What is the cheapest city to live in California between San Jose and San Francisco?
My sister works in San Francisco but goes to school in San Jose, so I want to help her find a place in between those two cities that she can afford to live by herself. Does anyone know which cities between them have cheapest rent so that I can start looking for apartments, ect...thanks! San Francisco - 4 Answers
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1 :
East Palo Alto is the cheapest suburb between San Francisco and San Jose. But you really wouldn't want to live there. It is definitely ghetto. Note that it is easy to get confused because Palo Alto itself is very upscale and probably out of your price range. For safe areas that are somewhat affordable, look at the towns around SFO International Airport. The noise and pollution from the planes make this area less "desirable." Therefore, these suburbs are a little cheaper than the rest of the Peninsula. Among them are Millbrae, Brisbane, San Bruno, and South San Francisco. You can certainly try to find apartments with decent insulation or that are sufficiently far away from the airport to minimize the affect.
2 :
If you are commuting between SF and SJ there are tons of cities at your option. IMO, the most desirable place to live would be the peninsula (as opposed to the East Bay) since you would have access to 280, offering an easy commute between the two cities but there are so many cities between SF and SJ it's not even funny. If you wanted the absolute cheapest places to live, I would look at Fremont, Hayward, San Leandro or something along those lines, but the problem is, traffic can be horrendous and people in the East Bay drive like crazy and the crime is a bit worse, neighborhoods not as nice, etc. Hayward, and Fremont are between SF and SJ but would require you to cross a bridge which would require a bridge toll (between $4 and $5). Personally I would live near the area around San Bruno, Daly City, South San Francisco, Pacifica, etc. Millbrae is not a bad place to live either. When I was looking for place to live I looked at many different rooms in houses (use Craigslist). I looked at many different rooms around the airport but I never remember looking at a place that had a lot of airplane noise. I think the previous answer is overblowing that a bit. Incoming flights to SFO fly over the water of the bay anyways so only the homes on the water can hear those like the ones living in easternmost Foster City, Redwood Shores, and San Mateo. As for the flights outbound from SFO, the flightpath is over a residential area, but it's smaller than you think. There is a heavy asian population around the Daly City, San Bruno, SSF area which is highly desirable for me since I'm asian, but caucasions might feel differently. Many of the food markets are asian. The easy access to 280 cannot be overstated. It was one of the primary reasons I loved living in San Bruno. 280 is the only freeway you can rely on to move between SF and SJ quickly and reliably. Every other freeway will leave you basically stuck in the mud every day and you wouldn't have to pay a toll. If you can land something in Burlingame near El Camino on the hill that would be great! It's a central location near shops and malls, not too far from 280 access, and it's quiet, low crime rate, pretty, and very close to where all the rich people live. =) Even better would be Belmont or San Carlos on the hills where you would have access to great view of the bay and close access to walking and hiking trails (and 280). Another other option would be the Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View area. You can definitely find cheap rents here, just look around (avoid East Palo Alto). If you want to go further south, Sunnyvale and Campbell are also very desirable places.
3 :
Hmm. More detail would help. Does she go to both cities every day? Alternating days etc? Might be nice to live in Either San Jose or San Francisco instead of having to commute all the time. If daytime in San Jose, night time in San Francisco etc, might be nice to be in SF and just go to bed. There are affordable places all over the bay area, you just have to look carefully. Does she work in the Sunset, Financial District, or inner Richmond? Cheers, M
4 :
Broadmoor, California (adjacent to SF & Daly City)
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