NOR CAL APT HELP VOL. BRISBANE

artysm · Jun 12, 2010

I'm entertaining an employment offer in Brisbane. Just wanted to get some facts, pros/cons, surrounding area, activities, nightlife/scene, transportation, etc. According to google, it's about 10 miles out of SF (unless google is wrong). Just need some help in what I should be expecting in terms of transportation, rent, lifestyle, surroundings, etc if anyone can help out with any advice/suggestions.
1. Everyone speaks of the 'bart' as a great form of transportation. how reliable is the bart in terms of timeliness and available times to ride? Is it realistic to use it if living in the city and commuting to Brisbane?

2. Is there huge pro/con living in the actual city of Brisbane vs. SF city? IE apartment price, amenities, etc.

3. Any other surrounding cities to live that are just as decent?

4. Any other overall advice/recommendations?

I'd preferably like to use public transportation if possible (currently drive about 45 mins to work). Do most SF city apts require separate parking garages or is parking usually included?

Thanks for any/all help.

yesimhere · Jun 13, 2010

i personally think living anywhere south of SF is a good place. you get nice quiet places with sunshine and rent is significantly cheaper. with brisbane, its a very small town but really nice and still very close to SF. so if ever feel the need to party or shop you are not far at all.
bart to me is a good alternative to driving. ive been using bart 5 days a week now for two years and ive been late to work once. prices are constantly going up but thats everything. you just have to weigh out time it takes and parking plus money versus driving. i live far from work so i get to miss a ton of traffic on bart.

san mateo, redwood city, millbrae are all just a few miles of each other. all along the 101. try to look at some of those cities as well. another plus for me is that the airport is all right there. bart also goes to the airport

artysm · Jun 13, 2010

^thanks for the advice/help. does the Bart usually run late hours? it's a combination of both rail and bus mainly right? is there certain areas i should stay away from in those cities? living in the city is really appealing but i'm concerned with parking my car/have a designated parking spot w/o having to pay for a parking space. i would like to live in an area where most amenities are walking distance (<4 miles) or you can easily access public transport.

nicapino · Jun 14, 2010

brisbane is just office buildings. I think the city pop is like 2000, there is nothing there for walking distance. U have to look somewhere south of SF in order to find decent priced housing. Parking in SF is ridiculously expensive. Good cities near brisbane would be: Burlingame, Millbrae, Daly City, SSF, San Bruno, a little bit farther (about 10-20 miles) San Mateo, Foster City, Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont. I live in Redwood City btw, where would u be moving from? BART stops in Millbrae, but it doesn't go near Brisbane, then it only goes to SF and the east bay. For living in the peninsula u need Caltrain or Samtrams (bus). U really need a car in the bay area tho, unless u live/work in SF, or the city u live in.

artysm · Jun 14, 2010

ideally i would like to take public transport if i live in the city of SF. do most apts charge for parking in the city of SF? I don't mind if I have to hop on the bart and take the bus to get to work or combination bart and bike. just trying to eliminate my car.
ultimately, i'd like to live in an area where the bart/public transit is accessible either in the city of SF or to the city of SF w/o being too far from both Brisbane and SF. can you recommend any specific areas in SF to live where prices aren't too inflated? isn't San Mateo an upper class neighborhood or is that San Bruno?

thanks for the help and advice.