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First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Old Jul 20th 2017, 9:59 pm
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by johnwoo
I've given up going into the City on weekdays, finding a parking space at the Pleasanton station is impossible unless you go really early in the morning. The last time I went, I parked in a shopping center parking lot and walked to the station. Coming home the train was so crowded people at the Embarcadero Station people couldn't even squeeze into the car.
I guess if you really have to get into the City it's better than driving, I used to enjoy a day out in San Francisco, but the hassle is hardly worth it anymore.
The whole 680 corridor one town merges into the next, traffic is a nightmare condos are going up all over the place. I'm looking to find somewhere that's like it was here thirty years ago. Any ideas?
Same here, living in Fremont. Going into San Francisco is more of a drag that it is a pleasure these days. We pretty much only go there when we have to.

I want to leave the Bay Area but that has to wait until the wife quits work, and our youngest kid graduates from high school. The wife also want to see where our oldest kid ends up living.

This past few days I've been researching Eugene, OR which looks surprisingly attractive.
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Old Jul 20th 2017, 10:09 pm
  #152  
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by Giantaxe
Is there a major city where it's not "standing room only" at the height of the rush hour?
No Bart has always been crowded at rush hours, but it has gone several steps beyond crowded.
I've lived in the Bay Area long enough to remember when it was just busy, when Bart first came here, and you could still park on the street in San Francisco and parking lots were $4 all day.
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Old Jul 20th 2017, 10:20 pm
  #153  
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by malch
Same here, living in Fremont. Going into San Francisco is more of a drag that it is a pleasure these days. We pretty much only go there when we have to.

I want to leave the Bay Area but that has to wait until the wife quits work, and our youngest kid graduates from high school. The wife also want to see where our oldest kid ends up living.

This past few days I've been researching Eugene, OR which looks surprisingly attractive.
I'm retired so I can go anywhere at any time, the trouble is, in spite of everything I kind of like it here, it's just that even a day or weekend out of town seems not worth the effort.
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Old Jul 20th 2017, 10:51 pm
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by johnwoo
I'm retired so I can go anywhere at any time, the trouble is, in spite of everything I kind of like it here, it's just that even a day or weekend out of town seems not worth the effort.
I'm retired too. But the transportation issues are killing me. And the cost of living is much bigger issue on a fixed retirement income. Mortgage is nearly done but property taxes are a killer. And it's not just housing...

Someone crunched the bumper of my daughter's car. She's currently out in Phoenix where a major body shop based their quote on $40/hr labor. Similar body shop here: $160/hr. That was an eye-opener for me.

Moving away would produce a materially higher standard of living for us. And as a bonus I kiss goodbye to I-680. That's not just a freeway problem anymore. It backs up onto the Fremont city streets frequently, to the point of gridlock.
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Old Jul 20th 2017, 11:06 pm
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by malch
I'm retired too. But the transportation issues are killing me. And the cost of living is much bigger issue on a fixed retirement income. Mortgage is nearly done but property taxes are a killer. And it's not just housing...

Someone crunched the bumper of my daughter's car. She's currently out in Phoenix where a major body shop based their quote on $40/hr labor. Similar body shop here: $160/hr. That was an eye-opener for me.

Moving away would produce a materially higher standard of living for us. And as a bonus I kiss goodbye to I-680. That's not just a freeway problem anymore. It backs up onto the Fremont city streets frequently, to the point of gridlock.
Yes I have to agree with all that, I feel the same way. I'm financially OK in that my house is paid for and property taxes under prop 13 keep it reasonable. House prices are so high at the moment I could bag a few 100K if I moved to a cheaper area. The big question is where to go?
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Old Jul 20th 2017, 11:58 pm
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by johnwoo
Yes I have to agree with all that, I feel the same way. I'm financially OK in that my house is paid for and property taxes under prop 13 keep it reasonable. House prices are so high at the moment I could bag a few 100K if I moved to a cheaper area. The big question is where to go?
I'm really not sure how long Prop 13 protection will last. A lot of people (many with clout) are itching to get rid of it.

The quality of life is much lower than it was when I moved here in 1992.
But, yeah, it's not easy picking an alternative. I'm struggling with that. Climate is a big factor as is being reasonably close to a city with some art, culture, amenities. I also want to avoid cities which are growing fast -- that always drives up the cost of living and infrastructure (esp. transport) tends to lag seriously behind population growth (esp. in CA). Don't want to go back to square one in 5 years.
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Old Jul 21st 2017, 2:16 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by Steerpike
But you CAN head into San Francisco, by BART if you don't want to drive, and experience 20-30 degree lower temps. That's what we do when we get tired of the heat in the East Bay. A variation on this is to head to Oakland, or Berkeley, or even San Mateo, or Burlingame - all cooler than the east bay. Burlingame has a great downtown, by the way (Burlingame Ave, better than Broadway) - a lovely place to hang out and shop / eat (San Mateo isn't shabby either).

Also, while these hot summer days can be a pain, have you not noticed that the evenings are pleasant - you should be able to go out at, say, 9pm for a walk, or just open all your windows, and enjoy a nice cool evening. You are probably conditioned to never opening windows in the evening, but in the east bay the evenings can be lovely and cool.
This is all very true Unfortunately, for those of us who work full time and/or have small children, decamping to another city isn't often an option. But yes - I thoroughly enjoy the summer evenings and always open up all my doors/windows as soon as possible in the evening. The fact that the evenings/nights are cool is what makes the hot days bearable.
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Old Jul 21st 2017, 2:18 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by johnwoo
Good luck with BART. There is no parking to be had on week days unless you go really early in the morning. Leaving San Francisco around 5:00pm you'll be crammed in like sardines.
The Pleasant Hill BART station has parking spaces which are not made available until later in the morning (I think it's 10am). I've never had any problem finding parking there
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Old Jul 21st 2017, 2:47 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by Wintersong
The Pleasant Hill BART station has parking spaces which are not made available until later in the morning (I think it's 10am). I've never had any problem finding parking there


I think that's true of most stations with parking outside of SF and Oakland.
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Old Jul 21st 2017, 3:55 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by Giantaxe

I think that's true of most stations with parking outside of SF and Oakland.
It's also true in Pleasanton and Dublin, these spaces have become fewer and don't get there by 10:05. People are waiting for them long before 10:00am Someone told me the get there between 9:30am and 9:45 and sit in the car until 10:00am Maybe I've just been unlucky, but I don't want to have to fight for a parking place. Just another hassle of living in an overcrowded area.
Having lived in the area since 1970 I find the quality of life has deteriorated to a point of almost intolerable. Perhaps because I'm judging it from what it was to what it has now become.
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Old Jul 21st 2017, 4:01 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by Wintersong
The Pleasant Hill BART station has parking spaces which are not made available until later in the morning (I think it's 10am). I've never had any problem finding parking there
Have you been lately, that was one the case at Pleasanton. I was shocked a few weeks ago when I went a little after 10:00am and couldn't find a place to park, and Pleasanton has a huge parking lot.
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Old Jul 21st 2017, 5:33 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by johnwoo
Have you been lately, that was one the case at Pleasanton. I was shocked a few weeks ago when I went a little after 10:00am and couldn't find a place to park, and Pleasanton has a huge parking lot.
Not this year. It does seem as though more and more people are moving out to the East Bay and commuting. 24 seems to get worse every day - my office is in Alameda and while, thankfully, I don't have to go in very often as I'm field/home based, when I do go in if I don't leave before 2pm or so the traffic on 24 is basically backed up from the tunnel down to 980. It's a nightmare.
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Old Jul 22nd 2017, 12:06 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by johnwoo
...
The whole 680 corridor one town merges into the next, traffic is a nightmare condos are going up all over the place. I'm looking to find somewhere that's like it was here thirty years ago. Any ideas?
As much as I defend BART, and love so much about the Bay Area, I'm probably bailing on the Bay Area for good pretty soon due to the unbelievable cost of real estate, coupled with the overcrowding / traffic situation. I've had a place in Scottsdale, AZ, for several years and I think it is time to make that my permanent home. I love it there, and don't mind the heat. For most people, the heat is a killer, though.
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Old Jul 22nd 2017, 12:13 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by Steerpike
As much as I defend BART, and love so much about the Bay Area, I'm probably bailing on the Bay Area for good pretty soon due to the unbelievable cost of real estate, coupled with the overcrowding / traffic situation. I've had a place in Scottsdale, AZ, for several years and I think it is time to make that my permanent home. I love it there, and don't mind the heat. For most people, the heat is a killer, though.
Some close friends of mine made the same move from Menlo Park to Scottsdale. They've been very happy although they travel a lot (I mean a LOT) so they get frequent breaks from the summer heat.
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Old Jul 22nd 2017, 1:07 am
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Default Re: First week in US, Bay Area--keep calm , keep going .

Originally Posted by malch
Some close friends of mine made the same move from Menlo Park to Scottsdale. They've been very happy although they travel a lot (I mean a LOT) so they get frequent breaks from the summer heat.
I lived/worked in Scottsdale as my primary residence from 2009 to 2013, but I negotiated a deal where I got one week per month back in the Bay Area (they offered a relocation deal, I countered with a commitment to fly me home each month, which they accepted - I still had my house in CA). I loved it in Scottsdale but I did appreciate the trips out, especially during summer.

But now, I'm not working full time, and with the substantial money I will save being in AZ, making trips out of the area during summer will not break the bank. I've been here in Scottsdale for the past 3 weeks now, with temps over 100 every single day, and I'm perfectly ok with it; I went hiking one evening when it was 111F - my highest recorded hike temp ever .

I spent last weekend looking at open houses. We found fantastic places for less than half the Bay Area costs.
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