out some of the less "nice" areas of Oakland and Berkeley or less "nice" suburbs such as Concord.

We rented a 2bd/2ba apartment in Danville close to downtown for 2100. It is a nice area, but you will feel like you are missing out sometimes by not being in SF. At those times we would just remind ourselves that we were saving about 2.5k per month over a comparable SF apartment!

[cbr shadow]

Good advice on the dog situation - thanks for that.  We love our dogs, but wow I do wish we got smaller dogs (or just 1) when we're moving like this.  When we originally got our dogs we were in a Chicago suburb with a large back yard and no plans to move.  Things change I guess!

I'll definitely check out the areas you mention above.