I live in northern virginia and I hate it. I want to move out near the bay area near san francisco, but I also know that it is really expensive out there. Where are some good locations outside of san francisco that are not too far of a biking/unicycling distance from the city? The main factors that I care about are cost and how safe the area is. I am in the IT/web programming job field, so I guess proximity to those kind of jobs is also a plus. I don’t really know a lot about that area, so if anyone could point me in some kind of direction and give me some locations to check out on craigslist that would help a lot. I wouldn’t be moving soon, but I am just trying to look into the possibility.
San Francisco is a bit like an island (check it out on Google Earth / Google Maps)… you don’t have a lot of options when it comes to biking into the city, and the ones you do might not be the safest way to go.
Fortunately there are two train services (CalTrain and BART) that can take you into the city, and both will allow you to carry a unicycle / bicycle onboard. Check out the web sites for these train services and you’ll see that you can live virtually anywhere from the South Bay (San Jose, Santa Clara & surrounding communities) all the way up to around Sacramento, and still be an hour’s train ride away from work.
While you’re on Craigslist you can also find job listings. There are also IT & Web jobs available in the South Bay, if you’re interested in living outside the city, the South Bay is a quick drive / train ride from SF and is much less crowded. The Peninsula is nice, too, albeit a bit spread out. I can’t tell you what is the least expensive area, but I can tell you that most places in the South Bay are very safe… I think San Jose places in the top three safest big cities in America. There are some places in the upper peninsula that are kinda nasty, but they’re few and far between.
Let us know what you find in your searches… good luck!
Thanks for the information. Yeah from my visit to northern California I realized how much better their metro system is than the DC area’s. I will look into more information on San Jose. I am also looking at Berkley any recommendations or opinions on that location?
I left my home in Norfolk Virginia, California on my mind.
Straddled that Greyhound, it rode me past Raleigh, and on across Caroline.
Berkeley is a good location if you like the college town feel, but it’s a little crowded for my taste. I wouldn’t say it’s the safest location in the Bay Area, but I don’t think it’s the worst either.
Pretty much anywhere in the Bay Area is near technology related jobs and plenty of good cycling. You may want to find a job before deciding on a place to live, unless you’re set on living very near The City.