Bay Area and California housing prices

[rayzzaray]

I grew up in Cali, San Jose, and its the shit, great weather, all kinds of things happening, all kinds of places to go and people to see. But right now Im a junior college kid working and going to school still living out of my parents house. In an upper to middle class west san jose neighborhood where the housing prices are $800,000 for one story houses and $1,000,000 for 2 stories(prices are rough estimates) and an apartment close to my neighborhood for me to live in would be $1200 to $1500 in rent a month.

To all the Bay Area and Cali heads out there, would you rather live comfortably and have some extra money to save every month, or would you rather pay the cost to live in the golden state?

[baronvonONE]

the prices in the bay are outrageous, LA isnt anywhere near as expensive as SF, but its also not as dope. I stayed with a friend on mission once, on the seedier side of town, and she was floating a rickety-ass studio for $1100....I couldnt believe it.


I say stack chips. Montana or Oregon, thats where I wanna be

[S...]

Holy Fucking shit!!!!

I live in CO and.....

Thats more than my mortgage payment on a two bedroom, 3 bathroom two story house in a real nice neighborhood.

Daaaaaag b. Thats almost as bad as HI.

[soysauce]

i dunno what parta san jo you live in but my rent for a 2 bed 2 bath is 1250... around my neighborhood you can rent duplexes for 1100 and i've seen 1 bedrooms for like 825... and i think some parts of the east side and south side are cheaper than that! i dunno i live in west san jo though.. but on the other hand, we're thinkin about movin to sac cuz it is cheaper up there and more jobs..

now i would never BUY a house in san jo though... too much money and you'd be paying it off FOREVER...

[Dr. Kris Knacker]

Originally posted by s408420
i dunno what parta san jo you live in but my rent for a 2 bed 2 bath is 1250... around my neighborhood you can rent duplexes for 1100 and i've seen 1 bedrooms for like 825... and i think some parts of the east side and south side are cheaper than that! i dunno i live in west san jo though.. but on the other hand, we're thinkin about movin to sac cuz it is cheaper up there and more jobs..

now i would never BUY a house in san jo though... too much money and you'd be paying it off FOREVER...


Actually, right now is a great time to buy a house. People will literally bend over backwards to either rent or sell to you. I've been looking for a while now, and it's pretty fuckin cheap. (for San Jose that is)

[projectreject408]

i prob wouldnt buy a house out here, but rent is actually going down. last year when i was looking, shit was like 14hun to 2 gees for a one bedroom, now im finding some for like 7-8hun and theyre not in the ghetto.

also, if youre going to be a student living on your own, you should get on the housing list. if you go down to the office on julian or st james or some ish, you will find hella nice apts for cheap. if you make under like 34k a year, you can get nice apts for like 500-700/mo. if you make above that bracket, you can still get low income for like maybe 900. you might want to look into that, just a suggestion.

[rayzzaray]

thanks for the suggestions, s408420, what part of west san jo has those kind of prices, Bascom area? My folks (along with myself) live down by Lawerence and Moorpark. Even with that 900 a month in an apartment downtown still doesnt seem worth it.

Im thinking about moving out to Arizona and being a desert dweller, $200-$300 a month for apt.

[janeLLe]

i love the bay area and it's worth it to shell out the money for living here in my opinion. you pay for what you get, and what you get here is an incredibly diverse population, tons of things to do (restaurants, shopping, museums, arts & entertainment, etc), decent weather (not too extreme, but definitely bearable), wonderful schools, and so on. i'd like to live here for the rest of my life, but of course when finances get tough you do what you gotta do, relocate if necessary and make some sacrifices. my parents moved us up here 7 years ago from hawaii in hopes of providing an overall better lifestyle for my brother and i-that sure wasn't a problem. we lived in a motel 6 for a month when we first moved here, but during that time my parents found a great place to live for a hot deal (always have to have patience!).. and it's in Pleasanton--which i've become very fond of. but anyway.. overall.. i'd live here forever if given the opportunity.

[amanda]

i would mos def rather live in beautiful california, than live anywhere else. you really do pay for what you get here. i have always lived in southern cali and have always loved it, the weather, people, shopping and entertainment are great. i wouldnt mind living in nor cal either. california is a very fresh place, you gotta recognize that, ya know. but the price for living here is high, and that does suck.

[soysauce]

you live pretty close.. i live off moorpark and i always see duplexes that are like 2 bedrooms for 1100... a friend of mine knows somebody that has a studio for 875 at those oakwood (i think that's the name) apartments on the corner of saratoga and blackford... i heard about somebody else having an apartment on saratoga right by mitty for like 9something for a 2 bedroom which i thought was hella good... one of my girls has low income housing i think by great america and i think she only pays 6 hun... i don't have the patience to do that though cuz usually when i wanna move it's asap... but usually it's more like i'm not wantin to move (i HATE moving... carrying furniture SUCKS)... just look in the mercury news and you'll find pretty good deals...

[skibadee]

I just jetted early on a studio apartment that was paying $950 a month for in Berkeley.... shit was outrageous! I moved into a house with some friends of mine and only pay $670 a month, and they all work restaraunt jobs so I get some free time alone here.
I think rent prices are going down though a bit.

Anyways, I'd say live with your folks for as long as you can while you finish up school, or move in with some of your friends, which will be cheaper. Rent sucks

[soysauce]

in the bay area roomates definitely helps.. i only pay 600 for my part of the rent (out of 1250) cuz my roomates have the "master bedroom" or basically have their own bathroom and mine's the one everybody (like guests) use... but my roomates work nights too and i'm on the "normal business hours" so i usually have the house to myself for evenings... not that i care though cuz i get along good with my roomates except they're messy as fuck!!!

[Archer]

I love Berkeley... my day isnt complete without my visit to Amoeba on the way home.... the rent is no joke tho... i wouldnt mind living in oakland... there is a significant drop in rent for apts and nice ass lofts by lake merrit.... anyways my roomates and i pay $2500 for a two bedroom loft... thats a fuckin house yall. but they pay a larger portion than my broke ass... culture and art is incredible too... its great cause alot of artist are respected in this city.

Starving Artist..

[skibadee]

Yeah, Amoeba is my ish too, but unfornuately i can't affoard daily trips... I make it a few times a month tho. Actually, i've lived right around the corner for the past few years. But yeah, having roommates is cool as shit, and it saves me a bundle of dough. I went from $950 a month to $670 which is freakin great. I couldn't ask for better roomies either, everything on so many different levels seems to click, so I think I'm in the right spot which is on Roosevelt and Bancroft.... cool ish. Anyhow, Berkeley is great and so is Ess Eff if you ever make it over there. take care my starving artist friend, and maybe we'll cross paths on the Ave someday.

peace

PS- Are you a sugarcubes fan too?:D