Hey everyone,
I figured I would post this here since it feels like everyone is either from So Cal or the Bay Area and figured I would get some good guidance here rather than simple googling.

I am interviewing for a job at Gilead in 2 weeks and am contemplating the move ahead of time ( I live in North Jersey - Morristown, have lived in Hoboken etc.). I am obviously coming from a high cost of living area as it is with limited garage space etc. and wanted some input from those on here that have lived or live in that area.

I own my 2002 x50 996tt that i drive as much as I can and I drive my 1964 c10 pickup whenever I feel necessary, my commute currently is only ~5 miles.

I would like some feedback on cost of living expectations in the Foster City area as well as the feasibility of having more than 1 car. Just as a reference point I am paying ~1800 for a 1 bedroom with a garage in a condo type community here.

Also open to hearing anything else to say about the bay area since i have limited exposure out there.

Thanks for any input and if this is distracting or in the wrong area I apologize in advance.

 

If you currently live in a high cost of living area, you should have no problem...Foster City down to Redwood Shores is high cost: especially where the lagoon is...I think you will pay 50% to double your $1800 rent...the rents in the West Bay from SF south to San Jose is a hot real estate area...

You may find some rents lower west of Norfolk Street and maybe into San Mateo through the Hillsdale Blvd corridor(east of El Camino Real): even those once cheap bungalow houses are going for $1 million...maybe north to San Bruno and South SF maybe less...Forget Burlingame, Hillsborough, and Belmont, even San Carlos (once a blue collar town) is now very pricey...Redwood City south to San Jose is Tech country! and the prices that come with it...

I see Gilead have a Fremont campus...East Bay from Oakland south to Hayward, Newark, Fremont, Milpitas still have affordable housing...

Good Luck...

 

my neighbor works at Gilead...although I don't know in what capacity.

From '09-'11 I lived in a hi-rise in downtown SF. When it was time for more room (and more parking), I made sure that the house we chose had ample parking. I've very fortunate to have a 3 car garage and a driveway that holds 3 cars (when necessary) in the West Portal/Monterrey Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

You're probably in for a bit of culture shock as well as sticker shock, but you'll find something suitable that has parking for 2 cars. You def. don't want your X50 car living on the street...!

 

There are some incredible mountain and canyon roads in Northern California that can't be beat so I would move for that alone. When you combine that with the year round sunshine (outside the SF downtown area) and the huge number of high paying tech and bioscience jobs it makes sense why the real estate costs so much!

 

Thanks for all the input so far. I was expecting housing to cost me in the 2300-2800 range for a similar housing situation - parking is what I am concerned about but I doubt I will bring the C10 until I know I can feasibly store it out there.

 

Good luck with your interview.
Here are some local real estate geography terms to help you get around listings.

Foster City is on "The Peninsula". This includes San Francisco and is the most expensive area to live.
"South Bay" includes San Jose and surrounding cities.
"East Bay" includes Oakland and Fremont. Is cheaper than the Peninsula and a little cheaper than South Bay.

 

heres some other terms

liberal= whats your s should be given to those that don't deserve it.
modded cars= your the devil and should be burned at the stake.
guns=your a thief, gangbanger drug dealer and shouldn't be allowed to protect yourself.

personally theres not enough money or security to get me to move to that state

 

Keep sharing your false characterizations of Californians and maybe less people will continue to move here. Less people = less traffic and I'm all for that

Seriously though, many people have guns and modded cars here. You don't see me posting about how everyone in your state marries their sister and cooks meth out of a trailer for a living - because it's an unfair stereotype and there are many types of people in every state.

 

Wow! Interesting take on stereotypes.
Pot, meet kettle.
http://goo.gl/1AFX8o

 

reps for u brother

 

Even here in uber liberal San Francisco, there are plenty of us who are avid bird hunters, ride harleys, and mod our 996TT exhausts!

 

and here's a huge bonus to living here (in addition to the strongest tech economy on the planet) :



Western Marin County has arguably the best scenic/curvy driving roads in the entire country!!!

 

LOL at the narrow minded old-timer

 

Been here since mid 1970 save for around 3 years I took a job in MO. I have lived in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Milpitas, Dublin, and now Livermore. I can tell you rent is going to be a real pain. Best advice I can offer is search for apartments for rent online and get a feel for prices.

You can have as many cars here as you can afford. I have 2 Porsches: A Boxster and a Turbo. Both are parked off street, one out in the open the other under a car port. But I live out in Livermore. Most of the time for commuting I drive the Boxster. Unless the Boxster is in the shop I only use the Turbo maybe one day a week to commute. Wednesdays then I drive the car again on the week end to keep the battery topped up and make sure the fluids get good and warm and circulate some.

Insurance isn't bad. Gas prices suck. We pay around $1/gallon more for gasoline here than the national average. There was an article in the last week or so stating this price difference was going to be "investigated" but those investigations are just to make the suckers feel like the government is working for them instead of against them. Nothing will come of it.

Sales tax just went to 10% here in Alameda County. Was 8.75%.

Traffic is pretty bad on that side of the bay. Bad on the other side, too, but I think it worse on the west side. Try to get a place as close to work as you can so you don't spend too much time in the car in traffic. I commute 30 mostly freeway miles but it takes me 40 minutes to an hour (or more) each way. The shorter commute times are if I can leave the house later -- like 9:30am and then leave the office 7pm. However, it seems once a week there's an accident or something that screws up the morning or evening commute. Oh, and wait until it rains. Then the streets become a bumper car playground. Most CA drivers can't drive worth a damn even in dry conditions.

 

I giggle at the 30 mile commute that takes 40mins. I commute 12 miles and have had it take as long as an hour with 35 being my average - in dry weather leaving my 7:30am.