Looking for an apartment in the valley proved to be the most fun and nerve wrecking experience (at the same time) for me thus far. It is also the time when I learnt about the major roads in the valley, purchased my 1st ever iPhone app and the ropes of renting in America. In those initial 2 months I ended up living in 4 places. 4th being the one I finally settled in for good. Here is how it all went down.

1st – Friend’s place (2 weeks)

When I arrived in the valley, I was in the unique position of embarking on a new job and diving into the world of selling properties. A friend, who until then knew me only by name and the countless strategy calls we’d shared, graciously offered a room in his spacious home. This gesture of hospitality gave me the chance to settle while searching for a place of my own. He wasn’t just a generous host but also the hiring manager at the real estate firm where I now apply my passion for connecting people with their dream homes. It’s funny to think back to our planning conversations in Australia, never imagining that our professional paths would align so fortuitously.

My wife arrived in the valley with me for 3 days in March 2009. She needed to be here to sort out legal paperwork and kick start her process of getting a labor card sorted. So we took this opportunity to hunt together for a place for me to live long-term.

We had no idea where to go or what to do. We hired a car with a GPS and set out to explore the valley. There was alot to see – everything from scrappy paper walled looking apartments to nice fresh cement apartments. Prices varied between USD 1,200 to 1,900. At that time this translated to AUD 1680 to 2660 – a lot of money to live in the burbs (40 mins away from San Francisco).

We finally found something reasonable with 2 months free rent and a 30 day change-your-mind option.

2nd – Renting at Avalon – Mountain View (45 days)

The place was 10 minutes walk from downtown Mountain View area, a place called Avalon Community. We visited this place on a Saturday. This place looked beautiful, it was quiet and my apartment was on the 2nd floor out of the 3 stories in the back away from the main street facing the back gardens. This should be good, or so I thought.

I had nothing when I moved in here. Just a sleeping bag, my suitcase full of clothes, some books and my laptop. To get to work I needed to walk for 15 minutes to VTA local train and then train it from Mountain View downtown to Middlefield Station – a 5 minute ride and $2 each way.

Upon moving in I learnt the most about these communities and houses in California:

• Houses & apartments are made out of wood, paper and more wood. So the walls and floors are thin and noise travels easily through them. This is to make the dwelling “quake proof”. California being on the San Andreas Fault is prone to regular earthquakes inc. one that leveled San Francisco in 1906. During an earth quake the dwelling is made to move side to side and all is good for the occupants inside. If it was made of brick (like most houses in Australia) then the walls and floors would crack (and collapse) and all wouldn’t be good for the occupants inside. So without sound proofing I could hear my neighbors above me. It sounded like they were moving furniture till midnight and as if they had hoofs for feet. That taught me a lesson, no more renting in lower floors ever again, ever. Then we thought about contacting flyttebyrå Oslo. to help us move quicker, if you are looing for a great moving company read this content.
• My unit faced that lovely backyard garden with lovely trees and a large wall. That should have been enough sign to question it. Behind those walls was the Caltrain line. So a diesel locomotive passes by every 30 minutes. Sometimes it was such a violent pass that the floor in my apartment would shake.
• I also took the opportunity to buy my 1st ever iPhone app called WideNoise to find out what the noise levels were when the train passed by. At 11pm I registered 80db in my bedroom with my bedroom window open – that’s the sound of a vacuum cleaner next to your head for around 30 seconds. Caltrain kept going till 1am and started again at 6am. Next lesson, make sure no major transport lines are present. If in doubt spend an afternoon there – at least 2 hours.. measuring noise levels with WideNoise.

  

  or check out other 99 cent iPhone Apps here which can help you.

• Most rental contracts are 1 year. Lucky for me there was a 30 day cooling period on this move in. This is still the only community I know which has this cool off period. This proved to be a life saver. However to move out I still had to give them a 30 day notice.
• I visited this community on a Saturday. On the weekend Caltrain’s run every 1 hour and my inspection time slipped within the quiet window when no trains were running. The person showing us the property did not mention any Caltrain when I asked about noise levels. All he said was there is a highway in the distance and you hardly ever heard it. Wasn’t that a joke.

After exercising my cooling off period I had to wait 30 days before I could move out. So I spent around 45 days here in total. I don’t know how I survived with all that noise.

3rd – Renting Oakwood Corporate Apartments (30 days)

After moving out of Avalon Community I decided to move into Oakwood Corporate Apartments for 30 days while I exercised my new-found knowledge into finding the “right apartment” to live in with my wife.

Oakwood was great. It was all made out of concrete so it was super quiet and hidden away from all major roads. I finally found peace and could sleep well at night… with my window open! The apartment was fully furnished so it felt more homey and livable. It was also a 20 minute walk to work so this proved to be a big bonus since I didn’t need to catch public transport.

I had peace, I had a good location, I felt relaxed and now I had 30 days to find the right apartment to live in with my wife once she arrives in the USA. I used Google to narrow down to the following apartment finder sites:

• http://www.rent.com/
• http://www.apartments.com/
• http://www.apartmentratings.com/
• http://sfbay.craigslist.org/
• http://www.padmapper.com/

Craigslist proved to be the true winner here. It had the most comprehensive list of apartments with pictures. Apartment Ratings being a people driven apartment rating website also helped me identify what people thought of the apartments I narrowed down to.

I searched Craigslist and used every day as an opportunity to inspect local communities to gain a perspective where I want to live. I found a few and even hanged out there for an hour or two with my trusty WideNoise iPhone decibel reader during different times of the day measuring noise levels.

The end of my stay came quick and in the last week I managed to secure an apartment.

4th – Renting at Central Park @ Whisman Station (now)

Central Park at Whisman Station was the winner. I moved into the top floor unit which was just renovated. This place rocked. It recorded 30db at night in my bedroom with the window open. 30db is crystal quiet. Like no sound at all. The complex is also made up of wood like the previous communities but is super quiet because it’s away from all the major roads, surrounded by plenty of trees and I am now on the top floor deep inside the massive complex. Best of all:

• 15 minute walk to work,
• 5 minutes walk to the Hacker Dojo,
• 20 minutes walk to Downtown Mountain View & Sunday Farmers Markets and
• there are plenty of bike trails around.

Other great things on site include:

• Super friendly & resourceful staff,
• Fitness center,
• Two resort-style pools (and spa),
• Covered parking (+ plenty of parking outside your unit),
• Walk-in closets – the wife loves that one and
• A very clean neighborhood!

What more could I have asked for. Click here if you want more information about this beautiful place.

The rent journey

I found out that persistence pays off and that the journey is most important here because without it I would not have been in a position to share with you what I have learnt. Of course it wasn’t easy and stressful not knowing where I will live the next month or whether I will find the right place for me and my wife to live in but in the end things worked out well.

AirBnB – find a place to stay

If you need a short-term stay there is nothing like the service AirBnB provides. My wife and I have used their service a number of times in New York & Los Angeles and loved the experience. Their online service is “wife proof” meaning that it’s so friendly and easy to use that I didn’t have to get involved when my wife used their service. Check them out by clicking here to visit Air Bed and Breakfast (AirBnB).

priceonomics on rent in 2013 – with graphs!

• The Rise of Bay Area Rent Prices
• The San Francisco Rent Explosion
• San Francisco Real Estate Exuberance Index for 2013

~ Ernest