Location Cubed

Now: Before I so rudely interrupted myself, I believe I was going to write about the areas I'm considering?

First, some general background, which I alluded to in my inaugural post.

I suppose I can roughly divide my location desires into two categories, business and pleasure.  Business-wise, I mainly hope to live somewhere that minimizes my commute time, both now and in the future.  Since I already spend about 3.5 hours every day commuting, it would be hard to pick a location that would be much worse in that regard.  I do want to find a place close enough to work proper or to public transit so that I don't need to rely on an automobile.

Planning for future commutes requires a bit more crystal ball gazing.  I currently work in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood.  My previous job was in Los Gatos, at the very southern tip of Silicon Valley.  Odds are very likely that any future job would be located somewhere between those two extremes.  My particular focus - mobile software engineering - seems to be most active in San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Silicon Valley.  Less likely but still possible would be a location in the East Bay - Oakland/Emeryville being the biggest contenders, followed by Walnut Creek, followed by the Fremont area.

Again, it's impossible to know what the future holds, but fortunately I can rely on transit to get me at least to the general area of most places.  It's more a question of time and minimizing transfers to determine what would be a pleasant commute and what would be merely possible.

Finally, on the personal front.  Part of this comes down to location: again, I want to minimize the time required to reach places I want to visit.  Here, I put a premium on being able to walk places.  The big things for me here are grocery stores, farmers' markets, libraries, and trails.  I would also dig being able to visit a commercial area, maybe with things like bookstores, restaurants, and a gaming store.  And since I go hiking almost every weekend, the shorter of a drive to the mountains, the happier I'll be.

In terms of just living in the place itself, I'm hoping for something relatively quiet - I don't expect silence, but neither do I want to front on Highway 101.  Sunshine is great.  This is a region of microclimates, and a few blocks can easily separate regular fog from frequent sun.

Okay.  With all that background in place, here's the big-picture breakdown of places I'm considering.

General region: San Francisco
Particular areas/neighborhoods: SOMA, the Mission, the Richmond, Hayes Valley, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill
Summary: Living in an urban center, of what may be my favorite city in the world.
Advantages: Perks of urban living.  I could easily live without owning a car.  My commute to my current work would be incredibly easy.  There are some surprisingly good deals on new condos.  Weather in the eastern neighborhoods is usually pretty good.  All major Bay Area transit systems run here, often including the fastest options.
Disadvantages: The affordable neighborhoods also feel pretty marginal, with very visible indigency.  This is the extreme northwest of my employment region, so future jobs would likely require an extended commute.  While I love the city, I wouldn't take as much advantage of it as others - I'm more likely to hang out in my living room than hop between coffee shops.
Conclusion: Still the dream, but may not be worth the premium in price.  I'm increasingly drawn to the idea of living somewhere where I can easily access The City without actually living there.

General region: The Peninsula (San Mateo County)
Particular cities: Daly City, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo
Summary: Smack dab between SF and SV.  This area feels conventionally suburban, but has the goodness of California and great access.
Advantages: Very quick travel to SF.  Southern section is generally sunny.  Low crime and high quality of life.  Good Caltrain throughout, and BART in the northern section.  Fairly decent range of prices, generally cheaper further north.  Santa Cruz Mountains (really hills this far north) and the Pacific Ocean.  Good commuting times to most areas I would work.
Disadvantages: Northern section is among the foggiest/cloudiest in the Bay Area.  E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E - especially so for housing, where it has been least affected by the downturn, but also in regular costs.  Commute times would be the worst for the East Bay.
Conclusion: If I can swing the price, I'd love to live here.  That's a really big "if", though.

General region: South Bay / Silicon Valley
Particular cities: Mountain View, San Jose, Campbell
Summary: My stomping grounds of nearly four years.  If it wasn't for my present job, I probably wouldn't hesitate to remain here.
Advantages: More affordable than SF or SM.  Excellent weather.  High density of major tech employers.  Good transit options - Caltrain now, and BART coming soon (access to East Bay) and high speed rail in a decade or so (quick access to SF and points south).  Access to great hiking in Santa Cruz and Diablo ranges.  Familiarity with the area.  Friends in the area.
Disadvantages: Long commute to SF.  Far enough away from SF that it's impractical to visit for fun - other than work, I only make it there on special occasions, and it takes a lot of commitment in time to do so.  The most suburban-feeling area.
Conclusion: A tempting option, and will get more tempting once BART is running.  Because of my immediate employment situation, this is probably a non-starter, with the possible exception of a place within walking distance of the Diridon station.

General region: East Bay
Particular cities: Oakland (Piedmont Avenue, Montclair, Rockridge, Temescal), Berkeley, Fremont
Summary: Relaxed and easy living on the other side of the bridge.
Advantages: By far the cheapest of the four regions; steals available in marginal regions, and the best areas are still reasonable.  Friends in the area.  Great hiking in the Diablo range.  Generally good weather.  Good transit to SF and other areas in the East Bay.  Great cultural activities around UC Berkeley.  Culture seems pretty friendly and upbeat.
Disadvantages: Inconvenient access to the Peninsula and Silicon Valley - commute would be easy at first, but painful if I shifted later.  Oakland has a lot of problems, and the political situation there is pretty depressing right now.
Conclusion: When I first started looking at getting a condo a few years ago, this was the only region that looked at all affordable.  It's good to have more options.  If I was confident in remaining in SF or the East Bay for work, I'd take advantage of the great deals out there.  As it is, I'll probably focus my search westward, as long as it's reasonable to do so.

I've been doing occasional "walking tours" through various neighborhoods for the past half-year or so, specifically thinking about how it would feel to live in each area, and also been mulling in general about the various tradeoffs.  My current inclination is to focus on the Peninsula.  It feels like it has the best chances of offering a great work/play combination.  I really love the idea of being able to scoot up to the city on nights and weekends to attend concerts, plays, book readings, etc.; and doing this would physically position me well for likely future employment.  Depending on where I end up, my current commute could be as short as 20 minutes each way - not bad at all!  Price will be the limiting factor here, but if current personal and broader trends continue, I may be able to squeeze into something.  Stay tuned for more!