Escape from Silicon Valley
November 10, 2015 5:35 PM Subscribe
Where should I live: California addition
Like most disenfranchised techies, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll never own a home in the Bay Area. I'm gradually being priced out of the rental market as it's gotten more insane each year (no rent control unless your building is older than 1971, and of course anyone who lives in one of those buildings isn't budging). The pressures of Silicon Valley life are changing me in ways I'm not comfortable with, and I am extremely burnt out and in therapy to deal with it. The mode I'm in right now is "Get in, make the money, and get out"
I'm looking to save aggressively and build an escape nest egg in the next 4-5 years. I'd love to say that I could traipse off to Oregon and any of the other types of places that get suggested in these kinds of questions when people are looking for a less expensive place to live, but my immediate family is also in California, and it's non-negotiable that I be near them as my parents get older and frailer and my nephews and nieces grow up.
Where can I move in California that is at least within a 2 hour drive of either Irvine or San Diego? I'd love to live in either of those cities, but both are still more expensive than I'm comfortable with.
Must-haves
- Not LA. I will not be able to deal with LA traffic and my brushes with the industries down there suggest a similar stress level to Silicon Valley in terms of people scrabbling over one another and stabbing each other in the back to try to make it to the top
- SAFE!!! Where I live now a homeless woman got murdered across the street in a particularly gruesome way. In an area where my 1bedroom apartment rent is the cheapest I could find near work, $2700
- Can buy my own single family home or townhome for $450k-$600k or less. Assume on one salary for now.
- A decent food scene and politically liberal populace
- Lack of city driving. Driving in San Francisco causes me a lot of stress and anxiety that has not been alleviated with therapy or medication, so I'd just like to live somewhere where I won't have to do city driving on a regular basis. Highway and rural driving are fine.
- Nature of some form. Hopefully beautiful.
Nice-to-haves
- Some sort of town culture- nice coffeeshops with events, bookstores, an arts or crafts scene
- Dance community (ballet/contemporary/hip hop)
- Asian supermarkets
- Buddhist temples
I am not too worried about industries/work as I have job skills that are fairly portable, and I am also expecting that once I leave Silicon Valley I will have much less of an emphasis on career and work and will just want to do something where I show up 9-5, do my work, then go home and don't think about work, rather than this Silicon Valley nonsense of 14 hour minimum days where you are supposed to feel passionate about whatever you're doing to increase the pile of money your CEO does Scrooge McDuck swan dives into.
Like most disenfranchised techies, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll never own a home in the Bay Area. I'm gradually being priced out of the rental market as it's gotten more insane each year (no rent control unless your building is older than 1971, and of course anyone who lives in one of those buildings isn't budging). The pressures of Silicon Valley life are changing me in ways I'm not comfortable with, and I am extremely burnt out and in therapy to deal with it. The mode I'm in right now is "Get in, make the money, and get out"
I'm looking to save aggressively and build an escape nest egg in the next 4-5 years. I'd love to say that I could traipse off to Oregon and any of the other types of places that get suggested in these kinds of questions when people are looking for a less expensive place to live, but my immediate family is also in California, and it's non-negotiable that I be near them as my parents get older and frailer and my nephews and nieces grow up.
Where can I move in California that is at least within a 2 hour drive of either Irvine or San Diego? I'd love to live in either of those cities, but both are still more expensive than I'm comfortable with.
Must-haves
- Not LA. I will not be able to deal with LA traffic and my brushes with the industries down there suggest a similar stress level to Silicon Valley in terms of people scrabbling over one another and stabbing each other in the back to try to make it to the top
- SAFE!!! Where I live now a homeless woman got murdered across the street in a particularly gruesome way. In an area where my 1bedroom apartment rent is the cheapest I could find near work, $2700
- Can buy my own single family home or townhome for $450k-$600k or less. Assume on one salary for now.
- A decent food scene and politically liberal populace
- Lack of city driving. Driving in San Francisco causes me a lot of stress and anxiety that has not been alleviated with therapy or medication, so I'd just like to live somewhere where I won't have to do city driving on a regular basis. Highway and rural driving are fine.
- Nature of some form. Hopefully beautiful.
Nice-to-haves
- Some sort of town culture- nice coffeeshops with events, bookstores, an arts or crafts scene
- Dance community (ballet/contemporary/hip hop)
- Asian supermarkets
- Buddhist temples
I am not too worried about industries/work as I have job skills that are fairly portable, and I am also expecting that once I leave Silicon Valley I will have much less of an emphasis on career and work and will just want to do something where I show up 9-5, do my work, then go home and don't think about work, rather than this Silicon Valley nonsense of 14 hour minimum days where you are supposed to feel passionate about whatever you're doing to increase the pile of money your CEO does Scrooge McDuck swan dives into.
You're insane to be considering a two hour commute in Southern California because being stuck in the car here is so offing painful and traffic can be so gnarly. Luckily, there are a million places that are affordable near SD and Irvine, and you only need to commute that far if you are trying to hurt yourself.
Find a job you like and move nearby your job at will. It's really not that complicated if Irvine to SD is your target.
posted by jbenben at 6:14 PM on November 10, 2015
Find a job you like and move nearby your job at will. It's really not that complicated if Irvine to SD is your target.
posted by jbenben at 6:14 PM on November 10, 2015
Response by poster: To confirm I'm not looking for a 2-hr work commute (I used to do a 3 hr a day commute just getting from East Bay to South Bay and would never do that again), I'm looking to live somewhere within a 2 hr drive of either my parents or siblings so I can go see them regularly on weekends
posted by raw sugar at 6:31 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by raw sugar at 6:31 PM on November 10, 2015
You can easily buy in the South Bay now on an engineer's salary. You chould move to San Jose Japantown (not a super expensive area for the Bay Area, Buddhist temple, asian supermarkets, restaurants) and get a job in the South Bay, e.g. Apple, Cisco, Yahoo, eBay. Commute would be easy.
posted by w0mbat at 7:52 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by w0mbat at 7:52 PM on November 10, 2015
There was an article about San Bernardino in here somewhere. I recognised this as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor housing market. This city is undergoing a demographic change, it will probably fill with retirees and cottage industry. I doubt it is going to close.
Temecula was nice a few years ago.
posted by Oyéah at 8:17 PM on November 10, 2015
Temecula was nice a few years ago.
posted by Oyéah at 8:17 PM on November 10, 2015
Best answer: I know this is a losing argument, but... You can buy townhouses in South Orange County in that price range. For example, take a look at Aliso Viejo. 20 minutes to Irvine, an hour and a half to San Diego, a good number of tech companies in the general area (including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft). South OC is the very definition of "safe." The traffic is nothing like LA, and REALLY nothing like driving in the city of SF. It has a reputation for being super conservative, but I don't find that to be the case at all. It's not ultra liberal, it's just diverse in my experience. Most of the people I know are liberal, but it's not the kind of place where you're going to see a lot of outward political activism. It doesn't have the food scene of SF, but let's face it, few places do. SF is one of the great food cities, so it's not a fair comparison. There are lots of good places (not chains) to eat in OC. Don't believe the stereotypes. Aliso Viejo is 15-20 minutes from Laguna Beach, which has an AMAZING arts scene, wonderful bars and restaurants, and great beaches.
I could go on, but I'll stop there. I think OC's reputation for being boring, bland, and conservative isn't accurate, and I encourage you to at least do some exploration.
posted by primethyme at 9:17 PM on November 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
I could go on, but I'll stop there. I think OC's reputation for being boring, bland, and conservative isn't accurate, and I encourage you to at least do some exploration.
posted by primethyme at 9:17 PM on November 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Have you looked into Long Beach (perhaps the Belmont Heights or Bixby Knolls areas), Costa Mesa, or Santa Ana Heights?
posted by chicainthecity at 10:11 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by chicainthecity at 10:11 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Sorry w0mbat but I currently live in the South Bay and work at one of the companies you've listed and I can't afford to buy here trust me I have done the work and looked into it ;) ironically I am renting near SJ Japantown.
I am not an engineer so that's probably why. Anyone who is not an engineer here is getting priced out.
posted by raw sugar at 11:22 PM on November 10, 2015
I am not an engineer so that's probably why. Anyone who is not an engineer here is getting priced out.
posted by raw sugar at 11:22 PM on November 10, 2015
Response by poster: Also I don't want to end up arguing here with anyone about affordability in the Bay Area so if you have been able to find a home here you are pretty lucky, that is not my situation and as I stated in my question my goal is to leave the Bay Area and be closer to my family, thanks!
posted by raw sugar at 11:39 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by raw sugar at 11:39 PM on November 10, 2015
If $2700 is the cheapest 1BR you could find, in a bad neighborhood near San Jose, then you should spend more time looking and plan to move. It would be cheaper to rent a short-term room for a month while you check daily for affordable housing to come up on craigslist (it does go quickly, in a day or two, but competition isn't as bad as SF).
Anecdata: I currently live in the Bay Area, in a VERY expensive neighborhood (downtown Palo Alto), yet even my 1BR apartment costs less than $2700. I moved to my current place less than six months ago. Yes, the prices are insane, but you're probably paying slightly above market right now. If an apartment is listed on craigslist for more than a few days, it's priced at or above market.
But I agree that buying in this area on a single non-engineer salary isn't really feasible. Of your must-haves list, the only difficult one is food--you won't find a decent food scene in any small California town, so you'll pretty much be limited to suburbs. Seems like they could work out well and be affordable for you though, based on more knowledgeable comments above.
posted by serelliya at 12:14 AM on November 11, 2015
Anecdata: I currently live in the Bay Area, in a VERY expensive neighborhood (downtown Palo Alto), yet even my 1BR apartment costs less than $2700. I moved to my current place less than six months ago. Yes, the prices are insane, but you're probably paying slightly above market right now. If an apartment is listed on craigslist for more than a few days, it's priced at or above market.
But I agree that buying in this area on a single non-engineer salary isn't really feasible. Of your must-haves list, the only difficult one is food--you won't find a decent food scene in any small California town, so you'll pretty much be limited to suburbs. Seems like they could work out well and be affordable for you though, based on more knowledgeable comments above.
posted by serelliya at 12:14 AM on November 11, 2015
Can you clarify what you mean by "not LA"? Do you mean not the proper downtown area, or not LA county, or nowhere within the LA/OC/SD sprawl? Because "not LA /=" Asian markets, buddhist temples, no traffic, etc in my mind.
posted by vignettist at 1:23 AM on November 11, 2015
posted by vignettist at 1:23 AM on November 11, 2015
Best answer: I live in Diamond Bar, which has Asian supermarkets, is next to Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights for even more Asian supermarkets and stores and the massive Buddhist temple; is half an hour from Irvine, and adjacent to Brea, Fullerton, and Claremont for culture. And has parks, hiking, and open areas of hills. And has relatively affordable town homes (I live in one of them). MeMail me if you'd like specifics!
posted by culfinglin at 5:20 AM on November 11, 2015
posted by culfinglin at 5:20 AM on November 11, 2015
Also, Diamond Bar is exceedingly safe to the point of stultifying boredom. Your biggest danger when walking around at night is a coyote.
posted by culfinglin at 5:28 AM on November 11, 2015
posted by culfinglin at 5:28 AM on November 11, 2015
Best answer: Claremont, California is super safe, super liberal, highly walkable, and has houses in your price range listed on Zillow.
posted by yarntheory at 5:30 AM on November 11, 2015
posted by yarntheory at 5:30 AM on November 11, 2015
Response by poster: @serilliya, yes, I will be moving when my lease is up.
@vignettist, not LA = not downtown LA or LA county
I've gotten some great suggestions here of smaller towns within the LA/OC/SD sprawl, which is the kind of thing I'm looking for: thanks mefi!!
posted by raw sugar at 9:56 AM on November 11, 2015
@vignettist, not LA = not downtown LA or LA county
I've gotten some great suggestions here of smaller towns within the LA/OC/SD sprawl, which is the kind of thing I'm looking for: thanks mefi!!
posted by raw sugar at 9:56 AM on November 11, 2015
Best answer: Another vote for Long Beach -- I recently moved from there to the East Bay. The LBC is centrally located for commutes to LA proper (there's even rail) and down into Deep Orange, which really opens up your job search. It's the beach, even if you can't swim in it (port activities and the LA and San Gabriel rivers muck it up). There's decent to pretty good food and cultural stuff. It's got some history and architecture. There are several walkable neighborhoods (Bixby Knolls, Belmont Shore and Belmont Heights, Downtown LB). You can afford it.
posted by notyou at 12:41 PM on November 11, 2015
posted by notyou at 12:41 PM on November 11, 2015
It's super suburban, but Upland has some cute neighborhoods and seems extremely safe. I second Claremont. And what about Orange? Very cute downtown area and close to Irvine. I'm sorry, I'm not sure of home prices there, it might be higher.
Maybe Oceanside?
posted by areaperson at 5:49 PM on November 11, 2015
Maybe Oceanside?
posted by areaperson at 5:49 PM on November 11, 2015
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posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 5:50 PM on November 10, 2015