NatureMomma Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 We most likely are moving to downtown San Fransisco in the next month. I need help navigating this... We are new to the Bay Area, we live in the Santa Cruz area right now, but not new to Ca. We are in our 30s, with a 13 year old daughter FYI. We really love SAnta Cruz and have been here less than a year, and am not thrilled about having to move again, but my husband works in the tech industry and so he's got to go where the work is. i have really no idea about the city in general. I'm also concerned about the weather- is it truly that bad? And about school options. My daughter has always been homeschooled, right now she's with Ocean Grove and is able to take some classes, but really wants to experience a brick and mortar school. From what I can see, there's actually no homeschoolers living in downtown SF, and no regular day time classes that must not be driven to. With city traffic, I'm afraid it would be a nightmare just getting in and out, and I'm not prepared to handle time on the road like that. So it would have to be in the city itself. I'm very against PS for many reasons, so it has to be a really exceptional school for me to put her into it. I was reading the public school options are not at all good there. What are the private schools like? And suggestions on ones to look into? My daughter has been schooled with. Charlotte Mason approach, with a lot of unschooling, and I don't think would fit well in a traditional hardcore classroom experience, but if you have suggestions for some please share! Are there any classical schools that are non religious in the are? Feedback in general would be great. This is one of my greatest concerns, and I just don't know quite what my options are. I'm also concerned about the weather- what is it truly like to live there? This Southern California girl needs the sunshine!! Are there some areas that are more sunnier/ less foggy than others? My husband would be working near the financial district off market street- and we want to live downtown, not Daly City which looks truly depressing to me. We like the hub of restaurants, cafes, etc. and would prefer to live near all of this. What areas should I be looking at? The west side? Also- what salary in your experience would be a minimum to live in the city for a family with our circumstances? We want somewhere close to things, but don't need much in the way of housing. Even a studio right now would be fine. We prefer though to spend our money on traveling, and want to be able to set some aside each year to travel to Europe, like museums, ballets, restaurants, education, etc. experiences more than possessions. I'm just not sure what he should ask for or what to expect. We spend very little money on clothing, toys, possessions, etc. This is with a very large company that really wants him. Also, I do want to have access to my car because I want to be able to take off from the city if I want. What are my options? I read parking is a serious consideration. Keep the car or some other idea? What is public transport like? How difficult is it to grocery shop here? I shop at mainly whole foods, and other natural food stores. How do people get their myriads of bags home? Any help or info would be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureMomma Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 One more thing- I'm a nature girl and need and crave time in nature regularly. I know this is probably hard in a city, but what places are good to go to when I need the quiet, and beautiful surroundings, or to read a book and just be alone for a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplejackmama Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 One more thing- I'm a nature girl and need and crave time in nature regularly. I know this is probably hard in a city, but what places are good to go to when I need the quiet, and beautiful surroundings, or to read a book and just be alone for a bit? Muir Woods? It's my favorite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 I'm also concerned about the weather- what is it truly like to live there? This Southern California girl needs the sunshine!! Are there some areas that are more sunnier/ less foggy than others? Stay far, far away from the west side of the city: Sunset and Richmond districts. Fog, clouds, depressing. Do you already have housing lined up? I've heard it is very very expensive these days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 For wild, quiet nature, the Mid Peninsula Open Space District, just south of SF in the hills, has excellent parks that tend to be reasonably quiet especially when school is in session. I strongly suggest going on their website and getting onto their mailing list. Honestly, though, for what you want I think you should consider the eastern side of Berkeley. Then your husband could take BART (fast, easy, and clean) to and from work, you would have a place to park your car but also access to good public transit, and you'd be in a lively urban scene but with much easier access to all of the other stuff you are looking for. Downtown SF is insanely expensive right now, and most of the people I know who live there take public transit or tech company busses or uber ONLY. You would have trouble finding a place with free and guaranteed parking. The good thing is that you're closeby and can reconnoiter pretty easily. Do a lot of that! There is a venerable unschooler homeschooling park day group in SF. People mostly live in the west or Bernal Heights or Daly City or outer Noe Valley, but they are actually in the city proper. It's a very crunchy and tight knit community from what I have observed. Are you on BAHFT? If not, that's a great way to get field trips and local classes onto your calendar and you are sure to meet plenty of people that way. I believe that you could post your request for connections there and get some responses. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 PS The 'sun belt' in SF is more or less the Mission District. And it's not cheap. But it's a lot safer than it used to be, and there are BART stations at 24th and Mission and 16th and Mission that would get your DH downtown to the financial district in less than 20 minutes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 (edited) I'll be back with more later but I wanted to put Lowell into your mind as an excellent public high school, if you want to read up on it. Here's an AP list (check both columns). They are one of the few local schools doing AP Latin, for example. Edited December 25, 2015 by idnib 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 One more thing- I'm a nature girl and need and crave time in nature regularly. I know this is probably hard in a city, but what places are good to go to when I need the quiet, and beautiful surroundings, or to read a book and just be alone for a bit? We like Crissy Fields. Free parking, nice beach and view. http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/crissy-field.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Also- what salary in your experience would be a minimum to live in the city for a family with our circumstances? We want somewhere close to things, but don't need much in the way of housing. Even a studio right now would be fine. We prefer though to spend our money on traveling, and want to be able to set some aside each year to travel to Europe, like museums, ballets, restaurants, education, etc. experiences more than possessions. I'm just not sure what he should ask for or what to expect. We spend very little money on clothing, toys, possessions, etc. This is with a very large company that really wants him. Also, I do want to have access to my car because I want to be able to take off from the city if I want. What are my options? I read parking is a serious consideration. Keep the car or some other idea? What is public transport like? How difficult is it to grocery shop here? I shop at mainly whole foods, and other natural food stores. How do people get their myriads of bags home? Any help or info would be much appreciated! It's difficult to talk about compensation because many of the large tech companies give lots of perks which can add up to quite a bit. Stock options are another consideration. Would he be getting any, and is the company publicly traded? Some rentals have car parking but you'll pay a lot. Some people also rent out private unused parking. Many people use a car share so they can exit the city. It's often cheaper to just get a car when you need it, unless you are planning to leave the city quite often and go away from BART/Caltrain/ferry lines. Have you looked into car shares? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 I can't speak to a lot of your concerns, but we lived near the border of Pacifica many years ago and it was FOGGY. I agree with the poster who said avoid the west side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Given your list of criteria, it might make sense to look afield of SF. Perhaps the Peninsula? (I lived in Palo Alto for a few years, so I'm biased!) Schools are quite good, if you end up going that route, it's very easy to get out into nature, and even though these are suburbs, you could find a place near the city centers where there are shops, restaurants, and a feel of busy-ness. Owning a car would not be an issue, either. That said, my understanding from friends still in the area is that it's getting increasingly crowded, and housing prices are legitimately out of control. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 (edited) I'll be back with more later but I wanted to put Lowell into your mind as an excellent public high school, if you want to read up on it. Here's an AP list (check both columns). They are one of the few local schools doing AP Latin, for example. I attended Lowell. It is a fantastic school. Very competitive to get in, as it's a grade cut off type place that draws from the whole city. Check entrance criteria early if you are thinking about it. There is also a pretty good arts public high school, the Ruth Ozawa one, also competitive, but excellent; maybe a little on the stoner side though. Edited December 25, 2015 by Carol in Cal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 For private high schools, you might want to consider Drew, which is excellent and very college oriented, probably not quite as difficult a school as Lowell; or for a complete change of pace that might work well with a Charlotte Mason kid--there is a private Waldorf high school there that has an excellent reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 I strongly suggest going on their website and getting onto their mailing list. Reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureMomma Posted December 25, 2015 Author Share Posted December 25, 2015 Thank you for all the suggestions, I will definitely look into them. Any more feedback on the schools? Lowell does sound very good, I'm especially surprised with it being a public school it being so rigorous! Right now my daughters in 7th but will be 14 in a few months. I held her back when we moved back to Ca. Because she missed almost a year due to sickness, and I know they did testing here and didn't want that to affect her. Suggestions on middle schools? Also- for downtown, what area should we look at for living? I mentioned Berkely as an option to my husband, and he really likes the idea of city living and not commuting for a while so I think we are going to try to live in the city proper at least at first. It seems so spread out, and from what I can see each little neighborhood has a vibe... What are some ones to check out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Are you open to a parochial school? West Portal Lutheran has an excellent middle school program, and it's less expensive than typical private schools. Both West Portal Lutheran and Lowell High are in the fog belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherL Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Sort of on topic to this discussion... To those of you who suggested Berkeley and taking the BART into the city... I visit SF a lot with my husband when he goes for work and I love Berkeley, but have only been there in the past when I had a car. When I go with hubby I only use public transit and the idea of taking the BART under the water to Berkeley freaks me out! Do you know you are going underwater? How long does it last? What if something mechanical happens when you are down there? Thanks for answers, I really want to get over this fear and get back there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Sort of on topic to this discussion... To those of you who suggested Berkeley and taking the BART into the city... I visit SF a lot with my husband when he goes for work and I love Berkeley, but have only been there in the past when I had a car. When I go with hubby I only use public transit and the idea of taking the BART under the water to Berkeley freaks me out! Do you know you are going underwater? How long does it last? What if something mechanical happens when you are down there? Thanks for answers, I really want to get over this fear and get back there! You do know you are underwater as your ears will pop from the pressure difference. I don't remember how long it is - 10 minutes maybe? I never thought what would happen if there was a problem. It's watertight (Please G-d) so just sit an wait I guess.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Sort of on topic to this discussion... To those of you who suggested Berkeley and taking the BART into the city... I visit SF a lot with my husband when he goes for work and I love Berkeley, but have only been there in the past when I had a car. When I go with hubby I only use public transit and the idea of taking the BART under the water to Berkeley freaks me out! Do you know you are going underwater? How long does it last? What if something mechanical happens when you are down there? Thanks for answers, I really want to get over this fear and get back there! I think the actual underwater part takes 4 minutes or so, but it feels longer as it's subterranean before the actual water. It is dark and narrow. It was a very expensive project so of course they made it as narrow as possible. When the lights built into the sides whiz by they seem very close. It's been retrofitted and seismically upgraded since it was built. If there's a mechanical problem you'll have to wait in the tunnel. Track checking after earthquakes has become much faster, although I don't know the reason for that. Maybe there's more automation/sensors? If you were really to get stuck for some reason you can walk out of the tunnel, but I've lived here a long time and the only real problem I recall was a 6-hour delay after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. (The bridge didn't fare nearly as well, btw.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Sort of on topic to this discussion... To those of you who suggested Berkeley and taking the BART into the city... I visit SF a lot with my husband when he goes for work and I love Berkeley, but have only been there in the past when I had a car. When I go with hubby I only use public transit and the idea of taking the BART under the water to Berkeley freaks me out! Do you know you are going underwater? How long does it last? What if something mechanical happens when you are down there? Thanks for answers, I really want to get over this fear and get back there! When we lived on the East Coast, we'd go through underground tunnels all the time. There's a particularly long and scary tunnel near Baltimore, under the water. It never ceased to freak me out. I understand the anxiety! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 When we lived on the East Coast, we'd go through underground tunnels all the time. There's a particularly long and scary tunnel near Baltimore, under the water. It never ceased to freak me out. I understand the anxiety! Hmmm... Never occurred to me. The London Underground (Tube) is, well, underground for most of the network. And you go under the Thames all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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