[secorp]

If you get a chance, you might want to check out the Rockridge neighborhood in the East Bay. It's on the border of Oakland and Berkeley, very nice places, cool walking, shops, and stores like Trader Joe's, Whole Wallet, etc. There is a BART station there that will take you to the city, and people are out and about a lot. I live there with my wife and 3 boys. I also lived 12 years in LA near Manhattan Beach, and the main difference is that you don't really need a car in Rockridge, whereas in LA it was a necessity.

Some other interesting areas in SF are Potrero Hill and Bernal Heights. Our startup is in Potrero Hill and there are lots of good restaurants around, plenty of parking, and nice steep hills. Bernal has a bit more of a parking challenge and isn't really close to public transport, though it does have a pretty cool strip and it's close to the Mission for good food.

Hope this helps - if you want more details, just let me know at secorp at gmail dot com.

[white]

Thanks, I was also considering Rockridge, but it seems to me to far from Silicon Valley. Speaking about Potrero Hill - it's nice, but too expensive. I'd like not to pay more then $1,800-2,000 for 2 beds - I can't do more unless my startup is going great. So that's why I'm circling away the SF from the list. ;)

[secorp]

Ah, didn't realize you needed to be that close to Silicon Valley. Some other people have mentioned downtown Mountain View around Castro Street (try Dana Street Cafe) which is pretty cool and close to a lot of software and hardware shops. There are some nice places in downtown Palo Alto but I don't know the prices there anymore. Back up near SF you may want to look at the Mission district, specifically between Valencia and Dolores south of 16th Street. It's a transitional neighborhood, great food, lots of walking distance small shops, but you may find your car broken into if you leave anything inside.

We are paying $3000/month for a nice old 3bdrm Craftsman in Rockridge that is about 5min walking from the BART station and about 2min from the College Ave strip.