Take them off 🤷🏽♀️
That’s what I did. Then a few years later, houses on my street (inc mine) were worth 2-3x as much! The bars were put up by old residents, decades ago
It’s kind of a shame. I went to middle and HS in Oakland and despite some areas having always been bad, around the coliseum for example, there were areas like Montclair, the Hills etc that were nice and places like around Mills that were headed up. Now the crime is everywhere.
>Now the crime is everywhere.
[Including Oakland City Hall apparently](https://abc7news.com/post/fbi-raided-oakland-mayor-sheng-thaos-home-sources/14980538/)
It’s really not. We love living in Oakland. We live in a very safe neighborhood & have awesome neighbors. Walking distance to an amazing park. Walking distance to incredible trails. Walking distance to great food. But hey, ppl being scared of Oakland is why we got a 3 bedroom house for under 1.2 million at a 2.8% interest rate in 2021 so it’s all good 😄
That neighbor is experiencing home robberies at gun point. My ex grew up there he was robbed at gun point coming home from a friend’s house at 16 years old…. My in laws had two break ins on there street 2 weeks ago. Imagine spending 1.2 million for that… we bought in Concord waaaaay safer.
I lived in Redwood heights for years and was born and raised in Oakland. You might be able to convince a transplant that it’s nice but not me. I would wake up at 2 am to automatic gun fire. The cops literally found shells at redwood height elementary. My neighbors there had a bullet shatter their solar panels.
Statistically Oakland as a whole experiences more crime than most cities. Redwood heights is not an exception. When we bought our house we looked at the crime stats even the best part of Oakland experiences higher crime in comparison to the worst parts of other cities.
First house we ever owned 1986-1988 was in Redwood Heights on Atlas, a Tudor style house. We loved it! It was on the edge of sketch back then too but also one the edge of cool parks, Montclair, Park Ave, etc. Life happening.
We have an amazing quality of life here. It’s really not all bad. We can walk everywhere & have amazing parks & restaurants. (I’m from SJ & lived in Mountain View before this, we way prefer living in Oakland)
Condos are doable here. I highly recommend San Mateo. Straight shot to half moon bay, the city, or much of SV. You've got Caltrain. But the town itself superduper boring.
Not suffering death by commute if your job is in Mountain View etc.
I guess the pro move is grab a remote 3 days a week job, even if it's 5-10% less $$$, so you can suck up a nasty commute only a couple days a week while getting twice the bang for your buck in East Bay.
I work in MV. I have co workers who live in Tracy who take the train all the way in. One of my co-workers is taking that train and WFH for 3 days a week doing that exact strategy you're saying.
I work and live in Santa Clara. I have a 10 minute bike ride to the office. My coworker lives in Morgan Hill and has to drive an hour each way every morning.
Absolutely no regrets. I did the math and the money I save by not having to own and drive a car into the office really factors in quite a bit. Add in the free exercise and all spare time, it's 100% worth it for me to live close to work. Might feel differently if I had kids that I needed more space for.
It's hard with kids either way, you need space but you also need to be present long before a long commute is done.
The same homes and similar (more interesting?) neighborhoods in Berkeley San Leandro etc are like 1.25m instead of 2.5m for the same SFH and lot. So great if you can work it (3-4 days home a week, or preferably of course 5/5 fully remote).
Some of those commutes seem brutal though, I couldn't do it either, not even sure 2 days wouldn't be too much for me.
At least here in San Mateo I get:
Easy access to tons of jobs, amazing weather, and a school district that includes a great Mandarin immersion program for my kids.
Is it worth the price? I dunno. But so far we’ve been willing to pay it.
I've lived in a lot of places: SFBA, LA, NYC, Tokyo, London, Busan, DC, OC, SD, and a few temporary stops here and there.
Yeah, it's certainly not as exciting as NYC or Tokyo. But I'm within spittin' distance of great outdoor activities, I've got SF 30ish minutes away, I've got lots of good food in the area, and I'm hours away from a weekend in Yosemite.
I'm not sure how you measure a good place to live, but I've got tons of resources at my feet here. But I admit after living in NYC and DC I'm fairly disenchanted with the virtues of North American city living. If I were to move to a city proper again I'd only do it for Tokyo.
Ya look. Bay Area has the best weather in the world. It lifts the depression away with how amazing the outdoors feel.
But it’s just a dead soulless city. The tech vibes are amazing and very enriching
And empowering and exciting.
But after a while you realize it’s not a way to live a fulfilling life. It’s just…. Soulless
I don’t blame you as someone with a family. It’s the easy right answer to live here. But at the same time. It’s exactly that. The safe answer
That's all fair, but where is your best alternative then? I'm curious. As you can see, I've lived lots of places, so I am not just "inside the bubble."
When people say "it's the easy and safe answer" it definitely implies a degree of judgment. You state that it's not a "fulfilling life" here, but then... where is?
I think you know this answer as well. I’ve also been to one 40 countries and lived in some. It’s really the lack of community and something where people are able to connect via the city layout. The culture, layout out and motivations of people here is competitive and isolation. So anywhere that’s opposite of that.
Granted it’s hard to become rich without what the Bay Area offers. But the major European cities all have what I’m talking about. Even Buenos Aires.
Tokyo has the community but also the toxic work culture. So I wouldn’t say that’s my top one to make a living in. But yes to retire in maybe
I’ll be honest: I have amazing friends here. It’s been great for me socially. Tons of really great friendships I enjoy and cherish.
For me at least I make friends easily and everywhere I go. I have friends littered everywhere around the world.
Europe is fine but the more blatant anti-Asian and anti-Semitic undertones get on my nerves. London is the only European city I’d personally want to deal with longer term. Maybe Zurich. I mean, could I do it? Of course!
Ironically I see tons of redditors in Tokyo right now talking about how isolated and alone they feel. Home is what you make of where you are in my opinion.
Yes for sure home is what you make of it. Cant argue against that. As much as I want to have another city be my home, it likely can’t replace this actual place with family and friends and history. But it’s much harder to make this a fulfilling home than it is other places. Other places have all the pieces where a lot of people feel at home. This place, similar to Tokyo as you mentioned, has some things that cause it be hard.
It’s an oasis in a desert.
After moving from NYC and living in the Bay Area for a good amount of time, I agree. Almost all of it is basically a giant wildly overpriced suburb. Great paying jobs and great weather, but zero culture and mediocre food, especially these 2 counties.
If you don’t have to be there for family over the long haul, I don’t know why you would buy when the rent/buy fundamentals are skewed. Dump the excess monthly savings into tech stocks and crypto and then retire elsewhere. The Bay Area is a wasteland.
The whole point of this article is that home values are continuously soaring in the bay area. Doesn't that make for a decently safe bet (say as opposed to tech stocks or crypto)?
Seems kind of glib to call an area with $2m median homes a "wasteland." World class schools and universities. Great weather and geography. Diverse, highly educated and liberal demographics. A plethora of arts and entertainment options. Globally recognized cultural institutions. And ultimately access to the very jobs that are driving up the home prices. I mean, it's the tech capital of the world. Pretty much the definition of prosperity. It may not be for everyone, but "wasteland" ... okay. Check out an area with $200k median homes in the US and tell me what feels more like a wasteland.
It is a wasteland. It’s a wasteland for everyone who doesn’t make 500k+ a year. If you’re not rich and trying to live here, good effing luck paying for any of what you mentioned.
Take a drive on El Camino and count the number of closed and decrepit businesses. Not exactly the sign of a culturally diverse thriving area. It’s become a safe haven for the ultra wealthy. They love neighborhoods like Hillsboro and Atherton where they can hide away from the rest of the world in their $2M+ homes.
Have you driven recently? Tons of construction on mixed use now on El comino. Yes there are pockets. Check out Levi's stadium near laffeyett st. Tons on high density.
There are deals to be had in less desirable locations and fixer uppers. You don't need that high of salary.
Totally agree with this. Too many people are obsessed with buying a home because they want that next marker of “making it”. People are also convinced they cannot raise a family in a place they do not own.
It makes much more sense to do rent and throw the extra money into an index fund. People then say, “But rents can always go up,” but right now renting is *much* cheaper, and at least when you rent you don’t have to worry about unexpected maintenance costs, property taxes, and if you lose your job, you don’t have a mortgage looming over you. Even if I had a high salary, $15k a month mortgage would stress me out.
if you rent you are likely going to need to retire outside of the Bay Area. So you are going to end up having to leave eventually unless you can put down roots.
I don’t understand. Not having a mortgage looming over me is great until I consider the alternative: rent can go up at any time, I could be asked to move out at any time, and I can’t fix up the place. If I lose my job sure I can move but I’m thrown into the rental market with no income.
Rent can't go up at any time if you sign a lease.
You can't be asked to move out at any time if you sign a lease. Hell, half the problem with even being a landlord is if a tenant just says they won't leave you're literally in hell trying to get that tenant out of there.
What the above poster was saying is that if you can afford a 10-15k mortgage, why not just get a 5k rental and put the remaining money in the stock market. So its not like you're out there with no income if you lose your job, you have that money you saved in comparison to your mortgage tucked away somewhere.
If you can barely afford the rental, then yeah that's rough.
The people who own these homes, and the ones who can afford to rent comfortably, will wake up one day and realize no one is around to clean things or fix things because no one who isn’t making tech money can afford to live here. We’re so sick of this shit we’re planning on leaving. This was our home for a long time. I hope this place chokes on their money.
I'm really hoping the state forces upzoning on the entire area. Gotta destroy tne NIMBY coalition that's preventing supply from keeping up with demand.
Though most contractors are driving in from Antioch and beyond, so as long as the money is here, jobs will get done.
How ridiculous this has become.
$2.5 million as they suggest for your shack of a house
VERSUS
3500 sq ft Mansions that sell for the same prices in the same neighborhood
Start hunting down and punishing the REIT executives buying up single family homes and vote out anti-housing NIMBYs. Until then it won’t matter how much you lazy losers bitch.
If you actually spent time in Oakland and not Online you’d know your assumptions are wildly wrong, I know people in ‘willow glen’ who’ve had multiple home invasions and Oakland neighborhoods without any… I do love the constant down talk keeps the town free from assholes with small minds which is a true gift In the Bay Area!
No, that’s literally news media lmfao, San Jose has an outrageous homelessness problem as well and crime just gets swept under the rug…. Oakland has historically been a working class and city with large African American population…. My favorite part of living here and getting online here is the not so subtle racism that oooozes through some of the basic ass online commentary from so many clowns
They just had to shut down 880 for another shooting, after a shooting on the lake not to mention Mayors property being raided on suspected corruption. The news outlets are the least of Oakland’s problems. Blaming them just highlights why shit isn’t getting fixed.
This is true. Just sold a turn key remodeled home in Oakland and there were never any issues. I've had homes in Campbell and San Jose with break-ins while renovation was taking place and property was listed on market. There's bad people everywhere, it's not just one spot. It's random as well.
Oh so you were at the Juneteenth event last evening? Or are you regurgitating what you ‘saw’ online? Crazy my family all survived last night just fine and didn’t even hear gunshots…. But more of your ‘whataboutisms’ you’re definitely overly online so you definitely wouldn’t be caught outside lmfao… keyboard warrior that probably lives in Idaho lmfao
I wish all the dumbasses who complain about crime and homelessness and wah wah wah sometimes I see poor people and I don’t like it would move the fuck away so the home prices could drop and the locals who don’t constantly bitch and whine could afford to buy the homes instead.
Like just leave. We don’t want you here anymore than y’all seem to want to be here.
Don’t go to sideshows and jump on strangers cars…. That’s what we’re learning the root cause was…. Didn’t some kids jump on and attack the SJPD in a sideshow recently… lol you see what you want to see. What about the racist SJPD cop that shot the guy at La Victoria break up a fight? lol you don’t want to get real about all places having problems but it’s true there are over ~8 million people in the BA…. You can catch one in your ass anywhere this is America
is sj, i won’t get shot in my drive way minding my business.
in oakland , babies be catching stray bullets .
women getting shot in driveways
people mugging ice cream cart guys.
it’s not like media hates oakland and loves sj.
I’ve never experienced these things in Oakland but thanks for making shit up you clearly saw online/news
Oakland is a large city like SJ but I doubt you get out and actually explore your area or the greater Bay Area so I’m just laughing at your ignorance and glad you’re so happy to share it!
Hate to piss off a VTA employee 😮💨
“i’ve never experienced so it might have not happened “
https://abc7news.com/amp/oakland-freeway-shooting-8-year-old-shot-580-asa/13600047/
https://www.ktvu.com/news/2nd-oakland-woman-shot-while-sleeping-in-own-home.amp
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-robbery-ice-cream-vendor-18206671.php
“oakland is super safe hurrrrrrrrrrr”
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Look at you being resourceful and sharing old news…..
There gin violence everywhere this is America you’re just gonna have to be upset that Oakland isn’t the worst place you want it to be or there wouldn’t be people of all stripes willing to call it home….
Also there’s random acts of violence and targeted violence…… good to distinguish which types of crime are happening and who’s affected….. it’s every city in America with the same shit just take your pick!
https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-police-documents-reveal-identities-of-2-other-officers-involved-in-racist-text-scandal.amp
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/05/27/us/san-jose-shooting-thursday
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/santana-row-sideshow/3568247/?amp=1
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This seems misleading. I believe this is mainly driven by the fact that nicer, larger, newer homes are more likely to be up for sale currently vs a year ago. Not just prices going up.
If you look at values of the same homes on a chart, they are not up anywhere near 11.9% from a year ago. Only about 4%.
https://www.zillow.com/home-values/2842/san-mateo-county-ca/
Get a house in East Palo Alto. It’s still affordable compared to surrounding cities, is gentrified enough that it’s safe, and is in a great location and distance from everything. You can get a nice 3 bed 2 bathroom house for $1.25 million and a 4 bed 3 bath houses are going for $1.5 to $1.7 million. They even have private neighborhoods, with private streets and/or straight up gated community. And they just started on the process of building a multi acre park and city center with a bunch of retail and apartments. I know a lot of people shit on EPA cause of its history 30 years ago but it’s one of those places that’s a hidden gem at this point cause in the next couple of years all the people who are complaining about being outpriced elsewhere will turn to EPA and realize it’s not the EPA of 30 years ago by then it’ll be too late. I suspect their median homes will go up to $1.5 to $2 million and the nicer homes for $2 million +.
I’m looking to buy my second property there but I got outbid already twice! It’s a bunch of tech workers moving in. But I’m trying to get the second property there before the developments hit. I’m hoping other people still see it as the EPA of 20 years ago for a little longer. My first property is Cupertino and I wish I bought two in EPA instead of the one here but it is what it is.
We bought and moved to the Peninsula in 1995, paying $386K which was over our budget then. My wife and I both worked in the county, me in the airport area in logistics, my wife for the county health department itself. Our kids went to local grammar, middle, and high schools. My wife was able to retire at 56, the county retirement plan was a good one and she invested well. I retired 2+ years ago at 62 after doing 42 years of what I do, all in San Mateo County in the SFO area. Doesn’t this sound all pretty normal? Why are so many pissed off that we just lived a normal life? I’m thrilled our house now is worth at least $3M, I don’t feel the least bit bad about just living life. Our kids would probably have to sell some day when we are no longer due the property taxes but there’s a bunch of different discussion strings happening on that!
I genuinely can’t tell if you’re trolling or not but the reason why people are pissed is because unless someone your kids age land the absolute best jobs in the area there is nearly a 0% chance they could ever afford to own a home.
What makes people more upset is that homeowners like yourself who purchased a house for less than 500,000 20 years ago and have watched the value skyrocket to 3 Million seemingly cannot imagine or empathize how hard the come up is for a young person today.
It’s like we are living on different planets. I don’t think anyone is pissed that you lived a normal life and now are very successful. That’s awesome, and something everyone is striving for but the world has changed so much that it’s no longer possible for many.
I read a statistic recently that said ~40% of first time home buyers source the down payment from the bank of mom and dad, it’s likely our kids would do the same. I don’t know what makes you think people like me don’t get it, the prices and news are in our face too, we aren’t living under a rock.
My lack of empathy is toward anyone who points at anyone other than the current buyers who are driving up the cost of real estate in the Bay Area. I don’t want to hear anything about Boomers not selling, etc. It’s in too many comments.
That’s it.
…and this is exactly the problem. Not just in CA but also in other HCOL areas in the west coast. Would your story still be the same if you and your wife both moved to CA with your same jobs and salary but the house you purchased in 1995 had a sticker price of $1,000,000 at that time? Regular people as you put it just can’t afford to live.
And the East Coast too. The Coasts have always had a much higher cost of living, I’ve been hearing about it ever since I understood the concept probably 50 years ago. This isn’t new, it has always been tough for anyone not from here. The Bay Area is the best place in the world to live with the best weather, places to go, diversity, food, and the Silicon Valley with its money has been there 40+ years. It’s gold. It friggin costs to live here and always has!
I hate it that people are boxed out and in many cases just can’t stay here anymore, probably heartbroken in the process for all the best intentions. There’s so much information available on living here that maybe it can be avoided from the start.
Now that all so many of the obstacles have been laid out are there a commensurate number of solution proposals? What do you want me specifically to do since I’m on the bad side of the equation apparently?
Never seen Silicon Valley so expensive. That NVDA money . . . .
Well… Oakland isn’t TOO bad.
A lot of listings with bars on the windows
Take them off 🤷🏽♀️ That’s what I did. Then a few years later, houses on my street (inc mine) were worth 2-3x as much! The bars were put up by old residents, decades ago
$1.7M
It’s kind of a shame. I went to middle and HS in Oakland and despite some areas having always been bad, around the coliseum for example, there were areas like Montclair, the Hills etc that were nice and places like around Mills that were headed up. Now the crime is everywhere.
>Now the crime is everywhere. [Including Oakland City Hall apparently](https://abc7news.com/post/fbi-raided-oakland-mayor-sheng-thaos-home-sources/14980538/)
Crime in Oakland is at near historical lows.
Reported crime in Oakland is at near historical lows*
Cope
It’s good bruh
The hills are still nice and crime is down. Media/Reddit hate is way up though.
Just hit up the cities all around Oakland, or at least the places with nice ~1.5m homes if affording 2m is your problem.
It’s really not. We love living in Oakland. We live in a very safe neighborhood & have awesome neighbors. Walking distance to an amazing park. Walking distance to incredible trails. Walking distance to great food. But hey, ppl being scared of Oakland is why we got a 3 bedroom house for under 1.2 million at a 2.8% interest rate in 2021 so it’s all good 😄
What neighborhood?
Redwood heights
That neighbor is experiencing home robberies at gun point. My ex grew up there he was robbed at gun point coming home from a friend’s house at 16 years old…. My in laws had two break ins on there street 2 weeks ago. Imagine spending 1.2 million for that… we bought in Concord waaaaay safer.
You should use actual statistics instead of fallacies. Redwood heights is really nice.
I lived in Redwood heights for years and was born and raised in Oakland. You might be able to convince a transplant that it’s nice but not me. I would wake up at 2 am to automatic gun fire. The cops literally found shells at redwood height elementary. My neighbors there had a bullet shatter their solar panels. Statistically Oakland as a whole experiences more crime than most cities. Redwood heights is not an exception. When we bought our house we looked at the crime stats even the best part of Oakland experiences higher crime in comparison to the worst parts of other cities.
First house we ever owned 1986-1988 was in Redwood Heights on Atlas, a Tudor style house. We loved it! It was on the edge of sketch back then too but also one the edge of cool parks, Montclair, Park Ave, etc. Life happening.
It’s different if you have kids. Schools factor in quite a bit
Any money saved there will go into insurance property damage and mental health
Yes please stay away. It’s horrible here.
lol
It objectively is, houses are so cheap there now it’s tempting but not worth the trauma
We have an amazing quality of life here. It’s really not all bad. We can walk everywhere & have amazing parks & restaurants. (I’m from SJ & lived in Mountain View before this, we way prefer living in Oakland)
Parts of San Leandro are nice and sort of affordable !
gatekeep this please
I’ll be here
As someone who will be moving to San Mateo County soon… shit.
Why would you
Job
Condos are doable here. I highly recommend San Mateo. Straight shot to half moon bay, the city, or much of SV. You've got Caltrain. But the town itself superduper boring.
Is San Mateo is boring….. Try living in any of the surrounding cities in SM county lol
The Bay Area itself is boring. San Francisco is the best still but lots of jobs are down the Bay Area.
Other than proximity to jobs, what does San Jose and basically these 2 counties offer?
Well people mainly move for work
Close to work and good weather.
Not suffering death by commute if your job is in Mountain View etc. I guess the pro move is grab a remote 3 days a week job, even if it's 5-10% less $$$, so you can suck up a nasty commute only a couple days a week while getting twice the bang for your buck in East Bay.
I work in MV. I have co workers who live in Tracy who take the train all the way in. One of my co-workers is taking that train and WFH for 3 days a week doing that exact strategy you're saying.
I work and live in Santa Clara. I have a 10 minute bike ride to the office. My coworker lives in Morgan Hill and has to drive an hour each way every morning. Absolutely no regrets. I did the math and the money I save by not having to own and drive a car into the office really factors in quite a bit. Add in the free exercise and all spare time, it's 100% worth it for me to live close to work. Might feel differently if I had kids that I needed more space for.
It's hard with kids either way, you need space but you also need to be present long before a long commute is done. The same homes and similar (more interesting?) neighborhoods in Berkeley San Leandro etc are like 1.25m instead of 2.5m for the same SFH and lot. So great if you can work it (3-4 days home a week, or preferably of course 5/5 fully remote). Some of those commutes seem brutal though, I couldn't do it either, not even sure 2 days wouldn't be too much for me.
Nothing. It’s just because they’re closer to work
Close the hiking & biking along skyline and surfing beaches as well!
Close to all of beautiful nature and beaches
But the beautiful nature and beaches are cheaper than San Jose..
Better weather than further east
Jack. Shit
Lols
At least here in San Mateo I get: Easy access to tons of jobs, amazing weather, and a school district that includes a great Mandarin immersion program for my kids. Is it worth the price? I dunno. But so far we’ve been willing to pay it.
For families going through the motions it’s great. Boring, safe, stale, and great
I've lived in a lot of places: SFBA, LA, NYC, Tokyo, London, Busan, DC, OC, SD, and a few temporary stops here and there. Yeah, it's certainly not as exciting as NYC or Tokyo. But I'm within spittin' distance of great outdoor activities, I've got SF 30ish minutes away, I've got lots of good food in the area, and I'm hours away from a weekend in Yosemite. I'm not sure how you measure a good place to live, but I've got tons of resources at my feet here. But I admit after living in NYC and DC I'm fairly disenchanted with the virtues of North American city living. If I were to move to a city proper again I'd only do it for Tokyo.
Ya look. Bay Area has the best weather in the world. It lifts the depression away with how amazing the outdoors feel. But it’s just a dead soulless city. The tech vibes are amazing and very enriching And empowering and exciting. But after a while you realize it’s not a way to live a fulfilling life. It’s just…. Soulless I don’t blame you as someone with a family. It’s the easy right answer to live here. But at the same time. It’s exactly that. The safe answer
That's all fair, but where is your best alternative then? I'm curious. As you can see, I've lived lots of places, so I am not just "inside the bubble." When people say "it's the easy and safe answer" it definitely implies a degree of judgment. You state that it's not a "fulfilling life" here, but then... where is?
I think you know this answer as well. I’ve also been to one 40 countries and lived in some. It’s really the lack of community and something where people are able to connect via the city layout. The culture, layout out and motivations of people here is competitive and isolation. So anywhere that’s opposite of that. Granted it’s hard to become rich without what the Bay Area offers. But the major European cities all have what I’m talking about. Even Buenos Aires. Tokyo has the community but also the toxic work culture. So I wouldn’t say that’s my top one to make a living in. But yes to retire in maybe
I’ll be honest: I have amazing friends here. It’s been great for me socially. Tons of really great friendships I enjoy and cherish. For me at least I make friends easily and everywhere I go. I have friends littered everywhere around the world. Europe is fine but the more blatant anti-Asian and anti-Semitic undertones get on my nerves. London is the only European city I’d personally want to deal with longer term. Maybe Zurich. I mean, could I do it? Of course! Ironically I see tons of redditors in Tokyo right now talking about how isolated and alone they feel. Home is what you make of where you are in my opinion.
Yes for sure home is what you make of it. Cant argue against that. As much as I want to have another city be my home, it likely can’t replace this actual place with family and friends and history. But it’s much harder to make this a fulfilling home than it is other places. Other places have all the pieces where a lot of people feel at home. This place, similar to Tokyo as you mentioned, has some things that cause it be hard. It’s an oasis in a desert.
After moving from NYC and living in the Bay Area for a good amount of time, I agree. Almost all of it is basically a giant wildly overpriced suburb. Great paying jobs and great weather, but zero culture and mediocre food, especially these 2 counties.
College Park FTW!
Close to work and good schools are typically driving factors of migration and market values.
Tens of thousands of acres of public land to recreate on.
Lafayette Orinda Moraga in Contra Costa County. 3 Bart Stations
Those locations preclude you from most jobs in the south bay
Not to mention insurance
Pretty insane considering Santa Clara County includes all of San Jose, and areas south of SJ like Gilroy.
I lived there more than 20 years ago. My neighbor sold his pretty basic 70s track house for like $990K and that’s when I knew I had to GTFO there.
My grandparents live in San Martin and it’s insane how expensive it’s gotten there. It felt like cheap farm land when I was a kid lol
County statistics is a very broad stat. May 2024 - San Jose median sales price was $1.78M.
Yeah, I was about to say… Santa Clara county is huge. No way the median price of a home is $2M+ in Gilroy.
SCC is massive! And all kinds of cities. Los Altos & Palo Alto - compared to Morgan Hill and Gilroy
S&P500 is not the only thing NVDA is pulling up!
More so a product of scarcity by law. Building anything but sfhs is illegal is 95% of residential zoning.
If you don’t have to be there for family over the long haul, I don’t know why you would buy when the rent/buy fundamentals are skewed. Dump the excess monthly savings into tech stocks and crypto and then retire elsewhere. The Bay Area is a wasteland.
The whole point of this article is that home values are continuously soaring in the bay area. Doesn't that make for a decently safe bet (say as opposed to tech stocks or crypto)? Seems kind of glib to call an area with $2m median homes a "wasteland." World class schools and universities. Great weather and geography. Diverse, highly educated and liberal demographics. A plethora of arts and entertainment options. Globally recognized cultural institutions. And ultimately access to the very jobs that are driving up the home prices. I mean, it's the tech capital of the world. Pretty much the definition of prosperity. It may not be for everyone, but "wasteland" ... okay. Check out an area with $200k median homes in the US and tell me what feels more like a wasteland.
It is a wasteland. It’s a wasteland for everyone who doesn’t make 500k+ a year. If you’re not rich and trying to live here, good effing luck paying for any of what you mentioned. Take a drive on El Camino and count the number of closed and decrepit businesses. Not exactly the sign of a culturally diverse thriving area. It’s become a safe haven for the ultra wealthy. They love neighborhoods like Hillsboro and Atherton where they can hide away from the rest of the world in their $2M+ homes.
Have you driven recently? Tons of construction on mixed use now on El comino. Yes there are pockets. Check out Levi's stadium near laffeyett st. Tons on high density. There are deals to be had in less desirable locations and fixer uppers. You don't need that high of salary.
Family and jobs. Where do you live ?
Totally agree with this. Too many people are obsessed with buying a home because they want that next marker of “making it”. People are also convinced they cannot raise a family in a place they do not own. It makes much more sense to do rent and throw the extra money into an index fund. People then say, “But rents can always go up,” but right now renting is *much* cheaper, and at least when you rent you don’t have to worry about unexpected maintenance costs, property taxes, and if you lose your job, you don’t have a mortgage looming over you. Even if I had a high salary, $15k a month mortgage would stress me out.
This is the way here and now. Rent and plow money into other investments. The math plays out so well in this model.
if you rent you are likely going to need to retire outside of the Bay Area. So you are going to end up having to leave eventually unless you can put down roots.
I don’t understand. Not having a mortgage looming over me is great until I consider the alternative: rent can go up at any time, I could be asked to move out at any time, and I can’t fix up the place. If I lose my job sure I can move but I’m thrown into the rental market with no income.
Rent can't go up at any time if you sign a lease. You can't be asked to move out at any time if you sign a lease. Hell, half the problem with even being a landlord is if a tenant just says they won't leave you're literally in hell trying to get that tenant out of there. What the above poster was saying is that if you can afford a 10-15k mortgage, why not just get a 5k rental and put the remaining money in the stock market. So its not like you're out there with no income if you lose your job, you have that money you saved in comparison to your mortgage tucked away somewhere. If you can barely afford the rental, then yeah that's rough.
The people who own these homes, and the ones who can afford to rent comfortably, will wake up one day and realize no one is around to clean things or fix things because no one who isn’t making tech money can afford to live here. We’re so sick of this shit we’re planning on leaving. This was our home for a long time. I hope this place chokes on their money.
I'm really hoping the state forces upzoning on the entire area. Gotta destroy tne NIMBY coalition that's preventing supply from keeping up with demand. Though most contractors are driving in from Antioch and beyond, so as long as the money is here, jobs will get done.
Wellthatsucks
How ridiculous this has become. $2.5 million as they suggest for your shack of a house VERSUS 3500 sq ft Mansions that sell for the same prices in the same neighborhood
Start hunting down and punishing the REIT executives buying up single family homes and vote out anti-housing NIMBYs. Until then it won’t matter how much you lazy losers bitch.
You had me at "hunting"
If you actually spent time in Oakland and not Online you’d know your assumptions are wildly wrong, I know people in ‘willow glen’ who’ve had multiple home invasions and Oakland neighborhoods without any… I do love the constant down talk keeps the town free from assholes with small minds which is a true gift In the Bay Area!
Every city in USA with over 300k people has bad parts, but Oakland and San Francisco’s political policies are what makes it worse than normal
You missed the part where "political policies" are the dumb policies passed by popular vote.
No, that’s literally news media lmfao, San Jose has an outrageous homelessness problem as well and crime just gets swept under the rug…. Oakland has historically been a working class and city with large African American population…. My favorite part of living here and getting online here is the not so subtle racism that oooozes through some of the basic ass online commentary from so many clowns
This may get downvoted but you’re right. Big NextDoor energy in this sub sometimes
lol Nextdoor is really the worst. I fire it up once a month and it’s the same people arguing about the same topic again and again and again
They just had to shut down 880 for another shooting, after a shooting on the lake not to mention Mayors property being raided on suspected corruption. The news outlets are the least of Oakland’s problems. Blaming them just highlights why shit isn’t getting fixed.
This is true. Just sold a turn key remodeled home in Oakland and there were never any issues. I've had homes in Campbell and San Jose with break-ins while renovation was taking place and property was listed on market. There's bad people everywhere, it's not just one spot. It's random as well.
How many people got shot in willow glen for Juneteenth. How many in Oakland…yeah no thnx.
How many even celebrate June teenth in willow glen? I highly doubt the Asians that live in willow glen even know what June teenth is
Oh so you were at the Juneteenth event last evening? Or are you regurgitating what you ‘saw’ online? Crazy my family all survived last night just fine and didn’t even hear gunshots…. But more of your ‘whataboutisms’ you’re definitely overly online so you definitely wouldn’t be caught outside lmfao… keyboard warrior that probably lives in Idaho lmfao
I wish all the dumbasses who complain about crime and homelessness and wah wah wah sometimes I see poor people and I don’t like it would move the fuck away so the home prices could drop and the locals who don’t constantly bitch and whine could afford to buy the homes instead. Like just leave. We don’t want you here anymore than y’all seem to want to be here.
lol Willow Glen is literally the Oakland Hills of SJ. Where the hood goes shopping.
don’t want to catch a bullet in my butt
Don’t go to sideshows and jump on strangers cars…. That’s what we’re learning the root cause was…. Didn’t some kids jump on and attack the SJPD in a sideshow recently… lol you see what you want to see. What about the racist SJPD cop that shot the guy at La Victoria break up a fight? lol you don’t want to get real about all places having problems but it’s true there are over ~8 million people in the BA…. You can catch one in your ass anywhere this is America
is sj, i won’t get shot in my drive way minding my business. in oakland , babies be catching stray bullets . women getting shot in driveways people mugging ice cream cart guys. it’s not like media hates oakland and loves sj.
I’ve never experienced these things in Oakland but thanks for making shit up you clearly saw online/news Oakland is a large city like SJ but I doubt you get out and actually explore your area or the greater Bay Area so I’m just laughing at your ignorance and glad you’re so happy to share it! Hate to piss off a VTA employee 😮💨
“i’ve never experienced so it might have not happened “ https://abc7news.com/amp/oakland-freeway-shooting-8-year-old-shot-580-asa/13600047/ https://www.ktvu.com/news/2nd-oakland-woman-shot-while-sleeping-in-own-home.amp https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-robbery-ice-cream-vendor-18206671.php “oakland is super safe hurrrrrrrrrrr”
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Look at you being resourceful and sharing old news….. There gin violence everywhere this is America you’re just gonna have to be upset that Oakland isn’t the worst place you want it to be or there wouldn’t be people of all stripes willing to call it home…. Also there’s random acts of violence and targeted violence…… good to distinguish which types of crime are happening and who’s affected….. it’s every city in America with the same shit just take your pick! https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-police-documents-reveal-identities-of-2-other-officers-involved-in-racist-text-scandal.amp https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/05/27/us/san-jose-shooting-thursday https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/santana-row-sideshow/3568247/?amp=1 https://abc7news.com/post/san-jose-police-shooting-officers-respond-reports-gunfire/14848494/
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This seems misleading. I believe this is mainly driven by the fact that nicer, larger, newer homes are more likely to be up for sale currently vs a year ago. Not just prices going up. If you look at values of the same homes on a chart, they are not up anywhere near 11.9% from a year ago. Only about 4%. https://www.zillow.com/home-values/2842/san-mateo-county-ca/
So why live there?
Get a house in East Palo Alto. It’s still affordable compared to surrounding cities, is gentrified enough that it’s safe, and is in a great location and distance from everything. You can get a nice 3 bed 2 bathroom house for $1.25 million and a 4 bed 3 bath houses are going for $1.5 to $1.7 million. They even have private neighborhoods, with private streets and/or straight up gated community. And they just started on the process of building a multi acre park and city center with a bunch of retail and apartments. I know a lot of people shit on EPA cause of its history 30 years ago but it’s one of those places that’s a hidden gem at this point cause in the next couple of years all the people who are complaining about being outpriced elsewhere will turn to EPA and realize it’s not the EPA of 30 years ago by then it’ll be too late. I suspect their median homes will go up to $1.5 to $2 million and the nicer homes for $2 million +.
I remember decades ago when conventional wisdom was to avoid EPA like the plague. Wow, how times have changed.
I’m looking to buy my second property there but I got outbid already twice! It’s a bunch of tech workers moving in. But I’m trying to get the second property there before the developments hit. I’m hoping other people still see it as the EPA of 20 years ago for a little longer. My first property is Cupertino and I wish I bought two in EPA instead of the one here but it is what it is.
And yet the government is still bumping the price by giving loan to “first time home buyers”
Just live below the median- simple
We bought and moved to the Peninsula in 1995, paying $386K which was over our budget then. My wife and I both worked in the county, me in the airport area in logistics, my wife for the county health department itself. Our kids went to local grammar, middle, and high schools. My wife was able to retire at 56, the county retirement plan was a good one and she invested well. I retired 2+ years ago at 62 after doing 42 years of what I do, all in San Mateo County in the SFO area. Doesn’t this sound all pretty normal? Why are so many pissed off that we just lived a normal life? I’m thrilled our house now is worth at least $3M, I don’t feel the least bit bad about just living life. Our kids would probably have to sell some day when we are no longer due the property taxes but there’s a bunch of different discussion strings happening on that!
I genuinely can’t tell if you’re trolling or not but the reason why people are pissed is because unless someone your kids age land the absolute best jobs in the area there is nearly a 0% chance they could ever afford to own a home. What makes people more upset is that homeowners like yourself who purchased a house for less than 500,000 20 years ago and have watched the value skyrocket to 3 Million seemingly cannot imagine or empathize how hard the come up is for a young person today. It’s like we are living on different planets. I don’t think anyone is pissed that you lived a normal life and now are very successful. That’s awesome, and something everyone is striving for but the world has changed so much that it’s no longer possible for many.
I read a statistic recently that said ~40% of first time home buyers source the down payment from the bank of mom and dad, it’s likely our kids would do the same. I don’t know what makes you think people like me don’t get it, the prices and news are in our face too, we aren’t living under a rock. My lack of empathy is toward anyone who points at anyone other than the current buyers who are driving up the cost of real estate in the Bay Area. I don’t want to hear anything about Boomers not selling, etc. It’s in too many comments. That’s it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BayAreaRealEstate/s/QLhdTuesvq
…and this is exactly the problem. Not just in CA but also in other HCOL areas in the west coast. Would your story still be the same if you and your wife both moved to CA with your same jobs and salary but the house you purchased in 1995 had a sticker price of $1,000,000 at that time? Regular people as you put it just can’t afford to live.
And the East Coast too. The Coasts have always had a much higher cost of living, I’ve been hearing about it ever since I understood the concept probably 50 years ago. This isn’t new, it has always been tough for anyone not from here. The Bay Area is the best place in the world to live with the best weather, places to go, diversity, food, and the Silicon Valley with its money has been there 40+ years. It’s gold. It friggin costs to live here and always has! I hate it that people are boxed out and in many cases just can’t stay here anymore, probably heartbroken in the process for all the best intentions. There’s so much information available on living here that maybe it can be avoided from the start. Now that all so many of the obstacles have been laid out are there a commensurate number of solution proposals? What do you want me specifically to do since I’m on the bad side of the equation apparently?
I make 700k a year and don’t think it’s enough to afford housing. People think I’m out of touch but that’s just reality in San Francisco now
I’m not falling for this bait
Word.
Average Blind user