What are the cheapest ways to live in the Valley? | Hacker News Reader

What are the cheapest ways to live in the Valley?

11 pointsjmtame14 comments

youth hostel on 23rd and Bryant in SF

friend's couch

shack up with an older gay man

I don't know much about cheap living down in the valley.

If you are talking SF, there are some other options:

www.sfofficelofts.com - a friend of mine (an artist, not in software) rents one of these for $725 a month. It is a huge loft. The downside - you share a bathroom with everyone else on the floor, like a college dorm. And, the building is conveniently located between a porno theatre and an alley full of meth tweakers.

The usual option is to find a share on craig's list. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/roo

If you are not a snob Oakland has some great places to live on the bleeding edge of gentrification. I stayed at a friend's place near 17th st, a kind of brownstony place, 800 bucks/month, beautiful kitchen, right on the BART.

In the late afternoon, early evening, you can walk down to Oakland Chinatown and get an adequate meal at one of the deli's @ Webster/10th.

Oakland Chinatown is one of those rare places where some of the eateries are open 363 out of the 365 days.

http://zipcar.com

I haven't tried them out yet but plan to when I move to Cambridge in a few weeks. Seems like a good way to save money if public transportation gets you most places but you still need a car.

just to be clear, are we considering Oakland and SF the Valley? might be better to pose the question as cheap ways to live in the bay area. unfortunately there are not many, but places in the eastbay (elcerrito, oakland) can be great.

Also check out places near SF State, shaking up with a student can be a good way to go.

A beat up van. Ideally RV-type. You can drive around to fish for free wifi.

A sleeping bag on the beach. (Beware of high tide)

is there free wireless?

Actually, almost. SF is almost finished with a deal for Google to wifi (at no cost) the entire City (and probably the Bay Area eventually), so coding on the beach at no charge will be possible soon.

Though it would suck to get sand in your laptop.

Interesting also to note that GoogleWiFi isn't designed to work in buildings. You might get a weak signal, but chances are you'll have to be outside to get reception. Just fyi, based on my experiences in Mountain View.

You can purchase a WiFi modem to boost the signal and have it work inside:

https://wifi.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=44022

Bench

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