Several of my friends are considering moving from SF and other popular places on the peninsula to Half Moon Bay (or somewhere like it). When rent for your 2 bedroom apartment goes over $3,000, you notice that you are basically paying the equivalent of the monthly mortgage payment on a $750,000 house. Then, you realize you may be having kids in a few years and will probably want a small yard and no shared walls. Of course, you then must start saving like mad so you can get the ~$100k needed for the down payment on your $800k fixer upper.
Half Moon Bay seems like a good idea, until everyone starts having the same "good idea" as you and then the tiny back country roads coming into and out of Half Moon Bay turn a 45min commute into a 1h30min commute and you're back at square one.
These 'clever hacks' are not sustainable solutions to the bigger problem at hand.
>When rent for your 2 bedroom apartment goes over $3,000, you notice that you are basically paying the equivalent of the monthly mortgage payment on a $750,000 house.
Jesus Christ. It would be very difficult to even spend that much money on a house or apartment near where I live, outside Charlotte, NC.
True, it's not THAT much cheaper, but it's a place where can actually find a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom standalone home for <$1M in the bay area that is within 45 minutes of most jobs. When you can only afford a $800k mortgage, your options are severely limited.
