Thoughts on moving

[chipotle]

When I first moved out to California, I made tongue-in-cheek references to my “VDAP,” a vaguely-defined action plan. It went something like this:

1. Take up tugrik on his offer of crash space.
2. Get a great job that would shower with me money.
3. Find a place to live like where I’d been back in Tampa.

Wouldn’t you know it, though, step two turned out to be non-trivial. And as it turns out, step three isn’t so easy, either; my old apartment out there now rents for about $800 a month, about half what a comparable apartment most places in the SF Bay area would run. (Before locals object: 800 square foot one-bedroom place with A/C, walk-in closets, full-sized washer and dryer, dishwasher, kitchen with pantry and breakfast bar, in a complex with a good fitness center and swimming pool, built within the last 10-15 years. Sure you can get one comparable for under $1500?)

So the upshot is that I’ve stayed put.

And this isn’t a bad thing. My housemates (in addition to tugrik, they include revar, bigtig, susandeer, and five cats) have pretty much been great, it’s a nice enough house that’s just filled with cool stuff thanks to Tugrik’s gadget fetishes, and the shared rent is phenomenally low — far below market rate for the area. So I’ve liked where I’m living, and I couldn’t have afforded to stay in the San Francisco Bay Area if I’d been most anywhere else.

But you know, it’s been five years.

My current job, despite being “independent contracting,” is about as permanent as a normal position would be. My debt is, as of a week ago, completely gone. My credit isn’t excellent but it’s good. And since I don’t think the tumble that’s started in the housing market is going to get better soon, rent is likely to climb even faster as people get squeezed out of homes or decide not to run the mortgage gauntlet just yet. And, I’ve recently learned that the principals of the little company I’m at would like to move the office to San Mateo next year. My commute is already a little grating; it would get, well, more grating at that point.

I’ve looked around at all sorts of crazy places; apartment hunting has been an idle hobby more than an actual plan. I’d somewhat settled on the idea that if I did move, I’d likely end up either in the East Bay or possibly in Belmont for cost reasons: Belmont’s a town on the peninsula filled with older apartment complexes, and the East Bay is, well, cheaper. Some places in the East Bay are a lot nicer than friends in the South Bay seem to imagine; Alameda is a cool area, as is the Rockridge neighborhood in Oakland (yes, really), and some of the places on the “680 corridor” are really pretty. Pretty enough and cheap enough to justify an 80-minute commute between Mountain View or San Mateo and San Ramon or Alameda, though? Hmm.

So the upshot is that I’ve still stayed put. I don’t like the idea of moving, really; it’s a hassle and a half, and I’ll have to buy furniture, and blah blah blah. You can fill in all the potential complaints yourself. It’s sort of comfortable to have this as a hobby. I can collect lots of apartment complex brochures without doing anything more than frustrating leasing agents.

However, now there’s an opportunity contingent on someone else’s opportunity; a friend may end up getting a job around the Redwood City area, and if I am willing to move into a “just one housemate” situation, the possibility of a 2BR/2BA place on the peninsula opens up. A nice place. Nice enough that, frankly, my rent and utilities would still double — even by San Mateo area standards, some of these apartments aren’t cheap — but near (or even in) downtown and with top-notch amenities. Throw in the usual caveats about apartments showing better than they are in practice, I know. But even so.

The thing is, now I’m actively nervous. If the stars line up just so (as of yet, they have not), I’d have to make a decision about moving soon. Before the end of the month. (Just in time for the holidays because you know that’s always when you want major life upheaval.) Do I really want to move? I’ve been assuming if I did move, I’d move into a place of my own (as much as an apartment can be “yours”); do I want to change that assumption?

Comments

[rafn.livejournal.com]

Are you in a position to look into buying a duplex to a fourplex and renting out the other units to cash in on the housing situation?

[chipotle.livejournal.com]

No. :)

I wouldn't be able to do that even in a cheaper part of the world, and this is not a cheap part of the world. Housing prices have stalled but they're not falling appreciably; the house I'm staying now is a 4BR/2BA place that's about 1700 square feet, 50 years old and not in particularly good shape. The owner could easily expect to get $750K for it. I'd be very surprised if I could get a duplex anywhere in the Bay Area for much under a million.

[rafn.livejournal.com]

Damn. I'm looking at 4plexes in the $250K range as investment property here.

[tommicat.livejournal.com]

Erf, that's a tough decision. I'm sorry I can't provide any proper advice that you have already thought up for this situation.

If you know the person well to be a stable flatmate to live with, then is there a chance to maybe wait until they have a job or dig in for some dirt to see if your company will move in the near future?

[chipotle.livejournal.com]

Well, nothing'll happen unless my friend does get a job in that area and wants to move. (He's in my area currently -- the place we're thinking of moving is about 30-ish miles north of here.)

Ancient Fox Wisdom: better the den (and denmates) you now have, than the denmate of the future.

[vulpesrex.livejournal.com]

6irst, I would sound out your current housemates - particularly Tugrik - and see how they would feel, about the current arrangement with you in it, vs. You out of it. Honest statements, no hidden or long simmering petty resentments or incompatabilities that have been politely suppressed; and if the other 4 parties essentially say you feel like family - then stay.

You are comfortable now. You said yiu don't like disruptive change. You have a good number of housemates sharing expenses, and to a certain extent, fortunes (If something nasty befalls one of you, easier for the other 4 to help pick up the slack). A single friend, who has not endured the trial of housemate-age, might prove to be a better friend than a roommate.

I don't see any downside to the situation you have now. Your personal growth and freedom are not hindered, and IF San Mateo is in the corporate future, there is public transport for commuters from the south bay to San Mateo.

I see no real upside to moving, except perhaps more privacy. 2 roommates cannot cope with chaos as well as 5 roommates can, the expenses are higher; and I do not see any better opportunity for personal growth. Add to that the furnishings, new neighbors, new neighborhood...it could be rather exciting and adventurous, but so would be reliving the 1906 earthquake. Why risk it? Forced adventures in living can be intense but are seldom pleasant. Live the adventer from the position you have NOW.

If you still want a place of your own, wait until the opportunity to really indulge that wish comes along again. Trust me, it will!

Re: Ancient Fox Wisdom: better the den (and denmates) you now have, than the denmate of the future.

[chipotle.livejournal.com]

"Hindering" is a subjective issue. A 10' x 10' room isn't very big to be both bedroom and 'office' space, and the living room simply isn't always available as space usable for whatever I want to do at a given moment. This isn't anyone's fault; it's an unavoidable byproduct of five people and one living room. I also tend to be on a somewhat different schedule than the housemates, which occasionally complicates things.

If I did move, the friend in question is someone I've known for over a decade, who moved out here from the same place I did. We know each other's habits reasonably well already. And, as noted, I've been contemplating moving out; this is just making it a more potentially immediate thought, rather than ongoing idle musing. If I stayed put but the office moved, I'd start getting awfully tempted to make it serious regardless.

I understand perfectly well what you're saying, and sure, it makes sense. But "why risk it" always makes sense, because A = A: risk is, well, risky. I moved out to California with no job and limited resources, after the dotcom crash. It was, objectively, completely batshit. In theory, it makes more sense to wait for the perfect opportunity; in practice, I know people who've been waiting for many, many years.

(As for public transit between the South Bay and San Mateo, that requires driving into downtown San Jose (about 15 minutes), taking the train to San Mateo (about 35 minutes), and then taking a bus from the San Mateo Cal-Train to the office -- which could well be another 20-30 minutes, given the area I believe they're looking in. It's all possible, but it would be neither cheap nor all that easy.)

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

In other news...

Happy birthday, Chipotle.

[mortonfox.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday!