Remote work location near Bay Area or Seattle?

[TrueNorth]

Looking at relocating to the Bay area California for work. Job could be mostly but not entirely remote, so I might need to get to Sunnyvale a day a week, or maybe 2 days every 2 weeks or something like that.

Where should I consider living, to optimize quality of life (access to skiing, mountains, maybe ocean, ...), affordable housing (or at least more affordable than the bay area), good schools, and still within driving distance of the office?

Another option is the same deal with work location near Seattle (probably Redmond).

I know I'm the first one to ever come up with this idea (/s)

[dan_pdx]

W/r/t commuting to Seattle, I tried really hard for the last 8 months to buy a house in Bellingham, and nothing doing. The market's too hot for us, you probably need 800-900k to get a nice 3 bed/2 bath in a good walkable location; you might find something in the 700s if you're willing to compromise on size, condition, or location. On the other hand, if you're looking at the Bay Area, those prices probably sound like a steal.

It has a lot to offer though: bike to MTB, walk to hiking trails, tons of water sports, and 90 minutes to Mt. Baker or Seattle; close to Vancouver BC too.

[fatnslow]

What is affordable price range for you ? Seattle area might be easier of the two options.

[MTT]

Reno ish area.

No personal income tax. Close to the outdoor stuff

Housing is now expensive but available. Everyone is telecommuting/ part time to the Bay Area from here debatable whether the 3.5 hour drive or the 50 min plane ride is better. I did both when working out of Cupertino

[Harry]

Santa Cruz for the surfing.


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[Ted Striker]

I care about being in an actual town/community with amenities
[ ] yes
[ ] no

If the answer is yes, your budget is 30-50% more than the no option.

[davjr96]

Could be worth checking out Sacramento Suburbs or Auburn area. I won't pretend there is anything exciting in the area itself, but it is cheaper than the bay and I call it the "2 hours from everything city". 2 Hours or from SF, Tahoe, Surfing, Yosemite, etc etc.

As mentioned above Reno is probably the better option if you don't have to be in CA (some companies require it for tax purposes) but a further commute. Tahoe itself would be an option too but housing is crazy as in every ski town.

[californiagrown]

Just live in SLC. SLC to SJC is like 20 mins more than reno to SJC and probably a cheaper flight.


You should live in CA. Washington in general, but especially the ski areas are full. No vacancy. Plus it rains a lot, and is no-exaggeration gray and cold for 8.5-9 months out of the year. Also, its really tough to find decent taqueria food in the Seattle area.

[skivan]

When I was in this situation I gave Scotts Valley (and similar locales) a hard look. Pulled the ripcord after a couple years above Woodside and landed in ID again. Won the lottery on many levels but those days have changed and BOI is no longer unknown.

[soul_skier]

For 2 days every two weeks you're better off living in SLC and flying in to stay at a hotel as needed when compared to living in the south bay. If you're not a surfer there is nothing in the mid/south peninsula that you can't find in SLC for half the cost of living. This is coming from someone who grew up 15 mins from Sunnyvale and currently lives just north of SF. If I wasn't a surfer with a girlfriend who also surfs and sails on the bay 2x a week I'd have bailed on CA a long time ago. A liveable 3/2 within an 90 mins of Sunnyvale is going to cost at least 2x what a similar place in SLC would, you're looking at at around a half mil housing cost delta between the two if you buy, and thats before you realize CA property taxes are 3-4x UT taxes.

Don't get me wrong, CA has its perks and is a great place to live if you can make it work, but if access to the ocean isn't a high priority I'd take a look at what direct flights come in and out of SJC and work from there.

[The AD]

You should live in CA. Washington in general, but especially the ski areas are full. No vacancy. Plus it rains a lot, and is no-exaggeration gray and cold for 8.5-9 months out of the year.

I'm not going to argue about gray, but it really depends on your definition of cold. The general lack of temperature extremes is a highlight of the climate here.

[Ted Striker]

If anything, it's too warm in the winter.

[dunfree]

If you only have to be in the Bay Area one day a week, your money and your sanity might go further someplace other than the greater Bay Area (which Santa Cruz co. & the Monterey Bay Area is). There’s lovely things south of there of course but even Monterey is a slog to get to the snow. Real estate is fucking insane; $1.5 million gets you a dated poorly built shitbox

[stalefish3169]

If anything, it's too warm in the winter.

QFT

[The AD]

It seems like the Sacramento area never gets much love. Seems like Its location between the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe would be an asset, but I've never been there so maybe it looks better on paper.

[dunfree]

It seems like the Sacramento area never gets much love. Seems like Its location between the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe would be an asset, but I've never been there so maybe it looks better on paper.

It’s hot in summer

[The AD]

It’s hot in summer

Hotter than Salt Lake?

[dunfree]

Hotter than Salt Lake?

depends how you count it. Both have double digit numbers of days with a high above 100f on average (each more than twenty last year). Low on the coast is a lot more clement.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

It’s a lot more humid in Sacramento than SLC.


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[4matic]

It seems like the Sacramento area never gets much love. Seems like Its location between the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe would be an asset, but I've never been there so maybe it looks better on paper.

I’m happy in EDH since moving from Bay Area. Sub two hours to multiple ski areas. But, it’s still a drive so if skiing a lot is your goal it’s not ideal.

It’s hot in summer but a modern house stays cool and the moderate nights are a welcome change from cold windy Bay Area summer.

The buzz is that ba transplants are never going back to small expensive living compared to what they can get.
Folsom is crazy with new construction.

Last weeks hike

[neufox47]

I’ve been happy in Auburn. You can take a train into SF if needed. The drive is a bit of a bitch but not terrible if you get up super early and either leave really early or late. No ocean, but rivers, lakes, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking / rafting, 55 minutes to Sugarbowl, etc. one of the best perks of this area to me is the availability of view properties and access to trails. For what a 2/1 in the outer Bay Area costs I got a 5/3.5 with a view of the canyon and access to the trail system. Look left

Look right


Downsides, it’s hot in the summer. Most days it’s only really bad from 12-5 but there are spells when you don’t want to be outside at all. Smoke. But I don’t know that you can live in the west without smoke anymore. Taxes.

Not sure if schools matter but there are some really good schools.

[LongShortLong]

Tough requirements list. Best schools near Sunnyvale are the schools near Sunnyvale. Over-educated parents makes good schools, who knew? Decent schools in East Sacramento, Davis, Folsom, or Roseville area, though it's 2 hrs from everywhere (or learn to love the local rivers).

Depending what you call driving distance, Kirkwood gets you walk to skiing, 3.5 hours to Sunnyvale, and 3 seasons it's a remote "ghost" town with great internet. No school and 45 minutes to grocery store. All the utilities are sky high, though they do have their own backup power plant (when it's not on fire).

Bear Valley and China Peak are smaller "undiscovered" resorts, but idk about schools, expect they range between poor and bad. BV has some outstanding steeps if the bottom is open and a cold storm comes through. Never a sure bet, and this global warming business is not helping.

That flying idea may be promising. There used to be a regular commuter flight from Las Vegas, but now you're far from skiing.

Another note... if all the remote workers moved somewhere, the currently so-so schools will quickly become good. I've watched it happen around the bay area as the techies spread out. There's the obvious factor of the parents, but a less obvious factor is California's tax system. When all the houses turnover, they get reassessed from the $50k they were originally purchased at to the modern $1.3M value. Property taxes go to local schools, so they get a huge budget boost.

[bodywhomper]

Getting to Sunnyvale from outside the Bay Area sucks most weekdays. The train system to get to that area is kinda complex, too. Someday that may improve.

Something to also consider is that internet and cell service are not great in many (but not all) rural, foothill, our mountain areas. It’s improving in fits and starts.

[californiagrown]

I'm not going to argue about gray, but it really depends on your definition of cold. The general lack of temperature extremes is a highlight of the climate here.

folks living not on the coast or in SF are used to an average high temp in the 60s at the coldest... and that is with the sun shining 29/30 days. 58 and sunny is very different than 48 and drizzly. Yeah, youre right, its NOT cold here, compared to anywhere that has typical winters. But we also have the shortest t-shirt season of pretty much anywhere in the continental US. that said, our summers are the best in the country as long as they arent smokey.

I really think people underrate how miserable March-June can be here if you dont LOVE mountains and have an outdoor/mtn hobby that stokes you out even when its raining. SAD is a real thing and hits hard about that time, especially for someone used to perma-sun and 75 degrees being consistent spring temps.

And lastly, we're full in this state. I moved up here and would like to shut the door behind me. Its the american way.

[californiagrown]

Getting to Sunnyvale from outside the Bay Area sucks most weekdays. The train system to get to that area is kinda complex, too. Someday that may improve.

At what point is google going to make moffet field into a commuter airline hub? Based on the value of my parents postage stamp property nearby (home is a teardown), that land is worth trillions haha.