Anywhere cheaper. Albuquerque NM? Texas? Or merely 60 miles south on route 1.
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Thanks for the story about the city-bred kids - that actually reinforces me to move up to the city 
The hesitation about a home in SFH is in fact, neither of us (and vast majority of asian millennials these days) grow up in SFHs, but in condos all our lives. I actually rented a SFH that was built in the 50s few years back, and absolutely hated - hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and horrible heat systems. Old houses have these smells that are hard to get rid of, Iād hear my neighbor peeing in the middle of the night, etc. Add to the fact that, living in a house feels unsafe - anyone can easily bring the half-pane window with a fist and open my door. Not so with gated communities like condos/THs.
And, I get the attractiveness of the city despite the rundown neighbors, fancy restaurants in the middle of factories, etc. If we look at peninsula cities (with the exception of PA and LA), thereās just the bad stuff left: rundown neighbors, factories, auto mechanics. Drive to Starbucks through El Camino Real and line up at the drive thru? Whereās the fun in that?
About city being accessible if we wanted to: we thought so too, so we lived in San Mateo for a while. We went up to the city like 4 times during the 1.5 yrs. The fact is, during the week weāre so exhausted from work, the last thing we want to do on the weekend is driving up to the city and fight for parking spots.
Maybe Iām being too naive about the commute. We do have company shuttles, so we wonāt be driving. But if we were to switch jobs right now, weāre 98% sure itāll be in SF. Last time I looked, thereās virtually nothing south of Mountain View, and < 5 places I would consider between San Mateo and Mountain View. The rest are in SF. With places like Uber opening offices in Oakland, Iām not certain if Silicon Valley would stay in Santa Clara County much further - but nonetheless our next gig would definitely be up in SF.
But like I said in another thread - maybe Iām just being defensive about our crazy thought and we may just end up in a SFH in Sunnyvale/RWC and grow old. As depressing as it sounds 
Thatās correct. In my neighborhood there are three townhouses for sale. The asking prices for two of them are about 10% over market and have not found a buyer.
These are the 2 overpriced ones.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/3321-Swancreek-Ct-95121/home/1232605
https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/1540-Ivycreek-Cir-95121/home/1319117
this one just came out this and will sell quickly.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/1574-Ivycreek-Cir-95121/home/704915
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Or Uber may not exist given the very high burn rate. Market cap of unicorns (and multi-corns?) are views of selected guys/ funds, may not be the views of the public. Wait for the IPOsā¦ the acid test.
The city is great and I would be a hypocrite to say otherwise. It certainly has its warts though.
Look, perhaps someone on here is in fact a daily shuttle commuter to SV who can chime in about how that works for them. That certainly helps I would think as you can catch a few winks either way or get some work done during those rides.
The funny thing is, my wife and I love to come down to San Mateo for weekend dinners at places like Ramen Dojo or Ramen Parlor. We generally do not like the huge white plate with the tiny morsel of food places that want 3 figures for it. I do get it that with crazy work schedules you arenāt nearly as inclined to want to drive up here and deal with parking and the traffic.
As @harriet chimed in, if the condo pricing was really great then maybe, but you were looking at ones I believe that were way over 1M correct? I donāt see that market space appreciating greatly in the short term, unlike that for SFHs. They simply are not making any more SFHs for the most part (Summit 800 near me does NOT count as SFHs IMHO) here in the city so they should continue to rise in value. Yes, it sounds like you had a few real experiences with poorly constructed SFHs but surely you know that anything can be upgraded considerably to be very comfy and secure. My wife is as tough and opinionated as anyone I know. She absolutely WANTS to live forever and eventually die in our Sunset home that I remodeled from studs. We could probably swing low/mid PA but she doesnāt want to commute into the city even though she has paid for parking. It sounds like you have the money, so those tv shows where people flip or remodel homes do not interest you or your wife at all??? No one is suggesting that you lift a hammer but you can truly make your dream house a reality you know. All it takes is some money and a vision.
They will be fine with Noe but maybe not Sunsetā¦
Come on, enlighten @notabene on why you left the Holy Grail of San Ho for the Gold Mountain of San Franā¦
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Hey, you didnāt by any chance come from Hong Kong did you? Thatās exactly how my mom feels!! And she too would prefer high rise condo to SFH.
If you think about it, condos with elevators are actually better for old people than SFHās with stairs.
There is nothing to enlighten. Itās all personal choices. I have become a Suburban boy inside and out, but my wife is still a city girl. So part of the reason for the move is for her to be closer to family. I am absolutely miserable in the cityā¦
People have different preferences for things. Easy as that. Itās not always dollars and cents. People need to be happy living in their homes. Can you imagine that 50 shades of grey dude living in a Sunset 100 year old SFH? Whatās sexy about that? No. He lives in a top floor penthouse with great view.
Now that I think about it, I suspect people living in high rise condos have better sex livesā¦ Those night time bridge views can do wonder to the moodsā¦
As a matter of fact, I did. Mid levels and Repulse Bay are how neighborhood should look like in developed countries. 
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Since you stay in SFH, I suspectā¦
Just to illustrate what one could do to that very old SFHā¦ (not necessarily my or your style but you get the gist of what I am sayingā¦). Would you not like the interior space of such a home???
Uh, probably not those in the Millennium Towerā¦
SEX is the last thing on their mindsā¦
What? Sex what? With stairs, elevators or not, all you have to do is climbā¦
I guess I donāt fit in y our profileā¦Iād pick SFH in Noe Valley or Sunset over condo in SOMA any day and I am under 30.
Really? Thinking that my neighbors can hear everything I do through the wall would put a serious damper on that.
You canāt hear your neighbors in a modern condo. Fire code is strict. You have two walls with insulation and an air gap in between.
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Maybeā¦ Terri is very vocal in these mattersā¦ (just kidding, donāt get the Grand Poobah @manch on meā¦)
Boy I stepped right into that didnāt I?
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